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[09/20/10 - 06:13 PM]
Development Update: Monday, September 20
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!
AGAINST THE WALL (Lifetime) - Australian actress Rachael Carpani ("McLeod's Daughters") has scored the lead role on the pilot, a drama set in Chicago about a policewoman who causes a rift with her three cop brothers when she decides to join the department's Internal Affairs division. She'll play said woman, Abby Kowalski, in the project, which Dean Parisot has signed on to direct from a script by Annie Brunner. Universal Cable Productions is the studio attached.
THE AMANDA KNOX STORY (Lifetime, New!) - Hayden Panettiere ("Heroes") is set to topline a new docudrama at the cable channel from Pilgrim Films and Television based on the true story of Amanda Knox, a U.S. exchange student convicted by an Italian trial jury of brutally murdering her roommate. 20-year-old Knox, her boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, and Ivory Coast native Rudy Guede were arrested in November 2007 and ultimately convicted for the killing of 21-year-old Meredith Kercher. The salacious details about Knox and company made headlines in the U.S. with Senator Maria Cantwell of Knox's home state of Washington decrying the verdict as the result of anti-Americanism in Italy. Robert Dornhelm is directing the project from a script by Wendy Battles while Craig Piligian, Battles, Trevor Walton and Craig Anderson executive producing and Randy Sutter producing.
EXTREME MAKEOVER: WEIGHT LOSS EDITION (A.K.A. OBESE) (ABC) - The Alphabet has rebranded the upcoming series "Obese" as "Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition." 3 Ball Productions is behind the hour-long series, which "follows morbidly obese individuals through a year of their life as they work to lose at least half of their body weight." It's understood casting is already underway for a second six-episode cycle due to the lengthy lead time needed to produce the series while the show itself may expand to two hours as a result of the abundant footage available. J.D. Roth and Todd A. Nelson are the executive producers while Chris Powell (TLC's "The 650-Pound Virgin") serves "as their coach, moving into their homes with their families."
HOMELAND (A.K.A. PATRIOTS) (Showtime, New!) - Howard Gordon's drama, an import of the Israeli series "Prisoners of War," has found a home at Showtime with Ben Affleck ("The Town") in talks to direct. The "24" alum co-wrote the pilot alongside Alex Gansa and Gideon Raff, the creator of the original series. Said hour will revolve around an American solider who's rescued after going missing 10 years ago in Iraq and a female CIA operative who investigates the circumstances surrounding his return, after receiving a tip he may actually be part of an upcoming terror plot. Gordon, Gansa and Raff are executive producing with Avi Nir and Ron Telem for Fox 21 and the Keshet Broadcasting Group.
LAW & ORDER: LOS ANGELES (NBC) - Peter Coyote ("FlashForward") has been tapped as the District Attorney on the upcoming spin-off. He'll serve as the supervisor to Alfred Molina and Terrence Howard's characters, both ADAs who will alternate their services each week. Skeet Ulrich, Corey Stoll, Megan Boone, Regina Hall and Rachel Ticotin also star in the hour, which launches next week.
LEGENDS (NBC, New!) - Howard Gordon ("24") has booked his third project this development cycle, about a "CIA operative with an uncanny gift for 'legends' - aka false identities - who is sent on a variety of missions, while simultaneously coping with the possibility that his own identity may be a 'legend' itself." The project, which has a put pilot commitment, is based on a book by Robert Littell. Mark Bomback ("Live Free or Die Hard") is penning the hour and executive producing alongside Gordon and Jonathan Levin for 20th Century Fox Television.
NECESSARY ROUGHNESS (USA) - Callie Thorne ("Rescue Me") has been cast in the lead role on the drama pilot, about "a tough, sexy Long Island divorcee (Thorne) who, to make ends meet, becomes the therapist for a professional football team and quickly becomes sought after by other athletes, musicians, politicians and those living in the spotlight." Elizabeth Kruger and Craig Shapiro co-wrote the 90-minute pilot, production of which was casting said role. Sony Pictures Television is behind the project with Kruger and Shapiro executive producing alongside Donna Dannenfesler, Joe Sabatino and Kevin Dowling, the latter of which will direct.
PAN AM (ABC, New!) - Jack Orman ("Men of a Certain Age") and Thomas Schlamme ("Mr. Sunshine") are set to team for a potential new drama about the defunct air carrier. Said hour, which comes from Sony Pictures Television and has a pilot commitment, will be set in the mid-1960s and focus on "the pilots and flight attendants who once made Pan Am the most glamorous way to fly." Schlamme will direct the project from a script by Orman with Nancy Ganis executive producing alongside the duo. Sid Ganis is also attached as a co-executive producer. Pan Am formally closed in 1991 following a much-ballyhooed bankruptcy.
SHARK TANK (ABC) - Mark Cuban, owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks and chairman of cable channel HDNet, is the latest addition to the show's second season. He'll appear in three episodes as a guest venture capitalist. Cuban joins Jeff Foxworthy, who's likewise set to appear in three installments during the upcoming sophomore run. Cuban previously was the centerpiece of the Alphabet's short-lived reality competition "The Benefactor" in 2004.
UNTITLED MO MANDEL PROJECT (NBC, New!) - Comedian Mo Mandel ("Chelsea Lately") has set up a new comedy at the Peacock which "chronicles what a group of 20 somethings do in the last five years of their lives before the Earth is destroyed by a meteor." Mandel is writing the half-hour and may co-star in the pilot, should it move forward. 3 Arts Entertainment is producing.
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[03/09/26 - 12:15 PM]
ABC and Hulu Are Rolling Out the Red Carpet for the Biggest Night in Hollywood!
Tamron Hall and Jesse Palmer will host "The Oscars Red Carpet Show," the official lead-in to the 98th Oscars on Sunday, March 15, airing at 6:30 p.m. EDT/3:30 p.m. PDT on ABC and Hulu.
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[03/09/26 - 10:01 AM]
Video: Trailer and Key Art Debut - Hulu Original "Dear Killer Nannies"
The new Latin American drama series is inspired by the childhood and adolescence of Juan Pablo Escobar.
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[03/09/26 - 10:01 AM]
"The Drew Barrymore Show" Renewed for Two Seasons
The two-season renewal will take the daytime show through 2028.
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[03/09/26 - 09:37 AM]
Peacock Lands Exclusive Next-Day Streaming Rights in the US for "Saturday Night Live UK"
Premiering Saturday, March 21 on SKY One and NOW in the UK, the series will stream next day on Peacock in the US, with new episodes available weekly beginning March 22.
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[03/09/26 - 09:00 AM]
"Philly Homicide" Returns to Oxygen for Season Two
The 10-episode season of its gripping original series premiering Saturday, April 11 at 8:00/7:00c.
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[03/09/26 - 08:31 AM]
Video: "XO, Kitty" Season 3 - Official Trailer - Netflix
This season, Lana Condor will reprise her role as Lara Jean, making it her first time appearing in the series and officially returning to the franchise.
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[03/09/26 - 08:09 AM]
AMC Networks Orders Second Season of "The Audacity" from Jonathan Glatzer Days Before World Premiere at South by Southwest
The first season of eight episodes comes to AMC and AMC+ on Sunday, April 12.
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[03/09/26 - 07:01 AM]
"The Predator of Seville" Premieres on Netflix on March 27
The new docuseries reconstructs the case of a tour guide accused of assaulting several foreign students in Spain.
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[03/09/26 - 07:01 AM]
Video: Apple TV Unveils Trailer for "Margo's Got Money Troubles"
The eight-episode series will premiere globally on Wednesday, April 15, 2026 with three episodes, followed by new episodes every Wednesday through May 20, 2026.
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[03/09/26 - 07:00 AM]
ESPN and the Southern Conference Announce Multi-Year Media Rights Extension
The extended agreement represents an expanded commitment by ESPN, anchored by a robust slate of regular-season and championship broadcasts across ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU, along with comprehensive digital distribution through ESPN's direct-to-consumer services.
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[03/09/26 - 06:01 AM]
Francis Ngannou Makes Highly Anticipated Return to MMA vs. Philipe Lins on MVP's Rousey vs. Carano, Ngannou vs. Lins on Saturday, May 16, 2026, from Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California, Live Globally Only on Netflix
The bout marks Ngannou's highly anticipated return to professional MMA competition following his crossover into global boxing events and his dominant PFL Championship victory in 2024.
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[03/09/26 - 03:01 AM]
Video: "Inside" Season 3 - Official Trailer - Netflix
Content creators take on a series of jaw-dropping challenges for the potential to win a huge prize fund in this reality series from viral YouTubers, the Sidemen.
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[03/09/26 - 01:01 AM]
Video: "Love Is Blind: Sweden" - Season 3 - Official Trailer - Netflix
New season. New singles. New drama. As they date and get engaged sight unseen, which of these Swedish couples will discover that love is truly blind?
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[03/06/26 - 12:24 PM]
FOX Entertainment Studios Signs First-Look Deal with Writer, Actor, and Creator River Gallo
Gallo is the star, writer and creator of "Ponyboi," the inaugural feature film produced under FOX Entertainment Studios' new independent film label, Tideline.
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[03/06/26 - 10:51 AM]
Shudder Announces Four All-New Specials of the Cult Favorite "The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs" in 2026
The announcement comes ahead of the Shudder original's celebratory series finale, airing live tonight, Friday, March 6 at 9pm ET on Shudder and AMC+.
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