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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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[09/24/16 - 11:16 AM]
FOX Hit Dramas - "Gotham" and "Lucifer" - See Significant Gains in Live + 3
FOX further spins the numbers for Monday, September 19.
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[09/24/16 - 10:06 AM]
Monday's "The Good Place" Is the Week's Top Debut Half-Hour of a New Comedy in Live + 3
NBC further spins the numbers for Monday, September 19.
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[09/24/16 - 08:48 AM]
Friday's Broadcast Ratings: "MacGyver" Debuts on Top for CBS
The Eye's reboot leads the night in both total viewers and adults 18-49.
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[09/23/16 - 02:31 PM]
"Superstore" Is Stocking Up! NBC Orders Full Second Season
NBC's crowd-pleasing comedy "Superstore" has added nine more episodes to its inventory bringing the season total to 22.
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[09/23/16 - 12:21 PM]
Oxygen Media Presents "Snapped: Notorious - The Menendez Brothers" Premiering Sunday, October 2nd from 9PM - 11PM ET/PT
Oxygen Media will take an unflinching look at the Menendez Brothers' case, from their privileged upbringing, to the shocking details of their savage crime, to the ongoing debate that asks: Are the brothers monsters? Or are they victims of parental abuse?
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[09/23/16 - 12:18 PM]
Video: "Shameless" Season Seven Premiere Available Now Across Multiple Platforms
Said installment comes in advance of its linear premiere on Sunday, October 2.
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[09/23/16 - 11:10 AM]
Showtime(R) Presents "Sebastian Maniscalco: Why Would You Do That?"
Directed by Joe Demaio, written by Maniscalco and filmed live at New York City's famed Beacon Theatre during one of the seven sold-out shows on his 2016 tour, the hour-long special is chock-full of skepticism.
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[09/23/16 - 10:06 AM]
Freeform Greenlights Development on Late-Night Series with Comedian Iliza Shlesinger
"A late-night show has been THE goal for me and I'm ready to throw my hat into the ring," said Shlesinger.
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[09/23/16 - 10:03 AM]
AMC Renews Travel Docu-Series "Ride with Norman Reedus" Featuring Star of "The Walking Dead" for Second Season
Season two will consist of six one-hour episodes featuring "The Walking Dead" actor and motorcycle and travel enthusiast Reedus as he takes viewers back on the open road to journey to amazing places and sample local cultures.
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[09/23/16 - 09:54 AM]
Comedy Central Announces Slate of Stand-Up Specials Filming This Fall with Comedians Lewis Black, Kurt Braunohler, Joe DeRosa, Mark Normand and Roy Wood Jr.
"Lewis Black: Black to the Future" kicks things off on Friday, October 7.
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[09/23/16 - 08:41 AM]
Thursday's Broadcast Ratings: CBS, NFL Stifle Its Competition
ABC's "Notorious" (1.2) and FOX's "Pitch" (1.1) are outshined by the Eye's football coverage in adults 18-49.
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[09/23/16 - 08:29 AM]
BBC America Takeover at New York Comic Con Launches First Ever Panels at the Theater at Madison Square Garden
The takeover features panels and a world premiere screening with the casts and creators of "Doctor Who," new original series "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency" and new "Doctor Who" spin-off, "Class."
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[09/23/16 - 07:43 AM]
Superstar Illusionist Criss Angel Returns to A&E with A One-Hour Special "Criss Angel Trick'd Up" Premiering Wednesday, October 12 at 9PM ET/PT
Celebrated worldwide as the "Magician of the Century," renowned illusionist Criss Angel dares to transcend boundaries once again.
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[09/23/16 - 07:13 AM]
Season Two of WE tv's Hit Series "Growing Up Hip Hop" Premieres Thursday, October 13th, 10pm ET/PT
Hip Hop royalty Angela Simmons, Romeo Miller, Damon "Boogie" Dash, Kristinia DeBarge, TJ Mizell and Egypt Criss all return for a drama filled season where shocking truths are finally revealed, changing the lives of this tight-knit group of friends forever
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[09/22/16 - 02:37 PM]
"Saturday Night Live" Premieres with Margot Robbie and The Weeknd
Robbie can currently be seen starring as Harley Quinn in the hugely successful blockbuster hit "Suicide Squad."
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