or


[01/29/10 - 07:07 PM]
Development Update: Friday, January 29
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!


187 DETROIT (ABC) - Newcomer John Michael Hill is the first to be cast in the drama pilot, about "a fictional documentary crew that follows a top homicide division." He'll play Det. Damon Washington, a rookie cop who's also an expectant father. Jeff Nachmanoff is helming the ABC Studios-based hour from a script by Jason Richman. David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman of Mandeville Films also serve as executive producers.


AWKWARD SITUATIONS FOR MEN (ABC) - Tony Hale ("Chuck") and Matt Letscher ("Eli Stone") have both joined the cast of the Danny Wallace-led comedy pilot, about his experience "moving to the U.S. with his wife, Meg, only to discover that his everyday behavior clashes with American values and gets him into trouble." Hale will play Will MacDonald, Danny's first American friend and a travel writer who never seems to travel, while Letscher is set as Bob Randall, Meg's insecure ex-boyfriend whom she works with at the corporate headquarters of a smoothie giant. Wallace co-wrote the half-hour alongside Jackie Filgo and Jeff Filgo for Warner Bros. Television and Heyday Films.


CRIMINAL MINDS (CBS) - Matt Ryan ("The Tudors") is on track to join the cast of the potential spin-off, about "a new group of profilers who work outside the FBI bureaucracy." He'll reportedly play Mick Fleming, "a Cambridge-educated British ex-Mercenary, formerly of the British Special Forces, an expert sniper and a ladies man." Forest Whitaker also stars in the hour, which Richard Shepard is directing from a script by Chris Mundy and Ed Bernero. ABC Studios, CBS Television Studios and The Mark Gordon Company are co-producing.


EMERGENCY SEX (HBO, New!) - Maria Bello, Simon Beaufoy and Russell Crowe are developing a new drama at the pay channel about "the larger-than-life exploits of expatriate nongovernment-organization workers who find their sanity tested in the face of atrocities, loneliness and primal desires." The Beaufoy-penned hour is based on Kenneth Cain, Heidi Postlewait and Andrew Thomson's memoir, "Emergency Sex and Other Desperate Measures: A True Story From Hell on Earth." Bello would also star in the project as well as executive produce alongside Beaufoy, Crowe, John Carrabino and Keith Rodger. No other details were given.


GLORY DAZE (TBS, New!) - Walt Becker ("Wild Hogs") and Michael LeSieur ("You, Me and Dupree") have scored a cast-contingent pilot commitment from the cable channel for a new hourlong comedy about "the lives of four incoming freshman in the 1980s who pledge a fraternity at a Wisconsin college." The pair co-wrote the project with Becker likewise attached to direct.


HOW TO BE A BETTER AMERICAN (ABC, New!) - Steven Cragg and Brian Bradley ("Scrubs") have scored their second pilot commitment, this time for a single-camera half-hour at ABC. Said project, from ABC Studios, centers on "a father who, in this case, embarks on a journey to be a better person and drags his family kicking and screaming along." The pair, who also have their redo of "This Little Piggy" at NBC, penned the effort and are executive producing.


JERSEY SHORE (MTV) - The cable channel has finalized a deal to renew the series for a second season. 12 new episodes are set to roll out this summer. To avoid the New Jersey winter however, production will be shifted to another location with Miami Beach believed to be a frontrunner. "Our audience has fallen in love with 'Jersey Shore' and its amazing cast who have really grown together as a family," MTV programming chief Tony DiSanto said about the pickup. "That bond gives the show its heart, and we're thrilled to reunite these friends to bring fans more of what they love - laughs, love, drama and of course, GTL."


LINCOLN HEIGHTS (ABC Family) - The network has reportedly passed on ordering a fifth season of the veteran drama, about "the lives of the Sutton family, led by Eddie, an ambitious police officer who moved his wife and three kids to the inner-city neighborhood where he was raised in hopes of cleaning it up and making a difference." No specific reason was given for the decision. Said move comes the same day the cable channel ordered its multi-camera comedy pilot "Melissa & Joey" to series.


MR. SUNSHINE (ABC) - Emmy-winner Allison Janney ("The West Wing") has joined the cast of the Matthew Perry-led comedy pilot, about "the manager of an aging San Diego stadium who realizes on his 40th birthday that he can no longer get by on just his charming, noncommittal ways." She'll play Crystal Cohen, his boss at said arena, in the project, which comes from Sony Pictures Television. Perry co-wrote the half-hour alongside Alex Barnow and Marc Firek while Tommy Schlamme is attached to direct. Jamie Tarses also serves as an executive producer.


PARKS & RECREATION (NBC) - The Peacock has given an early third season pickup to the Thursday comedy. The Hollywood Reporter indicates said renewal is being "done strictly for production reasons to lock in actors' schedules." "Parks" is the least-watched of the network's comedy lineup, which also includes "Community," "The Office" and "30 Rock." All three are likewise expected to return for the 2010-11 season.


UNTITLED DANA GOULD PROJECT (ABC, New!) - Comedian Dana Gould is set to topline a potential new multi-camera comedy at the Alphabet. The untitled half-hour, which Gould also wrote, revolves around "a guidance counselor at a local high school and father to two young children, who is caught between his father's old school parenting beliefs and his wife's very progressive ideals." Warner Bros. Television and 3 Arts Entertainment are behind the project, which Gould will executive produce alongside Tom Lassally and Dave Becky.


Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [january 2010]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
     


· 30 ROCK (NBC)
· AWKWARD SITUATIONS FOR MEN (ABC)
· CHUCK (NBC)
· COMMUNITY (YAHOO)
· CRIMINAL MINDS (CBS)
· CRIMINAL MINDS: SUSPECT BEHAVIOR (CBS)
· DETROIT 187 (ABC)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· ELI STONE (ABC)
· EMERGENCY SEX (HBO)
· GLORY DAZE (TBS)
· HOW TO BE A BETTER AMERICAN (ABC)
· JERSEY SHORE (MTV)
· LINCOLN HEIGHTS (ABC FAMILY)
· MELISSA & JOEY (ABC FAMILY)
· MR SUNSHINE (ABC)
· NOLAN KNOWS BEST (ABC)
· OFFICE, THE (NBC)
· PARKS & RECREATION (NBC)
· SCRUBS (ABC)
· THIS LITTLE PIGGY (ABC)
· THIS LITTLE PIGGY (NBC)
· TUDORS, THE (SHOWTIME)
· WEST WING, THE (NBC)





[04/02/26 - 12:31 PM]
Paramount+ Greenlights New Reality Series, "Team Moms," Executive Produced by Kim Kardashian and Love Island Producers, ITV
"Team Moms" launches viewers into the world of nationally competitive youth baseball via immersion into the Legendary Prep Academy in Scottsdale, Arizona's first and only baseball prep school.

[04/02/26 - 12:01 PM]
Jamie Bell and Charlie Heaton Lead a New Generation of "Peaky Blinders" and First Look of Bell as Duke Is Revealed
Jessica Brown Findlay, Lashana Lynch, and Lucy Karczewski are also on board.

[04/02/26 - 12:01 PM]
"Wizards Beyond Waverly Place" Returns for One Last Spell This Summer on Disney+ and Disney Channel
Executive producer Selena Gomez to make her directorial debut with the premiere episode.

[04/02/26 - 11:44 AM]
First-Ever "American Idol" Simulcast on ABC and Disney+ Surges Double Digits
Season to date, "American Idol" averages 5.11 million Total Viewers and stands as one of the few shows to notch year-over-year gains this season.

[04/02/26 - 11:11 AM]
Sarah Drew and Eric Johnson to Headline "When I Said I Do" (wt), The New Movie Inspired by Clint Black and Lisa Hartman Black's Beloved Duet of the Same Name
The movie is set to premiere Saturday, May 23 at 8/7c as part of the network's upcoming spring "Love of a Lifetime" original movie slate.

[04/02/26 - 11:07 AM]
Thursday Night Heats Up as "9-1-1: Nashville" and "9-1-1" Soar to Best Performance of the Season
On linear over three days, "9-1-1" earned 5.94 million Total Viewers, also nearly matching the show's previous season high in January.

[04/02/26 - 11:05 AM]
Hulu's Critically Acclaimed Comedy Series "Deli Boys" Returns for a Second Season on May 28
Andrew Rannells and Kumail Nanjiani join as recurring guest stars for the second season, alongside series regulars Asif Ali, Saagar Shaikh, Poorna Jagannathan and Fred Armisen.

[04/02/26 - 10:58 AM]
ESPN to Present WNBA Expansion Draft Friday, April 3
Malika Andrews will host the special, joined by analysts Carolyn Peck and Monica McNutt.

[04/02/26 - 10:31 AM]
Louis C.K. to Headline the Hollywood Bowl May 5 as Part of Netflix Is a Joke Fest
This summer, his newest stand-up special, "Ridiculous," will premiere globally on Netflix.

[04/02/26 - 10:01 AM]
HBO Original Comedy Special "Ramy Youssef: In Love" Debuts April 17
Whether it's his marriage, being a dog parent, AI, or religion, Ramy comes at everything with his own brand of heart and humor.

[04/02/26 - 09:36 AM]
Netflix Wins Hot Package "The Corrections"; Orders Limited Drama Straight-to-Series Starring Meryl Streep
The series - from Paramount Television Studios - will be directed by Cord Jefferson, and written and adapted by author Jonathan Franzen.

[04/02/26 - 09:10 AM]
Video: "Smiling Friends" - Final Episodes Trailer - Adult Swim
Watch the final two episodes of "Smiling Friends" on Sunday, April 12.

[04/02/26 - 09:01 AM]
"Sofia the First: Royal Magic" Premieres May 25 on Disney Jr. with the First 8 Episodes Streaming Next Day on Disney+
It was also announced today that Moana, Rapunzel, Jasmine, Cinderella, Aurora and Elena of Avalor will make special appearances throughout the series, offering guidance, wisdom and support when Sofia needs it the most.

[04/02/26 - 08:35 AM]
New Faces Join "The Chi" Ensemble Cast for Its Final Season on Paramount+
Daryl Dunning II, Biko Eisen-Martin, Akilah A. Walker, Laila Odom, Liza Jessie Peterson, and Anthony B. Jenkins are among the latest additions.

[04/02/26 - 08:35 AM]
Great American Media Sets "An Accidental Arctic Christmas," Reuniting Beloved Fan Favorites Cameron Mathison and Jill Wagner, From Executive Producer Candace Cameron Bure
Maya Rose Skabar also stars in the film, which will premiere as part of the upcoming all-star Great American Christmas on Great American Pure Flix, Great American Family, and GFAM+.