or


[02/13/09 - 08:10 PM]
Development Update: Friday, February 13
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!


FUNNY IN FARSI (ABC, New!) - Firoozeh Dumas's book, subtitled "A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America," is set to be the focus of a potential new comedy at the Alphabet. The network has commissioned a director-contingent pilot for the project, which chronicles her upbringing as an Iranian immigrant in 1970s Newport Beach. Nastaran Dibai and Jeffrey Hodes ("Rita Rocks") penned the pilot and are executive producing for ABC Studios.


GOOD GIRLS (CBS, New!) - Sherry Bilsing-Graham and Ellen Kreamer ("The New Adventures of Old Christine") are the latest to land a pilot commitment from the Eye, this time about two women/childhood friends who are trying to reinvent themselves after making some youthful mistakes. The pair wrote the CBS Paramount Network Television-based pilot and are executive producing alongside Katalyst Films's Ashton Kutcher, Jason Goldberg and Karey Burke.


THE GOOD WIFE (CBS) - Charles McDougall ("The Tudors") has scored helming duties on the drama pilot, about a politician's wife, who takes a legal job after her husband is disgraced. Robert and Michelle King are behind the hour, which comes from CBS Paramount Network Television and Scott Free Productions. Production nevertheless is contingent on casting the lead role.


HAPPY TOWN (ABC) - Lauren German ("Hostel: Part II") is the first to be cast on the drama pilot. She'll play a newcomer to the town, which had enjoyed a seven-year peace after a series of kidnappings until it is hit by another crime. Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec and Scott Rosenberg are behind the ABC Studios-based project, which Gary Fleder is directing.


HOT GIRLS IN SCARY PLACES (E!, New!) - The cable channel has commissioned a pilot for a potential new reality series in which, you guessed it, hot girls are challenged to spend the night in a scary place for a $10,000 cash prize. For the inaugural installment, set to air as a special on Friday, March 13, three University of Southern California cheer squad friends will be tasked with an overnight trip to a supposedly haunted abandoned hospital. Go Go Luckey Productions ("Paranormal State") is behind the project, which is being executive produced by the company's Gary Auerbach.


NCIS (CBS) - Louise Lombard ("CSI: Crime Scene Investigation"), Peter Cambor ("Notes From the Underbelly") and Daniela Ruah have all joined the cast of the show's proposed spin-off. Lombard will play Clara, "a former major in the military police... an intelligent, sharp investigator who can look after herself"; while Cambor is set as Nate, "the team's conscience and beating heart... an operational psychologist and a walking encyclopedia of American culture"; with Ruah as Kensi, "a super bright young investigator who studied forensics and criminology in college." The trio will potentially join Chris O'Donnell and LL Cool J, who are still in negotiations with producer CBS Paramount Network Television.


UNTITLED FRANK MILITARY PROJECT (CBS) - "Jericho" alum Lennie James is the first to be cast in the drama pilot, about prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan. He'll play a former assistant DA who works as a paralegal after getting disbarred. Frank Military is behind the hour, which is set up at CBS Paramount Network Television.


UNTITLED JEFF STRAUSS PROJECT (ABC, New!) - Jeff Strauss ("All of Us") has booked a pilot order from the Alphabet for a new multi-camera comedy which examines marriage and parenthood as seen through the eyes of three couples. The untitled half-hour is set up at ABC Studios with Acme Productions's Michael Hanel and Mindy Schultheis ("Surviving Suburbia") also serving as executive producers alongside Strauss.


UNTITLED JUSTIN ADLER PROJECT (NBC, New!) - Sony Pictures Television-based Tantamount has locked in yet another pilot, this time at NBC. Justin Adler is behind the half-hour, a multi-camera family comedy featuring adult siblings. He penned the pilot and is executive producing with the Tantamount team of Mitch Hurwitz, Eric Tannenbaum and Kim Tannenbaum.


UNTITLED NEW YORK CITY PRIVATE SCHOOLS PROJECT (Bravo, New!) - Broadcasting & Cable is reporting the cable channel has begun production on a new reality series referred to as a "real life" version of "Gossip Girl." Stone & Company Entertainment is behind the project, which will track the lives of New York City private-school kids, although it won't feature Manhattan's exclusive schools specifically.


Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [february 2009]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S


· ALL OF US (CW)
· CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION (CBS)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· FUNNY IN FARSI (ABC)
· GOOD GIRLS (CBS)
· GOOD WIFE, THE (CBS)
· GOSSIP GIRL (CW)
· HAPPY TOWN (ABC)
· HOT GIRLS IN SCARY PLACES (E)
· JERICHO (CBS)
· MARRIED NOT DEAD (ABC)
· NCIS (CBS)
· NCIS: LOS ANGELES (CBS)
· NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE, THE (CBS)
· NOTES FROM THE UNDERBELLY (ABC)
· NYC PREP (BRAVO)
· PARANORMAL STATE (A AND E)
· RITA ROCKS (LIFETIME)
· SURVIVING SUBURBIA (ABC)
· TUDORS, THE (SHOWTIME)
· UNTITLED JUSTIN ADLER PROJECT (NBC)
· US ATTORNEY (CBS)





[03/13/26 - 09:36 AM]
Peacock Renews "Love Island USA" for Season Eight and Announces Premiere Dates for Upcoming Slate
"Love Island USA" returns Tuesday, June 2; while "Love Island: Beyond the Villa" is back Wednesday, April 15.

[03/13/26 - 09:02 AM]
Video: Key Art & Trailer Debut - Hulu's "Love Overboard"
The series premieres Thursday, March 26 with all nine episodes on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ for bundle subscribers in the U.S. and Disney+ internationally.

[03/13/26 - 09:01 AM]
History's "The Food That Built America" Returns for Season 7 on April 19
The series explores the origin stories of America's most inspiring - and sometimes ruthless - food pioneers, visionaries, and entrepreneurs who revolutionized the culinary landscape, and created groundbreaking products that became the biggest household names in history.

[03/13/26 - 08:01 AM]
Video: "Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen" - Official Trailer - Netflix
A bride has a feeling that something horrifying will happen at her wedding - and the closer to the altar she gets, the worse it becomes.

[03/13/26 - 08:01 AM]
Video: Hot Out the Oven - Hulu's "Pizza Movie" Trailer & Key Art
A shy college student and his reckless roommate set out on a simple mission to grab pizza, but after a strange dose of a mind-bending experimental drug, they're thrust into a chaotic night of absurd encounters, wild hallucinations, and unexpected revelations that could change their lives forever.

[03/13/26 - 07:13 AM]
FOX Sports, Imagine Documentaries & Delirio Films Announce "Summer of '94" Premiering May 23 on FOX
The film highlights the wild journey of the 1994 USMNT, a unique group of players led by an unlikely coach who endured a grueling two-year training camp, with no professional league and no roadmap, hoping simply not to embarrass their nation at the first-ever modern World Cup hosted on American soil.

[03/13/26 - 05:01 AM]
Video: "Temptation Island" Season 2 - Official Trailer - Netflix
Four couples at a crossroads test their bond by splitting up and sharing a villa with alluring singles looking for love in this steamy reality series.

[03/12/26 - 09:01 PM]
"The Vampire Lestat" Set to Debut Sunday, June 7 on AMC and AMC+
Plus: Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid) is back pleasing fledglings and fans worldwide with the debut of "All Fall Down," the second official rock single from the series.

[03/12/26 - 03:18 PM]
FOX Sports Scores All-Time High Team USA World Baseball Classic Viewership
3,171,000 viewers on average watched the four Team USA World Baseball Classic Pool play games across FOX, FS1 and FOX Deportes.

[03/12/26 - 03:01 PM]
CBS Midseason Premiere Week Tops Broadcast and Streaming Rankings in Live + 7-Day Multiplatform Viewership
The network scored three of the top four and 12 of the top 20 most-watched series among all broadcast and streaming competition.

[03/12/26 - 01:02 PM]
Video: Paramount+ Releases Official Trailer for Season Eight of "FBI True"
All 10 episodes of the new season will be available to stream at launch on on Tuesday, March 31.

[03/12/26 - 01:01 PM]
Paramount+ and CBS Partner to Air UFC 327: Prochazka vs. Ulberg Live on Paramount+ and CBS Television Network
CBS will simulcast select fights from both the prelims and the main card in primetime from 8:00-10:00 PM ET.

[03/12/26 - 12:31 PM]
BET Expands Daytime Lineup with AFRO TV's "The Sisaundra Show" and "Point of View," Celebrating Community, Culture and Connection on BET Her
The agreement brings the AFRO TV-produced live shows to BET Her's weekday lineup, premiering March 16.

[03/12/26 - 12:01 PM]
NBC's Unscripted Summer Celebration Arrives and Delivers the Hits
Following up on last year's phenomenal docuseries "The Americas," NBC will present "Surviving Earth," a landmark series showcasing how life not only survived but thrived through Earth's most catastrophic environmental crises.

[03/12/26 - 11:30 AM]
CBS Renews "Marshals" for Second Season
Its premiere episode (March 1 from 8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) was watched by 20.6 million multiplatform viewers within seven days, marking the most-watched network original series premiere without a football lead in since 2017.