[10/01/09 - 06:41 PM] Development Update: Thursday, October 1 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!
THE CUBE (FOX) - All3Media is looking to import its U.K. game show "The Cube." The project, much like NBC's recent pickup "Perfect 10," features contestants as they "have to complete very simple physical challenges on stage in a limited amount of time (standing on one leg, catching a ball, etc)." FOX's commitment to the project wasn't specified. FOX and NBC faced a similar format overlap with their July 2007 launches of "Don't Forget the Lyrics!" and "The Singing Bee," respectively.
DAY ONE (NBC) - The Peacock has rolled back its commitment to the midseason drama to its original two-hour pilot plus two episodes. The decision is widely painted as a cost-cutting move in light of the current economic climate. The project, which chronicles the lives of the tenants of a Los Angeles apartment complex following a global catastrophe, has long been pegged as a potential "limited" series by the network so its reformatting to a four-hour mini-series isn't much of a surprise. NBC and Universal Media Studios executives nevertheless insist the door is open for a second season should its ratings merit. Jesse Alexander is created the series, which stars Julie Gonzalo, David Lyons, Carly Pope, Adam Campbell, Thekla Reuten, Derek Mio, Addison Timlin and Catherine Dent.
FACING KATE (USA) - The cable channel has issued a cast-contingent pilot order to the project, described as a "new spin on a legal franchise featuring a mediator from a family of corporate lawyers." Michael Sardo penned the Universal Cable Productions-based project and is executive producing alongside Steve Stark and Russ Buchholz. Producers are casting for the title character, Kate, a divorced San Francisco lawyer who leaves her job to become a moderator.
THE INBETWEENERS (BBC America) - The network has postponed the launch of the U.K. import until winter of next year. Damon Beesley and Iain Morris are behind the project, which "offers a painfully funny take on the squirming humiliations of teenage life." No reason for the delay was given.
UNTITLED ABC FAMILY PROJECTS (New!) - Two untitled comedies have scored pilot orders from the cable channel. First up is a multi-camera effort starring Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence from co-creators Bob Young and David Kendall. Hart plays Hailey, "a political dynasty wild child-turned-politician who takes in her teenage niece and pre-adolescent nephew when her sister goes to prison and her brother-in-law flees." Lawrence then is set as Jack, who "moves in and becomes the family's 'manny.'" Young and Kendall penned the half-hour and will executive produce alongside the Hart, Lawrence and Paula Hart. Meanwhile, Michael Jacobs ("Boy Meets World") is behind a single-camera comedy which "centers on a young father, recently laid off from his architecture firm, who begins to mentor his underdog middle daughter, while his veterinarian wife shares a closer bond with their Type A older daughter." Jacobs penned the script and is executive producing. Both pilots are set to begin production this fall.
UNTITLED J.J. ABRAMS/JOSH REIMS PROJECT (NBC, New!) - The Peacock has landed a new drama from J.J. Abrams and Josh Reims following a bidding war with ABC and CBS. The untitled hour revolves around two spies working together who also are husband and wife, a la "Mr. & Mrs. Smith." The pair, who penned the script on spec, will executive produce via Abrams's Warner Bros. Television-based Bad robot Productions alongside the company's Bryan Burk. NBC's hefty commitment is a pilot plus a penalty attached should it not go to series. No other details about the project were released.
[06/19/13 - 01:39 PM] TNT Bumps Newcomer "72 Hours" to Friday Nights The reality competition series, which had been airing on Thursdays at 9:00/8:00c, will relocate to Fridays effective immediately.
[06/19/13 - 12:17 PM] ESPN to Present World Series of Poker Main Event To kick off ESPN's WSOP coverage, the inaugural World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific Main Event Final Table will air on Tuesday, July 23.
