 |
 |
[02/11/09 - 06:27 PM]
Development Update: Wednesday, February 11
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC) |
|
|
LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- The latest development news, culled from recent wire reports:
Looking to keep track of all the various projects in development? Click here to visit our signature "Devwatch" section. There visitors can view our listings by network, genre, studio and even development stage (ordered to pilot, cast-contingent, script, etc.). It's updated every day!
BOARDWALK EMPIRE (HBO) - Aleksa Palladino, Paul Sparks, Shea Whigham and Anthony Laciura are the final additions to the drama pilot, which chronicles the early 20th century origins of Atlantic City. Palladino will play Angela, the wife of Michael Pitt's Jimmy Darmody; with Sparks as a funeral director whose real business is bootlegging; Whigham as Eli Johnson, the corrupt sheriff brother of Steve Buscemi's Nucky Johnson; and Laciura as Eddie Kessel, Nucky's loyal assistant. Terrence Winter penned the hour and is executive producing alongside director Martin Scorsese, Mark Wahlberg and Stephen Levinson.
CANNED (ABC, New!) - Kevin Etten ("Reaper") is the latest to score a pilot order from the network, this time for a multi-camera comedy about a group of friends who all get fired on the same day. The project, whose commitment is showrunner-contingent, is set up at ABC Studios and Brillstein Entertainment Partners. Etten penned the script and will executive produce with Brillstein's Peter Traugott.
CONFESSIONS OF A CONTRACTOR (CBS) - The Shawn Ryan-produced drama has received a pilot commitment from the Eye. Richard Murphy wrote the hour based on his book of the same name about the on and off the clock life of a successful L.A. contractor. Murphy also serves as a co-executive producer on the 20th Century Fox Television-based project, which Ryan, Jeff Okin and Paul Green are executive producing.
COUGAR TOWN (ABC) - The Courteney Cox-led/Bill Lawrence-produced comedy has formally been ordered to pilot. Cox stars as a newly single 40-year-old mom with a 17-year-old son in the ABC Studios-based half-hour, which Lawrence co-wrote alongside Kevin Biegel. The trio then also serve as executive producers.
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC) - Co-star Nicollette Sheridan is exiting the series after five seasons, reports TVGuide.com. "[Nicollette] had a great time on the show and is looking forward to her next project," a rep for Sheridan said in a statement. Not surprisingly, the circumstances of her departure were not revealed.
THE EASTMANS (CBS, New!) - Margaret Nagle has scored a pilot order from the Eye for yet another medical drama, this time about a complicated family of doctors. The project is set up at Warner Bros. Television with Nagle writing and executive producing. The Eye's medical roster also includes Curtis Hanson and Carol Barbee's "Three Rivers" as well as Jerry Bruckheimer and Jeffrey Lieber's "Miami Trauma."
FIRE IN THE HOLE (FX) - The cable channel has ordered a pilot for the project, about Kentucky-based U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, "a tough, soft-spoken lawman with a rough side," and "chronicles his cases and personal life, including unfinished business with an ex-wife and his aging father." Graham Yost is behind the hour, which is based on the Elmore Leonard short story of the same name. Michael Dinner is directing the Sony Pictures Television-based project, which Yost is executive producing alongside Carl Beverly and Sarah Timberman.
HUMAN TARGET (FOX) - Mark Valley ("Fringe") has scored the lead role on the drama pilot, about a mysterious security freelancer who assumes the identities of those in danger. He'll play Christopher Chance in the hour, which comes from DC Comics, Warner Bros. Television and McG's Wonderland Sound and Vision. Simon West is directing from a script by Jon Steinberg.
I WITNESS (CBS, New!) - Pam Veasey and Trey Callaway ("CSI: NY") have landed a pilot commitment from the Eye for a new drama about a gumshoe professor who uses her physiological skills to solve crimes. The project is set up at CBS Paramount Network Television with the pair writing and executive producing.
THE LAW (ABC, New!) - Cedric the Entertainer is set to topline a new comedy for the Alphabet about "reserve police officers for the LAPD who balance their full-time off-duty lives with the excitement of being weekend cops." The single-camera project, which has a pilot order, is set up at ABC Studios and DreamWorks Television. Cedric co-wrote the script with Bob Fisher who are also executive producing alongside Charles Segars, Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey. Cedric previously starred in a multi-camera pilot for the network last season.
LIGHTS OUT (FX, New!) - Feature writer Justin Zackham ("The Bucket List") and director Phillip Noyce ("The Quiet American") are set to team for a new drama pilot at the cable channel about "an aging former heavyweight boxing champion [with pugilistic dementia] who struggles to find his identity and support his wife [a pediatric orthopedic surgeon] and three daughters after his fighting days, leading him to accept reluctantly a job as an enforcer collecting debts." Fox Television Studios and FX Productions are behind the hour, which Noyce is expected to direct from a script by Zackham. Ross Fineman, the pair's manager, will executive produce alongside the duo.
PLANET LUCY (ABC, New!) - Gabrielle Allan has scored a cast-contingent pilot presentation order from the Alphabet for a new comedy about "an accident-prone woman who balances raising three kids with trying to reclaim who she was before she became a wife and mother." ABC Studios and Sony Pictures Television are behind the single-camera project, which is based on Fiona Neill's book "Slummy Mummy." Allan then is executive producing alongside Jamie Tarses.
TREME (HBO) - Rob Brown is the latest addition to the pilot, a post-Katrina-themed drama that chronicles the rebuilding of New Orleans through the eyes of local musicians. He'll play Delmond, a New York jazz musician and son of Albert (Clarke Peters) who reluctantly returns to his native New Orleans. Khandi Alexander, Kim Dickens, Steve Zahn and Wendell Pierce also star in the hour, which comes from executive producers David Simon, Eric Overmyer and Nina Noble.
UNTITLED ANITA RENFROE PROJECT (ABC, New!) - Comedian Anita Renfroe is set to star in a potential new comedy at the Alphabet described as a parenting show centered around the thought that family comes first, by any means necessary. The project, which has a pilot presentation order, is set up at the ever-busy Sony Pictures Television-based Tantamount. Rob Hanning and Amy Welsh penned the script and are executive producing alongside the company's Mitch Hurwitz, Eric Tannenbaum and Kim Tannenbaum.
UNTITLED KELSEY GRAMMER PROJECT (ABC) - The Kelsey Grammer-led comedy, about a hotshot Wall Street executive who loses his job and is forced to reconnect with his small-town family, has been ordered to pilot. Tucker Cawley penned the half-hour and is executive producing alongside Good Humor Television's Mike Clements and Tom Werner. Warner Bros. Television is the studio attached.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
|
|
|
 [february 2009]  |
S |
M |
T |
W |
T |
F |
S |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
[08/03/26 - 11:54 AM]
Amazon MGM Studios Orders "DINKS" to Series from Marta Kauffman's Okay Goodnight, in Pioneering Deal with Lionsgate and Publicis Media Content Innovation
Real-life married couple June Diane Raphael and Paul Scheer star in and executive produce the series, with Jon Gabrus set as a series regular.
|
[08/03/26 - 11:03 AM]
Ben Affleck and Jamie Ding Score Best Audience in a Year with Million-Dollar Win on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire"
The July 29 episode rose from last week's season premiere with 4.22 million viewers.
|
[08/03/26 - 10:02 AM]
Shudder's Cult-Favorite Series "The Creep Tapes" Returns with a Two-Episode Premiere Tuesday, September 15
The six-episode season of the cult-favorite franchise features guest stars including Kate Siegel, Nic Hamilton, Elliott Fulham and Duplass' daughter, Ora Duplass, who will star in a throwback episode.
|
[08/03/26 - 09:46 AM]
"In Pursuit: Lessons of American Leadership" Premieres Tuesday, October 27, 2026 on PBS
Based on More Perfect's groundbreaking In Pursuit initiative, the film weaves together new interviews and archival material with documentary storytelling to explore what we can learn from the past to inform a more perfect union.
|
[08/03/26 - 09:15 AM]
V/H/S Cranks Up the Volume with New Installment "V/H/S/Mixtape" Streaming on Shudder October 9, 2026
Featuring all-new segments from legendary filmmaker Ernest Dickerson, hip-hop icon RZA, visionary director David Moreau, and acclaimed filmmaker Renee Zhan, whose segment includes original puppets by Jim Henson's Creature Shop.
|
[08/03/26 - 09:01 AM]
Video: "Star Wars: Visions Presents - The Ninth Jedi" - Final Trailer - Aug. 5 on Disney+ & Hulu
Beyond light and dark lies a power never seen before.
|
[08/03/26 - 09:00 AM]
The CW Network Renews Unscripted Hit Series "Scrabble," "Trivial Pursuit" and "Police 24/7"
The second seasons of "Trivial Pursuit" aAnd "Scrabble" continue on The CW this fall with new episodes debuting on Thursday, October 1.
|
[08/03/26 - 08:01 AM]
Video: "Outer Banks" Season 5 - Official Podcast Trailer Debut & Announcement
Hosted by longtime OBX fan and podcaster Ria Ciuffo, the series dives into the cast, characters, and the cultural phenomenon that has captivated audiences for years.
|
[08/03/26 - 07:23 AM]
New True Crime Series "Somebody Knows Something" Premieres Monday, Aug. 10, on Freeform and Streams Next Day on Hulu
"Somebody Knows Something" follows true crime influencer Kara Chamberlain as she investigates unsolved murders and missing persons cases that have stumped law enforcement and haunted internet sleuths for decades.
|
[08/03/26 - 07:04 AM]
Meet the Minds Behind the Magic: "Disney Worldbuilders" Premieres August 20 on Disney+
Academy Award- and Emmy-nominated filmmaker Leslie Iwerks sits down with Bob Iger, James Cameron, Jon Favreau, Kevin Feige, Jennifer Lee, Pete Docter, Dave Filoni, Jared Bush and Josh D'Amaro - with a look at new worlds on the way.
|
[08/03/26 - 06:01 AM]
Netflix Sets On-Air Team for First-Ever Regular Season NFL Game in Australia
Live from the Melbourne Cricket Ground on September 10 at 8:35 PM ET (September 11 at 10:35 AM AEST), Netflix will broadcast the Week 1 matchup, featuring the San Francisco 49ers vs. the Los Angeles Rams.
|
[08/02/26 - 05:16 PM]
Seo Kangjun and Ahn Eun-jin Explore Love, Temptation, and Complexities of Long-term Relationships in Prime Video's "A Love Other Than Yours"
The series explores the fragile line between comfort and passion, and whether choosing each other after ten years is an act of love, habit, or survival.
|
[07/31/26 - 01:03 PM]
ABC News Wins Across Late Night, Sunday Morning and Friday Night in Total Viewers and Key Adult Demos
Season to date, "Nightline" is up in Total Viewers versus the same point last season.
|
[07/31/26 - 10:37 AM]
ESPN and Fanatics Studios Announce Second Edition of "Fanatics Fest: All Access" to Debut on August 4 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN
The second installment of the special offers unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to Fanatics Fest, the premier sports, entertainment and culture 4-day event that recently brought together the biggest names in sports, music, comedy and entertainment.
|
[07/31/26 - 10:01 AM]
Bravo's "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" Three-Part Reunion Begins Sunday, Aug. 9 at 8 P.M. ET/PT
Host Andy Cohen sits down with Porsha Williams, Phaedra Parks, Drew Sidora, Shamea Morton Mwangi, Kelli Potter, Angela Oakley, K. Michelle, Pinky Cole and friend Cynthia Bailey as they unpack the season's biggest moments, clear up the rumors and confront some surprising revelations.
|
|
|
|
