or


[03/18/15 - 11:38 PM]
Development Update: Wednesday, March 18
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!


DELORES & JERMAINE (ABC/ABCS; W: Jermaine Fowler; D: TBA) - Christina Moore ("Bad Judge") has joined the cast of the comedy pilot, about Jermaine (Jermaine Fowler), a millennial with big ideas, but very little drive, who moves in with Delores (Whoopi Goldberg), his estranged grandmother, a strict, football-loving, former DC cop who needs his youthful enthusiasm in her life as much as he needs her old-school parenting. She's set as Ebony, "Jermaine's mother, Marsha's new wife." (Deadline.com)


FOR JUSTICE (CBS/CBSP; W: Rene Balcer; D: Ava DuVernay) - Mario Van Peebles and Leonardo Nam have both joined the cast of the drama pilot, about Natalia "Nat" Chappel (Anika Noni Rose), an FBI agent who works in the Criminal Section of the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division investigating crimes based on civil rights violations across the country. The former will play Nat's father Benjamin Tolan, "a long-time revolutionary, determined to overthrow the American government by subversion or political action, and he's been living an underground life for decades"; with the latter as Leon Ortiz, "an FBI agent with the Civil Rights Unit and the best-dressed, best-groomed man in the Bureau. He's also ranked in mixed martial arts." Rachel Boston, Tim Blake Nelson, Phylicia Rashad and Shawn Hatosy also star. (Deadline.com)


HEART MATTERS (NBC/Universal; W: Jill Gordon; D: Robert Duncan McNeill) - Joshua Leonard (If I Stay) has signed onto the drama pilot, a medical soap that follows the outspoken Alex Panttiere (Melissa George), one of the rare female heart transplant surgeons. Alex brings an innovative eye to treating patients week to week while also balancing the complications of her professional and romantic life. He'll play Max, Alex's ex-husband. Dave Annable, Don Hany, Jamie Kennedy, Maya Erskine and Shelley Conn also star. (Deadline.com)


JOE TIME (CBS/WBT; W: Bill Wrubel; D: James Burrows) - Rita Moreno, Alli Kinzel and Noland Ammon have all been cast in the multi-camera comedy pilot, about Joe (Steven Weber), a family man who struggles with the fact that everyone around him is pursuing their dreams and enjoying life more than he is. Moreno will play Joe's mom Judy, who is "in love with her husband Mitch, and also preoccupied with physical fitness and her amazing personal trainer." Kinzel and Ammon then are set as Joe's kids Lucy, "who works with him in the family construction business," and Andrew, "a piano player who thinks it's cool to accompany his grandfather during his cabaret performance," respectively. Duane Martin and Eric Petersen also star. (Deadline.com)


KINGMAKERS, THE (ABC/ABCS; W: Sallie Patrick; D: TBA) - Khary Payton ("Teen Titans Go!") has been tapped for a role on the drama pilot, about Eli Hennessy (Gus Halper), a young man who adopts the identity of Jacob Darlow to infiltrate the murder of his sister, Julia, at an elite Ivy League school and its century-old secret society. He'll play Ben Wheeler, "a laid-back and casual professor who is an anomaly among his stuffed-shirt peers at Braddock." Adrian Pasdar, Colm Feore, Kristin Bauer van Straten and Parminder Nagra also star. (Deadline.com)


NOT SAFE FOR WORK (A.K.A. UNTITLED ASEEM BATRA PROJECT) (NBC/Universal; W: Aseem Batra; D: Betsy Thomas) - Vanessa Lachey ("Dads") has scored a role on the multi-camera comedy pilot, about best friends Dale (Michael Cassidy) and Georgie (Christine Woods) whose relationship is upended when he starts dating the "perfect" woman. She'll play the latter woman, Drea, "the perky local morning news anchor who is self-conscious about maintaining her image." Rizwan Manji also stars. (Deadline.com)


PREACHER (AMC/Sony; W: Sam Catlin; D: Evan Goldberg & Seth Rogen) - Ruth Negga ("Marvel's Agents of SHIELD") is the first to be cast in the drama pilot, about Jesse Custer, a conflicted Preacher in a small Texas town who merges with a creature that has escaped from heaven and develops the ability to make anyone do anything he says. Along with his ex-girlfriend, Tulip, and an Irish vampire named Cassidy, the three embark on a journey to literally find God. She'll play the aforementioned Tulip in the project. (Deadline.com)


RUSH HOUR (CBS/WBT; W: Bill Lawrence & Blake McCormick; D: Jon Turteltaub) - Page Kennedy ("Backstrom") is the latest addition to the drama pilot, a small screen take on the film franchise about Lee (Jon Foo), a stoic, by-the-book Hong Kong police officer assigned to a case in Los Angeles, where he's forced to work with Carter (Justin Hires), a cocky black LAPD officer. He'll play Carter's cousin Gerald, who "runs with a rough crowd, and he's in the know about a lot of stuff that is often helpful to a police investigation. He comes off as vicious and terrifying, but it's merely an act." Said role is in second position to his FOX drama. Aimee Garcia and Jessika Van also star. (Deadline.com)


AND IN OTHER NEWS... - Matthew Rauch's Clay Burton has been upped to series regular on "Banshee" while Casey Labow will recur as Maggie, "wife to a local leader of the Aryan Brotherhood, who desperately wants a better life for her and her son" (Deadline.com); Ed Quinn has booked a 10-episode arc on "Mistresses" as Dr. Alec Adams, "an internist at the hospital" (Deadline.com); "The Returned" director Keith Gordon has inked a development deal with A+E Studios (Deadline.com); and Dennis Haysbert will visit "Blue Bloods" as Chief Donald Kent, "an old friend of Commissioner Frank Reagan's who scores a promotion to a two-star Chief for his leadership of the Gang Unit" (AOL.com).






  [march 2015]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S


· BACKSTROM (FOX)
· BAD JUDGE (NBC)
· BANSHEE (CINEMAX)
· BLUE BLOODS (CBS)
· DADS (FOX)
· DELORES & JERMAINE (ABC)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· FOR JUSTICE (CBS)
· HAPPY LIFE (CBS)
· HEARTBEAT (NBC)
· KINGMAKERS (ABC)
· MARVEL'S AGENTS OF SHIELD (ABC)
· MISTRESSES (ABC)
· NOT SAFE FOR WORK (NBC)
· PREACHER (AMC)
· RETURNED, THE (A AND E)
· RUSH HOUR (CBS)
· TEEN TITANS GO! (CARTOON)





[01/30/26 - 01:01 PM]
Lifetime Sets Seven All-New Thrillers Premiering Saturdays, Beginning Valentine's Day Featuring All Star Casts
Kicking off on Valentine's Day and based on a true story, is "The Dating App Killer: The Monica White Story" executive produced and directed by Elisabeth Rohm and starring NAACP Image Award winner Lela Rochon and Jarod Joseph.

[01/30/26 - 11:06 AM]
Top-Tier Pastry Chefs from Across the Country Battle for Elite Title in "The Ultimate Baking Championship" on Food Network
In each episode, host Jesse Palmer tests the competitors on the core techniques that outstanding pastry chefs must master, from laminated dough and pâte à choux to chocolate work and sugar artistry.

[01/30/26 - 10:12 AM]
Prime Video's "God of War" from Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios Announces Three New Cast Members
Alastair Duncan, Jeff Gulka, and Danny Woodburn are among the latest additions.

[01/30/26 - 10:11 AM]
HBO Renews Original Late-Night Comedy Series "It's Florida, Man." for a Third Season
From Rough House Pictures, this outrageous late-night comedy series brings to life unbelievable ripped-from-the-headlines tales of the Sunshine State - straight from the people who live there.

[01/30/26 - 10:11 AM]
"20/20" Ranks No. 1 in the Two-Hour Time Period Across the Board Versus CBS and NBC
"20/20" posted across-the-board gains week to week: Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, hitting 9-week highs in both key Adult demos.

[01/30/26 - 10:03 AM]
Bravo's "The Real Housewives of Potomac" Three-Part Reunion Begins Sunday, Feb. 15 at 8 P.M. ET/PT
Host Andy Cohen sits down with Gizelle Bryant, Ashley Darby, Wendy Osefo, Stacey Rusch, Keiarna Stewart, Tia Glover, Angel Massie and friends Monique Samuels and Jassi Rideaux to discuss the biggest moments of their milestone season 10.

[01/30/26 - 07:01 AM]
Apple's Neo-Noir Detective Story "Sugar" Set to Return for Season Two on June 19
The eight-episode second season of "Sugar" will make its global return on Friday, June 19 on Apple TV with one episode, followed by one new episode weekly, every Friday through August 7.

[01/30/26 - 06:20 AM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers
"Nightline" was also up year to year in Total Viewers for the week of January 19.

[01/30/26 - 06:01 AM]
Video: "In the Mud" Season 2 - Official Trailer - Netflix
Five female prisoners forge a unique bond after a deadly accident... until corruption and turf wars within a ruthless prison threaten to destroy them.

[01/30/26 - 12:16 AM]
The Danish Crime Series "The Asset" Returns for a Second Season
The second season brings back returning cast members Clara Dessau, Maria Cordsen, Afshin Firouzi, and Nicolas Bro, among others, who will encounter their greatest challenges yet in the fight for survival and justice.

[01/30/26 - 12:01 AM]
Video: "The Museum of Innocence" - Official Trailer - Netflix
In 1970s Istanbul, a man's forbidden love for a shop-girl evolves into a lifelong journey of obsession and longing. Based on Orhan Pamuk's iconic novel.

[01/29/26 - 07:02 PM]
NBC Comedy Pilot Orders: "Newlyweds" & "Untitled Lizer, Lynch and Sagal Pilot"
Gail Lerner is behind the former; while Kari Lizer is behind the latter, which stars Jane Lynch and Katey Sagal.

[01/29/26 - 12:56 PM]
"Dirty Rotten Scandals" Premieres Wednesday, March 4 at 9PM ET/PT on E!
This season explores the darker side of some of America's most beloved television shows by delivering untold stories from past participants and new original reporting.

[01/29/26 - 12:19 PM]
Helena Bonham Carter, Steve Coogan, Caleb Jonte Edwards, Marissa Long, Alexander Ludwig, Chris Messina, and AJ Michalka Are Headed to "The White Lotus"
Reservations confirmed.

[01/29/26 - 12:11 PM]
Mandy Patinkin Signs on to Play Odin in Prime Video's "God of War" from Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios
Based on PlayStation's massively popular ancient mythology-themed video game, the series has received a two-season order, with pre-production underway in Vancouver, and casting has begun.