or


[03/09/12 - 11:16 PM]
Development Update: Friday, March 9
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!


666 PARK AVENUE (ABC) - Vanessa Williams ("Desperate Housewives") is the latest addition to the drama pilot, about a young couple (Rachael Taylor, Dave Annable) who accept an offer to manage one of the most historic apartment buildings in New York City where they begin to experience supernatural occurrences. She's set as Olivia Doran ("maybe 55, but seems ageless; coldly beautiful, sophisticated, and still has a potent sexuality about her"), the wife of the building's owner, Gavin (Terry O'Quinn). Said casting is tied to her talent holding deal with the Alphabet. David Wilcox penned the hour for Warner Bros. Television while Alex Graves is attached to direct. Mercedes Masohn and Robert Buckley also star. (Deadline.com)


BATES MOTEL (A&E) - Carlton Cuse ("Lost") and Kerry Ehrin ("Parenthood") have signed on as executive producers of the "Psycho" prequel, which will give viewers an intimate understanding of how Norman Bates's psyche developed from his childhood through his teen years. They'll oversee the Universal Television-based hour, which was originally penned by Anthony Cipriano. Mark Wolper and Roy Lee also serve as executive producers on the project, envisioned initially as a six-episode event. (THR.com)


BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (ABC) - Alan Dale and Wendy Crewson have both landed roles on the pilot, a drama set in a mythical city where its princess, Grace (Ruth Bradley), is tasked with quelling a rebellion. He'll play her father, Emperor Dorian ("emaciated; wispy; really, really sick"), who's been poisoned - presumably by the rebels - leaving Grace in charge. Crewson then is set as Mara, a member of Dorian's advisory council - complete with regal-looking clerical habit - who served as Grace's teacher growing up. Chris Egan, Darius Campbell, F. Murray Abraham, Karen LeBlanc and Meegan Warner also star. Yves Simoneau is directing the ABC Studios-based hour from a script by Jonathan E. Steinberg. (Variety.com)


THE CARRIE DIARIES (The CW) - Matt Letscher ("Brothers & Sisters") has booked a role on the drama pilot, which stars AnnaSophia Robb as a teenage Carrie Bradshaw in the 1980s. He's on board as her father, Tom ("traditionally handsome with a whiff of vulnerability and sadness"), a lawyer who suggests Carrie intern at his friend's Manhattan firm. Austin Butler, Brendan Dooling, Ellen Wong, Freema Agyeman, Katie Findlay and Stefania Owen also star in the Warner Bros. Television-based hour, from writer Amy B. Harris and director Miguel Arteta. (Deadline.com)


DEVIOUS MAIDS (ABC) - Susan Lucci ("All My Children"), Drew Van Acker ("Tower Prep") and Brett Cullen ("Make It or Break It") have all landed roles on the drama pilot, about four maids (Ana Ortiz, Dania Ramirez, Roselyn Sanchez, Judy Reyes) with ambition and dreams of their own while they work for the rich and famous in Beverly Hills. She'll play Genevieve Delacourt, Zoila's (Reyes) employer, an aging beauty who's driving herself crazy over the loss of her looks. Acker then is set as her handsome, well-meaning son Remi, whom Zoila's daughter Valentina (Edy Ganem) pines after. And finally, Cullen is on board as Michael Slate ("elegant and kind") who hires Marisol (Ortiz) after his old maid left with his ex-wife Olivia (yet to be cast). Angelique Cabral, Brianna Brown and Rebecca Wisocky also star in the ABC Studios-based hour, from director Paul McGuigan and writer Marc Cherry. (Deadline.com)


GUILTY (FOX) - Sharon Leal ("Hellcats") has snagged a role on the drama pilot, about William "Billy" Remz (Cuba Gooding, Jr.), a morally questionable defense attorney who, after being falsely convicted of fraud and stripped of his license, uses unorthodox methods to continue working cases. She'll play Sara, Billy's estranged wife and mother of his six-year-old daughter, Zoe. Eva Amurri Martino, Jay Harrington and Julian Morris co-star in the project, from Warner Bros. Television, director McG and writer Marc Guggenheim. (Deadline.com)


HOW TO LIVE WITH YOUR PARENTS FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE (ABC) - Brad Garrett ("'Til Death") has signed onto the comedy pilot, about Polly (Sarah Chalke), a recently divorced, single mom, who moves in with her eccentric parents, a couple who's full of life but knows no boundaries. He'll play Max ("always in motion, explosive"), Polly's stepfather, who owns a successful chain of nightclubs. Elizabeth Perkins also stars as Polly's mom Elaine with Jon Dore as her ex Julian and Rachel Eggleston as their daughter Natalie. Julie Anne Robinson is directing the Claudia Lonow-penned half-hour, from the 20th Century Fox Television-based Imagine Television. (Deadline.com)


REBOUNDING (FOX) - Will Forte ("Saturday Night Live") has booked the lead role on the comedy pilot, about a man recovering from the death of his fiance with help from friends on his pick-up basketball team. He'll play said fellow, Danny Markle ("reasonably good looking, a man in crisis who is raw and exposed"), alongside the previously cast Aly Michalka, Hayes MacArthur, Malcolm Barrett and Matt L. Jones. 20th Century Fox Television is behind the half-hour, to be directed by Jason Winer from a script by Joe Port and Joe Wiseman. (Deadline.com)


REVOLUTION (NBC) - Tim Guinee ("The Good Wife") has been cast in the Jon Favreau-helmed drama pilot, about a group of people struggling to survive and reunite with loved ones in a world where all forms of energy have mysteriously ceased to exist. His role however wasn't specified. Anna Lise Phillips, Billy Burke, Giancarlo Esposito, Graham Rogers and Tracy Spiradakos co-star in the Eric Kripke-penned hour, from the Warner Bros. Television-based Bad Robot Productions. (Deadline.com)


SCRUPLES (ABC) - Claire Forlani, Boris Kodjoe and Jessica McNamee have all been cast in the drama pilot, about the staggeringly luxurious life of a Beverly Hills boutique in 1978 and the people who work in it. Forlani will play Billy Winthrop Ikehorn ("35, beautiful, svelte, and chic"), the fashion emporium's owner; with Kodjoe as Josh Hillman, her late husband Ellis's lawyer who's overseeing his estate; and McNamee as Maggie MacGregor, Billy's vivacious friend, an aspiring TV journalist whose 60-year-old self narrates the show from the present day. Bob Brush and Mel Harris are behind the Warner Bros. Television-based hour, to be directed by Michael Sucsy. Karine Vanasse and Noot Seear also star. (Deadline.com)


THE SMART ONE (ABC) - Matt Oberg and Stephanie Beatriz have both been cast in the comedy pilot, about Jude (Portia de Rossi), a brilliant and successful woman who has to go to work for her less brainy but more popular sister, Candy (Malin Akerman) - a former beauty queen, weather girl and now big city mayor. Oberg will play Jude's former operative Martin - a good-looking, slick D.C. power-player who never betrays what he's feeling, if anything - who likewise goes to work for Candy. Beatriz then is set as Natalee ("gorgeous, sincere, enthusiastic, free-spirited"), Candy's "campaign advisor," who's actually her hairdresser. David Arquette and Jean Smart also star in the Warner Bros. Television-based half-hour, from director Michael Fresco and writer Don Todd. (THR.com)


UNTITLED JOSH BERMAN/ROB WRIGHT PROJECT (FOX) - Zach Gilford ("Off the Map") has been cast in the drama pilot, about Grace Devlin (Jordana Spiro), one of Chicago's top young cardiothoracic surgeons who, to save her gambling-indebted brother (Jesse Lee Soffer), is forced to moonlight as a mob doctor. He'll play Brett Robinson ("handsome blueblood"), a doctor who works with Grace at the Chicago Medical Center. Jaime Lee Kirchner, James Carpinello and William Forsythe also star in the Sony Pictures Television-based hour, to be directed by Michael Dinner. (THR.com)


ZERO HOUR (ABC) - Michael Nyqvist and Jacinda Barrett have each boarded the drama pilot, about Hank Foley (Anthony Edwards), a skeptical magazine editor who, after his wife is improbably kidnapped, finds himself swept up in a conspiracy dating back to World War II. Barrett will play said wife, Laila, with Nyqvist as White Vincent, the shark-eyed mercenary who takes her. Paul T. Scheuring is behind the ABC Studios-based hour, which also stars Addison Timlin, Carmen Ejogo and Scott Michael Foster. Pierre Morel is directing. (Deadline.com)


AND IN OTHER NEWS... - Mía Maestro, Mekhi Phifer and Gregg Henry are all bound for the new season of "White Collar," due this summer (EW.com; TVLine.com); Kevin McKidd and Chandra Wilson both returning to the director's chair on "Grey's Anatomy" (THR.com); Alyssa Milano will return as Oz's (Christian Slater) scheming wife on "Breaking In" later this season (TVLine.com); Cary Elwes has been tapped as the latest target for the "Leverage" team (EW.com); Fox Television Studios is developing a domestic take on Telemundo's blockbuster 2011 telenovela "La Reina del Sur" (Deadline.com); and Entertainment One and Piller/Segan/Shepherd have acquired the rights to Karin Slaughter's Grant County series of six books with an eye towards the small screen (Deadline.com).






  [march 2012]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· 666 PARK AVENUE (ABC)
· BATES MOTEL (A AND E)
· BEAUTY & THE BEAST (ABC)
· BREAKING IN (FOX)
· BROTHERS & SISTERS (ABC)
· CARRIE DIARIES, THE (CW)
· DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· DEVIOUS MAIDS (LIFETIME)
· GOOD WIFE, THE (CBS)
· GREY'S ANATOMY (ABC)
· GUILTY (FOX)
· HELLCATS (CW)
· HOW TO LIVE WITH YOUR PARENTS (FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE) (ABC)
· LEVERAGE (TNT)
· LOST (ABC)
· MAKE IT OR BREAK IT (ABC FAMILY)
· MOB DOCTOR, THE (FOX)
· OFF THE MAP (ABC)
· PARENTHOOD (NBC)
· REBOUNDING (FOX)
· REVOLUTION (NBC)
· SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE (NBC)
· SCRUPLES (ABC)
· SMART ONE, THE (ABC)
· 'TIL DEATH (FOX)
· TOWER PREP (CARTOON)
· WHITE COLLAR (USA)
· WHITE COLLAR (USA)
· ZERO HOUR (ABC)





[02/27/26 - 08:12 AM]
Paul Wesley Joins Season Three of Hit Apple TV Series "The Buccaneers"
Wesley will play the role as Frank, a mysterious but charming stranger who arrives into Nan and Mrs. St. George's world, turning it upside down.

[02/27/26 - 07:31 AM]
Peacock to Exclusively Stream Focus Features' "Hamnet" Beginning March 6
Directed by two-time Academy Award-winning director ChloƩ Zhao, the film tells the untold story behind one of Shakespeare's most memorable works and celebrates the power of imagination and the creative spirit.

[02/27/26 - 07:01 AM]
Prime Video Debuts First-Look Image of Ryan Hurst as Kratos and Callum Vinson as Atreus On Set of New Series "God of War"
The series is co-produced by Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios in association with PlayStation Productions and Tall Ship Productions, and has received a two-season order.

[02/27/26 - 06:01 AM]
Video: Netflix and Apple TV Join Forces to Stream Formula 1 Thrills
The entire new season of "Formula 1: Drive to Survive" is now on Netflix globally and Apple TV in the U.S.

[02/26/26 - 08:46 PM]
"Dandelion": Netflix Adapts "Gintama" Creator Hideaki Sorachi's Debut Work into New Anime Series
Set within the Send-Off Department of the Japanese Angel Federation, Dandelion follows "Angels" Tetsuo Tanba and Misaki Kurogane as they scramble to track down Earthbound spirits - souls unable to move on and find peace - and gently guide them to pass on.

[02/26/26 - 06:01 PM]
Video: "Still Shining" - Official Trailer - Netflix
After falling in love as teens, two young adults drift apart - only to reunite 10 years later and confront their heartbreak, growth and new challenges.

[02/26/26 - 02:46 PM]
Netflix Declines to Raise Offer for Warner Bros.
"The transaction we negotiated would have created shareholder value with a clear path to regulatory approval. However, we've always been disciplined, and at the price required to match Paramount Skydance's latest offer, the deal is no longer financially attractive, so we are declining to match the Paramount Skydance bid," said co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters.

[02/26/26 - 02:19 PM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Soars to Season High with Best Audience in Over a Year
"Live" has now ranked as the No. 1 talk show in syndication for 157 consecutive weeks across all key measures.

[02/26/26 - 02:08 PM]
Britbox Unveils Spring Slate with "The Lady" Starring Mia McKenna-Bruce; Premieres March 18
Other highlights include the return of "Hope Street" and the debut of "Mudtown."

[02/26/26 - 01:36 PM]
Paramount Comments on Warner Bros. Discovery Board's Determination of Paramount's Proposal as Superior
David Ellison, Chairman and CEO of Paramount, said: "We are pleased WBD's Board has unanimously affirmed the superior value of our offer, which delivers to WBD shareholders superior value, certainty and speed to closing."

[02/26/26 - 01:16 PM]
Warner Bros. Discovery Board of Directors Determines Revised Proposal from Paramount Skydance Constitutes a "Company Superior Proposal"
Under the terms of the Netflix merger agreement, this notice triggers a four business day period during which Netflix has the right to propose revisions to the Netflix merger agreement so that the PSKY proposal would cease to constitute a "Company Superior Proposal."

[02/26/26 - 01:00 PM]
FOX Television Network Renews Hit Joel McHale Series "Animal Control" for Season Five
In addition, the first three seasons of the series are currently streaming on Netflix, and the show has been sold in territories around the world.

[02/26/26 - 10:31 AM]
More Stars Take the Stage to Present at the 98th Oscars
Javier Bardem, Chris Evans, Chase Infiniti, Demi Moore, Kumail Nanjiani and Maya Rudolph are among the featured talent.

[02/26/26 - 10:30 AM]
Video: AMC Networks Unveils Captivating Sneak Peek Scene from "The Vampire Lestat"
In the new rock and roll centric season, the Vampire Lestat goes on an electric multi-city tour while being haunted by "muses" from his wild and rebellious past.

[02/26/26 - 10:21 AM]
Feed the Children Teams Up with FOX's "Next Level Chef" to Put Child Hunger to Bed
The year-round campaign rallies the public alongside donors, volunteers, and partners to provide kids with the food and resources they need to rise and thrive every day.