|
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!
BACKSTROM (CBS/20th; W: Hart Hanson; D: TBA) - Beatrice Rosen ("Cuts") has snagged a role on the drama pilot, based on Leif G.W. Persson's literary hero Everett Backstrom (yet to be cast), a homicide detective/equal-opportunity misanthrope. She's set as Nadia Chichikov ("dirty-girl sexy, fatalistic, poetic, Russian immigrant"), who works as civilian support for the Special Crimes Group in the Portland Police Department. Dennis Haysbert and Kristoffer Polaha also star. (Deadline.com)
GANG RELATED (FOX/20th; W: Chris Morgan; D: Allen Hughes) - Tom Berenger has bowed out of the drama pilot, about Ryan Lopez (Ramon Rodriguez), a gang member sent in to infiltrate the San Francisco Police Department only to be caught between his crime family ties and an increasing sense of loyalty to his new brothers in blue. He had been set to play Sam Chapel, the tough, dynamic police captain heading up the Task Force. It's understood the actor "did not quite mesh with the rest of the cast and his vision of the character was different from that of the show's producers." Cliff Curtis, Inbar Lavi, Jay Hernandez, RZA, Shantel VanSanten and Sung Kang also star. (Deadline.com)
GROUND FLOOR (TBS/Warner Bros.; W: Bill Lawrence & Greg Malins; D: Gail Mancuso) - James Earl and Rene Gube are the latest additions to the multi-camera comedy pilot, about the "Romeo and Juliet"-esque courtship of Harvard grad Brody (Skylar Astin) and maintenance supervisor Jennifer (Briga Heelan) who work at the same company. Earl is set as Derrick, a "laid-back guy who works with Jennifer on the ground floor"; while Gube plays Threepeat, "a money manager with super-gelled hair." John C. McGinley also stars. (Deadline.com)
I AM VICTOR (NBC/Universal; W: Mark Goffman; D: TBA) - Josh Zuckerman ("90210") has been cast in the drama pilot, about Victor Port (John Stamos), a high powered divorce attorney with a unique view of relationships, including that marriage is just a contract. He'll play Victor's associate Wes Fini ("neurotic Italian-Catholic") alongside the previously cast Angela Sarafyan, Lorenza Izzo, Matthew Lillard, McKaley Miller, Megan Dodds and Terry Kinney. (Deadline.com)
I SUCK AT GIRLS (FOX/Warner Bros.; W: Justin Halpern & Patrick Schumacker; D: TBA) - Alex Kapp Horner, Kevin Hernandez and Tyler Foden have all been cast in the single-camera comedy pilot, about Frankie Dunlevy (Connor Buckley), a lanky, self-deprecating 15-year-old coming of age in San Diego circa 1991. Horner will play his mom Joanne ("pretty, sharp, sweet but definitely not a pushover"), who's enrolled in law school, leaving dad Jack (Christopher Meloni) in charge of Frankie and his sister Rachel (Claudia Lee). Foden and Hernandez then will play Frankie's best friends Mikey ("stoic, tough kid from a broken home") and George ("way too confident for how nerdy he is"), respectively. (Deadline.com)
SLEEPY HOLLOW (FOX/20th; W: Alex Kurtzman, Phillip Iscove & Roberto Orci; D: Len Wiseman) - John Cho ("Go On") will guest star on the drama pilot, about Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison), a Captain during the Revolutionary War, who is mysteriously transported to present day Sleepy Hollow, where he takes on the supernatural alongside Detective Abbie Archer (Nicole Beharie). He's set as Andy Dunn, a likeable officer who stumbles across Crane in the present day. Katia Winter and Orlando Jones also star. (Deadline.com)
SUPER CLYDE (CBS/CTS; W: Greg Garcia; D: Michael Fresco) - British actor Stephen Fry ("Bones") has boarded the comedy pilot, about Clyde (Rupert Grint), a meek, unassuming fast food worker who decides to become a "superhero" for the downtrodden after inheriting his uncle's fortune. He'll play said late uncle's butler, Randolph, who becomes Clyde's "Alfred" in his efforts to help people. Justine Lupe and Tyler Labine also star in the single-camera project. (Deadline.com)
SURGEON GENERAL, THE (CBS/CTS; W: Samuel Baum; D: Rod Lurie) - Mike Colter ("Ringer") has scored a role on the drama pilot, about John Sherman (Jason Isaacs), a fictional Surgeon General of the United States and the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. He's on board as Connor McCallan ("tall, handsome, brash"), an epidemiologist on his team. The project also stars Beth Riesgraf, Katherine McNamara, Kathryn Morris and Sean Astin. (Deadline.com)
TOGETHERNESS (HBO; W/D: Jay Duplass & Mark Duplass) - Amanda Peet ("Bent") has been tapped to star in the comedy pilot, about two couples living under the same roof who struggle to keep their relationships alive while pursuing their individual dreams. She'll play Tina Morris, "an energetic and beautiful woman who is fun, outgoing, mischievous and smart in both dress and brainpower. Tina relocates from Houston to Los Angeles and moves in with her sister Michelle Pierson (Melanie Lynskey) and her husband Brett." Steve Zissis also stars in the single-camera project. (Deadline.com)
TWO WRONGS (FOX/20th; W: Michelle Morgan; D: TBA) - Argentinian actor Ezequiel Stremiz has been tapped for a role on the comedy pilot, about a couple (Jake Hoffman, Kelli Garner) whose friends and family don't think they are right for each other. He'll play Johnny ("sexy, TV's answer to Owen Wilson"), her frequently shirtless ex-boyfriend. The single-camera project also stars Mimi Kennedy. (Deadline.com)
UNTITLED JODI ARIAS PROJECT (Lifetime, New!) - Writers Richard Blaney and Gregory Small are spearheading a docudrama at the cable channel about current news network staple Jodi Arias, who "is accused of killing her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander, whose body was found with a gunshot to the head, multiple stab wounds and a slit throat in 2008." Joshua D. Maurer, Alixandre Witlin and Judith Verno are executive producing the project. (Deadline.com)
UNTITLED JOHN LEGUIZAMO PROJECT (ABC/ABC Studios; T: Jeff Astrof; D: TBA) - Troy Garity ("Boss") has snagged a role on the comedy pilot, based on Leguizamo's life as a husband, father and fish out of water on New York's Upper West Side. He'll play Crash, "a loyal friend of John's from the Old Neighborhood who was a talented graffiti artist and now is John's personal assistant and lives in the basement of John's brownstone." Andrea Savage, Elizabeth Peña and Luke Ganalon also star in the multi-camera effort. (Deadline.com)
UNTITLED RAND RAVICH PROJECT (NBC/20th; W: Rand Ravich; D: TBA) - Michael Beach, James Lafferty and Joshua Erenberg have all been cast in the drama pilot, about Marcus Finley (Lance Gross), an idealistic Secret Service agent who finds himself at the epicenter of an international crisis on his first day after the President's son and his schoolmates are kidnapped. Beach will play FBI Director Olsen; with Lafferty as Mr. Nash ("the kind of teacher high school crushes were made for"), who's likewise taken; and Erenberg as one of the students, Anton Roth ("a chubby kid with a genius IQ"), who's skipped three grades. Dermot Mulroney, Gillian Anderson, Halston Sage, Max Martini, Max Schneider, Rachael Taylor and Stevie Lynn Jones also star. (Deadline.com)
AND IN OTHER NEWS... - Jack Coleman, Stephen Martines and Nick Tarabay are among the latest faces set to drop by "Burn Notice" this summer (Deadline.com); Dallas Roberts has joined the cast of "Unforgettable" while James Laio and Tawny Cypress will recur during the show's sophomore run (Deadline.com); Gregg Henry is bound for "The Killing" as Holder's (Joel Kinnaman) seasoned new partner, "a career cop who's managed to neither excel to the top ranks nor ruffle anyone's feathers" (Deadline.com); Cara Buono will guest on "The Good Wife" as "a woman who hires Lockhart Gardner after her husband dies on the job under questionable circumstances" (TVLine.com); and Brian Williams, Dan Patrick, Matt Lauer and Anderson Cooper have all had exploratory conversations to succeed Alex Trebek as host of "Jeopardy!" (Deadline.com).
|
