or


[12/14/11 - 11:01 PM]
Development Update: Wednesday, December 14
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!


BEAT THE REAPER (HBO, New!) - Feature writers Brian Koppleman and David Levien ("Ocean's Thirteen") have landed a new drama at the cable channel about "a young ER doctor whose life is upended when a patient comes through his ward that recognizes the internist from his old life - when he used to work for a notorious crime family." Said effort is based on Josh Bazell's book of the same name with Appian Way's Leonardo DiCaprio and LBI Entertainment's Rick Yorn executive producing alongside Koppleman, Levien, Jennifer Davisson Killoran and Julie Yorn as well as Regency Television's Arnon Milchan, Bob Harper and Hutch Parker. Originally conceived as a feature vehicle for DiCaprio, the TV incarnation subsequently found a home at HBO where Koppleman and Levien are also on board to direct. (Deadline.com)


BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE (NBC) - Emmy-winner Stephen Hopkins ("The Life and Death of Peter Sellers") has signed on to direct the drama pilot, set in a near future society "where humans co-exist with mechanical androids that look like people but are treated like second-class citizens." He'll work from a script by Michael McDonald, who is executive producing for ABC Studios and Universal Television. (Deadline.com)


BFF (TBS) - Elizabeth Ho ("Melissa & Joey") has scored a role on the comedy pilot, about Mark (Jay Malone), a family man who quits his day job and returns to the neighborhood where he grew up where he reunites with his former best friend, Roland (David Neher). She'll play "Mark's enthusiastic and positive wife Annie who welcomes Roland into their family." Barry Bostwick and Julie Hagerty also star in the Warner Horizon Television-based half-hour, from co-creators Ben Wexler, Ross Novie and Jay Rondot. (Deadline.com)


THE CLIENT LIST (Lifetime) - Colin Egglesfield ("Melrose Place") has joined the cast of the Jennifer Love Hewitt-led drama, about a Texas housewife (Hewitt), who, after being deserted by her husband, is left in deep financial straits and takes a job at a seemingly traditional day spa where massages aren't the only services on the menu. He'll play the brother-in-law of Hewitt's character in the hour, which comes from Sony Pictures Television and creator Jordan Budde. (Deadline.com)


HOME COURT (FOX, New!) - Saladin K. Patterson ("Psych") has sold a potential comedy to the network about "wealthy pro basketball star and single father who's afraid he's spoiling his over-privileged children and decides to move his kids into his sister's modest house in the multi-cultural working class community on the other side of town." Said half-hour comes from Universal Cable Productions and Prospect Park with Jeff Kwatinetz, Josh Barry and Rob Carliner executive producing alongside Patterson. (Deadline.com)


I LOVE JENNIE (CMT, New!) - Jennie Garth has booked a new reality series at the cable channel in which the "Beverly Hills, 90210" alumnus and her family - husband Peter Facinelli and their three kids - move from Los Angeles to a seven-acre farm in Central California. Electus and Facinelli Films are co-producing the series, which has an eight episode order, with Garth, Facinelli, Ben Silverman, Jimmy Fox, Rick Ringbakk, Craig Armstrong and Rob de Franco among the executive producers. Said half-hour will debut in April. (EW.com)


LUCY'S BLUFF (ABC Family, New!) - Aaron Tracy ("Fairly Legal") has snagged a script order from the cable channel for a new drama about "a powerful governor who falls ill and asks his estranged daughter to return home from college to secretly run the state and convince the public that her father is still in charge." Universal Cable Productions and Prospect Park are behind the hour, which Jeff Kwatinetz, Paul Frank, Rich Frank, Andrew Lenchewski will executive produce alongside Tracy. (Deadline.com)


MELISSA & TYE: A NEW REALITY (CMT, New!) - Former "The Bachelor" and "Dancing With the Stars" contestant Melissa Rycroft is set to star in a new eight-episode reality series at the cable channel. Said half-hour will feature Rycroft and her husband Tye Strickland as she relocates to Los Angeles to pursue her Hollywood career while managing a long-distance relationship with her husband. Ryan Seacrest Productions is behind the project with Seacrest, Jayson Dinsmore and Eliot Goldberg serving as executive producers. Look for the series to roll out in April. (Deadline.com)


UNTITLED KATE WARNE PROJECT (USA, New!) - Adam Sussman has sold a potential period drama to the cable channel about Kate Warne, the first female detective in the U.S. who also worked as a spy for the Union government during the Civil War. Sony Pictures Television is behind the hour, the pilot of would track her efforts as part of the infamous Pinkerton Detective Agency to uncover a plot to assassinate President-elect Abraham Lincoln in 1856. John Glenn, Deborah Spera and Maria Grasso are executive producing via the latter's One Two Punch Productions with Sussman serving as a co-executive producer. (Deadline.com)


UNTITLED JOHN SCOTT SHEPHERD PROJECT (USA, New!) - John Scott Shepherd ("Life or Something Like It") has landed a potential drama at the cable channel about "a recently divorced, laid back, stay-at-home dad who must return to his previous career as a vice cop, where his violent ways got him remanded to intensive therapy and anger management." Jeff Kwatinetz and Josh Barry also serve as executive producers for Universal Cable Productions and Prospect Park. (Deadline.com)


AND IN OTHER NEWS... - Jamie-Lynn Sigler will guest on ABC's "Last Man Standing" as Ed's (Hector Elizondo) daughter who "arrives on the scene with lots of suggestions on how to improve her dad's sporting goods store" (TVGuide.com); plus Jane Fonda will recur on Aaron Sorkin's upcoming HBO drama, set behind the scenes at a fictional cable news network, as the CEO of said network's parent company (TVLine.com).






  [december 2011]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· BACHELOR, THE (ABC)
· BEAT THE REAPER (APPLE TV PLUS)
· BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE (NBC)
· BEVERLY HILLS, 90210 (FOX)
· BFF (TBS)
· CLIENT LIST, THE (LIFETIME)
· DANCING WITH THE STARS (ABC)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· FAIRLY LEGAL (USA)
· HOME COURT (FOX)
· JENNIE GARTH: LITTLE BIT COUNTRY (CMT)
· LAST MAN STANDING (FOX)
· LIFE AND DEATH OF PETER SELLERS, THE (HBO)
· LUCY'S BLUFF (ABC FAMILY)
· MELISSA & JOEY (ABC FAMILY)
· MELISSA & TYE (CMT)
· MELROSE PLACE (CW)
· NEWSROOM, THE (HBO)
· PSYCH (USA)
· UNTITLED JOHN SCOTT SHEPHERD PROJECT (USA)
· UNTITLED KATE WARNE PROJECT (USA)





[03/18/26 - 01:13 PM]
"Saturday Night Live" Launches New Short-Form Digital Original Series, "The Rundown"
Guests will stop by Studio 8H to select a favorite segment from the show's history to add to the iconic Rundown board, building an all-star episode along the way.

[03/18/26 - 01:03 PM]
All New Series "Conspiracies & Coverups" Premieres April 1 at 10PM ET/PT on Discovery Channel
Former CIA covert intelligence officer Andrew Bustamante exposes the truth behind some of the most sensational, "ripped from the headlines" conspiracy theories in the all-new series.

[03/18/26 - 12:32 PM]
The Ultimate Test of Survival: "Lord of the Flies" Debuts May 4 on Netflix
Innocence descends into savagery when a group of English schoolboys becomes desert island castaways in the first television adaptation of William Golding's landmark dystopian classic.

[03/18/26 - 12:31 PM]
Darren Star & David Schulner Uncork New Napa Valley Rom-Com Series for Netflix
"Uncorked" delves into the life of a talented but self-destructive winemaker who returns to Napa for her second chance at love, legacy and that elusive 100 point wine.

[03/18/26 - 11:59 AM]
ID's Titans of True Crime Return with New Seasons of "Homicide Hunter: American Detective with Joe Kenda" and "On the Case with Paula Zahn"
The series will premiere back-to-back beginning Wednesday, April 15 at 9:00/8:00c.

[03/18/26 - 11:48 AM]
FOX Advertising Announces a Season-Long Major Brand Partnership with Toyota and the Reimagined FOX Primetime Series "Baywatch"
The series will showcase the Toyota Tacoma as the official Baywatch lifeguard vehicle which will be fully customized to authentically reflect the LA County lifeguard vehicles.

[03/18/26 - 11:31 AM]
Jinkies! Netflix Casts Mckenna Grace, Tanner Hagen, Abby Ryder Fortson, Maxwell Jenkins in the Live-Action "Scooby-Doo" Series
The series will uncover how this mystery-solving crew, and their beloved dog, first teamed up to crack the haunting case that started it all.

[03/18/26 - 10:31 AM]
TBS Orders New Season Pick-Up of "Impractical Jokers," Cable's #1 Original Series of the Year, Amid Record-Breaking Ratings
The final two episodes of season 12 air Thursday, March 19 and Friday, March 20 following NCAA coverage on TBS.

[03/18/26 - 10:31 AM]
"Million Dollar Secret" Season 2 - Only on Netflix April 15
This season, the stakes are higher than ever as players face trickier agendas, grueling challenges and navigate the ever-changing game of deception.

[03/18/26 - 10:01 AM]
Peacock Reveals July 16 Premiere Date & Releases First Look Images for "The Five Star Weekend"
The series stars Jennifer Garner, D'Arcy Carden, Gemma Chan, Regina Hall, Chloƫ Sevigny, Harlow Jane and Timothy Olyphant.

[03/18/26 - 10:01 AM]
"Nemesis" - Official First Look, Teaser Art & Date Announcement
The series, due on May 14, is the story of two men on either side of the law, the tale of what happens when an unstoppable force (an expert criminal) meets an immovable object (a brilliant police detective).

[03/18/26 - 10:00 AM]
Rewatch "Ready or Not" on Hulu Before the Highly Anticipated Sequel "Ready or Not 2: Here I Come" Hits Theaters This Friday
Audiences can revisit the film that started it all and get a special look for what's to come.

[03/18/26 - 09:31 AM]
Video: "Sheng Wang: Purple" - Official Trailer - Netflix
In this special, Sheng delves into what it means to be a grown-up and explores ordinary life moments: sharing prized berries with your friends' kids, cooking with shallots, braving the ghosts in your house, finding joy in nature and much more.

[03/18/26 - 09:28 AM]
Vice Studios Secures Worldwide Adaptation Rights for Iconic Video Game IP "Payday" Partnering with Starbreeze Entertainment to Expand the Video Game Franchise Into Film and Television
Over 15 years of continuous development have made the "Payday" name synonymous with heisting, serving a massive community of more than 50 million players.

[03/18/26 - 09:07 AM]
"Be My Guest with Ina Garten" Welcomes Allison Janney, Jon Batiste, Hoda Kotb and Michael Barbaro in New Season
The new episodes premiere Saturday, April 11th at 12pm ET/PT on Food Network and stream the next day on HBO Max and discovery+.