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[03/06/09 - 06:31 PM]
Development Update: Friday, March 6
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC) |
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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!
THE BODY POLITIC (The CW) - "The West Wing" alum Tim Matheson has joined the cast of the drama pilot, about young staffers in Washington. He'll play a charming, JFK-type senator. Bill Robinson and Jason Rothenberg are behind the CBS Paramount Network Television-based hour, which Scott Winant is attached to direct.
CHOCOLATE NEWS (Comedy Central) - David Alan Grier has confirmed the series won't be returning for a second season. In the March 13 issue of Entertainment Weekly, Grier, talking about his turn on "Dancing With the Stars," remarked: "They asked me before and [I said] no. But then my show, Chocolate News, didn't get picked up by Comedy Central. I said, 'Get Dancing With the Stars on the phone!'"
COUGAR TOWN (ABC) - Josh Hopkins ("Swingtown") and Ian Gomez ("Rita Rocks") have both joined the cast of the comedy pilot, about a 40-year-old newly single mom (Courteney Cox) with a teen son. They'll play neighbors of Cox's character. Bill Lawrence and Kevin Biegel co-created the half-hour, which is set up at ABC Studios.
DIARY OF A MANHATTAN CALL GIRL (HBO) - "Sex and the City" creator Darren Star is returning to the pay channel, inking a two-year, first-look deal with the network. The pact gives HBO first crack at the prolific writer/producer's output, either from himself or other writers he's supervising. Star had previously set up "Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl" at the channel, which didn't move forward to pilot.
GOSSIP GIRL (The CW) - Andrew McCarthy is the latest "Lipstick Jungle" alum to join the cast of the potential spin-off, about Lily's (Brittany Snow) wild teen years in 1980s Los Angeles. Also reportedly close to signing on: Cynthia Watros and Ryan Hansen. McCarthy and Watros are on track to play Lily's parents, Celia and Rick Rhodes, with Hansen as Shep, the best friend of the previously cast Shilo Fernandez, who's got a crush on Lily's sister Carol (Krysten Ritter).
HUMAN TARGET (FOX) - Chi McBride ("Pushing Daisies") and Jackie Earle Haley ("Watchmen") have joined the cast of the drama pilot, about a mysterious freelancer (Mark Valley) who takes on a different identity each week to help those in need. They'll play two of the man's associates - Winston, his business partner, and Guerrero, his information gatherer, respectively. Simon West is helming the hour from a script by Jon Steinberg.
IMPACT (ABC, New!) - The Alphabet has acquired the domestic rights to a new mini-series about a meteor that strikes the moon and sends it on a collision course with Earth. David James Elliott, Natasha Henstridge, Steven Culp and James Cromwell topline the $14 million production, which comes from Tandem Communications, Jaffe/Braunstein Entertainment and Muse Entertainment. It's understood that the Alphabet will air the Michael Rohl-directed project as a limited series this summer with a second window on Sci Fi and a DVD release from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment shortly thereafter.
THE LAW (ABC) - Madchen Amick and Ryan Devlin have both joined the cast of the Cedric the Entertainer-led comedy pilot, about reserve police officers. They'll play two of them - a soccer mom-turned-reservist and a rookie reservist, respectively. Cedric co-created the ABC Studios-based project alongside Bob Fisher.
MAGGIE HILL (FOX) - Stuart Townsend ("Night Stalker") has joined the cast of the pilot, a drama about a brilliant surgeon with schizophrenia (Christina Cole). He'll play her imaginary boyfriend in the hour, which comes from 20th Century Fox Television, creator Ian Biederman and director Stephen Hopkins.
PARENTHOOD (NBC) - Erika Christensen ("Six Degrees") is the first to be cast in the drama pilot, an update of Ron Howard's 1989 feature of the same name. She'll play Julia Braverman, "a go-getting corporate attorney having trouble jumping off the fast track and becoming more involved with her family." Jason Katims is behind the hour, which is based at Universal Media Studios and Imagine Television.
PULLING (ABC, New!) - Rob Hanning has booked a last-minute pilot order for a new comedy about three single women who move in together after one breaks off her engagement the day before her wedding. The project, which is based on Sharon Horgan and Dennis Kelly's U.K. series of the same name, is set up at ABC Studios with Elliot Hegarty directing. Hanning, Horgan and Kelly then will executive produce the single-camera half-hour alongside showrunner Stacy Traub and Francie Calfo.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
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[03/06/26 - 12:24 PM]
FOX Entertainment Studios Signs First-Look Deal with Writer, Actor, and Creator River Gallo
Gallo is the star, writer and creator of "Ponyboi," the inaugural feature film produced under FOX Entertainment Studios' new independent film label, Tideline.
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[03/06/26 - 10:51 AM]
Shudder Announces Four All-New Specials of the Cult Favorite "The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs" in 2026
The announcement comes ahead of the Shudder original's celebratory series finale, airing live tonight, Friday, March 6 at 9pm ET on Shudder and AMC+.
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[03/06/26 - 10:01 AM]
Video: "Boarders" Season 3 - Official Trailer - Tubi Original
The coming-of-age comedy drama returns March 15.
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[03/06/26 - 09:31 AM]
Video: "The Rise of the Red Hot Chili Peppers: Our Brother, Hillel" - Official Trailer - Netflix
An in-depth look at the formative years of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the profound influence of original guitarist, Hillel Slovak.
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[03/06/26 - 09:31 AM]
Paramount+ Announces New Original Series, "Garfield" (w/t), from Nickelodeon Animation Studios, Starring Emmy Award-Winning Lamorne Morris
Inspired by the original comic strip by Jim Davis, the series features the chonky feline at his finest, with each episode featuring the pop culture icon's signature sarcasm and hilarious lackadaisy.
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[03/06/26 - 07:01 AM]
CNN FlashDoc "Hollywood and the Oscars: Still Golden?" Now Streaming on CNN App
The documentary special is now streaming for CNN's streaming subscribers and will air Saturday, March 14 at 10pm ET on CNN, on the eve of Hollywood's biggest night.
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[03/06/26 - 07:01 AM]
Video: "Melania" - Official Trailer - Prime Video
Coming soon to Prime Video, March 9.
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[03/06/26 - 06:01 AM]
"The Night Agent" Answers the Call for a 4th Season
Season 3 hit #2 on the English TV list and earned 9.9 million views in its second week, with fans driving Seasons 1 and 2 back into the Global Top 10 list.
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[03/05/26 - 11:16 AM]
Netflix Announces New Comedy Series "I Suck at Girls" Based on Justin Halpern's Bestselling Autobiography
The series will star Kayo Martin, Jeremy Ray Taylor, and Laila Pruitt.
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[03/05/26 - 11:05 AM]
ABC Renews "9-1-1, "9-1-1: Nashville" and "High Potential"
The Alphabet confirmed all three moves on social media today.
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[03/05/26 - 11:04 AM]
More Stars Take the Stage To Present at the 98th Oscars
Will Arnett, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Robert Downey Jr., Anne Hathaway, Paul Mescal and Gwyneth Paltrow are among the latest additions.
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[03/05/26 - 11:01 AM]
Sandra Bernhard, Vincent Cassel, Dylan Ennis, Corentin Fila, Ari Graynor, and Nadia Tereszkiewicz Join Season 4 of "The White Lotus"
New reservations continue to fill up.
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[03/05/26 - 10:01 AM]
Video: "Harry Styles. One Night in Manchester." - Official Trailer - Netflix
In a special one off concert in Manchester, recorded on the evening of March 6, Harry Styles will play his new album, "Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally." for the very first time.
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[03/05/26 - 09:47 AM]
Paramount+ Announces Unscripted Relationship Series "Making Love" (w/t) to Release in 2027
From the producers of "Love Is Blind" and "Married at First Sight" comes a bold new relationship experiment, where singles take their destiny into their own hands and attempt to turn their desires into a lifetime of love.
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[03/05/26 - 09:31 AM]
Video: Apple TV Debuts Imaginative Trailer for Season Two of "Wonder Pets: In the City"
Produced by Nickelodeon Animation and developed by Emmy Award winner Jennifer Oxley, the new 13-episode season is set to premiere globally on Apple TV on March 20, 2026.
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