 |
 |
[10/21/09 - 06:29 PM]
Development Update: Wednesday, October 21
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!
BOYFRED (ABC, New!) - Newcomers Blake Silver, Jarrod Zimmerman, Alan Schmuckler and Michael Mahler have landed a script order from the Alphabet for a new comedy about six twentysomething friends who use a web site to keep in touch after one of them moves overseas. The project, which has a penalty attached, is based on a 15-minute presentation the quartet shot last summer for $6,000. Thomas Schlamme has subsequently come on board to executive produce the half-hour, which is set up at Sony Pictures Television. As for specifics, said effort revolves around Fred, "a Web designer in Chicago whose girlfriend goes overseas, so he creates a Web site for their circle of friends to keep in touch." In addition, "many of the show's characters are involved in Chicago's music scene, and their music blogs are central to the shared Web site, Boyfred.com." Silver directed the presentation with Schmuckler, Mahler and Zimmerman starring and Schmuckler and Mahler providing original music.
FLASH FORWARD (ABC) - Marc Guggenheim has stepped down as co-showrunner of the freshman drama. The move comes as production wraps on the show's original 13 episode order, which Guggenheim was brought in to supervise alongside co-creator David Goyer. Goyer then will fly solo for the remaining 12 episodes of its 25-installment freshman run. As for Guggenheim, he'll transition to development through his overall deal with producer ABC Studios.
I'M WITH STUPID (ABC, New!) - Judy Greer ("Miss/Guided") is set to topline a new multi-comedy at the network about Kas Sienkiewicz, "a Manhattanite who has a fling with a park ranger while on safari in South Africa" who returns home to find the ranger has tracked her down where his "limited intellectual capabilities" are ultimately revealed. Elaine Szewczyk, whose novel upon which the show is based, is penning the half-hour alongside Allan Loeb. Loeb, Steven Pearl and Richard Lewis then are executive producing the project, which has a script commitment, with Szewczyk serving as a co-executive producer. ABC Studios is producing the half-hour, which was originally developed by Lionsgate Television.
OLIVE PRODUCTIONS PROJECTS (Various, New!) - Steve Buscemi, Stanley Tucci and Wren Arthur's Olive Productions has booked a pair of projects around town. At HBO there's an untitled hour from Stu Zicherman ("Six Degrees") about "a brilliant, one-time powerful politician struggling to rebuild his career and relationships with his family and friends after being brought down by a scandal." Tucci is attached to play said role. Meanwhile, TBS has ordered "Good and Evel," an animated comedy about twin brothers Jack Good and Bo Evel who were "stolen by gypsy cab drivers at birth and taught how to behave and drive badly, Bo is a career petty criminal, and Jack bends over backward to mend his brother's ways and help his dysfunctional family." "Daria" co-creator Glenn Eichler penned said half-hour, which also comes from The Gotham Group's Lee Stollman and Ellen Goldsmith-Vein. Both projects are set up at Lionsgate Television where Olive has a first-look deal. Buscemi, Tucci and Arthur then will executive produce alongside the aforementioned creators.
UNTITLED PAUL RUST PROJECT (NBC, New!) - Paul Rust ("I Love You, Beth Cooper") is set to write and star in a new comedy at the Peacock based on his stint as a Wal-Mart employee. Universal Media Studios and Conan O'Brien's Conaco banner are behind the half-hour, which will track Rust's story of graduating from the U. of Iowa, returning to his hometown of LeMars, Iowa and taking a job at Wal-Mart (to be replaced by a fictional big-box store) - "only to find that his co-workers included his former high school principal." Rust, O'Brien and David Kissinger will then serve as executive producers.
WE ARE HERE (ABC, New!) - Hilary Winston ("My Name Is Earl") is developing a new comedy at the Alphabet about "four friends from the U. of Texas, all of whom still live in Austin, but deal with the arrival of adulthood in different ways." Anthony and Joe Russo ("Community") are also on board to executive produce the half-hour for Sony Pictures Television. The network has given a script commitment to the project with a penalty attached.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
|
|
|
 [october 2009]  |
S |
M |
T |
W |
T |
F |
S |
| | | | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
[06/30/26 - 01:01 PM]
UPtv to Debut the U.S Cable Television Premiere of "Hudson & Rex" Season Eight Aug. 6
The action-packed, family-friendly procedural continues to follow the adventures of Rex, an extraordinary K9 German Shepherd, and the dedicated team of the St. John's Police Department's Major Crimes Unit.
|
[06/30/26 - 12:21 PM]
Starz Wins Development on "Bone Parish" After Bidding War, An Adaptation of the Chilling, Supernatural Crime Graphic Novel, Executive Produced by Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson
In the dark underworld of New Orleans, the Winters family builds an empire around a powerful new drug - crafted from the ashes of the dead - that grants users vivid, haunting visions of the past.
|
[06/30/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of June 22 - The Search Continues as "I Will Find You" Holds at No. 1 for a Second Week
The second season of "Avatar: The Last Airbender" launched in the No. 2 spot on the English TV list with 8.7 million views, and the first season reentered the list in the No. 3 spot with 3 million views.
|
[06/30/26 - 11:05 AM]
Mark Harmon to Return as Gibbs in Season 3 of CBS Original Series "NCIS: Origins" in a Season-Long Mystery This Fall
Harmon will appear in all episodes this season as part of a present-day mystery tied to his '90s Camp Pendleton days in an action-packed story that unfolds all season long.
|
[06/30/26 - 09:48 AM]
TikTok LIVE and Food Network Launch Cooking Series Bringing Together Creators With Chefs, Beginning Wednesday, July 8
The inaugural LIVE, TikTok LIVE x Food Network Presents: Tomato Season, will feature Chef Antonia Lofaso and Creator @jose.elcook cooking with one of summer's most popular ingredients.
|
[06/30/26 - 09:01 AM]
Starz Acquires High-Octane Crime Drama "S.W.A.T. Exiles," Starring and Executive-Produced by Shemar Moore, Set to Premiere September 25
In the new series, Moore reprises his role as Sergeant Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson of the Los Angeles Police Department's Special Weapons and Tactics (S.W.A.T.) Division.
|
[06/30/26 - 09:01 AM]
"Wonka's The Golden Ticket" Opens Its Factory Gates on September 23
Netflix invites audiences into a thrilling new competition based on Roald Dahl's book "Charlie & the Chocolate Factory" and inspired by one of the most iconic worlds in cinematic history.
|
[06/30/26 - 09:00 AM]
Jerry O'Connell Joins "Big Brother: Unlocked" as Celebrity Panelist Alongside Returning Winners Taylor Hale and Derrick Levasseur
This season, "Big Brother" will make television history as the first primetime series ever to reach 1,000 original episodes (date of the 1,000th episode to be announced).
|
[06/30/26 - 08:01 AM]
Netflix Renews "Nemesis" for Season 2
"Nemesis" is the story of two men on either side of the law, the tale of what happens when an unstoppable force (an expert criminal) meets an immovable object (a brilliant police detective).
|
[06/30/26 - 08:01 AM]
Prime Video Reveals First-Look Images and Premiere Date for Debut Series "Neagley," Starring Maria Sten
Upon the "Reacher" season four finale, all eight episodes of "Neagley" will be released on Wednesday, September 16, 2026.
|
[06/30/26 - 07:31 AM]
Peacock Exclusively Streams Global Box Office Smash "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" Beginning July 30
The film debuted at #1 at the global box office and became the first movie of 2026 to cross $1 billion.
|
[06/30/26 - 07:00 AM]
Nickelodeon Declares July 14 "SpongeBob Day"
Timed to coincide with SpongeBob SquarePants' birthday within the animated series, the inaugural "SpongeBob Day" will feature a cross-platform slate of activations designed to bring the world of Bikini Bottom to audiences of all ages everywhere.
|
[06/29/26 - 12:55 PM]
ESPN Films' "The Day Diego Returned to the Azteca" Is Now Streaming on Disney+ and Premieres on ESPN July 3
The film tells the extraordinary and little-known story of Diego Armando Maradona's only return to Estadio Azteca after leading Argentina to the 1986 FIFA World Cup title.
|
[06/29/26 - 11:31 AM]
Netflix's Upcoming Comedy Series "A Hundred Percent" Rounds Out Cast with Tiffany Boone, Lisa Gilroy and Diane Lane
They'll join the previously announced stars Nick Kroll, Sam Richardson, Jason Mantzoukas and Vanessa Bayer.
|
[06/29/26 - 11:30 AM]
ESPN to Provide Extensive Coverage of the 2026 NBA Summer League Beginning July 9
The 11-day event begins Thursday, July 9, and concludes with the Championship Game on Sunday, July 19, live on ESPN, with games throughout the event airing on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU.
|
|
|
|
