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[09/17/10 - 07:09 PM]
Development Update: Friday, September 17
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC) |
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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!
CASTLE (ABC) - Lee Tergesen has been tapped as a new antagonist on the crime procedural. He'll play Gates, "a shrewd, hardened, and violent felon who becomes the prime suspect in this season's big '3XK' serial-killer investigation." Tergesen will make his first appearance on the show's seventh episode.
THE COUNCIL OF DADS (FOX, New!) - Peter Tolan ("Rescue Me") has booked yet another project, this time a half-hour comedy at FOX. Said effort, based on the non-fiction book by Bruce Feiler (subtitled "My Daughters, My Illness, and the Men Who Could Be Me"), revolves around a man who, after being diagnosed with rare, life-threatening cancer, assembles six of his closest friends - each with their area of expertise - who agree to help raise his young twin daughters following his death. Tolan is writing and executive producing the Sony Pictures Television-based project, which has a $1.5 million pilot production commitment. Feiler will serve as a consultant on the adaptation.
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC) - Nancy Travis ("The Bill Engvall Show") has snagged a role on the show's upcoming seventh season. She'll play the mother of Brian Austin Green's character. Travis's casting comes on the heels of John Schneider being tapped as Green's father. Both parents make their debut on the series come episode seven.
MY FORMERLY HOT LIFE (ABC, New!) - Stephanie Dolgoff's bestselling memoir is being eyed for the small screen at ABC. Julie Anne Robinson ("The Middle") is attached to direct and executive produce the potential single-comedy, "a comedic look at the good, the bad, and the ugly moments in a woman's life as she adjusts to the realization that she is no longer forever 21." Dolgoff and Christy Fletcher and Rebecca Gradinger of Fletcher & Co. will serve as co-executive producers. No writer or studio was indicated.
PERSON OF INTEREST (CBS, New!) - J.J. Abrams's latest entry has found a home at CBS. The drama is being penned by Jonah Nolan, who co-wrote "The Dark Knight" and "The Prestige" alongside his director brother, Christopher. No details were given about the crime thriller other than it is set up at Abrams's Warner Bros. Television-based Bad Robot. Abrams, Nolan and Bryan Burk will then executive produce.
SPARTACUS: BLOOD & SAND (Starz) - Andy Whitfield is departing the series as the actor been advised by his doctors to immediately resume aggressive treatment for a recurrence of cancer. "It's with a deep sense of disappointment that I must step aside from such an exceptional project as Spartacus, and all the wonderful people involved. It seems that it is time for myself and my family to embark on another extraordinary journey. Thank you sincerely for the support so far," said Whitfield in a statement.
While Whitfield's exit places season two, originally targeted for September 2011, in limbo, the show's six-episode prequel "Gods of the Arena" is still on track for a January premiere. "Right now, we just want to extend our concern and support to Andy and his family," said Starz's Carmi Zlotnik in the network's portion of the statement. "We will address our programming plans at some later date."
SQUIRRELS (The CW, New!)/UNTITLED COOPER & LEVIN PROJECT (CBS, New!) - Former "Brothers & Sisters" showrunners Jennifer Levin and Sherri Cooper-Landsman have set up a pair of drama projects. First up at CBS as an untitled hour about "a 45-year-old mom of three whose neurosurgeon husband kills himself, leaving her in financial ruin and forcing her to go back to complete the surgical residency she never finished, only now her oldest son is her supervising resident." Richard Shepard, Sean and Bryan Furst are also on board to executive produce, the former of which may direct.
Then at The CW there's "Squirrels," about a woman who, "following a whirlwind affair over graduation weekend with the hottest guy in her med school class, makes a radical decision to give up a plum surgical residency in Chicago in order to be near him, and takes the only remaining spot at UCLA -- psychiatry, a field which she has no belief in." Carol Mendelsohn and Julie Weitz are likewise attached to executive produce. Both hours come from CBS Television Studios.
THAT'S A RECORD (NBC, New!) - Jimmy Fallon is set to executive produce a new game show pilot for the Peacock in which users attempt unusual world records. Chris Hardwick ("Web Soup") is hosting the project, which is based on the Universal Record Database, a website devoted to said feats. Fallon frequently features such efforts on "Late Night," such as the number of bunnies snuggled in a hammock or the fastest time a robot can decorate a cupcake. JD Roth and Todd A. Nelson of 3 Ball Productions are also attached.
TRUE LIES (ABC, New!) - A small screen take on James Cameron's 1994 feature of the same name, about a super-spy (Arnold Schwarzenegger in the film) whose family discovers his real job, has found a home at ABC. Rene Echevarria ("Castle") is penning the adaptation which he'll executive produce alongside Cameron and his Lightstorm Entertainment banner for 20th Century Fox Television. The Alphabet has given a script commitment to the project with a penalty attached should it not go to pilot.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
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[09/17/26 - 09:01 AM]
Disney and "Like Nastya," Globally Renowned Kids' Creator, Strike Content and Development Deal
The deal includes development of an original animated preschool series for Disney Jr. and Disney+, along with new live-action content for kids, tweens, teens and families.
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[09/17/26 - 09:00 AM]
Additional Performers Revealed for "2026 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs)" Airing Live Sept. 27 on CBS
GENER8ION, Gunna, LISA, RAYE, Shaboozey, SIENNA SPIRO and Yung Lean will join show opener Madonna for performances during this year's event.
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[09/17/26 - 09:00 AM]
Production Revs Up on AMC's New NASCAR Drama, "Thunder Road"
Centered on family dynamics, fierce rivalries and the untold stories behind one of America's most iconic sports, "Thunder Road" follows the multigenerational saga of the fictional Whitlock family, whose legacy in stock car racing is as deep as the family's ties to the Southern hill country roots that shaped them.
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[09/17/26 - 08:16 AM]
Video: Date Announcement, Trailer & Key Art Debut - "The Kardashians" Season Eight
Season eight premieres October 8 on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ for bundle subscribers in the U.S. and Disney+ internationally.
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[09/17/26 - 08:01 AM]
Video: HBO Releases Official Trailer for the Original Drama Series "War," Debuting October 1
Created by George Kay, and starring Dominic West and Sienna Miller, the series is co-produced by New Pictures and Observatory Pictures with new episodes of the eight-episode season debuting weekly on Thursdays.
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[09/17/26 - 08:01 AM]
Prime Video Casts Siobhan McGroarty, Sophia Reid-Gantzert, West Mulholland, Gigi Zumbado and Curtis Hamilton in "Rose Hill"
Elsie Silver's bestselling romance saga will premiere on Prime Video, produced by Temple Hill.
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[09/17/26 - 08:00 AM]
Bill Murray and Friends Hit the Road for a Genre-Bending Golf Adventure in "A Course Called Ireland" Premiering October 25 on Paramount+
In the six-part documentary series, Bill Murray and author Tom Coyne play their way across some of Ireland's most legendary golf courses.
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[09/17/26 - 07:31 AM]
Luke Bryan Marks New Album Debut with an Exclusive "Live from Roku City" Concert
The country superstar's "Live from Roku City" performances will launch September 19 on Roku, the day after the release of Bryan's ninth studio album, "Signs."
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[09/17/26 - 07:16 AM]
Make Your Hallmark Movie Checklist and Check It Twice Because Hallmark Channel's "Countdown to Christmas" Gifts Viewers a Holiday Filled with Everything Nice!
Highlights include 34 original movie premieres and the return of "Mistletoe Murders," now it its third season.
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[09/17/26 - 07:01 AM]
Video: "Tyson" - Official Trailer - Netflix
The raw four-part documentary peels back the curtain on Mike Tyson's explosive life, from a brutal Brooklyn childhood and a meteoric rise to heavyweight glory to the addiction, jail time, public breakdowns, and infamous ear bite that almost ended it all.
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[09/17/26 - 07:01 AM]
Apple TV's BAFTA Award-Nominated Docuseries "Knife Edge: Chasing Michelin Stars" Debuts September 25
Across season two, "Knife Edge: Chasing Michelin Stars" follows 16 restaurants at pivotal moments in their journeys.
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[09/17/26 - 06:01 AM]
Video: "Lanterns" - Midseason Trailer - HBO Max
The blackest night is yet to come.
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[09/17/26 - 06:01 AM]
Video: "Steps" - Official Teaser Trailer - Netflix
A fresh twist on the classic Cinderella story - this time, told from the perspective of Lilith, one of the so-called "evil" stepsisters.
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[09/17/26 - 06:01 AM]
Video: Prime Video Debuts "The Terminal List" Season Two Official Trailer and Key Art, Starring Chris Pratt
All eight episodes, executive produced by Chris Pratt, Antoine Fuqua, David DiGilio, and author Jack Carr, will premiere on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.
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[09/17/26 - 02:01 AM]
Video: "Fading Grandeur" - Official Trailer - Netflix
Desperate to sell his crumbling mansion, a fallen marquis tries to make a quick deal with a charming yet mysterious millionaire who has her own agenda.
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