or


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


ALMIGHTY JOHNSONS, THE (Syfy, New!) - The cable channel is looking to import James Griffin and Rachel Lang's New Zealand drama, about Axl Johnson, "who on his 21st birthday discovers he and his family members are reincarnated Norse gods." Chris Dingess ("Chaos") is spearheading the project, which is set up at Entertainment One. All3Media's South Pacific Pictures was behind the original incarnation. (Deadline.com)


FOSTERS, THE (NBC, New!) - Gary Anthony Williams ("Boston Legal") is set to star in a potential comedy at the Peacock about a father with numerous foster children. He'll also co-write the half-hour alongside Sindy McKay based on an idea they conceived with Larry Swerdlove and Scott Ward, all of whom will serve as co-executive producers. Al Roker is also on board to executive produce via his Al Roker Entertainment banner, as is Tracie Brennan. No studio was indicated. (Deadline.com)


HELIX (Syfy, New!) - Ronald D. Moore ("Battlestar Galactica") is developing a new drama at the network about "a team of scientists investigating a possible disease outbreak at an Antarctic research facility." Said effort is set up at Sony Pictures Television, home to Moore's overall deal. (Deadline.com)


HOW THE F--- AM I NORMAL (ABC) - Writer Adam F. Goldberg and director Seth Gordon's project - "a family comedy set in the '80s that centers on an in-your-face mother and hot-tempered father who love their three eccentric kids so much, they can't bear to see them grow up" - has formally been ordered to pilot by the Alphabet. Said duo is executive producing alongside Doug Robinson for the Sony Pictures Television-based Happy Madison Productions. Bill Wee is co-executive producing. (Deadline.com)


LEGENDS (TNT) - Amber Valletta, Rob Mayes, Tina Majorino and Lux Haney Jardine have all been cast in the drama pilot, about a deep-cover operative named Martin Odum (Sean Bean), who has an uncanny ability to transform himself into a different person for each job. Valletta will play Martin's ex-wife and mother to preteen Aiden (Jardine) with Mayes as Troy, "a former Special Ops guy with a mission-first mentality," and Majorino as Maggie, "the newest member of the field support team." Fox 21 is behind the hour, with Howard Gordon, Jeffrey Nachmanoff, Alexander Cary and Jonathan Levin executive producing. David Semel is directing. (Deadline.com)


LINDA GREEN (FOX, New!) - Alex Borstein ("Shameless") is looking to import Paul Abbott's U.K. dramedy, about a thirty-something woman who works as a car saleswoman by day and sings in a club at night. Sony Pictures Television is behind the hour, which will now be set in Boston and revolve around "the eponymous character and her four best friends as they navigate their way through their 30s, tackling love, marriage and stability." Abbott himself is on board to executive produce alongside Borstein and BBC Worldwide Productions' Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner. (Deadline.com)


LORIMER (HBO) - The pay channel has given the Michael Lannan-penned comedy - about "three thirty-something friends living in San Francisco who grapple with all the options in contemporary life and the complexities of the modern gay experience" - a pilot order. David Marshall Grant, Sarah Condon and Andrew Haigh serve as executive producers on the half-hour, the latter of which will direct, with Lannan as a co-executive producer. (Deadline.com)


PEOPLE IN NEW JERSEY (HBO, New!) - Bruce Eric Kaplan ("Girls") has scored a pilot order from the pay channel about an adult brother and sister living in New Jersey, "struggling to get through the day, asking themselves the big questions, the little questions, and everything in between." Right of Way Films' Jason Reitman and Helen Estabrook as well as Broadway Video Television's Andrew Singer and Lorne Michaels are on board to executive produce the half-hour, with Reitman also attached to direct. (Deadline.com)


UNTITLED JUSTIN BIEBER PROJECT (ABC, New!) - Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi ("Entourage") have sold a new single-camera comedy to the Alphabet based on pop superstar Justin Bieber's life. Bieber himself will executive produce the project with his manager, Scooter Braun, for ABC Studios and Scooter Braun Films. Said half-hour, about "a future pop star's awkward teenage years and his unorthodox family," was originally set up at the network last year and has subsequently been revived. (TVGuide.com)


Z (USA, New!) - Whit Brayton and Zack Rice have sold a potential "Zorro" revival to the cable channel set in modern-day Los Angeles, about "the rise of Diego Moreno from an orphaned teen and raising his sister with little supervision, to an infamous hero fighting to save the city." Naren Shankar ("Grimm") and Louis Leterrier ("Clash of the Titans") are on board to executive produce the hour - the latter of which will direct - which would be ordered directly to series should its pilot script merit. Georgeville Television and Zorro Productions are co-producing with John Gertz also serving as an executive producer. (Variety.com)


AND IN OTHER NEWS... - Producers of ABC Family's drama pilot "Socio" have started making if-come deals to writers, however a series order may not be in the cards due to its content in light of today's tragic killings in a Connecticut elementary school (Deadline.com); "Covert Affairs" co-creators Matt Corman and Chris Ord have inked an overall deal with producer Universal Cable Productions (Deadline.com); NBC and Universal Television has inked a development deal with comedian Dane Cook, star of the network's recently shuttered comedy "Next Caller" (Deadline.com); "Judge Judy" executive producer Timothy Regler is set to retire after the current season to be succeed by Amy Freisleben (Deadline.com); Abby Elliott will guest on "Happy Endings" as "a woman who suddenly becomes very appealing to Max (Adam Pally) when he learns that she gets great tickets to Chicago Bulls games" (EW.com); Beth Grant's surly pot-smoking nurse Beverly has been upped to series regular on "The Mindy Project" (THR.com).






  [december 2012]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
      


· ALMIGHTY JOHNSONS, THE (SYFY)
· BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (SCI FI)
· BOSTON LEGAL (ABC)
· CHAOS (CBS)
· COVERT AFFAIRS (USA)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· ENTOURAGE (HBO)
· FOSTERS, THE (NBC)
· GIRLS (HBO)
· GOLDBERGS, THE (ABC)
· GRIMM (NBC)
· HAPPY ENDINGS (ABC)
· HELIX (SYFY)
· JUDGE JUDY (SYNDICATION)
· LEGENDS (TNT)
· LINDA GREEN (FOX)
· LOOKING (HBO)
· MINDY PROJECT, THE (HULU)
· NEXT CALLER (NBC)
· PEOPLE IN NEW JERSEY (HBO)
· SHAMELESS (SHOWTIME)
· TWISTED (ABC FAMILY)
· UNTITLED DANE COOK PROJECT (NBC)
· UNTITLED JUSTIN BIEBER PROJECT (ABC)
· Z (USA)





[05/22/26 - 07:17 AM]
ESPN Films and Wakai Announce Global Premiere of "FC Barcelona: Sonar, jugar y ganar"
The documentary premieres in the U.S. on Saturday, May 23 at 10 a.m. ET on ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and streaming on ESPN+.

[05/22/26 - 07:11 AM]
Video: Back to Where It All Began - Official Teaser for "Vought Rising" Revealed
The prequel to the global hit series "The Boys" will premiere exclusively on Prime Video in 2027.

[05/22/26 - 07:01 AM]
First Picture of Charlie Heaton in "Peaky Blinders" Reveals His Role as Charles Shelby
The new chapter will premiere globally on Netflix - and on BBC iplayer and BBC One in the UK.

[05/22/26 - 04:27 AM]
Video: "Maa Behen" - Official Trailer - Netflix
When trouble knocks on her door, a mother and her estranged daughters attempt to cover up a crime in a nosy colony where no secret is safe.

[05/21/26 - 05:01 PM]
Video: "Husbands in Action" - Official Teaser - Netflix
A detective teams up with his ex-wife's new husband to chase down her kidnappers. Can this unlikely duo put aside their differences for one wild rescue?

[05/21/26 - 02:32 PM]
ESPN Delivered Most-Watched NBA Eastern Conference Finals Game 1 Since 2018
The New York Knicks overtime victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers on May 19 generated an average audience of 7.1 million viewers and peaked with 8.87 million viewers at 10:45 p.m. ET.

[05/21/26 - 02:00 PM]
"Survivor" Historic 50th Season Concludes with Most-Watched Finale Since 2020
The season finale drew an average of 5.78 million viewers, based on Nielsen Preliminary panel only data.

[05/21/26 - 12:00 PM]
What's New on HBO Max This June
Highlights include the return of "House of the Dragon" and the debut of "Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness."

[05/21/26 - 11:00 AM]
A24's "How to Make a Killing" Begins Streaming Exclusively on HBO Max June 19
Disowned at birth by his obscenely wealthy family, blue-collar Becket Redfellow (Glen Powell) will stop at nothing to reclaim his inheritance, no matter how many relatives stand in his way.

[05/21/26 - 10:00 AM]
Video: Trailer & Key Art Debut - Hulu Original "Hannah Berner: None of My Business"
Hannah Berner delivers her most vulnerable material yet - questioning her future, exposing her unorthodox career path, dishing dating secrets and admitting she's "part-time hot" in this sensational sophomore special.

[05/21/26 - 10:00 AM]
HBO Original Documentary "Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial vs. That's the Weight of the World)" Debuts June 7
Acclaimed producer, director, and musician Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson tells the story of the legendary nine-time Grammy Award-winning band.

[05/21/26 - 10:00 AM]
The Tony Awards to Feature Showstopping Performances by All of the Best Musical and Best Revival of a Musical Nominees
Additional performances will be announced in the coming weeks.

[05/21/26 - 09:02 AM]
HBO Max Announces the Debut of HBO Original "House of the Dragon" with American Sign Language (ASL) to Mark Global Accessibility Awareness Day
Season one with ASL will debut on May 29, followed by season two on June 15.

[05/21/26 - 09:00 AM]
Video: Acorn TV Releases Trailer and Key Art for All-New Season of Fan-Favorite Mystery Thriller "Harry Wild" Premiering Monday, June 22 on Acorn TV
Season five marks a highly anticipated on-screen reunion between Jane Seymour, who stars and executive produces, and Joe Lando, her longtime co-star from the beloved Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning series "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman."

[05/21/26 - 08:16 AM]
"Emily in Paris" Begins Production in Greece for the 6th and Final Season
Since its debut in 2020, Seasons 1-5 have spent 32 weeks on the Netflix Global Top 10 list, reached #1 in 90 countries, and accumulated over 250 million views.