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[03/06/12 - 11:54 PM]
Development Update: Tuesday, March 6
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!


AMERICANA (ABC) - Christine Adams ("Terra Nova") and David Alpay ("The Tudors") have both been cast in the drama pilot, about Robert Soulter (Anthony LaPaglia), creator of the most iconic fashion brand in the world. She's on board as his current wife Sierra Delon-Soulter, an ex-supermodel whose legendary cat-like eyes still sparkle; while he's set as Robert's grown son Jesse, who serves as the co-president of Americana. The previously cast Natalie Mendoza plays Robert's ex-wife Wendy, with whom he has an eight-year-old son; with Emilie de Ravin as Jesse's sister Francesca, who come from Robert's first marriage. Writer Michael Seitzman and director Phillip Noyce are behind the ABC Studios-based project, which also stars Annabeth Gish, Ashley Greene, Ken Olin and Tiffany Hines. (Deadline.com)


CASSANDRA FRENCH'S FINISHING SCHOOL FOR BOYS (MTV) - Eric Garcia's drama - about a 22-year-old overachiever who gets her dream job as a lawyer for a Hollywood studio but can't find a guy ready for a real, mature relationship that decides to lock one up in her basement in order to train him to become the perfect gentleman - has been ordered to pilot by the cable channel. Krysten Ritter also serves as an executive producer on the project, which is based on Garcia's novel of the same name. (Deadline.com)


DEVIOUS MAIDS (ABC) - Brianna Brown ("General Hospital") has joined the cast of the drama pilot, about four maids (Ana Ortiz, Judy Reyes, Roselyn Sanchez and Dania Ramirez) with ambition and dreams of their own while they work for the rich and famous in Beverly Hills. She'll play Taylor Slate ("beautiful and willful"), a trophy wife who employs one of them (Ortiz). Angelique Cabral, Edy Ganem and Rebecca Wisocky also star in the ABC Studios-based hour, from writer Marc Cherry and director Paul McGuigan. (THR.com)


DILFS (NBC) - Jesse Bradford ("Outlaw") has booked the remaining lead role on the comedy pilot, about a trio of thirtysomething guys who live in the same high-rise - Nick (Zach Cregger), Chris (Bradford) and Gary (Anthony Anderson) - dealing with parenthood despite the fact they haven't grown up themselves. He'll play Chris, "a handsome and recently divorced lawyer who is confident in everything except parenting his 9-month-old son, Ernie." Jamie-Lynn Sigler also stars in the Universal Television-based half-hour, from co-creators Amy Ozols, Charlie Grandy and Jimmy Fallon. Scott Ellis is directing. (Deadline.com)


DOWNWARDLY MOBILE (NBC) - Romy Rosemont and Mary Birdsong have both been cast in the Roseanne Barr-led comedy pilot, about Rose Davis (Barr), the proprietor of a mobile home park and surrogate mother to all of the unique people who live there in a challenging economy. Birdsong will play Kathie Lee, an ex hooker Rose once rescued and now totally controls; while Rosemont is set as Shelia, a lesbian nurse at an old persons' home. John Goodman also stars in the 20th Century Fox Television-based half-hour, to be directed by Gail Mancuso. (Deadline.com)


THE GILDED LILYS (ABC) - John Barrowman ("Torchwood") has joined the cast of the pilot, a period drama revolving around the family who owns New York's first true luxury hotel, the staff who work there and the people who pass through. He's set as Julius Ashford Lily ("golden boy, he's mama's favorite, charming, optimistic, lucky, and loose"), Caroline's (Blythe Danner) playboy son who helped design and staff The Lillian Hotel, the brainchild of his brother Edwin (Brían F. O'Byrne). Brigid Brannagh, Madeline Zima, Matt Lauira, Matt Long, Maury Sterling and Sarah Bolger also star in the ABC Studios-based hour, from writer K.J. Steinberg and director Brian Kirk. (Deadline.com)


L.A. NOIR (TNT) - Jeremy Strong ("The Good Wife") is the latest addition to the drama pilot, which chronicles the epic battle between Los Angeles Police Chief William Parker and mobster Mickey Cohen in the 1950s and 1960s. He'll play Mike Hendry, Mickey's second in command. Jon Bernthal and Milo Ventimiglia co-star in the project, from writer/director Frank Darabont. (Deadline.com)


MISTRESSES (ABC) - Australian director Cherie Nowlan ("90210") has been tapped to helm the pilot for the upcoming drama, which follows the lives of four female friends and their involvement in an array of illicit and complex relationships. She'll work from a script by K.J. Steinberg, who's executive producing alongside Douglas Rae, Rina Mimoun and Robert M. Sertner for ABC Studios. The network ordered the project directly to series last month. (Variety.com)


NASHVILLE (ABC) - Connie Britton ("Friday Night Lights") has booked the lead role on the drama pilot, which centers around the Nashville music scene and its stars, both rising and fading. She'll play aging superstar Rayna James, a married mother of two, who's forced to team up with teen sensation Juliette Barnes (Hayden Panettiere) on tour to keep her label's support going. Clare Bowen, Eric Close, Jonathan Jackson, Powers Boothe, Robert Wisdom and Sam Palladio also star in the project, from ABC Studios and Lionsgate Television. R.J. Cutler is directing from a script by Callie Khouri. (Deadline.com)


OVER AND OUT (CBS) - Actor-turned-director Fred Savage ("2 Broke Girls") has been tapped to helm the Martin Lawrence-led comedy pilot, about Ray Barker, a widowed father of two teenagers who, after losing his job in construction, decides to go to the police academy and become a cop at the age of 46. Savage, who has an overall deal with producer CBS Television Studios, will work from a script by Mike Lisbe and Nate Reger. (THR.com)


UNTITLED RALPH LAMB PROJECT (CBS) - Carrie-Anne Moss ("Chuck") has booked the female lead on the pilot, a period drama about Ralph Lamb (Dennis Quaid), the cowboy-turned-Las Vegas sheriff in the 1960s. She'll play Assistant District Attorney Katherine O'Connell ("pretty, whip smart; a woman playing a man's game"), the daughter of a local rancher who grew up next to the Lambs who's more Ivy league than Western now. Michael Chiklis and Taylor Handley also star in the CBS Television Studios-based hour, from director James Mangold and co-creators Nicholas Pileggi and Greg Walker. (Deadline.com)


THE UNPROFESSIONAL (ABC) - Greg Germann ("House of Lies") has booked a role on the Mary McCormack-led comedy pilot, about Hilary Pfeiffer-Dunne, "a high-powered executive who, having dominated the corporate America for years, now faces the biggest challenge of her life when she finds herself unemployed and acting as a full-time mom to her two teenagers." He'll play her husband Griffin ("handsome and likable - much more easy going than Hilary, but equally successful"), who has a playful relationship with the kids that sometimes makes her feel left out. Craig Zisk is directing the Warner Bros. Television-based half-hour from a script by Kari Lizer. (Deadline.com)






  [march 2012]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· 2 BROKE GIRLS (CBS)
· 90210 (CW)
· AMERICANA (ABC)
· CASSANDRA FRENCH'S FINISHING SCHOOL FOR BOYS (MTV)
· CHUCK (NBC)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· DEVIOUS MAIDS (LIFETIME)
· DOWNWARDLY MOBILE (NBC)
· FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS (DIRECTV)
· GILDED LILYS, THE (ABC)
· GOOD WIFE, THE (CBS)
· GUYS WITH KIDS (NBC)
· HOUSE OF LIES (SHOWTIME)
· MISTRESSES (ABC)
· MOB CITY (TNT)
· NASHVILLE (CMT)
· OUTLAW (NBC)
· OVER AND OUT (CBS)
· TERRA NOVA (FOX)
· TORCHWOOD (STARZ)
· TUDORS, THE (SHOWTIME)
· UNPROFESSIONAL, THE (ABC)
· VEGAS (CBS)





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