or


[09/11/15 - 11:29 PM]
Development Update: Friday, September 11
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!


GROUP, THE (TBS/WHT; W: David Jenkins; D: Greg Daniels) - Nancy Lenehan ("How to Be a Gentleman") has booked a role on the comedy pilot, about a support group for people who think they have been abducted by aliens that is the subject of a snarky feature piece by skeptical journalist Wyatt Jones (Wyatt Cenac). She'll play Margaret Flood, "a retiree who is taking full advantage of her newfound sexual freedom after moving into a retirement community in Beacon." She succeeds the originally cast Marylouise Burke. Alice Wetterlund, Ana Gasteyer, Brian Huskey, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Michael Cassidy, Oscar Nunez and Tracee Chimo also star. (Deadline.com)


OVER THE TOP (ABC Family, New!) - Actor-musician Chester See is developing a new dramedy at the cable channel about "a struggling artist (See) trying to make a name for himself in the L.A. music scene. After a record deal fizzles and his hopes of stardom fall apart, he takes to YouTube and starts building a massive audience." Maker Studios is behind the project, which is inspired by See's own experiences. John Strauss will likewise executive produce. (Deadline.com)


ROADSIDE PICNIC (WGN America, New!) - Writer Jack Paglen (Transcendence) and director Alan Taylor (Terminator Genisys) are looking to bring Arkady and Boris Strugatsky's science fiction novel to the small screen. Said effort revolves around "an alien visitation to planet Earth, whose aftermath has led to the creation of Zones in the areas where the aliens had possibly landed. Such zones exhibit strange and dangerous phenomena not understood by humans, and contain artifacts with inexplicable, seemingly supernatural properties." Sony Pictures Television and Tribune Studios are behind the hour with Original Film's Neal Moritz and Vivian Cannon also among the executive producers. (Deadline.com)


UNTITLED KAT COIRO PROJECT (ABC, New!) - Kat Coiro (And While We Were Here) has sold a single-camera project to the Alphabet billed as "a semi-autobiographical family comedy is set in a South Beach Haitian restaurant." Julie Anne Robinson ("Selfie") is also on board executive produce (and potentially direct) the half-hour alongside 3 Arts Entertainment's David Miner, Tom Lassally and Oly Obst, presumably for ABC Studios. (Deadline.com)


UNTITLED ROB SUDDUTH PROJECT (NBC, New!) - Rob Sudduth ("Hot & Bothered") is spearheading a new comedy at the Peacock which follows Cathy Cruz, "who after inadvertently catching a serial killer, is recruited by the rough-and-tumble Texas Rangers. Cruz butts heads with her straight-laced macho partner at work as well as her judgmental Mexican family at home, and the biggest question that remains is: which world does she fit into less?" UnbeliEVAble Entertainment's Eva Longoria and Ben Spector will also executive produce for Universal Television. (Deadline.com)


URBAN COWBOY (FOX/20th/Paramount; W/D: Craig Brewer) - Riley Smith ("True Blood") will round out the cast of the network's modern reimagining of the 1980 movie, about star-crossed young lovers Kyle (Alfonso Herrera) and Gaby (Nathalie Kelley) as they pursue their dreams and passions through the sweat of line dancing in honky tonks, the grime of the oil refineries and the glamour of modern Texas. He'll play Wes, "the handsome head of Gilley's security who is helping run drugs through the honky tonk while looking to become a rodeo star." Bryana Salaz, Edward James Olmos, Jim Belushi and Lindsey Gort also star. (Deadline.com)


AND IN OTHER NEWS... - FOX has commissioned a new script for David DiGilio's drama "Warrior," which shot a pilot for NBC during the last development cycle (Deadline.com); Lily Rabe has been cast as Catherine Hooper in HBO's "The Wizard of Lies" (Deadline.com); Patrick Schwarzenegger is bound for FOX's "Scream Queens" (@MrRPMurphy); Vanessa Lengies's Alexa has been upped to series regular on FOX's "Lookinglass" (Deadline.com); Richard Roundtree will recur on NBC's "The Player" as "a mentor to Wesley Snipes' character" (Deadline.com); Aaron Moten has scored an arc on Amazon's "Mozart in the Jungle" as "a wealthy and charming banker bound to shake some things up at the Symphony" (Deadline.com);

Pacific Coast Entertainment is looking film a six-to-eight-part TV series follow-up to upcoming feature "Rogue Warrior: Robot Fighter" (Deadline.com); Edwin Hodge has signed onto "Secrets & Lies" as "a charming man who is married to defense attorney Amanda Warner (Mekia Cox)" (THR.com); Jacob Artist will recur on ABC's "Quantico" as "a friendly and confident FBI Agent in Training" (TVLine.com); Shiri Appleby will visit CBS's "Code Black" as "the ex-girlfriend of first-year resident Dr. Malaya Pineda (Melanie Chandra)" (Variety.com); and Chad Michael Collins is slated to appear in an upcoming episode of "NCIS: New Orleans" (TVLine.com).






  [september 2015]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
  


· CODE BLACK (CBS)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· HOW TO BE A GENTLEMAN (CBS)
· MOZART IN THE JUNGLE (AMAZON)
· NCIS: NEW ORLEANS (CBS)
· OVER THE TOP (ABC FAMILY)
· PEOPLE OF EARTH (TBS)
· PLAYER, THE (NBC)
· QUANTICO (ABC)
· ROADSIDE PICNIC (WGN)
· SCREAM QUEENS (FOX)
· SECOND CHANCE (FOX)
· SECRETS & LIES (ABC)
· SELFIE (ABC)
· TELENOVELA (NBC)
· TRUE BLOOD (HBO)
· UNTITLED KAT COIRO PROJECT (ABC)
· UNTITLED ROB SUDDUTH PROJECT (NBC)
· URBAN COWBOY (FOX)
· WARRIOR (NBC)
· WIZARD OF LIES, THE (HBO)





[11/26/25 - 02:31 PM]
"20/20" Is the Most-Watched in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 in Time Period vs. CBS and NBC
"20/20" posted substantial increases week to week across the board.

[11/26/25 - 02:30 PM]
With Largest Viewership in 7 Weeks, ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in All Key Demos
"Nightline" improved on the previous week in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49.

[11/26/25 - 02:21 PM]
"Everybody Loves Raymond: 30th Anniversary" Is the Season's Most-Watched Primetime Entertainment Special
The telecast delivered 6.32 million viewers and was the most-watched entertainment program Monday night.

[11/26/25 - 02:15 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Caps Spectacular Season 34 with 9.24 Million Total Viewers - Drawing Largest Finale Audience in 9 Years
Among Adults 18-49, the show nearly doubled last season's finale episode (+89% - 2.15 rating vs. 1.14 rating), hitting its strongest finale result in 10 years.

[11/26/25 - 11:07 AM]
Flex Game! Anthony Edwards and Minnesota Timberwolves Host Devin Booker and Phoenix Suns on "Peacock NBA Monday," Dec. 8, on Peacock and NBCSN at 7:30 P.M. ET
The previously scheduled Sacramento-Indiana and San Antonio-New Orleans games will be available in their local markets.

[11/26/25 - 10:38 AM]
An Encore Presentation of "Everybody Loves Raymond: 30th Anniversary Reunion" Special to Air Friday, November 28th on CBS
The telecast will replace the previously announced repeats of "Fire Country."

[11/25/25 - 03:45 PM]
"Center Stage: Countdown to the CMA Awards - Special Edition of 20/20" Rises Over Last Year's Performance in All Key Measures
"Center Stage" (434,000 and 326,000, respectively) ranked No. 1 in its hour in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.

[11/25/25 - 03:06 PM]
"One Piece" Season 3 Welcomes Awdo Awdo and Daisy Head as the Trusted Weapons of Mr. 0, Ready to Bring Overwhelming Danger to Our Journey
Two of Baroque Works' deadliest agents now stand before us, Nakama.

[11/25/25 - 03:05 PM]
ESPN Wins Week 13 with Stellar Showings for "College GameDay Built by The Home Depot," "SEC on ABC" and Friday College Football on ESPN
Texas Longhorns defeating the Arkansas Razorbacks 52-37 delivered 5.6 million viewers on November 22.

[11/25/25 - 02:57 PM]
"America's Game of the Week" on FOX Scores 27,816,000 Viewers in Week 12
The Dallas Cowboys win over the Philadelphia Eagles peaked with 28.4 million viewers from 7:30 PM - 7:45 PM ET.

[11/25/25 - 02:03 PM]
CBS Sports' Coverage of the 2025 NWSL Championship Is the First NWSL Match Ever to Surpass 1 Million Viewers!
The Gotham FC victory over Washington Spirit set a NWSL viewership record.

[11/25/25 - 02:00 PM]
Record Audience Watches Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix on ESPN
ESPN's live telecast on Saturday night, November 22, averaged 1.5 million viewers, the largest audience to watch the event in its three-year history,

[11/25/25 - 12:29 PM]
The Second and Final Season of the HBO Original Drama Series "Like Water for Chocolate" Debuts February 15
The series returns Sunday, February 15 (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET) on HBO Latino in the U.S. and will be available to stream on HBO Max.

[11/25/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of November 17 - 3 Cheers for "Champagne Problems" at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys continued to keep audiences guessing in their psychological thriller "The Beast in Me," which took the No. 1 spot on the English TV list for a second week with 14.1 million views.

[11/25/25 - 11:30 AM]
TNT Sports Unveils World Class Commentators for First-Ever World Sevens Football 7v7 Soccer Tournament in North America - Coverage Kicks Off Friday, Dec. 5
The fast-paced W7F series has redefined women's soccer with elite talent from eight of the best clubs in the world, an immersive fan-first experience, and a groundbreaking $5 million prize pool, the largest in the sport, designed to fuel intense, high-stakes competition.