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[01/29/16 - 11:31 PM]
Development Update: Friday, January 29
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!


COLONY (The CW/CTS; W: Doris Egan; D: TBA) - The drama - a thriller which "follows a team of explorers who arrive on Mars to join the first human colony on the planet, only to discover that their predecessors have vanished" - is among the latest to receive a pilot order from the netlet. Also executive producing are Frank Marshall and Robert Zotnowski. Doris Egan penned the script, succeeding Ian Goldberg. (Deadline.com)


FREQUENCY (The CW/WBT; W: Jeremy Carver; D: TBA) - The netlet's small screen take on the Jim Caviezel/Dennis Quaid-led 2000 feature - in which an NYPD detective connects with his son, 30 years in the future and the two must work together to change the history of tragic events to come while also getting the chance to heal their complicated relationship - has likewise received a pilot order. Dan Lin, Jennifer Gwartz, John Rickard and Toby Emmerich also executive produce the project, which will cast a woman in the Caviezel role. (Deadline.com)


GHOST (The CW/WBT; W: Kevin Williamson; D: David Nutter) - Kevin Williamson's drama - set in New Orleans and centers on a young woman who seeks help from a parapsychologist when she begins to experience paranormal phenomena - has landed a pilot commitment from the netlet. In addition, David Nutter has signed on to direct and executive produce with Lauren Wagner producing. (Deadline.com)


GREAT INDOORS, THE (CBS, New!) - Mike Gibbons has snagged a pilot order from the Eye for a new multi-camera comedy about "an adventure reporter who must adapt to the times when he becomes the boss to a group of millennials in the digital department of the magazine." Said effort is set up at CBS Television Studios. (Deadline.com)


INTERESTINGS, THE (Amazon/TriStar; W: Lyn Greene & Richard Levine; D: Mike Newell) - Tony winner Gabriel Ebert has scored the lead role on the drama pilot, based on Meg Wolitzer's bestselling book about a group of friends who meet at an arts camp when they're 15 in 1974 and their relationships throughout the next three decades. He'll play Dennis, "Jules' less than ambitious husband who knows that she probably wanted a life larger than he could provide for her." (Deadline.com)


JURY, THE (ABC/ABCS/Sony; W: Mark Bianculli & V.J. Boyd; D: Neil Burger) - Archie Panjabi ("The Good Wife") is the first to sign onto the drama pilot, which follows a single murder trial a season as seen through the eyes of the individual jurors, exploring the biases and experiences that influence the jurors' judgment, and how their preconceptions change along the way. In addition, Neil Burger will direct the pilot while ABC Studios is now set to co-produce alongside the Sony Pictures Television-based Carol Menselsohn Productions. Panjabi will play the show's protagonist, juror Kim: "A force of nature cloaked in a professional demeanor, Kim's not interested in making friends - she's interested in the truth. She's a crusader - someone who's always had/is always looking for a cause." (Deadline.com)


NO TOMORROW (The CW/CTS; W: Corinne Brinkerhoff, Scott McCabe & Tory Stanton; D: TBA) - The netlet's import of the Brazilian series "How to Enjoy the End of the World" - about Sarah, a risk-averse quality-control assessor who falls for free-spirited thrill seeker Xavier only to find out he lives his life that way because he believes the apocalypse is coming - has scored a pilot order. Ben Silverman and Sean Canino are also executive producing. (Deadline.com)


RIVERDALE (The CW/WBT; W: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa; D: TBA) - The netlet's bold, subversive take on Archie, Betty, Veronica and their friends from the comics, exploring the surreality of small-town life - the darkness and weirdness bubbling beneath Riverdale's wholesome facade - has been greenlit to produce a pilot. Greg Berlanti, Jon Goldwater and Sarah Schechter also serve as executive producers. (Deadline.com)


SHUT EYE (Hulu/TriStar; W: Les Bohem; D: Johan Renck) - Actress Kadee Strickland and director Johan Renck have signed onto the Jeffrey Donovan-led drama, about Charlie Haverford, a failed magician who now works as a psychic/conman overseeing a number of fortune telling parlors in Los Angeles. Employed for many years by a Romani kingpin, Charlie's life is stifled and going nowhere until a blow to the head jars him into a new mindset and makes him question everything he has ever believed. When his wife urges him to break out on his own, he's careful - because he knows that one wrong move will land him in a shallow grave. Strickland will play Linda, "a beautiful former dancer and Charlie's wife. Struck with occasional bouts of manic depression, Linda is a self-described housewife who makes money on the side as a fortune teller entertaining at upscale parties, though what she truly desires is for Charlie to break away from his crooked and violent boss, Fonzo, so that they can make some real money running scams on their own." (Deadline.com)


TRANSYLVANIA (The CW/CTS; W: Hugh Sterbakov; D: TBA) - The drama - set in 1880 about a headstrong young woman in search of her missing father ventures from NYC to Transylvania where she teams up with a wrongfully disgraced Scotland Yard Detective, and together they witness the births of the most famous monsters and villains in history - has scored a pilot commitment from the netlet. Andre Nemec, Jeff Pinkner, Josh Appelbaum and Scott Rosenberg will likewise executive produce. (Deadline.com)


UNTITLED MATT HUBBARD PROJECT (NBC/Universal; W: Matt Hubbard; D: TBA) - Chris Smith and Elizabeth Ho have been cast in the lead roles in the single-camera comedy pilot, about Andrew (Smith) and Josie (Ho), "a happily married interracial couple whose lives take a turn when they move close to Josie's family in Missouri. Andrew is a likable nerd, a lawyer, while Josie is hard-charging woman who has never failed at anything." (Deadline.com)


AND IN OTHER NEWS... - MTV has pulled the plug on "Finding Carter" after two seasons (@zacpullam12); Neil Marshall has signed on to direct Eric Kripke and Shawn Ryan's drama pilot "Time" for NBC (Deadline.com); Karyn Usher and Lisa Zwerling's newly launched company Carpool Entertainment has inked an overall deal with Lionsgate Television (THR.com); Monica Barbaro, Denée Benton, Michael Rady and Gentry White are among the new faces bound for the sophomore season of "UnREAL" (Deadline.com);

Arturo Del Puerto will recur on "Fear the Walking Dead" as Carlos, "who's guarded but possesses a spiritual understanding of the world" (Deadline.com); America Olivo is bound for "The Strain" as Kate Rogers, "who commands a squad of NYPD combatants" (Deadline.com); and Jim Rash will visit "Dr. Ken" as "a slick and smug lawyer who is hellbent on proving that Ken is not qualified to be an expert medical witness on a case and destroys his self-confidence in court" (EW.com).






  [january 2016]  
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M
T
W
T
F
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· COLONY (CW)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· DR KEN (ABC)
· FEAR THE WALKING DEAD (AMC)
· FINDING CARTER (MTV)
· FREQUENCY (CW)
· GHOST (CW)
· GOOD WIFE, THE (CBS)
· GREAT INDOORS, THE (CBS)
· INTERESTINGS, THE (AMAZON)
· JURY, THE (ABC)
· NO TOMORROW (CW)
· RIVERDALE (CW)
· SHUT EYE (HULU)
· STRAIN, THE (FX)
· TIMELESS (NBC)
· TRANSYLVANIA (CW)
· UNREAL (HULU)
· UNTITLED MATT HUBBARD PROJECT (NBC)





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