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LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- The latest development news, culled from recent wire reports:
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30 DAYS (FX) - R.J. Cutler has inked a two-year, first-look deal with Fox Television Studios. The pact gives the studio first crack at Cutler's latest series output, with a focus on scripted development. Cutler's Actual Reality Pictures already has several unscripted projects in the works at MTV, Bravo, truTV and Sony Pictures Television as part of a co-production deal the company signed with Evolution Media last year.
AWKWARD SITUATIONS FOR MEN (ABC) - Laura Prepon ("That '70s Show") has been tapped for the female lead on the comedy pilot, about British comedian Danny Wallace as "he moves to the U.S. with wife, only to discover that his everyday behavior clashes with American values and gets him into trouble." She'll play Meg Miller, said wife, in the half-hour, which comes from Heyday Films and Warner Bros. Television. Matt Letscher and Tony Hale also star in the multi-camera project, which Wallace co-wrote with Jackie Filgo and Jeff Filgo.
CRIMINAL MINDS (CBS) - Michael Kelly ("Generation Kill") has joined the cast of the show's upcoming backdoor pilot episode, about "a new group of profilers led by Cooper (Forest Whitaker) who work outside the FBI bureaucracy." He'll play Prophet, "a former gang-banger looking for redemption." Matt Ryan also stars in the project, to be directed by Richard Shepard from script by Chris Mundy and Ed Bernero. ABC Studios, CBS Television Studios and The Mark Gordon Company are co-producing.
FLASH FORWARD (ABC) - Co-creator David Goyer is stepping down as showrunner of the freshman drama. He's still remain an executive producer on the series however his focus will shift to his feature film work. Said departure comes three months after Marc Guggenheim exited as co-showrunner. It's not clear who will handle the day-to-day reins going forward. Production is underway on episodes 17 and 18 of its 23-hour order. ABC initially ordered 24 episodes of the drama, which was cut by one episode in December. In any case, "FlashForward" returns on Thursday, March 18 at 8:00/7:00c with back-to-back episodes.
OFF THE MAP (ABC) - Enrique Murciano ("Without a Trace") has scored one of the lead roles on the drama pilot, about "three doctors, each anxious for a fresh start who leave the comfort of the States to work at an isolated tropical clinic." He'll play one of them, Manny Silva, "a former plastic surgeon who relocates to the tropic clinic." He joins the previously cast Martin Henderson in the ABC Studios-based hour, which comes from executive producers Betsy Beers, Shonda Rhimes and creator Jenna Bans.
TILDA (HBO, New!) - Oscar-winner Bill Condon ("Gods and Monsters") and "Tell Me You Love Me" creator Cynthia Mort are set to team for a potential new comedy about "a powerful female online showbiz journalist with a no-holds-barred style." The pair will co-write the single-camera half-hour with Condon also directing should it move forward. Condon recently helmed the pilot "The Big C," which landed a series commitment from Showtime.
TITAN TEAM (A.K.A. UNTITLED ADAM F. GOLDBERG PROJECT) (FOX) - Bret Harrison ("Reaper") has landed the lead role on the comedy pilot, about an "A-Team"-esque group of twentysomething geniuses who crack computer security systems. He'll play Cameron Bright, the latest addition to the team. Seth Gordon is helming the Sony Pictures Television/Happy Madison Productions-based half-hour from a script by Adam F. Goldberg.
UNTITLED QUEEN LATIFAH PROJECT (VH1, New!) - Queen Latifah ("Life Support") is set to executive produce a new telefilm at the cable channel about "two twentysomething African-American women in Atlanta - aspiring fashion mogul Val and former music video dancer Keisha - with very different takes on relationships." Stacy Littlejohn ("All of Us") penned the project, which Latifah and Sha-Kim Compere executive producing via their Flavor Unit banner. Maggie Malina and VH1's Jeff Olde likewise will executive produce.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
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