or


[01/20/14 - 11:05 PM]
Development Update: Monday, January 20
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!


AN AMERICAN EDUCATION (ABC/ABC Studios; W: Alex Gregory, Ben Cavey, Jack Whitehall & Peter Huyck; D: Craig Zisk) - Devin Ratray, Phil Morris and Dalpre Grayer are the latest to board the comedy pilot, about British transplant Alfie Wickers (Jack Whitehall), an unorthodox young teacher in the San Diego public school system. Ratray will play Jeff Gelman, "an often inappropriate history teacher in the Zinn/Chomsky mold, now on academic probation"; with Morris as Eugene Booker, "the naturally charismatic, eccentric, super-fit high school principal and war vet"; and Grayer as "one of Alfie's students." Brittany Snow and Rosie Perez also star in the project, which is based on the BBC Three series "Bad Education." (Deadline.com)


BARBARELLA (Amazon, New!) - Gaumont International Television has set up its small screen take on Jean-Claude Forest's graphic novel-turned-movie - about "a sexpot (played by Jane Fonda in the 1968 feature) tasked with finding and stopping an evil weapons inventor" - at Amazon Studios. Neal Purvis and Robert Wade (Skyfall) penned the pilot script while Nicolas Refn (Valhalla Rising) is attached to direct with Martha De Laurentiis, whose late husband Dino produced the 1968 movie, likewise executive producing. The search is underway for a showrunner in anticipation of a series commitment. (Deadline.com)


CABOT COLLEGE (FOX/Universal; W: Matt Hubbard; D: Pamela Fryman) - Brandon Jones is the latest addition to the multi-camera comedy pilot, about a women's college that begins accepting men for the first time in its history. He'll play Gerald White, "one of the four male students at the college - strapping, handsome, corn-fed, incredibly naive, from a town of 300 in Utah and a devoutly Mormon family." Bonnie Dennison, Fortune Feimster and Jack Cutmore-Scott also star while Tina Fey and Robert Carlock are also among the executive producers. (Deadline.com)


LIVING THE DREAM (A.K.A. MOST LIKELY) (TBS/Warner Horizon; W: Josh Heald; D: TBA) - Jake Sandvig (Easy A) has booked the lead role on the comedy pilot, about Connor Logan (Sandvig), a former "most likely to succeed" star student who returns to his hometown after losing his job and winds up working for the former (and still) "most popular" jock. Abby Elliott and Dan Fogler also star in the multi-camera project, from Conan O'Brien's Warner Horizon Television-based Conaco banner. (Deadline.com)


ROSEMARY'S BABY (NBC; W: James Wong & Scott Abbott; D: Agnieszka Holland) - Patrick J. Adams ("Suits") and Jason Isaacs ("Awake") have both been cast in the mini-series, about a young married couple who move into a Paris apartment that has a haunted past. After getting pregnant, the wife becomes increasingly suspicious that both her husband and their neighbors will have ulterior motives when her child is born. Adams will play said husband, Guy, with the previously cast Zoe Saldana as Rosemary Woodhouse. Isaacs then will play warlock/coven-leader Roman Castevet. John Cassavetes and Sidney Blackmer originated the respective roles in Roman Polanski's 1968 feature adaptation. (Deadline.com)


AND IN OTHER NEWS... - Fred Armisen and Patton Oswalt will drop by a Las Vegas-set installment of "Modern Family" as "one half of a gay couple who'll have fun with Mitch and Cam" and "a magician named Ducky Schindler who crosses paths with Phil," respectively (TVGuide.com); and Katharine Isabelle is bound for at least four episodes of "Hannibal" as a "beautiful and compelling" patient of Dr. Lecter who "suffered years of abuse at the hands of her serial-killer twin brother" (TVLine.com).






  [january 2014]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
   


· AMERICAN EDUCATION, AN (ABC)
· AWAKE (NBC)
· CABOT COLLEGE (FOX)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· HANNIBAL (NBC)
· LIVING THE DREAM (TBS)
· MODERN FAMILY (ABC)
· ROSEMARY'S BABY (NBC)
· SUITS (USA)





[02/26/26 - 02:46 PM]
Netflix Declines to Raise Offer for Warner Bros.
"The transaction we negotiated would have created shareholder value with a clear path to regulatory approval. However, we've always been disciplined, and at the price required to match Paramount Skydance's latest offer, the deal is no longer financially attractive, so we are declining to match the Paramount Skydance bid," said co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters.

[02/26/26 - 02:19 PM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Soars to Season High with Best Audience in Over a Year
"Live" has now ranked as the No. 1 talk show in syndication for 157 consecutive weeks across all key measures.

[02/26/26 - 02:08 PM]
Britbox Unveils Spring Slate with "The Lady" Starring Mia McKenna-Bruce; Premieres March 18
Other highlights include the return of "Hope Street" and the debut of "Mudtown."

[02/26/26 - 01:36 PM]
Paramount Comments on Warner Bros. Discovery Board's Determination of Paramount's Proposal as Superior
David Ellison, Chairman and CEO of Paramount, said: "We are pleased WBD's Board has unanimously affirmed the superior value of our offer, which delivers to WBD shareholders superior value, certainty and speed to closing."

[02/26/26 - 01:16 PM]
Warner Bros. Discovery Board of Directors Determines Revised Proposal from Paramount Skydance Constitutes a "Company Superior Proposal"
Under the terms of the Netflix merger agreement, this notice triggers a four business day period during which Netflix has the right to propose revisions to the Netflix merger agreement so that the PSKY proposal would cease to constitute a "Company Superior Proposal."

[02/26/26 - 01:00 PM]
FOX Television Network Renews Hit Joel McHale Series "Animal Control" for Season Five
In addition, the first three seasons of the series are currently streaming on Netflix, and the show has been sold in territories around the world.

[02/26/26 - 10:31 AM]
More Stars Take the Stage to Present at the 98th Oscars
Javier Bardem, Chris Evans, Chase Infiniti, Demi Moore, Kumail Nanjiani and Maya Rudolph are among the featured talent.

[02/26/26 - 10:30 AM]
Video: AMC Networks Unveils Captivating Sneak Peek Scene from "The Vampire Lestat"
In the new rock and roll centric season, the Vampire Lestat goes on an electric multi-city tour while being haunted by "muses" from his wild and rebellious past.

[02/26/26 - 10:21 AM]
Feed the Children Teams Up with FOX's "Next Level Chef" to Put Child Hunger to Bed
The year-round campaign rallies the public alongside donors, volunteers, and partners to provide kids with the food and resources they need to rise and thrive every day.

[02/26/26 - 10:01 AM]
"Running Point" Season Two Returns April 23 on Netflix
Isla Gordon (Kate Hudson) is no longer the surprise choice to lead the Los Angeles Waves, she's the one everyone is watching.

[02/26/26 - 10:01 AM]
Season Three of the HBO Original Comedy Series "The Comeback" Debuts March 22
New episodes of the eight-episode season will debut weekly leading up to the series finale on Sunday, May 10.

[02/26/26 - 10:00 AM]
CBS Launches New Podcast "NCIS: Partners & Probies" Hosted by Series Stars Brian Dietzen and Diona Reasonover, Offering Fans an Inside Look at the #1 TV Franchise Worldwide
Premiering Tuesday, March 3, new episodes will roll out weekly.

[02/26/26 - 09:14 AM]
FOX Sports Assembles World-Class Broadcast Team for 2026 World Baseball Classic
Headlining FOX MLB's coverage of Team USA matchups and knockout rounds are highly acclaimed play-by-play announcers Joe Davis, Adam Amin and Kevin Kugler; expert analysts John Smoltz, A.J. Pierzynski and Adam Wainwright; and veteran reporters Ken Rosenthal and Tom Verducci.

[02/26/26 - 09:01 AM]
Video: Trailer & Key Art - "Sunny Nights" Starring Will Forte & D'Arcy Carden
After a critical acclaimed Australian debut, the darkly comedic crime drama starring Will Forte and D'Arcy Carden makes its U.S. debut on March 11 on Hulu.

[02/26/26 - 09:01 AM]
BritBox Announces April 7th Premiere for "A Taste for Murder"
The six-part crime procedural produced by Eagle Eye Drama and in association with ITV Studios stars Warren Brown, Phyllis Logan, and Cristiana Dell'Anna, and was shot on location in Croatia and Italy last year.