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[08/16/16 - 11:30 PM]
Development Update: Tuesday, August 16
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!


BEACHES (Lifetime) - Nia Long has been cast as Hillary in the cable channel's remake of the Barbara Hershey/Bette Midler-led 1988 film. Her character is detailed as "the daughter of a prominent civil rights lawyer who struggles to find her own destiny." Idina Menzel was previously cast in the Midler role of C.C. Production is underway for a premiere next year. (Deadline.com)
BONES (FOX) - Ed Asner and Hal Holbrook will both drop by the show's final season as Mike Mancuso, "a seemingly kindly man who turns out to be quite the slippery, deceptive and duplicitous wise guy"; and Red Fletcher, "a Marine Corp veteran who possesses a strong and silent demeanor - think Agent Booth (David Boreanaz) in about 40 years," respectively. (TVLine.com)
FEUD (FX) - Oscar-winner Catherine Zeta-Jones has been cast as Oscar-winner Olivia de Havilland on Ryan Murphy's latest anthology series. (@MrRPMurphy)
HANDMAID'S TALE, THE (Hulu) - Madeline Brewer ("Hemlock Grove") is the latest addition to the streaming service's small screen take on Margaret Atwood's book. She'll play Janine, "a ballsy fellow handmaid Offred (Elisabeth Moss) meets in the Red Center who, after a torturous punishment, begins losing her grasp on reality." (THR.com)
HOMELAND (Showtime) - Robert Knepper ("Prison Break") will recur on the new season as General Jamie McClendon, "the Department of Defense representative briefing President-elect Keane (Elizabeth Marvel) and her transition team." (Deadline.com)
I AM CAIT (E!) - The Caitlyn Jenner-led reality series is signing off after two seasons. Said Jenner, "After 2 amazing seasons of @IAmCait, it's time for the next adventure. Thank you E! & thank you to the best girlfriends I could ask for!" (@Caitlyn_Jenner)
ISSUES (Freeform) - Sam Page ("Switched at Birth") has signed onto the drama pilot as Richard, "a member of the Scarlet board of directors and lawyer for the publishing group. A man with great looks and charm, he is catnip to women - and he knows it." (Deadline.com)
MARVEL'S AGENTS OF SHIELD (ABC) - Mallory Jansen ("Galavant") is bound for the new season as "the robot Aida." (TVLine.com)
MOTHERLAND (Freeform, New!) - Eliot Laurence (Welcome to Me) has sold a potential drama to the cable channel billed as "an epic military fantasy set in an alternate America where witches ended their persecution 300 years ago by cutting a deal with the U.S. government to fight for their country. The project is set in contemporary times where young women conscript at 18 and receive basic training in combat magic at a base called Fort Salem. The show follows three young women from basic into early deployment. In this world, the traditional roles of gender and power are flipped. Women are on the front lines fighting looming terrorist threats that are familiar to our world, but their tactics and weapons are supernatural." Gary Sanchez Productions of Adam McKay, Will Ferrell and Kevin Messick also executive produce. (Deadline.com)
POWERLESS (NBC) - Creator Ben Queen has opted to depart the midseason comedy due to "creative differences." Production, set to begin in two weeks, is being postponed while a new showrunner is found. (Deadline.com)
TIME AFTER TIME (ABC) - Will Chase ("Nashville") has joined the cast of the midseason drama as Griffin, "boyfriend to billionaire Vanessa Anders, he's also one half of Manhattan's most talked about power couple. But when a mysterious man in the form of H.G. Wells suddenly becomes a major distraction in Vanessa's life, Griffin finds his relationship with her strained and his patience tested." (EW.com)
VARSITY BLUES (CMT, New!) - Feature writer W. Peter Iliff is developing a small screen take on his cult 1999 football movie, which "starred James Van Der Beek as a back-up quarterback who is chosen to lead a Texas football team to victory after the star quarterback is injured as he butts heads with his football-obsessed father (Thomas Duffy) and abusive coach (Jon Voight)." Paramount Television is producing. (Deadline.com)





  [august 2016]  
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F
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· BEACHES (LIFETIME)
· BOLD TYPE, THE (FREEFORM)
· BONES (FOX)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· FEUD (FX)
· GALAVANT (ABC)
· HANDMAID'S TALE, THE (HULU)
· HEMLOCK GROVE (NETFLIX)
· HOMELAND (SHOWTIME)
· I AM CAIT (E)
· MARVEL'S AGENTS OF SHIELD (ABC)
· MOTHERLAND: FORT SALEM (FREEFORM)
· NASHVILLE (CMT)
· POWERLESS (NBC)
· PRISON BREAK (FOX)
· SWITCHED AT BIRTH (FREEFORM)
· TIME AFTER TIME (ABC)
· VARSITY BLUES (QUIBI)





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