 |
 |
[06/28/10 - 06:14 PM]
Development Update: Monday, June 28
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!
ALPHAS (Syfy) - David Strathairn is in talks to topline the drama pilot, about "a team of ordinary citizens who possess extraordinary and unusual mental skills." He'll play "the overseer/team leader/prescribing doctor and all around mother hen to the team: an eccentric, absent-minded professor at times, who is also a cunning and manipulative power-player willing to bend the rules in pursuit of his objectives." Additionally, Ryan Cartwright has signed onto the project as "a member of the team who has Asperger's syndrome [who] can 'read' wireless transmissions passing through the ether." Jack Bender is helming the 90-minute pilot from a script by Zak Penn and Michael Karnow.
BEING HUMAN (Syfy) - Sam Witwer ("Smallville"), Meaghan Rath ("The Assistants") and Sam Huntington ("Cavemen") have reportedly been cast in the principal roles of the upcoming drama, a domestic take on the popular U.K. soap about supernatural roommates. Witwer will play vampire Aidan with Rath as ghost Molly and Huntington as werewolf Josh. Anna Fricke, Chris Coelen and Jeremy Carver are the executive producers.
BREAKING IN (FOX) - The network has asked for two additional scripts for the Christian Slater/Bret Harrison-led comedy pilot, about a group of twentysomething geniuses who are tasked with cracking security systems. Said order will give FOX extra time to mull a potential midseason order for the project, which comes from creator Adam F. Goldberg and director Seth Gordon. Producer Sony Pictures Television is expected to extend the options on Slater and Harrison while FOX makes a decision.
CINEMA VERITE (HBO) - Lolita Davidovich and Kathleen Quinlan are the latest additions to the pay channel's behind-the-scenes look at the making of the groundbreaking 1973 PBS documentary series "An American Family." Quinlan will play Mary, "one of Patty Loud's (Diane Lane) best friends who introduces Patty to producer Gilbert Craig (James Gandolfini) and talks her into letting her family be the subject of his documentary." Davidovich then is set as "Patty Loud's sexy and fashionable best friend, whom Patty accuses of having an affair with her husband Bill (Tim Robbins)." Also signing on are Willam Belli and Nick Eversman in unspecified roles. Caitlin Custer, Patrick Fugit, Shanna Collins and Thomas Dekker also star.
CRIMINAL MINDS (CBS) - Janeane Garofalo is in negotiations to join the franchise's planned spin-off, about an elite team of agents within the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit who use unconventional methods of investigation and aggressive tactics to capture the nation's most nefarious criminals. No details were given about her character, a new addition to the team.
CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION (CBS) - Franchise shepherds Carol Mendelsohn and Ann Donahue have inked massive four-year overall deals with CBS Television Studios. Said pacts, financial details of which weren't specified, will keep them at the helms of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and "CSI: Miami," respectively, for the foreseeable future. Mendelsohn will likewise do the same for the upcoming drama "The Defenders."
DEXTER (Showtime) - Departing showrunner Clyde Phillips has inked a two-year overall deal with Lionsgate Television. There he'll develop new series projects for the studio, both comedies and dramas. Specifics about the financials however weren't released.
FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS (NBC) - Andre Holland has joined the cast of the midseason comedy, about a group of twenty-something singles as they navigate the difficult, and often confusing, world of dating. He'll play Hoon, an oversexed personal trainer. Ian Reed Kesler originated the role in the pilot and was subsequently recast.
THE HARD LIFE (CMT) - Steve Hytner ("Seinfeld") has landed a role on the comedy pilot, about parents Bobby (Matthew Lillard) and Gina (Gillian Vigman) as they struggle with modern vs. old school parenting. He'll play Bobby's father as seen in 1974 flashbacks: "your typically strict 60's/70's dad - unwavering, no-nonsense and blunt, with a kids-should-be-seen-and-not-heard perspective on parenting." Bill Diamond is behind the single-camera half-hour.
LONESTAR (FOX) - Peter Horton has joined the freshman drama as an executive producer. There he'll serve as in-house director on the series, including helming the show's second and 13th episodes. Kyle Killen is behind the hour, which is also executive produced by Kerry Kohansky, Paul Weitz, Chris Keyser and Amy Lippman. In addition, Horton has inked a premium script commitment with FOX and producer 20th Century Fox Television and will also direct a pilot for the pair next season.
THE OFFICE (NBC) - Co-star Steve Carell has reaffirmed his decision to depart the series after the upcoming seventh season. "I think [season] 7 will be my last year," he told EW.com during the premiere of his new animated film, "Despicable Me." "I want to fulfill my contract. I think it's a good time to move on." Earlier this year the actor indicated during a BBC radio interview that next season "would probably" be his last.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
|
|
|
 [june 2010]  |
S |
M |
T |
W |
T |
F |
S |
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
[07/16/26 - 01:09 PM]
Messi Shines, FOX Sports is Golden with Record-Breaking England-Argentina FIFA World Cup 2026 Semifinal
15.063 million viewers watched Lionel Messi and Argentina knock out England in the semifinal Wednesday afternoon on FOX.
|
[07/16/26 - 12:03 PM]
Paramount+ Reaches Nearly 16M Viewers for UFC 329: McGregor vs Holloway 2, Peaking with Record-Breaking 8M Streams in U.S. and Latin America
The main event concluded in 69 seconds as Max Holloway secured a first-round TKO against Conor McGregor, whose return from a five-year layoff ended after he suffered an early knee injury.
|
[07/16/26 - 11:33 AM]
TNT Sports to Exclusively Present NASCAR In-Season Challenge Final Four Showdown from Legendary North Wilkesboro Speedway on Sunday, July 19
Dale Earnhardt Jr., Steve Letarte and Adam Alexander will provide commentary for Sunday's race, as well as practice and qualifying on Saturday, July 18.
|
[07/16/26 - 11:00 AM]
ESPN Delivers Strongest First Half Viewership Performance Since 2012 Across Television Networks
Fans consumed a combined 288 billion minutes of sports content across ESPN and ESPN on ABC during Nielsen's first half 2026 calendar period.
|
[07/16/26 - 11:00 AM]
E! Greenlights Additional Episodes of "The Golden Life" Season One
The first half will premiere this fall on E!.
|
[07/16/26 - 10:49 AM]
Michelle Buteau, Hamish Linklater, and Simu Liu Join Elizabeth Banks in Recurring Roles in New Comedy Series from Creators Liz Heldens and Matt Ward
Good company makes for great comedy.
|
[07/16/26 - 10:46 AM]
TNT Sports Announces Founding Brand Partners for "Dunkman," Presented by Lilly
The new basketball entertainment property created in collaboration with Shaquille O'Neal will take flight Tuesday, July 21 as a fan-first competition celebrating elite dunking, culture and entertainment.
|
[07/16/26 - 10:01 AM]
Netflix's "Enigma Variations" Adds Riley Keough, Devon Terrell, Carl Clemons-Hopkins and Nicholas Podany
The limited series based on the novel by André Aciman tells the story of a man remade by the lovers who ignite and undo him over the course of six transformative years.
|
[07/16/26 - 10:01 AM]
HBO Original Documentary Series "Monsters of God" Debuts August 6
Filmmaker Eric Goode follows his first love - reptiles - into the dark and gonzo underworld of exotic animal smuggling.
|
[07/16/26 - 09:51 AM]
Sophie Nelisse Joins Netflix's "This Summer Will Be Different"
Based on the novel by Carley Fortune, the series follows a young woman navigating her 20s and her first real love with her best friend's brother, the one person she was never supposed to fall for.
|
[07/16/26 - 09:21 AM]
Video: Starz Reveals Highly Anticipated First Look at Young Ghost & Tommy in "Power: Origins"
"Power: Origins" is currently in production in New Jersey.
|
[07/16/26 - 09:01 AM]
Young Stars Shine as Third Annual NFL Flag Championships Return to Disney & ESPN Platforms, July 24-26
In total, a record 30 games will air across ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, NFL Network, ESPN Deportes, Disney Channel and Disney XD - the most extensive linear coverage in event history.
|
[07/16/26 - 08:01 AM]
Video: "Lioness" Season 3 Raises the Stakes for Its Most Dangerous Mission Yet
"Lioness" returns Sunday, August 2 with its most personal assignment yet.
|
[07/16/26 - 08:01 AM]
Anna Konkle, Paul Scheer, Taegen Burns, Brianna Reed, J.J. Nolan, and Tory Kittles Join the Cast of "I Suck at Girls," A New Comedy About Surviving the Messy World of Teenage Romance
The Netflix series is based on the autobiography of New York Times-bestselling author Justin Halpern.
|
[07/16/26 - 08:01 AM]
Apple TV's Beloved Mindfulness Series "Stillwater" Set to Premiere August 21
Based on the bestselling Scholastic "Zen" book series by Jon J Muth, "Stillwater" follows a wise panda who teaches three young siblings about the world and each other.
|
|
|
|
