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[03/21/16 - 11:39 PM]
Development Update: Monday, March 21
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!


BATTLE OF VERSAILLES, THE (HBO, New!) - Writer Michael Starrbury and writer/director Ava DuVernay are looking to bring Robin Givhan's book, subtitled "The Night American Fashion Stumbled into the Spotlight and Made History," to the small screen. The proposed telefilm would "chronicle the November 28, 1973 fashion show which pitted the top five French designers (Yves Saint Laurent, Hubert de Givenchy, Pierre Cardin, Emanuel Ungaro, and Marc Bohan of Christian Dior) against five then-unknown Americans (Oscar de la Renta, Bill Blass, Anne Klein, Halston, Stephen Burrows and Anne Klein, who brought along her then-assistant Donna Karan) in front of an audience of the world's social elite." Karen Glass and Angela Mancuso are executive producing alongside DuVernay with Givhan serving as a consultant. (Deadline.com)


CHICAGO JUSTICE (NBC/Universal; W: Dick Wolf; D: Jean de Segonza) - Lorraine Toussaint and Carl Weathers are the latest to be cast in the latest incarnation of the "Chicago" franchise, which will be set up in Episode 21 of "Chicago PD" this season. She'll play defense attorney Shambala Green, reprising her 1990-2003 recurring role from "Law & Order"; while Weathers is set as State's Attorney Mark Jefferies, "a respected, grounded intellectual with admirable gravitas." (THR.com)


GREAT INDOORS, THE (CBS/CTS; W: Mike Gibbons; D: Andy Ackerman) - Susannah Fielding is the latest addition to 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 Brooke, "Antonio's (Stephen Fry) daughter who is in charge of co-running The Great Outdoors with him." (Deadline.com)


HR (FOX/20th; W: Laura Steinel; D: Jeff Schaffer) - Esai Morales ("The Brink") has scored a role on the single-camera comedy pilot, about Jane (Judy Greer), who is caught between trying to manage her charmingly incompetent human resources department and Sam (Patton Oswalt), a new eccentric CEO who dreams of bringing the New Jersey plastics plant into the future. He'll play Bruce who even though is "usually unclogging toilets or fixing someone's foot heater, he always has a pleasant, chill and strangely sexy demeanor." (Deadline.com)


MACGYVER (CBS/CTS; W: Paul Downs Colaizzo; D: David Von Ancken) - Lucas Till (X-Men: Apocalypse) and Joshua Boone (Fan Girl) have booked principal roles on the drama pilot, in which twentysomething Angus MacGyver gets recruited into the clandestine organization from the original series where he uses his knack for solving problems in unconventional ways to help prevent disasters from happening. Till is set in the title role while Boone will play Gunner, "MacGyver's best friend from high school." (Deadline.com)


NEW PEOPLE (Freeform, New!) - Amy Ellis Nutt's novel "Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family" is being developed as a TV series by the cable channel. Don Roos ("Web Therapy") is spearheading the project, which is "inspired by the true story of a transgender girl, her identical twin brother and their family's journey." Joel Silver and Rodney Ferrell's Silver Pictures and Lionsgate Television are co-producing. (Deadline.com)


SHOTS FIRED (FOX/20th; W: Gina Prince-Bythewood & Reggie Rock Bythewood; D: Gina Prince-Bythewood) - Will Patton ("The Good Wife") has joined the cast of the event series, which examines the dangerous aftermath of racially charged shootings in a small town in Tennessee. He'll play Sheriff Daniel Platt, "whose precinct and an officer under his command are investigated after a police shooting." (Deadline.com)


TAKEN (NBC/Universal; W: Alexander Cary; D: Alex Graves) - Jennifer Marsala has scored a role on the Peacock's prequel to the Liam Neeson-led film franchise, about a retired CIA operative on a one-man mission to save his kidnapped daughter which would follow a young Bryan Mills (Clive Standen) before he marries and has a daughter. She'll play Riley, "a member of the incredibly fast-thinking/acting OPCON team whose job it is to act quickly in support of the team on the ground. However, this team occasionally ventures into the field, the world and the corridors of power." (Deadline.com)


VLAD (NBC/WBT; W: Adam Sztykiel & Vladimir Caamaño; D: TBA) - Liche Ariza has signed onto the multi-camera comedy pilot, inspired by comedian Vladimir Caamaño's real-life family dynamic living with his Dominican father and older brother in the Bronx. He's on board as Julio, "Vlad's father, a hard-working, good-hearted, endearingly melodramatic family man who has been in this country since 1970. A building super, Julio shares a rent-free basement unit with his two sons, while his wife (whom he adores) has a nearby subsidized apartment." (Deadline.com)


AND IN OTHER NEWS... - Paul Adelstein will reprise his role as Paul Kellerman on FOX's "Prison Break" revival while Inbar Lavi, Marina Benedict and Kunal Sharma have been tapped for new roles (Deadline.com); Beth Malone is bound for CBS's upcoming drama "BrainDead" as Claudia, "a grim, smart, ultra-liberal newscaster for an ultra-liberal news station" (Deadline.com); Gwendoline Christie, David Dencik, Alice Englert and Ewen Leslie have all signed onto season two of "Top of the Lake" (Deadline.com); Franka Potente is bound for FX's "Taboo" as Helga, "a business-minded madam who shares a history with James" (Deadline.com); Sasha Alexander will helm an episode of "Rizzoli & Isles" during its final season (THR.com); and AnnaLynne McCord is set to recur on "The Night Shift" as "a striking and driven pharmaceutical rep who's always looking for a way to make a deal" (EW.com).






  [march 2016]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
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· BATTLE OF VERSAILLES, THE (HBO)
· BRAINDEAD (CBS)
· BRINK, THE (HBO)
· CHICAGO JUSTICE (NBC)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· GOOD WIFE, THE (CBS)
· GREAT INDOORS, THE (CBS)
· HR (FOX)
· MACGYVER (CBS)
· NEW PEOPLE (FREEFORM)
· NIGHT SHIFT, THE (NBC)
· PRISON BREAK (FOX)
· RIZZOLI & ISLES (TNT)
· SHOTS FIRED (FOX)
· TABOO (FX)
· TAKEN (NBC)
· TOP OF THE LAKE (SUNDANCE)
· VLAD (NBC)
· WEB THERAPY (SHOWTIME)





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