or


[08/20/15 - 11:15 PM]
Development Update: Thursday, August 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!


ANIMAL KINGDOM (TNT/WHT; W: Jonathan Lisco; D: John Wells) - Ben Robson ("Vikings") has snagged a role on the drama pilot, about 17-year-old Josh (Finn Cole), who moves in with his wild, free-wheeling relatives in their Southern California beach town and is pulled into their life of indulgence and excess. He'll play Craig, "the tough, fearless middle son of the Cody crime family. A veteran criminal, he is an extreme-sports maniac and the most daring of the Codys." Ellen Barkin, Jake Weary, Scott Speedman and Shawn Hatosy also star in the project, which begins production on Friday. (Deadline.com)


FUTURE MAN (Hulu, New!) - Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg have landed a pilot order from the streaming service for a high-concept comedy that "centers on a janitor by day/world-ranked gamer by night who is tasked with preventing the extinction of humans after mysterious visitors from the future proclaim him the key to defeating the imminent super-race invasion." Kyle Hunter and Ariel Shaffir penned the half-hour which Point Grey Pictures' Rogen and Goldberg will direct and executive produce alongside James Weaver and Matt Tolmach Productions' Matt Tolmach for Sony Pictures Television. (Deadline.com)


MARVEL'S MOST WANTED (ABC/ABCS; W: Jeffrey Bell & Paul Zbyszewski; D: TBA) - The proposed "Marvel's Agents of SHIELD" spin-off featuring Adrianne Palicki's Bobbi Morse and Nick Blood's Lance Hunter is getting a formal pilot commitment. Said effort, to be written by Jeffrey Bell and Paul Zbyszewski, was publicly confirmed back in April but ultimately didn't move forward in time for ABC's May scheduling announcement. Jeph Loeb will also executive produce for ABC Studios. (Variety.com)


TRIAL, THE (Amazon; W: David E. Kelley & Jonathan Shapiro; D: David Semel) - Olivia Thirlby (Juno) is the latest addition to the drama project, which centers on Billy McBride (Billy Bob Thornton), a once respectable lawyer who was ousted from the high-profile firm he co-founded. Billy now spends his days getting drunk, with the occasional case tossed his way by his ex-wife. She's set as Lucy Kittridge, "a whip-smart, driven to succeed, high-powered attorney who knows what she wants, which is money, sex, and respect." (Deadline.com)


UNTITLED NKECHI OKORO CARROLL PROJECT (FOX, New!) - Nkechi Okoro Carroll ("Bones") has set up a potential drama at the network about "three brilliant young doctors who grew up together in Compton and are reunited at an extraordinary cutting-edge hospital in Beverly Hills. Now the shared secrets from their past force them to straddle the line between the opulence of their new world and the hard streets they came from." Howard Gordon and Hugh Fitzpatrick will also executive produce the project, which has a significant penalty attached, via their 20th Century Fox Television-based Teakwood Lane banner. (Deadline.com)


UNTITLED TIG NOTARO PROJECT (Amazon/FXP; W: Diablo Cody & Tig Notaro; D: Nicole Holofcener) - John Rothman (The Devil Wears Prada) is the latest addition to the comedy pilot, in which Notaro is abruptly summoned home to Pass Christian, Miss., to take her ailing mother off life support and finds herself reconnecting with her dysfunctional Gulf Coast family and the loss of the one person who held everything together. He's set as Bill, Tig's stepfather, "a stoic businessman who's hours away from becoming a widower." In addition, Nicole Holofcener has been tapped to direct. (Deadline.com, THR.com)


AND IN OTHER NEWS... - Stephanie Savage has revealed tonight's installment of "Astronaut Wives Club" was indeed its series finale (Variety.com); "The Big Bang Theory" co-star Simon Helberg has inked a two-year overall deal with Warner Bros. Television where he'll develop series projects alongside his wife Jocelyn Towne via their Wildline Entertainment banner (Deadline.com); Carlson Young will visit "Grimm" as "a character forced to hide the survivor of an attack that resulted in her boyfriend's death" (TVLine.com);

TNT has quietly ordered five additional episodes of "Major Crimes," bringing its fourth season total to 23 (TVLine.com); Mare Winningham is the latest bound for "American Horror Story: Hotel" as "the titular establishment's laundress who works closely with Evan Peters' character" (EW.com); and John Leguizamo has joined the cast of Netflix's "Bloodline" as Ozzy Delvecchio, "a charming, violent, opportunistic wild card from Danny's past" (TVLine.com).






  [august 2015]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
      


· AMERICAN HORROR STORY (FX)
· ANIMAL KINGDOM (TNT)
· ASTRONAUT WIVES CLUB, THE (ABC)
· BIG BANG THEORY, THE (CBS)
· BLOODLINE (NETFLIX)
· BONES (FOX)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· FUTURE MAN (HULU)
· GOLIATH (AMAZON)
· GRIMM (NBC)
· MAJOR CRIMES (TNT)
· MARVEL'S AGENTS OF SHIELD (ABC)
· MARVEL'S MOST WANTED (ABC)
· ONE MISSISSIPPI (AMAZON)
· UNTITLED NKECHI OKORO CARROLL PROJECT (FOX)
· VIKINGS (AMAZON)





[07/22/26 - 11:31 AM]
Never Fear, "Clash of the Thundermans" Premiere Date and Key Art Are Here!
The new feature-length film from Paramount Television Studios will premiere Thursday, September 3 on Paramount+ and debut on Nickelodeon at 7 p.m. (ET/PT) that same day.

[07/22/26 - 11:30 AM]
ESPN Delivers Most-Watched NBA Summer League Championship Game Since 2017
The Golden State Warriors' victory over the Memphis Grizzlies averaged 676,000 viewers on ESPN, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel.

[07/22/26 - 11:01 AM]
Video: "Special Ops True" - Official Trailer - Paramount+
The world remembers these missions. The people who lived them remember every second.

[07/22/26 - 11:01 AM]
Video: Exclusive First Look at All-New We TV and All Reality Unscripted Series "Age Inappropriate" Highlighting the Real Lives of Five Age-Gap Couples
The series premieres Friday, August 7 at 9:00 PM ET/PT on We TV, streaming same-day exclusively on All Reality.

[07/22/26 - 10:01 AM]
What's New on HBO Max This August
Highlights include the premiere of "Lanterns"; the return of "Conan O'Brien Must Go"; and the streaming debuts of "The Strangers: Chapter 2," "Normal," and "Mother Mary."

[07/22/26 - 10:01 AM]
Benicio Del Toro to Star in New Comedy Series "Protective Custody"
Also starring and executive produced by Ben Stiller, and hailing from Emmy Award-winner Mike Judge, Emmy Award-winner Steve Hely and Dave King, comes a new Apple TV series about a disgraced financier navigating life after arrest.

[07/22/26 - 09:49 AM]
Great American Media Announces Fourth Installment of Hit Franchise, "Ainsley McGregor Mysteries: The Model Maker," Starring Candace Cameron Bure, Aaron Ashmore, and Robin Dunne, Inspired by Characters Created by Bestselling Author, Candace Havens
"Ainsley McGregor Mysteries: The Model Maker" will stream and be broadcast across Great American Pure Flix, Great American Family, and GFAM+ in early 2027.

[07/22/26 - 09:46 AM]
Paramount+ Greenlights New Series "Laird" with Kenneth Branagh Set to Star and Executive Produce
Set in the modern Scottish Highlands, "Laird" is an epic family saga in which a proud Scot defies a shadowy American billionaire hellbent on buying up the glens.

[07/22/26 - 09:31 AM]
Video: "Let's Marry Harry" - Official Trailer - Netflix
With help from Alex Cooper ("Call Her Daddy") and his best friends, can Harry Jowsey ("Perfect Match") find true love and settle down in marriage?

[07/22/26 - 09:01 AM]
HBO Original Comedy Special "Whitmer Thomas: Terminal Crew of Dudes" Debuts August 14
In his second HBO stand-up special, comedian, musician, and actor Whitmer Thomas digs into his small-town Alabama upbringing... and his ongoing quest to be cool.

[07/22/26 - 09:01 AM]
Video: "The Chosen in the Wild with Bear Grylls" - Official Trailer - Prime Video
The new series, hosted by Bear Grylls, premieres August 9, 2026, on Prime Video with all six episodes available at launch.

[07/22/26 - 09:00 AM]
The Definitive Documentary on Global Icon Julie Andrews Is Coming to Disney+ in 2027
This definitive portrait offers an intimate and revealing look at Andrews' extraordinary journey, from her early days in British vaudeville to her meteoric rise as a global superstar.

[07/22/26 - 08:34 AM]
Apple TV Lands Rights to Rebecca Yarros' Forthcoming Novel
Apple Studios will develop "Peculiar Stars," and Yarros will serve as executive producer through her banner Full Measures Productions.

[07/22/26 - 07:04 AM]
Investigation Discovery to Re-Examine Aileen Wuornos in New Docuseries "Unmasking a Monster: Aileen Wuornos"
The three-part docuseries will premiere on Wednesday, September 30 from 8-11PM ET/PT on ID and will be available to stream on HBO Max.

[07/22/26 - 06:01 AM]
Prime Video Announces Exclusive Access Documentary Film Following Lily Allen
The retrospective documentary will chart Lily's extraordinary journey, from the "Queen of MySpace" who changed the rules of the music industry, to the cultural force she is today.