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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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[07/15/25 - 02:06 PM] Viewership for 2025 T-Mobile Home Run Derby Exclusively on ESPN Platforms Up Five Percent From Last Year An average audience of 5,729,000 viewers watched the event, compared to 5,451,000 viewers in 2024.
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[07/15/25 - 01:04 PM] ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 vs. CBS' "After Midnight" and NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers" for 2nd Consecutive Week "Nightline" posted Total Viewer gains both week to week and year to year.
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[07/15/25 - 12:31 PM] ESPN and ABC Present AT&T WNBA All-Star 2025, July 18-19 Saturday's All-Star Game will feature many of the league's biggest stars, including Captains Caitlin Clark and Napheesa Collier as well as Aliyah Boston, Paige Bueckers, Sabrina Ionescu, Kelsey Mitchell, Kelsey Plum, Angel Reese, Breanna Stewart and A'ja Wilson.
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[07/15/25 - 12:05 PM] The Walt Disney Company Earns 137 Emmy Award Nominations Disney's FX garnered 35 nominations, of which five are for Outstanding Program - Comedy Series (two), Limited Series, Documentary Series and Unstructured Reality Series.
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[07/15/25 - 12:01 PM] Netflix Top 10 Week of July 7: "KPop Demon Hunters" Spends Another Golden Week at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10 "The Sandman's" second season entered the Top 10 in 89 countries last week, while claiming the No. 1 spot in English TV with 5.9 million views.
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[07/15/25 - 11:46 AM] NBCUniversal Receives 72 Emmy Award Nominations, Including a Record-Setting 31 Nominations for the "Saturday Night Live" Franchise As It Extends Its Lead As Most Nominated Show Ever Universal Studio Group (USG) garnered 56 nominations, including 15 for the critically acclaimed "Hacks," which earned noms for Outstanding Comedy Series and Jean Smart for Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.
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[07/15/25 - 11:35 AM] The Search for America's Ultimate Physique Is on with "Physical 100 USA" In the original Korean series, elite athletes, bodybuilders, and military professionals face off in grueling quests that test raw strength and endurance.
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[07/15/25 - 11:00 AM] Video: We TV and ALLBLK Release Trailer and Key Art for the Hit Music Competition Series "Deb's House" The series is set to premiere Friday, August 22 at 9:30pm ET exclusively on We TV and streaming on ALLBLK and AMC+.
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[07/15/25 - 10:29 AM] Lionsgate Scores Record 23 Emmy Nominations for the Acclaimed Seth Rogen/Evan Goldberg Comedy Series "The Studio" on Apple TV+ Lionsgate's hit series "The Rookie" on ABC also earned two Emmy nominations, bringing the Company's total to 25 Emmy nominations.
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[07/15/25 - 10:14 AM] Warner Bros. TV Group Tops All Studios with 60 Emmy Nominations This includes an Outstanding Drama Series nomination for Warner Bros. Television's "The Pitt," Comedy Series nods for WBTV's "Abbott Elementary" and "Shrinking," and Limited/Anthology Series honors for WBTV's "The Penguin."
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[07/15/25 - 09:38 AM] HBO Max Receives the Most Emmy Nominations with 142 Nods, Setting a New Record for the Platform "These Emmy nominations highlight the exceptional craftsmanship and storytelling that define HBO Max," said Casey Bloys, Chairman & CEO, HBO & HBO Max Content.
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[07/15/25 - 09:04 AM] ABC Airs Another of Its Most-Watched WNBA Games Ever: Dallas Wings vs Indiana Fever Averaged 2.1 Million Viewers, Up 69% from Last Year's ABC Average Said audience peaked with 2.5 million viewers.
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[07/15/25 - 09:01 AM] Video: "Red Eye" - Season 1 Official Trailer - Hulu A red eye flight from London to Beijing becomes a thrilling journey after Dr. Matthew Nolan (Richard Armitage) is arrested and accused of murdering a woman.
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[07/15/25 - 09:00 AM] 77th Emmy Awards Complete Nominations List "Andor," "The Diplomat," "The Last of Us," "Paradise," "The Pitt," "Severance," "Slow Horses," and "The White Lotus" will compete for Outstanding Drama Series.
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[07/15/25 - 07:15 AM] Video: Official Trailer Released for New Adult Swim Stop-Motion Series "Women Wearing Shoulder Pads" Created by Gonzalo Cordova and produced in partnership with Mexico City-based studio Cinema Fantasma, the stop-motion series follows Marioneta, a proud wealthy Spaniard living in 1980s Quito, Ecuador.
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