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[11/15/12 - 11:13 PM]
Development Update: Thursday, November 15
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!


BOOK CLUB (The CW, New!) - Nina Colman ("Gigantic") has sold a potential drama to the netlet inspired by Hope Hartman's recent documentary about "eight women who have been members of a book club in Washington, D.C., that has lasted more than 60 years." Said effort will revolve around "a young woman in New York who starts a book club with three friends, her mother and grandmother." The "book of the week" framework then will be used to examine the lives of club members. Warner Bros. Television is behind the hour with Dan Lin and Jennifer Gwartz of Lin Pictures executive producing. (Variety.com)


BRIDGE, THE (FX) - Oscar-nominee Catalina Sandino Moreno ("Maria Full Of Grace") is the latest to board the drama pilot, about two detectives from the United States (Diane Kruger) and Mexico (Demián Bichir) who must work together to hunt down a serial killer operating on both sides of the American-Mexican border. She'll play the latter's second wife "who is at home to tend to the kids while Marco works long hours." Annabeth Gish, Emily Rios, Matthew Lillard, Ted Levine and Thomas M. Wright also star in the project, which Gerardo Naranjo is helming off a script by Elwood Reid and Meredith Stiehm. (Deadline.com)


HOT MESS (MTV, New!) - Annabelle Stephenson, Matthew Atkinson, Mathew Botuchis and Shoshana Bush are the first to be cast in the comedy pilot, about Amanda Marshall (Stephenson), "who is caught between her current and former boyfriend, and her close circle of friends from college." Atkinson plays Nick, "a member of Amanda's crew"; with Botuchis as "his partner in crime Todd"; and Bush as Vivi, "Amanda's closest girlfriend." Lauren Iungerich is writing and directing the half-hour - a redeveloped version of her previous effort "Dumb Girls" - as well as executive producing alongside Robyn Meisinger and Kim Fleary. (Deadline.com)


HUNTED (Cinemax) - The pay channel reportedly is looking to renew the freshman drama despite its production partner BBC opting against a second season. "We are making plans with creator and executive producer Frank Spotnitz and star Melissa George to present a new chapter in the Sam Hunter mythology," Cinemax's Kary Antholis said in a statement. "We are very pleased with what Hunted has done for Cinemax's brand and are very excited about what lies ahead." No other details were given. (Deadline.com)


KING & MAXWELL (TNT) - Chris Butler ("The Good Wife") has joined the cast of the drama pilot, about two former secret service agents (Jon Tenney, Rebecca Romijn) whose unique skill set often gives them a leg up on suspects and conventional law enforcement. He's on board as "the street smart and tough partner to FBI Agent Brandon Murdock (Michael O'Keefe)." Ryan Hurst also stars in the CBS Television Studios-based hour, which is adapted from characters created by bestselling author David Baldacci. Michael Katleman is directing from a script by Shane Brennan. (Deadline.com)


MISSIONARY, THE (HBO) - Jesse Plemons ("Friday Night Lights") has joined the cast of the drama pilot, about Roy (Benjamin Walker), a young American missionary who gets caught up in Cold War intrigue while helping a young woman escape East Berlin in the late 1960s. He's set as Sherwood Elbridge, "a young Coca-Cola executive who helps smuggle defectors out of the Eastern Bloc." Baltasar Kormakur is directing the project from a script by Charles Randolph and Malcolm Gladwell. (Deadline.com)


OUR FATHER (HBO, New!) - Screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick ("Zombieland") and director Jay Roach ("Game Change") are set to team for a new drama about "one of America's most powerful pastors who fights to rediscover faith, reconnect with family, and return to dominance in the face of unlikely enemies." Roach will direct the potential hour should it move forward as well as executive produce alongside said duo via his two-year overall deal with the pay channel. (Deadline.com)


SUPER FUN NIGHT (ABC) - Lauren Ash ("Scare Tactics") has booked the remaining lead role on the single-camera comedy pilot, about three nerdy female friends on a quest to have "super fun" every Friday night. She'll play Marika ("a classic grenade who always wears ill-fitting sports attire"), a role played by Edi Patterson in the original CBS multi-camera version. Rebel Wilson and Liza Lapira also star in the project, which the former penned for the Warner Bros. Television-based Conaco Productions. (THR.com)


UNSUPERVISED (FX) - Co-creator David Hornsby took to Twitter to confirm the animated series has indeed been canceled by the cable channel. The show's three remaining episodes will turn up on Thursday nights at 11:30/10:30c beginning December 6. "Unsupervised's" previous 10-episode run averaged 611,000 viewers and a 0.4 rating among adults 18-49, well short of its lead-in "Archer" (1.177 million viewers, 0.7 adults 18-49 rating). (@HornsbyDavid)


AND IN OTHER NEWS... - Eddie Izzard will guest on NBC's "Hannibal" as "an inmate at the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, the very same facility where Hannibal Lecter is eventually incarcerated" (EW.com); Marianne Jean-Baptiste will reprise her role as Violet's (Amy Brenneman) support group member Gabi on "Private Practice" (THR.com); Mykelti Williamson and Frances Fisher are set to recur on "Touch" as seen it all LAPD detective and the ultra-competent head of Aster Corps, respectively (THR.com); Rebecca Mader is bound for the final season of "30 Rock" as a "temptress" of sorts (TVLine.com); and Anthony Bourdain has pulled the plug on his Travel Channel series "The Layover" after his voice and likeness were used in an ad for Cadillac by the network without his permission (Variety.com).






  [november 2012]  
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M
T
W
T
F
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· 30 ROCK (NBC)
· ARCHER (FXX)
· BOOK CLUB (CW)
· BRIDGE, THE (FX)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· DUMB GIRLS (MTV)
· FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS (DIRECTV)
· GAME CHANGE (HBO)
· GIGANTIC (TEEN NICK)
· GOOD WIFE, THE (CBS)
· HANNIBAL (NBC)
· HOT MESS (MTV)
· HUNTED (CINEMAX)
· KING & MAXWELL (TNT)
· LAYOVER, THE (TRAVEL)
· MISSIONARY, THE (HBO)
· OUR FATHER (HBO)
· PRIVATE PRACTICE (ABC)
· SCARE TACTICS (SYFY)
· SUPER FUN NIGHT (ABC)
· SUPER FUN NIGHT (CBS)
· TOUCH (FOX)
· UNSUPERVISED (FX)





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