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)





[08/06/26 - 12:00 PM]
"Celebrity Crime Scene: Princess Diana" Premieres Thursday, August 20 at 8/7c on FOX
The special dives into the theories that have fueled decades of speculation, examining mysterious vehicles in the tunnel, claims of powerful forces in the monarchy determined to silence Diana, and allegations international arms dealers viewed Diana as a dangerous threat that needed to be eliminated.

[08/06/26 - 11:00 AM]
USA Sports Announces Game & Studio Commentators for Inaugural Season of Pac-12 Football Coverage on USA Network
The game commentary teams on USA Network will feature play-by-play voice Nate Gatter alongside Ryan Leaf, who was previously announced as USA Sports' lead Pac-12 analyst in June, and sideline reporter Lauren Green.

[08/06/26 - 10:01 AM]
Season Three of the HBO Original Series "Conan O'Brien Must Go" Debuts August 21
New episodes of the four-episode season will debut weekly on Fridays at the same time, concluding with the season finale on Friday, September 11.

[08/06/26 - 10:01 AM]
"Big City Greens" Season 5 Welcomes Star-Studded Guest Cast Stephen King, Luke Combs, Dylan Sprouse, Megan Stalter, Chad Michael Murray, Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes
The new season kicks off with the first five episodes premiering August 21 on Disney Channel (8:00 p.m. EDT/PDT) and next day on Disney+.

[08/06/26 - 10:00 AM]
The Sisters of Salt Are Back! Bravo's "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" Returns for Season Seven on Wednesday, Sept. 16 at 8 P.M. ET/PT
Returning this season are housewives Lisa Barlow, Mary Cosby, Heather Gay, Angie Katsanevas, Meredith Marks, Bronwyn Newport, Whitney Rose and friend Britani Bateman.

[08/06/26 - 09:01 AM]
Video: Paramount+ Debuts Trailer for the Explosive and Witty Second Season of "Average Joe," Premiering Globally August 19
After the explosive events of season one, Joe Washington is trying to move forward when a mysterious threat targeting his family sends him and the gang to Cape Town, South Africa.

[08/06/26 - 09:01 AM]
Video: "Lovesick" - Official Trailer - Netflix
During the Mexican Revolution, Emilia Sauri pursues her dream of becoming a doctor, defying convention in search of love, purpose and independence.

[08/06/26 - 09:01 AM]
Video: Trailer & Key Art - Hulu's "Travis Barker: Louder Than Fear" Documentary
The documentary film premieres August 13 on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ in the U.S. and Disney+ internationally.

[08/06/26 - 08:01 AM]
Video: Alert! Paramount+ Reveals "Clash of the Thundermans" Trailer and First-Look Images, Premiering Thursday, September 3 on Paramount+ and Nickelodeon
Based on the hit Nickelodeon live-action superhero comedy series, "Clash of the Thundermans" follows youngest sibling Chloe as she develops a new and unpredictable superpower, causing the Hero League to demand they send her away to a superhero boarding school to learn to control it.

[08/06/26 - 08:01 AM]
HBO and Sky Original Drama Series "War" Debuts October 1
Created by George Kay, and starring Dominic West and Sienna Miller, the series is co-produced by New Pictures and Observatory Pictures with new episodes of the eight-episode season debuting weekly on Thursdays.

[08/06/26 - 08:01 AM]
Uncover Another Clue: Stephen Merchant Joins "Ludwig" Season Two as Guest Star, BritBox Reveals First Look
Merchant plays Danny Sloane, a cocky snooker champion who is at odds with John in the season's fourth episode.

[08/06/26 - 08:01 AM]
Video: "Madden" - Date Announce - Prime Video
Coach. Broadcaster. Innovator. Legend. Nicolas Cage is John Madden. Watch "Madden" on November 18.

[08/06/26 - 08:00 AM]
"Tip Toe," Starring Alan Cumming and David Morrissey to Premiere Friday, October 2 on Starz
Leo (Alan Cumming) and Clive (David Morrissey) are neighbors in Manchester. But when Leo gives Clive his spare key, an ordinary suburban world becomes a minefield of lies and violence, with terrifying results.

[08/06/26 - 07:38 AM]
TNT Sports to Present Exclusive Wall-to-Wall Coverage of FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026, September 4-13 from Berlin
The tournament headlines TNT Sports' multiyear agreement with FIBA for exclusive U.S. English-language broadcast rights to its marquee men's and women's tentpole events, a slate that also includes the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 and FIBA EuroBasket 2029.

[08/06/26 - 07:13 AM]
"Monarch of the Glen": Cast Announced for the "Masterpiece" PBS Series
Julia Brown, Chris Fulton, Ewan Miller, Rishi Nair, Phyllis Logan, John Gordon Sinclair, and Gordon Kennedy will star in the new series.