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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!
DO IT YOURSELF (TBS; W: Rob Long & Walt Becker; D: James Widdoes) - Cheech Marin and Efren Ramirez are the latest additions to the comedy pilot, about Nick (Ben Rappaport), a 20-something laid-off math teacher who finds himself thrust into the blue collar world when he gets a job at that most American of retail institutions: the big box home supply store. They'll play his fellow employees Perez and Javier alongside the previously cast Bill Engvall, Melora Hardin, Nicky Whelan, Parvesh Cheena and Ryan McPartlin. (ETOnline.com)
GORBACHEV (HBO, New!) - Actors/producers Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks are developing a biopic of former Soviet Union president Mikhail Gorbachev, who "ushered democracy into the Soviet block by introducing glasnost and perestroika and helped end the Cold War." John Shiban is penning the project, with DiCaprio's Appian Way and Hanks's Playtone co-producing. DiCaprio, Hanks, Jennifer Killoran, Gary Goetzman and Industry Entertainment's Keith Addis are the executive producers with Pavel Palazhchenko, David E. Hoffman, Dejan Karaklajic and Gorbachev himself serving as consultants. (Deadline.com)
HOLE TO HOLE (Adult Swim, New!) - Arden Myrin ("MadTV") is set to star in a potential live-action series at the network about "the fabulous exploits of Ashleigh and Amelia Dangerhole, America's sexiest billionaire detectives." Pam Brady co-wrote the quarter-hour pilot, which is billed as a parody of 1980s detective shows. No other details were given. (Deadline.com)
MURDER IN THE FIRST (TNT; W: Eric Lodal & Steven Bochco; D: TBA) - Steven Weber and Mimi Kirkland have both landed roles on the pilot, a crime drama that will intimately dissect a single murder case over an entire season, from the commitment of the crime through the investigation, arrest and trial. He'll play Bill Wilkerson, "Applicon CEO's all-American personal pilot who is very protective of his boss." Kirkland then is set as the daughter of one of the detectives, played by Kathleen Robertson. Bess Rous and Taye Diggs also star. (Deadline.com)
ONCE UPON A TIME (ABC) - Paul Reubens will lend his voice to the Alphabet's proposed "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" spin-off while Ralph Hemecker has been tapped to direct. Reubens will play the White Rabbit, a CGI character, alongside the previously cast Sophie Lowe as Alice, Peter Gadiot as Cyrus, Michael Socha as the Knave of Hearts and Emma Rigby as the Red Queen. Hemecker then will work from a script by "Once" creators Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. (Deadline.com)
WESTSIDE (ABC/Warner Bros.; W: Byron Balasco; D: McG) - Jessica Lu ("Awkward") has snagged a role on the drama pilot, about "Romeo & Juliet"-esque lovers Chris (Luke Bracey) and Sophie (Odette Annable) from rival families in the surfing community of Venice, California. She'll guest star as Eva, "Sophie's employee and confidant at her Venice boutique who urges her pursuit of Chris." Brooklyn Sudano, Bruce Greenwood, Dean Winters, Jennifer Beals, Lexi Ainsworth, Lincoln Lewis and Michael Graziadei also star. (THR.com)
AND IN OTHER NEWS... - Christopher Abbott's Charlie won't return for the third season of "Girls" (EW.com); Katey Sagal has been cast as Artie's (Kevin McHale) mom on "Glee" (@MrRPMurphy); Ryan Murphy and Lauren Gussis are currently shopping "Open," a new drama described as "a modern, provocative exploration of human sexuality and relationships" to the cable networks (Deadline.com); former Comedy Central executive-turned-producer Lou Wallach has inked an overall deal with Universal Television (Deadline.com); Kamar de los Reyes is bound for two episodes of "Blue Bloods" as "a deadly Latino gang leader who rules over the inner-city projects with his drug and vice trade" (TVLine.com); and David Andrews, Jonathan Keltz and Johanna Braddy are among the faces set to appear on the new season of "Necessary Roughness" (TVGuide.com).
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