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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!
24: LEGACY (FOX/20th; W: Evan Katz & Manny Coto; D: Stephen Hopkins) - Ashley Thomas and Zayne Emory have both been cast in the drama pilot, which will revolve around military hero Eric Carter's (Corey Hawkins) return to the U.S. and the trouble that follows him back - compelling him to ask CTU for help in saving his life, and stopping what potentially could be one of the largest-scale terror attacks on American soil. The former will play Isaac Carter, "Eric's older brother, who is angry at the returning Army Ranger about their bitter past - Eric is now married to Isaac's former girlfriend, Nicole (Anna Diop)"; with the latter as Drew Phelps, "a junior at Marshall High School, who has a crush on Amira." (THR.com)
BROKEN (A.K.A. PLEASE DON'T GO) (ABC/ABCS; W: Meaghan Oppenheimer; D: TBA) - Anna Paquin ("True Blood") has been tapped for the lead role on the Reese Witherspoon-produced drama pilot, about the personal and professional life of Gemma, a ruthless divorce attorney in Dallas, which begins to unravel when her emotionally damaged, love-addicted sister (Charity Wakefield) resurfaces triggering self-destructive tendencies and exposing long-hidden family secrets. She'll play the aforementioned Gemma. (Deadline.com)
CITIZEN (Hulu/Paramount; W: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, Josh Pate & Nicholas Schutt; D: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon) - Ismael Cruz Cordova ("Ray Donovan") has joined the cast of the drama pilot, billed as a fresh take on the hero origin story blending elements of magical realism and gritty vigilantism set against the backdrop of a vibrant, supernaturalized Los Angeles. He'll play Chris Martinez, "a fiercely ambitious cellular phone salesman methodically putting together an illicit drug empire with Mrs. Candy." (Deadline.com)
CONVICTION (/ABC/ABCS; W: Liz Friedlander & Liz Friedman; D: Liz Friedlander) - Daniel DiTomasso ("Witches of East End") has snagged a role on the drama pilot, about Carter Morrison (Hayley Atwell), the brilliant but rebellious daughter of a Clinton-like political family who is forced into taking a job as the head of Los Angeles' newly created Conviction Integrity Unit. He's on board as Jackson Morrison, "Carter's younger brother and the family's golden child, who also happens to be a top end lawyer." (Deadline.com)
DEATH OF EVA SOFIA VALDEZ, THE (ABC/ABCS; W: Charise Castro Smith; D: TBA) - Debra Mooney ("Grey's Anatomy") has been cast in the pilot, a sexy revenge drama with a supernatural twist about a Cuban-American family on the rise as they navigate multiple business ventures in Miami, familial rivalries and dark secrets from the past that come back to haunt them. She's set as Clara, "one of the three 'shadow women' who help Eva Sophia (Gina Torres) implement her mission of vengeance." (Deadline.com)
FOUR STARS (CBS/CTS; W: Becky Mode; D: R.J. Cutler) - Steven Bauer ("Ray Donovan") has joined the cast of the drama pilot, about two powerful rival families in the military community of Tampa, Florida who make decisions at the highest levels in the interest of national security. He'll play "the patriarch of the Rodriguez clan, Gen. Rodriguez, the four-star general in charge of the entire Middle East - and the consummate soldier-statesman." (Deadline.com)
GREAT INDOORS, THE (CBS/CTS; W: Mike Gibbons; D: TBA) - Christine Ko has boarded the multi-camera comedy pilot, about an adventure reporter (Joel McHale) who must adapt to the times when he becomes the boss to a group of millennials in the digital department of the magazine. She's set as Emma, "the magazine's millennial social media expert who views Joel as an out-of-touch relic from another time." (Deadline.com)
HAIL MARY (ABC/ABCS/Sony; W: Brian Gallivan; D: Julie Anne Robinson) - Gareth Reynolds has been cast in the single-camera comedy pilot, about Mary Wolf (Casey Wilson), a young small-town mayor who has dysfunctional siblings, a dying father, disgruntled citizens, a nearly bankrupt town and the mafia breathing down her neck. He's set as Christopher, "Mary's older brother, never one to sugarcoat a situation or use tact, Christopher speaks in simple facts." (Deadline.com)
MAKING HISTORY (FOX/20th; W: Julius Sharpe; D: TBA) - Leighton Meester ("Gossip Girl") is set to star opposite Adam Pally in the single-camera comedy pilot, about Dan (Pally), a nerdy computer science professor at a small college who uses time travel to get a fresh start. She'll play Deborah, "a colonial woman self-educated and incredibly motivated with modern ideals trapped in a regressive time. She has contemporary beliefs of gender and racial equality which everyone scoffs at in 1775." (Deadline.com)
MIND HUNTER (Netflix/Fox 21; W: Joe Penhall; D: David Fincher) - Holt McCallany ("Lights Out") is the latest to be cast in the Charlize Theron-produced drama, based on the life of a top FBI investigator of serial killers and rapists, and the profiling techniques he developed. He'll play "the inquisitive and skilled FBI Agent Bill Tench (McCallany). Along with fellow serial killer investigator in the behavioral science unit, FBI agent Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff), Tench interviews serial killers to help them solve current murders." Anna Torv also stars. (Deadline.com)
MIRANDA'S RIGHTS (NBC/Universal; W: Katie Lovejoy; D: Jennifer Getzinger) - Ruffin Prentiss ("Power") is the latest addition to the drama pilot, about an idealistic group of lawyers who not only work together but live together at their start-up firm. He'll play Shaun Ruiz, "one of the partners at YLG (Young Law Group). Open and mischievous, he fearlessly describes himself to Miranda (Breeds) as 'a half-black, half-Mexican bi-sexual from small town Texas'." (Deadline.com)
PITCH (FOX/20th; W: Dan Fogelman & Rick Singer; D: Paris Barclay) - Bob Balaban has signed onto the drama pilot, about Ginny Baker (Kylie Bunbury), a young female pitcher who defies the odds when she becomes the first woman to play in the major leagues as part of the San Diego Padres. He'll play Frank Reid, "the charming baseball club owner who is wealthy both in finance and wisdom. He understands that bringing Ginny up to the pros is a risk but sees the greater good in what he's doing." (THR.com)
RECON (FOX/WBT; W: Caroline Dries; D: Adam Davidson) - Yasmin Kaur Barn and Leonidas Castrounis have both signed onto the drama pilot, about Alexa (Tracy Spiridakos), a rookie FBI agent embeds herself in a suspected terrorist family. They'll play Oshin and Yusuf, respectively. Alexander Siddig, Amanda Warren, Karan Oberoi and Sarita Choudhury also star. (Deadline.com)
STILL STAR-CROSSED (ABC/ABCS; W: Heather Mitchell; D: Michael Offer) - Zuleikha Robinson, Lashana Lynch, Torrance Coombs, Wade Briggs and Ebonée Noel have all booked lead roles in the drama pilot, a sequel to "Romeo & Juliet" that follows the conflict between the Capulets and the Montagues in the wake of Romeo and Juliet's deaths. Lynch will play Rosaline, "a gorgeous, intelligent and headstrong Capulet and Juliet's cousin. Following the death of her parents, she is taken in by her aunt and uncle, Juliet's parents Lady (Robinson) and Lord Capulet, and forced to work as a servant. She does her best to tolerate her aunt's cruelty, and focuses on finding a way to free herself of the humiliation. She is eventually ordered to marry Benvolio (Briggs), a Montague." Coombs, who is departing "Reign" as a series regular, then is set as Count Paris, who "is betrothed to marry to Juliet, a woman he's never met, but as a respectable young nobleman well-versed in the art of romantic chivalry, he is greatly saddened when she dies though there is hidden darkness to him"; with Noel as Livia, Rosaline's sister, "a stunning beauty in a more conventional way than her sister, but not as smart." (Deadline.com)
SUPERIOR DONUTS (CBS/CTS; W: Bob Daily, Garrett Donovan & Neil Goldman; D: James Burrows) - David Koechner, Megyn Price and Sarah Stiles will round out the cast of the multi-camera comedy pilot, which follows the relationship between Arthur (Brian d'Arcy James), the owner of a donut shop; Franco (Jermaine Fowler), his new young employee; and their patrons in a gentrifying neighborhood of Chicago. Koechner will play Tush, "Arthur's most loyal customer, who comes in every morning for breakfast and often stays through lunch and dinner, occupying his regular stool at the counter"; with Price as Randy, "a sarcastic and matter-of-fact street cop"; and Stiles as Dana, "a professor at nearby Loyola University with a weakness for jelly donuts and a soft spot for Arthur and her fellow patrons." (Deadline.com)
TRANSYLVANIA (The CW/CTS; W: Hugh Sterbakov; D: Jason Ensler) - Amrita Acharia ("Game of Thrones") has scored a role on the period drama pilot, about Victoria Harker (Laura Brent), a headstrong young woman in search of her missing father ventures from NYC to Transylvania where she teams up with wrongfully disgraced Scotland Yard Inspector G. Lestrade (Luke Allen-Gale), and together they witness the births of the most famous monsters and villains in history. She'll play Coriander, "an exotic gypsy, the leader of the matriarchal Szgany clan that runs the fleshpots of the Old City - the haunted spot where Vlad the Impaler once killed thousands of their tribe." (Deadline.com)
AND IN OTHER NEWS... - Barry Schindel has been tapped as showrunner of the CBS drama pilot "Training Day" (Deadline.com); Michael Rispoli is bound for AMC's "Feed the Beast" as Detective Guy Giordano (Deadline.com); Augustus Prew, Rick Yune and Steve Mouzakis have all been cast in FOX's "Prison Break" revival while original co-stars Sarah Wayne Callies, Robert Knepper, Rockmond Dunbar and Amaury Nolasco are also due back (Deadline.com); Pete Ploszek will recur on "Teen Wolf" as "a charming, handsome young new teacher, the kind everyone has a crush on" (Deadline.com);
Amanda Schull has scored an arc on "Murder in the First" as "an assistant attorney general described as intelligent and dangerous in the courtroom" (THR.com); Yvette Nicole Brown will visit "Rizzoli & Isles" as "a brash and blustery U.S. Postal Inspector" (TVLine.com); and Jake Paul, Ethan Wacker and DeVore Ledridge have been cast in Disney Channel's "Bizaardvark" as Dirk, Bernie and Amelia, respectively (Variety.com).
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