[11/17/10 - 06:31 PM] Development Update: Wednesday, November 17 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!
AMBULANCE CHASERS (FX, New!) - Jason Mantzoukas ("The League") has sold a potential comedy to the cable channel about personal injury attorneys. The actor/writer was behind the 2009 NBC pilot "Off Duty," starring Bradley Whitford and Romany Malco, that didn't move forward. Director Adam Bernstein and American Work's Scot Armstrong and Ravi Nandan, all of whom worked on the aforementioned half-hour, are also on "Chasers," which will "focus on street-mall attorneys featured in local TV commercials." On the acting front, Mantzoukas has booked multi-episode arcs on both NBC's "Parks & Recreation" and HBO's "Enlightened."
THE GREAT STATE OF GEORGIA (ABC Family) - Raven Symone has snagged the title role on the comedy pilot, about an "exuberant plus-sized performer from the south and her science geek best friend who try to make headway in New York City." Jennifer Weiner ("In Her Shoes") and Jeff Greenstein ("Desperate Housewives") are behind the ABC Studios-based half-hour, which has also cast Brock Cuchna ("Melrose Place") as "Georgia's Southern ex-boyfriend who, still madly in love with her, comes to New York to bring her back home." Symone previously toplined "Revenge of the Bridesmaids" for the cable channel and had been attached to star and produce a different potential half-hour from Yvette Lee Bowser ("Half & Half").
MAGICAL LAW (FOX, New!) - "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" screenwriter Terry Rossio and director Gore Verbinski are developing a new legal drama at the network "set in a world where the existence of supernatural beings is commonplace and follows the specialized cops and lawyers who face the unique challenges of prosecuting otherworldly crimes." 20th Century Fox Television and Verbinski's Blind Wink Productions are behind the hour, which has a penalty attached should it not go to pilot. Rossio will pen the hour under the supervision of Jeff Rake, who's also attached to executive produce alongside Verbinski and Jonathan Krauss.
MEET JANE (Lifetime) - Molly Parker ("Swingtown") has been tapped for the title role on the drama pilot, about Jane Bilinski, "an unhappily married mother of two daughters in the Washington, DC area [who] is suddenly re-energized and empowered when the FBI enlists her to spy on her husband, a computer technician the government suspects is selling top-secret information to Russia." Andi Bushell is behind the hour, which also comes from Warner Horizon Television and Mark Pedowitz's Pine Street Entertainment.
ONE POLICE PLAZA (ABC) - Angela Bassett ("ER") has signed onto the potential drama, about New York City's first female commissioner. She'd play the aforementioned role in the hour, which comes from ABC Studios and the Mark Gordon Co. Linda Fairstein and Kenneth L. Solarz co-wrote the script and are executive producing alongside Gordon and Deborah Spera.
OUTLAW (NBC) - John Eisendrath has inked a two-year, seven-figure overall deal with Sony Pictures Television. The pact, set to begin in June, sets the formerly Universal Media Studios-based writer/producer at the studio where he'll develop new series projects.
PATITO FEO (MTV) - Hayley Erin ("The Young and the Restless") has joined the cast of the comedy pilot, which "chronicles the struggles of a Mexican girl (Benita Robledo) from a small town thrown into the glitz and glamour of Los Angeles." She'll play Josie in the project, which comes from director Andy Fickman and writer Bert V. Royal. Grupo Televisa, Hip TV and Yellow Brick Road Productions are co-producing.
TEEN MOM (MTV) - Executive producer Morgan J. Freeman told The USA Todaythat the popular reality series will return with a brand new cast on Tuesday, January 11. "We're doing some continuous-type shooting with the original Teen Mom (cast: Maci Bookout, Catelynn Lowell, Farrah Abraham and Amber Portwood), but nothing's been announced yet about what we'll do with that," he said. As for "Teen Mom 2," the new group of girls will once again be culled from the latest "16 and Pregnant" cast members.
TREME (HBO) - James Ransone ("Generation Kill") has joined the cast of the show's upcoming second season. He'll play a New York City restaurant worker in a recurring role however no other details were given about the character.
UNTITLED KATHRYN HAHN PROJECT (FOX) - Kathryn Hahn ("Hung") has once again inked a talent holding deal with the network. The actress previously starred in pair of pilots for the network: "AbFab" in 2009 and "Most Likely to Succeed" this past development cycle, neither of which went forward to series. The new pact will once again see FOX develop a new series project for the actress.
UNTITLED PIERCE BROSNON/JACK ORMAN PROJECT (New!) - Actor Pierce Brosnan, writer Jack Orman and Sony Pictures Television are developing a potential drama about a "private investigator specializing in international crisis intervention who is called in to help solve homicides, abductions, financial schemes and other crimes anywhere in the world." Said hour - based on the real-life experiences of international P.I. Logan Clarke - is initially being pitched to the international marketplace with an eye towards a straight-to-series commitment before approaching U.S. broadcasters. Brosnan, who's expected to recur in a small role on the series, and Beau St. Clair are executive producing the project via their Irish DreamTime banner alongside Orman and Keri Selig.
[06/19/13 - 01:39 PM] TNT Bumps Newcomer "72 Hours" to Friday Nights The reality competition series, which had been airing on Thursdays at 9:00/8:00c, will relocate to Fridays effective immediately.
[06/19/13 - 12:17 PM] ESPN to Present World Series of Poker Main Event To kick off ESPN's WSOP coverage, the inaugural World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific Main Event Final Table will air on Tuesday, July 23.
