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[12/10/09 - 06:13 PM]
Development Update: Thursday, December 10
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!
AMERICA: THE STORY OF US (History) - Meryl Streep, Michael Douglas, Colin Powell, Brian Williams, Buzz Aldrin, Tommy Franks, Donald Trump, John Lasseter and Stevie Wonder have all been tapped to participate in the upcoming 12-part event, which will "focus on the elements that distinguish American democracy, the conflicts that shaped it and the myriad social and industrial innovations that have fueled the country's prosperity." Said talent will serve as on-camera commentators with Jane Root executive producing via her Nutopia production banner. "America" is due sometime in 2010.
DELTA BLUES (TNT) - Alfre Woodard ("Three Rivers") has joined the cast of the drama pilot, about Dwight Hendricks (Jason Lee), "a Memphis police officer who lives with his mother (Celia Weston) and moonlights as a tribute artist." She'll play "the formidable new lieutenant who tries to exercise her power over Dwight," a role presumably in second position to the hiatused "Rivers." Warner Horizon Television and Smokehouse Productions are behind the hour, which also stars Abraham Benrubi, DJ Qualls, Leonard Howz, Robyn Lively and Sam Hennings. Clark Johnson is directing from a script by Joshua Harto and Liz Garcia.
FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS (HBO) - Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement have announced via their web site their pay channel series won't be returning for a third season. "We've noticed the less we say about the future of the show, the more people want to talk about it, so in an effort to reverse this trend we are today announcing that we won't be returning for a 3rd season," said the statement. "We're very proud of the two seasons we made and we like the way the show ended. We'd like to thank everyone who helped make the show and also everyone who watched it. While the characters Bret and Jemaine will no longer be around, the real Bret and Jemaine will continue to exist." The show wrapped its second season back in March.
GLEE (FOX) - Tony-winning actress Idina Menzel ("Wicked") is reportedly in talks to recur on the back half of the show's freshman season. She would play the coach to glee club "Vocal Adrenaline," the McKinley High glee club's main competition. Menzel had already been the focus of a fan campaign to cast her as Rachel Berry's (Lea Michele) biological mother. Also signing on for a five to six episode arc is Jonathan Groff. He'll play the lead male vocalist of "Vocal Adrenaline" and a potential love interest for Rachel Berry. Groff co-starred opposite Michele in the Broadway production of "Spring Awakening."
KEEP HOPE ALIVE (FOX) - Kate Micucci ("Scrubs") has landed a role on the comedy pilot, about Jimmy (Lucas Neff), "a 25-year-old single parent raising an infant with the help of his quirky family after the mother of the baby -- with whom he had a one-night stand -- ends up on death row." She'll play Mike, "an unkempt, fairly oblivious cousin of Jimmy living in a tent in the laundry room of their great-grandmother's house." Said role was originally envisioned a male. Garrett Dillahunt, Kate Micucci, Martha Plimpton and Olesya Rulin also star in the 20th Century Fox Television-based half-hour, which Michael Fresco is directing from a script by Greg Garcia.
THE SIX (ABC, New!) - Merv Griffin Entertainment has landed a presentation order from the Alphabet for a new game show based on the Russian format "What? Where? When?" Said project, which has been running for 35 years in its home country, is being redubbed "The Six," after the number of contestants on the show. The late Vladimir Voroshilov created (and hosted) the series, which pits a panel of six knowledgeable persons against the viewing audience. Said experts are tasked with answering audience-submitted questions listed on a spinning horizontal wheel divided into segments. If the experts answer correctly in the allotted 60 seconds they receive a point, if they don't the audience receives a point with question's author also earning a prize. (Sample question: "They first appeared in 1908 in Mexico. There were two of them. Over time, they came closer and closer together, like wings of a black raven. Name them." Answer: "Frida Kahlo's eyebrows.") Exact format details however are still being worked out. Merv Griffin's Roy Bank is executive producing the project alongside Ukranian-born actor Alex Reznik, Jonathan Barry and Ron Ward. Dwight Smith and Michael Agbabian are the showrunners with Brian Veskosky serving as a co-executive producer.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
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[11/03/26 - 03:57 PM]
Tami Roman Returns to Executive Produce and Star in Lifetime's Sequel to Its Highest-Rated Original Movie of 2026 - "Double Double Trouble 2" Set to Debut in 2027
Slated to premiere in 2027, Roman will reprise her role as identical twins Drea and Ali.
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[11/03/26 - 03:01 PM]
USA Sports Delivers Most-Watched WNBA Playoff Game Ever; 3.3 Million Viewers Watch Valkyries Win Title in First-Ever Game 7
Viewership was up 128% vs. the 2025 WNBA Finals deciding game (LV-PHX Game 4).
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[11/03/26 - 02:42 PM]
"College GameDay" Continues Historic Run Over Halloween at IU, ABC Takes Top Spot and Delivers Three of Top Five Most-Watched Games
ESPN topped all networks in Week 9, with ABC delivering three of the week's five most-watched games and winning the noon and afternoon windows.
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[11/03/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of October 26 - "Lupin" Part 4 Captures the No. 1 Spot in This Week's Top 10
"The One About Matthew Perry" debuted in the No. 1 spot on the English TV list, gathering 9.5 million views.
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[11/03/26 - 11:01 AM]
CBS Up +12% from Its Week #2 Last Year - Network Places 14 of the Top 20 Series; Top Two Comedies; Top Three New Series
CBS episodes topped the Nielsen live plus 7-days of multiplatform viewership for the week of October 12-18.
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[11/03/26 - 10:31 AM]
Netflix Announces Straight-to-Series Order for Coming-of-Age Adaptation "Prep"
The coming-of-age story is about scholarship girl Lee Fiora's high school years at Ault, a prestigious New England boarding school, and her journey to navigate friendship, crushes and class as a fish out of water among her privileged, confident classmates.
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[11/03/26 - 09:01 AM]
Video: "High Country" - Season 2 Official Trailer - Hulu
Nine months after closing the Artemis case, Detective Andie Whitford is drawn into a shocking double murder aboard a houseboat on drought-stricken Lake Eildon.
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[11/03/26 - 08:31 AM]
Video: Mickey and Pluto Stir Up Holiday Mayhem with "Mickey's Home Alone" Trailer, Premiering Thanksgiving Day
The new holiday special premieres Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 26, at 6:00 p.m. EST/PST on Disney Jr. and streams the next day on Disney+.
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[11/03/26 - 08:01 AM]
Video: "Rob Lowe: The Outsider" - Official Trailer - Netflix
This definitive documentary goes beyond the highlight reel to reveal what it really took for Rob Lowe to survive Hollywood - and become one of its most enduring stars.
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[11/03/26 - 06:01 AM]
"Blue Eye Samurai" Unleashes Season 2 Release Date
Mizu's bloody quest for revenge will bring her to London on January 19, 2027.
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[11/03/26 - 04:02 AM]
"Operation TAP": Netflix's First Film in Portugal Is Already in Production
The film is loosely based on the true story of the hijacking of a TAP flight in 1980, carried out by a 16-year-old boy with a head full of dreams.
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[11/03/26 - 01:02 AM]
Video: Netflix Unveils the Official Teaser for "The Law of Beasts" - Kasper Bajon's Series Premieres November 18
Two friends, two perspectives, and a case that resurfaces after 25 years.
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[11/03/26 - 01:01 AM]
"Chapapote", the New Film by Daniel Sanchez Arevalo and Starring Tamar Novas, Begins Filming
The year is 2002. The oil tanker Prestige breaks in two off the Galician coast, and an oil slick covers its beaches. All of them, that is, except one: the beach in the small town of Agarimo.
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[11/02/26 - 06:21 PM]
Surprise! Korean Epic "The Remarried Empress" to Premiere One Day Early Exclusively on Disney+ and Hulu
Originally scheduled to premiere on Wednesday, November 4, "The Remarried Empress" will now debut on Tuesday, November 3 as a special thank you to fans for their overwhelming support.
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[11/02/26 - 03:48 PM]
Video: Peacock Debuts Official Fall Sizzle for "Days of Our Lives"
Featuring drama, romance, mystery, and suspense, "Days" follows the lives, loves, and conflicts of the Horton, Brady, DiMera, Kiriakis, and Hernandez families and their many friends and colleagues.
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