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[10/30/09 - 06:09 PM]
Development Update: Friday, October 30
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!
AIRPLANE REPO (Discovery) - Craig Piligian ("Dirty Jobs") has booked yet another series at the cable channel in which repossessor Nick Popovich and his team re-acquires jets and helicopters from delinquent owners around the world, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Finland. Eight episodes are set to roll out early next year from Piligian's Pilgrim Films & Television banner. Popovich and Bill Rancic ("The Apprentice") are executive producing alongside Piligan.
APOSTLE PROJECTS (Various, New!) - Denis Leary and Jim Serpico's Sony Pictures Television-based Apostle Films has lined up a half-dozen series projects around town. At CBS, the company is redeveloping its Michael Rapaport-led drama about "a social worker who's good at helping others with their problems, but not necessarily his own." Peter Ocko ("Pushing Daisies") is taking over scripting duties from Bryan Goluboff. Over at FOX, Apostle continues to shepherd "Extended Family" from John Beck and Ron Hart ("According to Jim"). The multi-camera comedy is based on Beck's experiences growing up in a family that also made room for foster kids.
Newly revealed are an untitled hour for FX set in the world of televangelists. David Folwell ("Medium") is writing the project, which is set up at FX Productions. At Spike TV there's "The Rebel League," loosely based on Ed Willes's book of the same name (subtitled "The Short and Unruly Life of the World Hockey"), about "the startup of a contemporary hockey league and its out-of-control managers and players." Stephen Engel ("The Big Bang Theory") is writing the half-hour. Meanwhile, USA is developing "Partners in Crime" from Janine Sherman-Barrois and "Scales of Justice," from New York playwright Joe Sutton. The former revolves around ex-husband and wife private eyes while the latter is a New Orleans-set drama about "an overweight ex-cop who enlists his overeaters support group to fight crime." Lastly, the company is looking to bring the feature film "Gattica" to the small screen. Gil Grant ("NCIS: LA") is penning the hour, a police procedural set in the future, which will go out to networks soon.
COUGAR TOWN (ABC) - "The Unit" alum Scott Foley has landed a three-episode arc on the freshman comedy, Entertainment Weekly reports. He'll play a client of Courteney Cox's realtor character whom she begins dating. It's not clear when his first episode will air.
THE FOLLOWER (HBO, New!) - Jason Starr's novel of the same name is set to be the focus of a potential new drama at the pay channel. Said hour, which is set up at Lionsgate Television, is "described as a dark social satire chronicling the dating lives of a group of twentysomething New Yorkers as seen through the eyes of a stalker." Bret Easton Ellis ("American Psycho") is penning the adaptation with Jason Blum ("Paranormal Activity") and Vertigo Films partners Doug Davison and Roy Lee and Media Talent Group's Geyer Kosinski also executive producing. Vertigo's Gabriel Mason is likewise attached as a co-executive producer with Steven Schneider serving as an associate producer. Vertigo has a first-look deal with Lionsgate.
JOSH HEALD PROJECTS (Various, New!) - Feature writer Josh Heald (the upcoming "Mardi Gras" and "Hot Tub Time Machine") has sold a pair of projects, multi-camera comedies at NBC and FOX. The Peacock effort, "Sausagefest," is about "two very different twentysomething best friends whose lives are complicated by their clingy dads, one a thrice-divorced misogynist who means well and the other a gentle widower." Norm Macdonald is already attached as the former dad. The FOX project, "Sequestered," then revolves around "12 strangers forced to live together when they are sequestered for a lengthy jury trial." BermanBraun's Gail Berman and Lloyd Braun are executive producing the Universal Media Studios-based "Sausagesfest" while The Chernin Co.'s Peter Chernin and Katherine Pope are likewise executive producing the 20th Century Fox Television-based "Sequestered."
NCIS (CBS) - Rena Sofer ("Heroes") is set to appear on an upcoming episode of the veteran CBS drama. She'll play a no-nonsense attorney with mysterious motives, a role which is potentially recurring.
RIZZOLI (TNT) - Sasha Alexander, Bruce McGill, Jordan Bridges and Lee Thompson Young have all joined the cast of the drama pilot, based on Tess Gerritsen's popular Jane Rizzoli mystery novels about the crime-solving team of Boston police detective Rizzoli (Angie Harmon) and medical examiner Maura Isles. Alexander will play the latter role with McGill as "the gruff but lovable Detective Vince Korsak, Jane's former partner who is a bit hurt that she had taken the likable but green Barry Frost (Young), as her new partner." Bridges then is set as Franke Rizzoli Jr., "Jane's younger brother, a Boston patrol officer who worships her and hopes to make detective someday." Janet Tamaro penned the hour and is executive producing alongside Bill Haber.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
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[11/05/26 - 01:00 PM]
FOX Entertainment Studios Signs First Look Deal with Cottage Industry Entertainment
The deal encompasses a slate of scripted television series and feature films based on both original projects and literary adaptations, including "The Whittiers," the New York Times bestselling novel by Danielle Steel, which FOX has recently optioned for television adaptation.
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[11/05/26 - 12:01 PM]
HBO Original Documentary "The Hotline" Debuts November 18
The film offers an unprecedented look inside an overdose prevention helpline Never Use Alone (NUA), which connects people using opioids with compassionate operators, acting as a fragile tether between life and death.
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[11/05/26 - 10:31 AM]
Video: HBO Max Unveils Official Trailer for HBO Original Documentary Series "The Killing of the Golden Rooster" Debuting November 12
All three episodes will be available on HBO Max beginning November 12.
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[11/05/26 - 10:31 AM]
"Clarkson's Farm" Star Kaleb Cooper Headlines New Series "Kaleb Off the Farm," Coming to Prime Video January 8
The show follows Kaleb's adventures Down Under as he heads from Diddly Squat Farm to the Outback, in search of farming gold in Australia.
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[11/05/26 - 10:01 AM]
NBC Releases "The Rockford Files" Premiere Date & (760) JIM-ROCK Hotline
The premiere episode will air Saturday, Jan. 2 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT immediately following NBC's NFL telecast.
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[11/05/26 - 10:01 AM]
HBO Original Docu-Comedy Series "Oobah: Scams for a Better Tomorrow" Debuts November 22
Known for his viral stunts, including creating London's #1-rated fake restaurant, Oobah Butler sets his sights on the world's biggest industries and most powerful institutions.
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[11/05/26 - 09:30 AM]
"Yaga" Is the #1 Exclusive Series Launch in the History of AMC+
The series also charted as the #1 social drama across all U.S. TV and streaming on its premiere day.
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[11/05/26 - 09:21 AM]
Video: "Get Huge: Looksmaxxing to Death" - Official Trailer - Hulu
What happened to Leo Longevity? From Academy Award winner Adam McKay comes a Hulu original documentary.
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[11/05/26 - 09:01 AM]
Video: "Style Wars" - Official Trailer - Hulu
72 fashion fanatics face off on a stage where looks, age, profession, experience, and fame mean nothing compared to the fit. Who will rise to the top?
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[11/05/26 - 09:01 AM]
Hallmark Christmas Cruise 2027 to Set Sail Aboard Celebrity Reflection
With overwhelming fan demand leading to sold-out cruises every year since its inaugural sailings in 2024, the Hallmark Christmas Cruise is a can't-miss holiday tradition with joyful fun and immersive programming that create lasting memories.
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[11/05/26 - 09:01 AM]
Video: Andrew Yancy Is Back in New Trailer for "Bad Monkey" Season Two
It will make its global debut on Apple TV with one episode on Wednesday, December 2, 2026, followed by one new episode every Wednesday through February 3, 2027.
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[11/05/26 - 09:00 AM]
Chris Pratt to Receive King of Comedy Award at "CBS Presents Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards (KCAs)"
Pratt will receive the coveted Silver Blimp in celebration of his career, before facing Nickelodeon's iconic slime.
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[11/05/26 - 08:31 AM]
Record Breaking Comedian Nate Bargatze Sets Fourth Netflix Stand-Up Special "Good for Nathan"
The special, premiering November 24, was filmed in Fort Worth, Texas.
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[11/05/26 - 08:01 AM]
Jonathan Pryce, James D'Arcy, Lena Olin, Camille Cottin, Alun Armstrong, Jessica Raine and Paul Ready join Sky Original "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
Produced by Left Bank Pictures, the eight-part mystery thriller is a timely evolution of one of the world's most celebrated literary thriller franchises, with the Millennium novels having sold more than 100 million copies worldwide.
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[11/05/26 - 08:01 AM]
Video: Witness a Savage Homecoming in the Final Season of "Yellowjackets" Premiering November 20
"Yellowjackets" is the saga of a team of wildly talented high school girls soccer players who become the (un)lucky survivors of a plane crash deep in the remote northern wilderness.
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