or


[04/12/12 - 11:17 PM]
Development Update: Thursday, April 12
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!


CALIFORNICATION (Showtime) - The pay channel's veteran comedy will seed a potential spin-off during its upcoming sixth season about "what happens when an innocent young Catholic school girl is exposed to the evils of rock and roll and falls heads over heels in love with the music and the men who make it." Said character - twentysomething professional groupie Faith, who despite a fondness for sex, drugs and rock and roll, remains quite religious - will recur during a nine-episode arc and, assuming critical and ratings success, continue on her own series thereafter. "Californication" creator Tom Kapinos will presumably executive produce the half-hour. (EW.com)


HEMLOCK GROVE (Netflix) - Dougray Scott ("Desperate Housewives") is in talks to play the male lead on the upcoming drama, "a gripping tale of murder, mystery and monsters set in a ravaged Pennsylvania steel town." He'd play Norman Godfrey, "the older brother of Olivia's (Famke Janssen) late husband, JR, one of the founders of the Godfrey Center for Biomedical Technologies; wealthy, but with modest tastes and an equally modest home, Norman is sickened by Olivia's displays of ostentation and the way in which she spoils her son." Bill Skarsgard, Landon Liboiron and Penelope Mitchell also star in the Gaumont-based project, from director Eli Roth and co-creators Brian McGreevy and Lee Shipman. (Deadline.com)


ROYAL (HBO, New!) - Feature writer Nick Schenk ("Gran Torino") has booked a potential comedy at the pay channel about "a working-class, old-school, politically incorrect, tell-it-as-it-is biker who is forced back into 'the real world' to take guardianship over his nieces and nephew, executing a highly unorthodox parenting style - and inhabits a place he doesn't want to be where everyone's soft and overly PC." Said half-hour is set up at the Sony Pictures Television-based Fedora Entertainment with the company's Peter Tolan and Michael Wimer executive producing alongside Schenk and Television 360's Guymon Casady and Brandon Brito. (Deadline.com)


WHIPPED (FX, New!) - Shawna Kenney's memoir "I Was a Teenage Dominatrix" - about her experience of doing just that for various politicos and elected officials to pay for college at the American University in Washington, D.C. - is being developed as a potential series at the cable channel. Gina Fattore ("Californication") is spearheading the adaptation, which is set up at Vince Vaughn and Peter Billingsley's Wild West Picture Show Productions. No other details were given. (Vulture.com)


AND IN OTHER NEWS... - Brooke Nevin will guest star as the daughter of Ted Danson's D.B. Russell on the season finale of "CSI" (THR.com); Donald Glover will turn up on "30 Rock" as a younger version of Tracy Morgan's character on the show's April 26 live episode (TVLine.com); A&E has renewed its hit series "Storage Wars," "Storage Wars: Texas" and "Shipping Wars" (Deadline.com); Seth MacFarlane's revival of "The Flintstones" for FOX has been put on hold due to multihyphenate's busy workload (Deadline.com); and "The Office" executive producer Greg Daniels is reportedly mulling a major reboot of the series as co-stars John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, B.J. Novak and Ed Helms may not return or have limited availability next season (Deadline.com).






  [april 2012]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S


· 30 ROCK (NBC)
· CALIFORNICATION (SHOWTIME)
· CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION (CBS)
· DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· FLINTSTONES, THE (FOX)
· HEMLOCK GROVE (NETFLIX)
· OFFICE, THE (NBC)
· ROYAL (HBO)
· SHIPPING WARS (A AND E)
· STORAGE WARS (A AND E)
· STORAGE WARS: TEXAS (A AND E)
· UNTITLED CALIFORNICATION SPIN OFF PROJECT (SHOWTIME)
· WHIPPED (FX)





[02/19/26 - 11:50 AM]
ABC Wednesday Comedies Deliver Audience Milestones as Romance Blooms With Valentine's Day Episodes
"Shifting Gears" earned 6.90 million Total Viewers and 0.99 rating among Adults 18-49, after seven days of viewing on ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+ and digital platforms.

[02/19/26 - 11:01 AM]
Oscar Winners Adrien Brody, Kieran Culkin, Mikey Madison and Zoe Saldana Return to the Oscars Stage
All return to the Oscars stage after winning last year in their respective acting categories.

[02/19/26 - 10:32 AM]
Baseball Returns! ESPN to Stream More MLB Spring Training Games Than Ever
The offerings include four national games on ESPN, six games on ESPN Unlimited, and more than 250 out-of-market games via MLB.TV on ESPN platforms.

[02/19/26 - 10:00 AM]
Daring Dark Polish Comedy "The Stroke" Exclusive U.S. Debut Thursday, March 12, 2026 Only on European Streamer Viaplay U.S.
In a fearless performance, Jacek Poniedzialek plays a celebrated culinary critic and TV personality, brilliant and caustic, who built a career skewering bourgeois taste while privately unraveling.

[02/19/26 - 09:36 AM]
Nickelodeon to Air "Bedtime Stories with Ryan," Starring Ryan Reynolds, Beginning Monday, March 2, on Nick Jr. Channel
In the series, Ryan Reynolds reads new and classic bedtime stories as the tales magically come to life around him - creating a warm, playful and imaginative wind-down experience for kids and parents to enjoy together.

[02/19/26 - 09:01 AM]
Video: "STEEL BALL RUN JoJo's Bizarre Adventure" - Official Trailer - Netflix
The series premieres on Thursday, March 19, 2026, only on Netflix.

[02/19/26 - 08:46 AM]
Netflix Announces New Adult Animated Comedy Series "DANG!", Starring Stephanie Hsu, Poppy Liu and Andrew Law
The series follows a brother and sister duo whose fun, messy lives in New York City are interrupted when their worst nightmare comes true: their high-achieving older sister shows up and wants to hang out with them.

[02/19/26 - 08:01 AM]
Video: "House of the Dragon" Season 3 - Official Teaser - HBO Max
From fire comes darkness.

[02/19/26 - 08:01 AM]
Prime Video Announces Season Two Premiere Date and New Key Art for "House of David"
Season two premiere will debut on March 27, 2026 globally on the service, with all episodes available to stream at launch.

[02/19/26 - 07:59 AM]
ESPN to Launch "Women's Sports Sundays," A First of Its Kind Summer Weekly Primetime Franchise Showcasing the Best of Women's Sports in Premium Windows
Debuting in Summer 2026, the new Sunday night destination will feature top-tier WNBA and NWSL on ESPN presented by Ally matchups, elevating the biggest moments, rivalries and stars across women's sports on ESPN networks in premium windows.

[02/19/26 - 07:30 AM]
Prime Video Announces Ensemble Cast of "Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat"
The highly anticipated followup will feature Alex Bonifer, Blair Beeken, Emily Pendergast, Erica Hernandez, Jerry Hauck, Jim A. Woods, LaNisa Renee Frederick, Marc-Sully Saint-Fleur, Rachel Kaly, Rob Lathan, Ryan Perez, Stephanie Hodge, Warren Burke, and Wendy Braun.

[02/19/26 - 07:03 AM]
ESPN's 2026 UFL Commentator Lineup Features Signature Voices, Veteran Spring Football Experts
The three teams, with all 13 voices returning from the 2025 season, will once again bring fans inside the game in innovative and engaging ways, utilizing the full breadth and depth of on-field technology to showcase the action and go inside the sideline strategy.

[02/19/26 - 07:01 AM]
Video: "Tyler Perry's Beauty in Black" Season 2 - Part 2 Official Trailer - Netflix
Under threat from Jules and the Bellaries, Kimmie forges fragile alliances in an empire where surviving at the top means dancing with the devil.

[02/19/26 - 07:01 AM]
Video: Trailer & Key Art Debut - "Friends Like These: The Murder of Skylar Neese"
Three teenage girls share an unbreakable bond until terrible secrets threaten to emerge on social media. When one friend vanishes, the search for answers unearths a web of lies, betrayal, and murder - sending shockwaves through an unsuspecting community.

[02/19/26 - 07:01 AM]
Video: "The Hunt" - Official Trailer - Apple TV
The most dangerous enemy is the one you can't see. Benoît Magimel and Mélanie Laurent star in the gripping thriller - streaming March 4 on Apple TV.