[08/10/11 - 11:16 PM] Development Update: Wednesday, August 10 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!
ACTING OUT (The CW) - Todd Graff's musical drama, about the counselors and staff of a down-on-its-luck summer camp, is being redeveloped as a multi-camera comedy at the netlet. Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas is executive producing the CBS Television Studios-based half-hour, which is now being billed as a workplace comedy with performance pieces. Marisa Yeres of Goldsmith-Thomas Productions is also expected to receive a producing credit.
AMERICANA (ABC, New!) - Michael Seitzman ("North Country") has booked a potential drama at the Alphabet billed as "an epic family soap set in the world of fashion." Seitzman penned the hour and will executive produce alongside Mark Gordon via the latter's ABC Studios-based banner.
CHAOS (CBS) - Director/producer Brett Ratner has inked a new overall deal with 20th Century Fox Television. There he'll continue to develop for the studio, where he's been based for the past seven years. In addition, Chris Conti has been tapped to spearhead said Rat TV banner, taking over for Martha Haight.
THE EXIT LIST (ABC, New!) - Game show guru Michael Davies is back in business with the Alphabet, landing a pilot order for a potential series based on a Dutch format which "follows contestants as they travel through a massive maze, answering multiple-choice questions along the way." Said maze consists of rooms filled with increasingly larger amounts money but the participants must also "find their way out by remembering what they learned." Sony Pictures Television, where Davies's Embassy Row is based, will produce.
EXTRAORDINARY ACTS OF COURAGE (OWN) - The fledgling cable channel has pulled the newcomer after just one airing. Just 104,000 viewers tuned into the show's two-episode premiere on Friday, August 5 at 10:00/9:00c. A third episode is currently slated for this Saturday, August 13 at 8:30 AM ET however beyond that remains yet to be announced.
GAME OF THRONES (HBO) - Robert Pugh and Michael McElhatton are the latest additions to the show's upcoming second season. Pugh will play Craster, "the master of Craster's Keep, which lies beyond the Wall, [who] maintains an uneasy detente with the Night's Watch," while McElhatton is set as Roose Bolton, "the stern and sinister Lord of the Dreadfort, a sworn bannerman to Winterfell but his family was once an enemy of the Starks." Other new faces this season include Roy Dotrice as Pyromancer Hallyne; Tom Wlaschiha as Jaqen; Gemma Whelan as Yara Greyjoy; Stephen Dillane as Stannis Baratheon; Carice van Houten as Melisandre; Gwendoline Christie as Brienne; and Natalie Dormer as Margaery Tyrell.
GLEE (FOX) - LaMarcus Tinker ("Friday Night Lights") and Vanessa Lengies ("Hawthorne") are both set to recur on the show's third season. He'll play "a linebacker for the McKinley Titans and a new love interest" for Amber Riley's character while she's set as Sugar, "a new student who is described as a cross between Molly Shannon and a New Jersey Housewife."HAWAII FIVE-0 (CBS) - Autumn Reeser ("No Ordinary Family") has booked a potentially recurring role on the show's sophomore season. She'll play Dr. Akina, "the curator of a maritime museum who lends her expertise when a murder investigation takes McGarrett (Alex O'Loughlin) and Danny (Scott Caan) into the world of sunken treasure." Her character, set to appear in the second episode, is billed as a love interest for Caan's Danny.
UNTITLED ARON ELI COLEITE PROJECT (CBS, New!) - Aron Eli Coleite ("Heroes") has snagged a put pilot commitment from the Eye for a new drama about "a common-sense mother who becomes a New York State Trooper." Said effort is set up at the Warner Bros. Television-based Jerry Bruckheimer Television with Bruckheimer and Jonathan Littman executive producing alongside Coleite. KristieAnne Reed will also serve as a co-executive producer.
VALENTINE (HBO, New!) - Kevin Bacon is set to star and executive produce a potential comedy at the pay channel about Johnny Valentine, a talk radio host with three ex wives and his glory days behind him. Bryan Sipe penned the half-hour and is executive producing alongside Bacon and his manager David Schiff plus Ted Gold, Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald of Parkes-MacDonald Productions. Bacon is likewise attached to "The Member-Guest," a small screen take on Clint McCown's 1995 book. Neil LaBute has taken over the reigns of said adaptation from Steve Pink.
THE VAMPIRE DIARIES (The CW) - Sebastian Roche ("Supernatural") is set to recur on the show's third season. He'll play "a very mysterious man who appears to be hunting vampires, most specifically Klaus." Also on tap is Jack Coleman ("Heroes") as Bill, "a former Mystic Falls resident who returns to point out all the failings of the current Council's attempts to keep vampires out-of-town."
