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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!
BATHORY (CBS, New!) - David Eick ("Falling Skies") is developing a new drama at the Eye about 16th century Hungarian countess Elizabeth Báthory, billed as "one of the darkest female figures in European history" and "tells the story of woman nicknamed the Blood Countess, having believed to have tortured and murdered more than 600 girls, and Countess Dracula, due to her vampire-like tendencies, including drinking the girls' blood." Lionsgate Television is behind the hour, with Silver Pictures' Joel Silver also executive producing. (Deadline.com)
BROOKLYN ANIMAL CONTROL (USA/UCP; W: J.T. Petty; D: Brian Kirk) - Actor Stephen Graham and director Brian Kirk have both signed onto the drama pilot, based on the comic book of the same name which follows the inner workings of a secret subdivision of the NYPD that functions as social services for some of the city's most unique citizens - werewolves. Graham will play John Crean, "an officer of the Brooklyn Animal Control who is well-acquainted with the small community of werewolves to which he plays cop, counselor, and diplomat." Kirk then will work from a script by J.T. Petty as well as executive produce. (Deadline.com)
DEJA VU (ABC, New!) - Eric Charmelo and Nicole Snyder ("Ringer") have sold a potential drama to the Alphabet about "a successful businesswoman who, after losing her husband and soulmate 22 years ago, finally gets a second chance at love. But things get complicated when, on the eve of her engagement party, she meets a man believed to be the reincarnated version of her dead husband, who happens to be dating her daughter." Mandeville Films & Television's David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman and Laurie Zaks as well as director Richard Shepard are executive producing alongside the duo for ABC Studios. (Deadline.com)
GOOD BEHAVIOR (TNT; W: Blake Crouch & Chad Hodge; D: TBA) - Lusia Strus and Terry Kinney have both booked roles on the drama pilot, based on the Letty Dobesh books about a thief/con artist (Michelle Dockery) whose life is always one wrong turn, one bad decision from implosion - which is exactly how she likes it. Strus will play Estelle "who lives in rural Georgia and has custody of Letty's ten year-old son Jacob"; with Kinney as Christian, "Letty's substance abuse counselor; a mentor and father figure to a woman who lives at her lowest point." Juan Diego Botto also stars. (Deadline.com)
IMAGINARY FRIEND (ABC, New!) - Patrick Osborne, Adam F. Goldberg and David Guarascio are set to team for a new comedy which "centers on a thirtysomething bachelor whose life is turned upside-down when he finally meets the love of his life - a divorced working mom with three kids. This triggers even more upheaval when the slightly unhinged imaginary friend he created as an only child suddenly reappears in his life to help him navigate the transition from single guy to family man." Sony Pictures Television-based Happy Madison is behind the half-hour, which will mix live-action and CGI animation. ABC has given the project a pilot production order, which has a series penalty attached. (Deadline.com)
INVADERS, THE (ABC, New!) - Ellen Fairey ("Nurse Jackie") has set up a new drama at the Alphabet which "examines the dark underbelly of an exclusive beachfront community by following its inhabitants as they fight to belong while keeping their secrets hidden from view." The project, from ABC Studios, is based on the book of the same name by Karolina Waclawiak. Mandeville Films & Television's David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman and Laurie Zaks will also executive produce. (Deadline.com)
MARPLE (CBS, New!) - David Wolstencroft ("MI-5") is developing a new small screen take on Agatha Christie's iconic character, newly conceived as "a young woman who, after inheriting her grandmother's bookstore and realizing that things in this small California town aren't what they seem, begins working as a private investigator to get to the bottom of the town's mysteries." Matthew Prichard and Hilary Strong of Agatha Christie Limited also serve as executive producers for CBS Television Studios. (Deadline.com)
UNTITLED FINA LUDLOW PROJECT (ABC, New!) - Alexi Hawley ("Castle") is set to take a new stab at bringing Ingrid Thoft's book series - about "an unconventional investigator working at her family's high-powered law firm - where the family dynamic is as charged as the series" to the small screen. Said effort was previously spearheaded by Clifton Campbell last season. ABC Studios remains behind the hour, with Ilene Staple and the Mark Gordon Co.'s Mark Gordon and Nick Pepper also serving as executive producers. (THR.com)
UNTITLED LENA WAITHE PROJECT (Showtime/Fox 21; W: Lena Waithe; D: Clark Johnson) - Amanda Brooks (My Best Friend's Girl) has joined the cast of the drama pilot, a relevant, timely and distinctive coming-of-age story of a young African American male in which just growing up can be a matter of life and death. She's on board as Sarah, "an assistant chef at a posh restaurant in uptown Chicago who has taken on Brandon (Tosin Cole) as her protégé, convinced that he might be able to work his way out of kitchen duty." (Deadline.com)
AND IN OTHER NEWS... - Juan Pablo di Pace will recur on Netflix's "Fuller House" as Fernando, "Kimmy's (Andrea Barber) passionate ex-husband" (Deadline.com); Lou Diamond Phillips will recur on "Blindspot" as "a feared criminal and pivotal character from Bethany Mayfair's (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) past that will send shock waves through the FBI" (Deadline.com); Lyndsy Fonseca is set to visit "Grandfathered" as "a party girl that Gerald (Josh Peck) meets at a hot nightclub with Jimmy (John Stamos)" (EW.com); Scottie Thompson will return to "NCIS" as Tony DiNozzo's ex-girlfriend Jeanne Benoit resurfaces during November sweeps (TVLine.com);
Peter Sarsgaard is the latest actor bound for Showtime's "Twin Peaks" revival (TVLine.com); Lex Scott Davis has been cast as Toni Braxton in Lifetime's "Un-Break My Heart" with Gavin Houston as Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Debbi Morgan as Braxton's mom Evelyn and Cortney Scott Wright, Skye P. Marshall, LaToya Franklyn and Tiffany Hines as sisters Traci, Towanda, Trina and Tamar, respectively (Variety.com); and Tricia Helfer is bound for PSN's "Powers" as FBI Special Agent Lange (Playstation.com).
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