 |
 |
[02/22/10 - 12:03 AM]
Development Update: Monday, February 22
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!
THE BIG C (Showtime) - "Sex and the City" alums Jenny Bicks and Michael Engler have both joined the upcoming comedy, about a suburban wife and mother (Laura Linney) whose cancer diagnosis forces her to shake up her life. Bicks will serve as the half-hour's showrunner while Engler is set as a co-executive producer and in-house director. Darlene Hunt penned and Bill Condon helmed the pilot, which also stars Gabourey Sidibe, John Benjamin Hickey, Oliver Platt and Phyllis Somerville. Linney, Neal Moritz and Vivian Cannon also serve as executive producers for Sony Pictures Television.
THE JENSEN PROJECT (NBC, New!) - Muse Entertainment has booked another two-hour backdoor pilot at the Peacock, this time about "12 geniuses who move to an isolated spot in the Allegheny Mountains to spend their time inventing ways to fix the world's problems and then share their discoveries freely and anonymously with the world." Kellie Martin, Brady Smith, Patricia Richardson and LeVar Burton all star in the project, which picks up as "a few decide to take their latest invention, cash in and make names for themselves, launching a cross-country race as the others try to stop them." Monica Macer penned the script while Douglas Barr is attached to direct. Production then is set to begin on Monday in Montreal in a deal similar to Procter & Gamble and Wal-Mart's time buy for the upcoming "Secrets of the Mountain." Joel Rice, Jeff Grant and Brian Wells are the executive producers.
LOVE BITES (NBC) - Becki Newton ("Ugly Betty") is the first to be cast in the drama pilot, which is billed as "an anthology of love and sex." She'll play Annie, "an optimistic, infectiously bubbly social worker who is a virgin." Cindy Chupack is behind the hour, which comes from Universal Media Studios and Working Title Films.
NEVERMIND NIRVANA (FOX) - Rachael Leigh Cook ("Psych") has joined the cast of the pilot, a comedy about "two grown Indian-American brothers who clash with their controlling immigrant parents as they assimilate American culture." She'll play Elizabeth Van Pelt, the girlfriend of one of them. Harish Patel and Utkarsh Ambudkar also star in the Ajay Sahgal-penned half-hour, which is set up at 20th Century Fox Television.
SCOUNDRELS (ABC) - Neal McDonough ("Desperate Housewives") is the latest addition to the upcoming drama, about "the matriarch (Virginia Madsen) of a family of criminals who decides it's time for her brood to go straight after her husband is sentenced to a long prison term." He'll play Wolfgang "Wolf" West, said husband, in the hour, which comes from co-creators Lyn Greene and Richard Levine. Gary Cole originated the role in the project's previous incarnation, "Good Behavior." ABC Studios and South Pacific Pictures are co-producing.
STRANGE BREW (FOX) - Jere Burns ("Surviving Surburia") has scored a role on the comedy pilot, about "a family that owns a small regional brewery and struggles with working and living together." He'll play Ted, the patriarch of the Forrest clan, who was "once a weathered ourdoorsmen [however] the last 10 years has turned him into a withered indoorsmen." Also signing as Ted and Janie's (Laurie Metcalf) kids are Aya Cash, Skylar Astin and Mo Mandel. Cash will play "beautiful, highly-intelligent, highly-underachieving" Lizzy, the eldest sibling who works as Ted's secetary. Astin and Mandel then are believed to be playing fraternal twins Kyle, "the alpha twin," and Clay, "the sweeter, gentler one." David Kohan and Max Mutchnick are behind the Warner Bros. Television-based project, to be directed by Marc Buckland.
UNCLE NIGEL (TBS) - Charles Dutton, Lea Thompson and Jeff Davis are all the latest additions to the drama pilot, about Nigel Wells (Gary Cole), "a veteran Philadelphia homicide detective who takes on his inexperienced, incompetent nephew Ronnie (Matt Jones) as a partner." Dutton is set as Captain Elliot Mackey, "the tightly wound, immaculately dressed" deputy of detectives. Thompson then is playing Abby Wells - Ronnie's mom, Nigel's sister - a "single, beautiful, open-hearted" woman. Lastly, Davis is on board as Detective Frank Frankel, "a smug, resentful prick" who serves as Ronnie's nemesis in the squad. Andy Breckman penned the hour and is executive producing.
UNTITLED LARRY CHARLES/ANT HINES PROJECT (CBS) - Nicollette Sheridan ("Desperate Housewives") has joined the cast of the pilot presentation, about "a British lowlife (Paul Kaye) who moves to L.A. to reconnect with his daughter, a precocious teen superstar." She'll play "the girl's outrageous stage mother and the deadbeat dad's long-lost love." Larry Charles is helming the semi-scripted comedy, which was conceived by Ant Hines. Sony Pictures Television and Tantamount are co-producing.
UNTITLED RICHARD HATEM PROJECT (ABC) - Katee Sackhoff ("24") is set to topline the drama pilot, about "a beautiful female detective who teams with a disgraced ex-cop to solve crimes and untangle the conspiracy that sent him underground." She'll play said woman, Julia Scott, who's "strong in body and soul." Sackhoff's involvement would seem to indicate her run on the FOX drama will either be short-lived or reduced should it return for a ninth season. Gary Fleder is helming the ABC Studios-based hour from a script by Richard Hatem.
UNTITLED WYOMING PROJECT (The CW) - Sean Faris ("The Vampire Diaries") and newcomer Renee Smith are the first to be cast on the drama pilot, about a horse trainer who becomes the patriarch of a Wyoming ranch and responsible for his three younger sisters - Dinah (16), Maggie (13) and Bird (9) - after their parents die. Faris will play Gideon Thorpe, the aforementioned trainer, who's described as "rugged, a young John Wayne." Smith then is set as Dinah, the eldest sister, who's "short but sturdy, a sixteen-year old version of Holly Hunter in 'Broadcast News.'" Daniel Palladino and Amy Sherman-Palladino co-wrote the hour, which comes from CBS Television Studios and Warner Bros. Television.
WORTHY (FOX) - 20th Century Fox Television has pulled out of the drama pilot, about "an Arizona politician who is blackmailed by a mob boss following a hit-and-run accident." It's not clear how said development will affect the show's production status. Originally ordered to pilot back in October, no casting has since been announced. Davey Holmes penned the hour with Jake Kasdan attached to direct. Gavin Polone also serves as an executive producer.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
|
|
|
 [february 2010]  |
S |
M |
T |
W |
T |
F |
S |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
[06/08/26 - 10:55 AM]
Production Begins on Season Two of CBS' "Marshals" - The #1 New Broadcast Series
Produced by Paramount Television Studios and 101 Studios, the series averaged 20.4 million multiplatform viewers for the first eight episodes.
|
[06/08/26 - 10:01 AM]
Video: "The Bear" - Season 5 Official Trailer - Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri, Ebon Moss-Bachrach - FX
The final season premieres June 25.
|
[06/08/26 - 10:00 AM]
Rocket, Groot, Mr. Fantastic and Silk Join "Marvel's Spidey and His Amazing Friends" Season 5, Premiering July 13
This season will introduce a new "Rescue-Webs" story arc in which Team Spidey is able to tackle even more daring rescues with their new Spidey-themed firetruck and rescue gear.
|
[06/08/26 - 09:16 AM]
"Lupin" Part 4 Will Premiere on October 23rd on Netflix
Omar Sy reprises his iconic role as Assane Diop, the gentleman thief, in these new eight episodes alongside Ludivine Sagnier, Antoine Gouy, Soufiane Guerrab, Shirine Boutella, Théo Christine and Laïka Blanc-Francard.
|
[06/08/26 - 09:04 AM]
Chef Anna Gass Returns for Season 2 of "Instant Italian" Premiering Monday, June 29 on FYI Network
Season 2 of "Instant Italian" joins chef, cookbook author, recipe developer, and culinary influencer Anna Francese Gass back in the kitchen as she shares fresh takes on beloved Italian dishes.
|
[06/08/26 - 09:03 AM]
ESPN Scores Second Most-Watched WCWS Finals on Record; Game 2 Delivers Most-Watched College Softball Game Ever
Game 2 averaged 2.5 million viewers across ESPN/ESPNU, delivering the most-watched college softball game on record.
|
[06/08/26 - 08:31 AM]
Video: "The American Experiment" - Official Trailer - Netflix
As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, the new five-part documentary series The American Experiment reexamines the improbable achievement that was the nation's founding, and the radical question at the center of the revolution: Can a people govern themselves?
|
[06/08/26 - 08:01 AM]
Roku Originals Celebrates the Greatest Women in Sports with "Gamechangers: America's Top 25 Female Athletes," Executive Produced by Sue Bird, Alex Morgan, and Peyton Manning
This hour-long special, which is the second iteration of Roku's "Gamechangers" anthology series, will feature interviews with star athletes, sports media voices, and celebrities, celebrating the legacy and impact of 25 of the greatest female athletes in American sports history.
|
[06/08/26 - 08:01 AM]
BritBox Announces "Hercule," Starring Edward Bluemel as Agatha Christie's Legendary Detective Hercule Poirot
The series takes a magnifying glass to three of Christie's most celebrated stories, while also charting Hercule's burgeoning friendship with Captain Arthur Hastings, his early encounters with Scotland Yard's James Japp, and introducing him to one particular nemesis...
|
[06/08/26 - 08:01 AM]
Video: Prime Video Drops Official Trailer for High-Octane Series "Ride or Die" Starring Octavia Spencer and Hannah Waddingham
A Paramount Television Studios and Amazon MGM Studios production, the fast-paced series will debut all eight episodes on Wednesday, July 15, exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories around the world.
|
[06/08/26 - 08:00 AM]
Video: New Teaser for "Descendants: Wicked Wonderland" Drops Down the Rabbit Hole, Debuting July 16 on Disney Channel and Next Day on Disney+
A new teaser was revealed today, along with the premiere date, poster art and casting news confirming that critically acclaimed actress and comedian Awkwafina will step into the twisted world of Wonderland as Chessy the Cat.
|
[06/08/26 - 07:01 AM]
Meet Scooby-Doo! Netflix Reveals Live-Action Take on the Iconic Canine
This marks the first time in the Scooby-Doo franchise that the character of Scooby-Doo will be portrayed by a real dog.
|
[06/08/26 - 07:01 AM]
Video: Disney's Andscape Debuts Trailer for "They Fight," Starring Andre Holland, Wendell Pierce, and Samira Wiley Ahead of the Film's World Premiere at Tribeca
The film follows a reformed ex-con who finds purpose mentoring young boxers at a Washington, D.C. youth gym as they pursue their dreams in and out of the ring.
|
[06/08/26 - 07:00 AM]
National Geographic's Fin-Favorite Summer Event Returns with Even More Shark-Filled Fun, Kicking Off with Marquee Special "Hammerhead Sharks Up Close with Bertie Gregory
Additional fin-tastic programming will roll out throughout the month across Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo Mundo, Disney Channel and Disney XD, with select titles also streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
|
[06/06/26 - 12:01 AM]
Video: New Teaser - Hulu Original Series "Rivals" Season 2 Return
The UK original returns this November on Hulu, and Hulu on Disney+ for bundle subscribers, in the US and Disney+ internationally.
|
|
|
|
