or


[03/18/10 - 12:07 AM]
Development Update: Thursday, March 18
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!


BEAT THE CHEFS (CBS, New!) - RelativityReal ("Find My Family") has scored a pilot commitment from the Eye for a new competition series in which "talented amateurs with a staff of family and friends cook their classic family recipe as top chefs make their own versions of the same dish." Judges then will ultimately decide who receives the cash prize. Tom Forman is executive producing the hour, additional details of which weren't released.


KEEP HOPE ALIVE (FOX) - Skyler Stone (Comedy Central's "Con") has booked a role on the comedy pilot, about "a 25-year-old single parent (Lucas Neff) raising an infant with the help of his quirky family after the baby's mother, with whom he had a one-night stand, ends up on death row." He'll play Mike, the man's best friend, "an unkempt, fairly oblivious guy in his early twenties." Kate Micucci originated the role, which is being recast. Cloris Leachman, Garrett Dillahunt, Martha Plimpton and Shannon Marie Woodward also star in the project, which is set up at 20th Century Fox Television. Michael Fresco is directing from a script by Greg Garcia.


LEAPFROG (ABC) - Josh Cooke ("Big Day") has scored a role on the comedy pilot, about two sisters Maddie (Jennifer Finnigan) and Mia (Joanna Garcia) at different stages in their romantic relationships. He'll play Ben ("attractive, stylish and clearly in love"), Maddie's boyfriend of nine years. Debra Jo Rupp also stars in the half-hour, which comes from Warner Bros. Television and creator Shana Goldberg-Meehan.


NOMADS (The CW) - Michaela McManus ("One Tree Hill") and Warren Kole ("Mental") are both the latest additions to the presentation, a drama about a group of nearly broke young backpackers - Zack, Nadia, Donna and John (Scott Porter) - traveling the world who agree to earn money by working secret missions for the CIA. He'll play Ryker, the group's handler, who's "well-dressed, perfectly average to the edge of bland looking... but with hard, authoritative eyes." McManus then is believed to be playing Donna ("pretty in an accessible way"), an Army brat who grew up in Korea, Okinawa and Germany that passed on an analyst desk at the Clandestine Service in order to prove herself as a potential field agent. Production is set to begin shortly on location in Thailand with Ken Sanzel directing from his own script. CBS Television Studios, Scott Free Productions and Warner Bros. Television are co-producing.


PARKS & RECREATION (NBC) - The Peacock and Universal Media Studios have confirmed production on the show's third season has been moved up to accommodate co-star Amy Poehler's pregnancy, which will not be written into the show. The series is expected to stay in continuous production after it wraps its sophomore run. It's not clear how many installments will be banked. Poehler's due date is in September, when the comedy would have been in the middle of production on season three.


PATRIOTS (New!) - "24" executive producer Howard Gordon is looking to import the Israeli drama "Prisoners of War," about "three soldiers who return home from 17 years in Syrian captivity and must readjust to life in Israel and reunite with their families." 20th Century Fox Television and Keshet Broadcasting Group (FOX's "Traffic Light") are co-producing the hour, which Gordon will co-write alongside fellow "24" writer Alex Gansa and "War" creator Gideon Raff. The American version is expected to revolve around "three soldiers who were captured soon after the war on terror began in the wake of 9/11," two of which are finally released a decade later from their captors while the other died under mysterious circumstances. Said incarnation will also introduce a new character, a counterterrorism agent, who is looking into "suspicions that one of the returning soldiers may have turned rogue - and could be a terrorist threat himself." Keshet's Avi Nir is executive producing alongside Gordon, Gansa and Raff.


RIDE ALONG (FOX) - Jason Clarke ("Brotherhood") has been tapped for the lead role in the drama pilot, a police procedural set (and filmed) in Chicago. He'll play Jarek Wysocki, who's detailed as follows: "A local legend and outsized character, Jarek stands at center of the show that takes place in the center of the country. Like the city of Chicago itself, Jarek is razorblades and brass knuckles wrapped in politeness and ego-less charm. He's a Polish-American, Chicago-born and raised detective with a wicked sense of humor, a cynic's eye, but a romantic's heart." Clarke joins the previously cast Devin Kelley, Matt Lauria and Todd Williams. Charles McDougall is directing while Shawn Ryan penned the script.


Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [march 2010]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
 


· 24 (FOX)
· BEAT THE CHEFS (GSN)
· BETTER WITH YOU (ABC)
· BIG DAY (ABC)
· BROTHERHOOD (SHOWTIME)
· CHICAGO CODE, THE (FOX)
· CON, THE (COMEDY CENTRAL)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· FIND MY FAMILY (ABC)
· MENTAL (FOX)
· NOMADS (CW)
· ONE TREE HILL (CW)
· PARKS & RECREATION (NBC)
· RAISING HOPE (FOX)
· TRAFFIC LIGHT (FOX)





[02/26/26 - 02:46 PM]
Netflix Declines to Raise Offer for Warner Bros.
"The transaction we negotiated would have created shareholder value with a clear path to regulatory approval. However, we've always been disciplined, and at the price required to match Paramount Skydance's latest offer, the deal is no longer financially attractive, so we are declining to match the Paramount Skydance bid," said co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters.

[02/26/26 - 02:19 PM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Soars to Season High with Best Audience in Over a Year
"Live" has now ranked as the No. 1 talk show in syndication for 157 consecutive weeks across all key measures.

[02/26/26 - 02:08 PM]
Britbox Unveils Spring Slate with "The Lady" Starring Mia McKenna-Bruce; Premieres March 18
Other highlights include the return of "Hope Street" and the debut of "Mudtown."

[02/26/26 - 01:36 PM]
Paramount Comments on Warner Bros. Discovery Board's Determination of Paramount's Proposal as Superior
David Ellison, Chairman and CEO of Paramount, said: "We are pleased WBD's Board has unanimously affirmed the superior value of our offer, which delivers to WBD shareholders superior value, certainty and speed to closing."

[02/26/26 - 01:16 PM]
Warner Bros. Discovery Board of Directors Determines Revised Proposal from Paramount Skydance Constitutes a "Company Superior Proposal"
Under the terms of the Netflix merger agreement, this notice triggers a four business day period during which Netflix has the right to propose revisions to the Netflix merger agreement so that the PSKY proposal would cease to constitute a "Company Superior Proposal."

[02/26/26 - 01:00 PM]
FOX Television Network Renews Hit Joel McHale Series "Animal Control" for Season Five
In addition, the first three seasons of the series are currently streaming on Netflix, and the show has been sold in territories around the world.

[02/26/26 - 10:31 AM]
More Stars Take the Stage to Present at the 98th Oscars
Javier Bardem, Chris Evans, Chase Infiniti, Demi Moore, Kumail Nanjiani and Maya Rudolph are among the featured talent.

[02/26/26 - 10:30 AM]
Video: AMC Networks Unveils Captivating Sneak Peek Scene from "The Vampire Lestat"
In the new rock and roll centric season, the Vampire Lestat goes on an electric multi-city tour while being haunted by "muses" from his wild and rebellious past.

[02/26/26 - 10:21 AM]
Feed the Children Teams Up with FOX's "Next Level Chef" to Put Child Hunger to Bed
The year-round campaign rallies the public alongside donors, volunteers, and partners to provide kids with the food and resources they need to rise and thrive every day.

[02/26/26 - 10:01 AM]
"Running Point" Season Two Returns April 23 on Netflix
Isla Gordon (Kate Hudson) is no longer the surprise choice to lead the Los Angeles Waves, she's the one everyone is watching.

[02/26/26 - 10:01 AM]
Season Three of the HBO Original Comedy Series "The Comeback" Debuts March 22
New episodes of the eight-episode season will debut weekly leading up to the series finale on Sunday, May 10.

[02/26/26 - 10:00 AM]
CBS Launches New Podcast "NCIS: Partners & Probies" Hosted by Series Stars Brian Dietzen and Diona Reasonover, Offering Fans an Inside Look at the #1 TV Franchise Worldwide
Premiering Tuesday, March 3, new episodes will roll out weekly.

[02/26/26 - 09:14 AM]
FOX Sports Assembles World-Class Broadcast Team for 2026 World Baseball Classic
Headlining FOX MLB's coverage of Team USA matchups and knockout rounds are highly acclaimed play-by-play announcers Joe Davis, Adam Amin and Kevin Kugler; expert analysts John Smoltz, A.J. Pierzynski and Adam Wainwright; and veteran reporters Ken Rosenthal and Tom Verducci.

[02/26/26 - 09:01 AM]
Video: Trailer & Key Art - "Sunny Nights" Starring Will Forte & D'Arcy Carden
After a critical acclaimed Australian debut, the darkly comedic crime drama starring Will Forte and D'Arcy Carden makes its U.S. debut on March 11 on Hulu.

[02/26/26 - 09:01 AM]
BritBox Announces April 7th Premiere for "A Taste for Murder"
The six-part crime procedural produced by Eagle Eye Drama and in association with ITV Studios stars Warren Brown, Phyllis Logan, and Cristiana Dell'Anna, and was shot on location in Croatia and Italy last year.