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[01/15/20 - 11:48 PM]
Development Update: Wednesday, January 15
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!


BRITANNIA (Amazon) - The streaming service will not air the U.K. drama's second or third seasons, the latter of which was just ordered by Sky. The company is reportedly in "active conversations with a number of U.S. partners" about finding a new U.S. home. (Deadline.com)
CB STRIKE/GANGS OF LONDON/TRACKERS/WARRIOR (Cinemax) - HBO Max Chief Content Officer Kevin Reilly has indicated Cinemax will no longer commission original shows. The upcoming final season of "Strike Back" will mark the swan song for originals on the pay channel while the future of its existing properties remains to be determined. (Deadline.com)
CITY ON A HILL (Showtime) - Matthew Del Negro's Detective Caysen will be promoted to regular on the series' second season. (Deadline.com)
CONFEDERATE (HBO) - The long-in-the-works controversial slavery drama from David Benioff and D.B. Weiss has formally been tabled following the pair's new overall deal with Netflix. (TVLine.com)
DARK TOWER, THE (Amazon) - The streaming service has passed on its adaptation of Stephen King's book series. Producer MRC plans to shop "the two original scripts that were the basis for the pilot pickup." Sam Strike, Jasper Pääkkönen, Michael Rooker, Jerome Flynn and Joana Ribeiro were believed to have starred in the pilot, which was never officially announced or confirmed. (Deadline.com)
DEMIMONDE (HBO) - The proposed sci-fi drama from J.J. Abrams is searching for a new showrunner. They'll succeed Bash Doran, who bowed out over the summer. (Deadline.com)
FRIENDS (HBO Max) - The show's proposed unscripted reunion special remains in limbo due to an "eight-figure gap" with the cast and what the studio is willing to pay. (Deadline.com)
LA BREA (NBC, New!) - David Appelbaum has scored a pilot order for a new drama at the network in which "when a massive sinkhole mysteriously opens in Los Angeles, it tears a family in half, separating mother and son from father and daughter. When part of the family find themselves in an unexplainable primeval world, alongside a disparate group of strangers, they must work to survive and uncover the mystery of where they are and if there is a way back home." Universal Television is behind the hour with Keshet Studios' Avi Nir, Alon Shtruzman, Peter Traugott and Rachel Kaplan also executive producing. (Deadline.com)
LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE (Hulu) - Executive producer Liz Tigelaar has signed a two-year overall with producer ABC Studios. There she'll develop new series projects via her just launched Best Day Ever banner. (Deadline.com)
LUCIFER (Netflix) - Debbie Gibson will drop by the show's upcoming musical episode as Shelly Bitner, "a controlling helicopter mother who won't let her teenage son JJ have any say in his own future." (EW.com)
MINDHUNTER (Netflix) - The streaming service has let the options of the cast - led by Holt McCallany, Jonathan Groff and Anna Torv - lapse, suggesting there will not be a third season of the series. "David [Fincher] is focused on directing his first Netflix film Mank and on producing the second season of Love, Death and Robots," a Netflix spokesperson said in a statement. "He may revisit Mindhunter again in the future, but in the meantime felt it wasn't fair to the actors to hold them from seeking other work while he was exploring new work of his own." (Deadline.com)
PRODIGAL SON (FOX) - Ana Gasteyer will guest on episode 15 of the newcomer as Tilda Carp, "a gifted mortician with a questionable past. While Tilda is hawking a line of caskets at a funeral director convention, an old colleague of hers is murdered - but is Tilda the next victim, or the killer?" (TVLine.com)
THEY'VE GOTTA HAVE US (Netflix, New!) - The streaming service will roll out a new series "which will chronicle art, activism and race in black cinema through in-depth interviews with some of Hollywood's most iconic voices" on Wednesday, February 5. Barry Jenkins, John Boyega, Whoopi Goldberg, Laurence Fishburne, David Oyelowo, Diahann Carroll, Kasi Lemmons, Harry Belafonte, Robert Townsend and the late John Singleton are among those profiled. Simon Frederick is behind the project, which was produced by Ava DuVernay and Tilane Jones's Array Releasing banner. (THR.com)
TOM CLANCY'S JACK RYAN (Amazon) - Paul Scheuring has bowed out as showrunner of the series' third season. He'll be succeeded in the day-to-day duties by Vaun Wilmott. (Deadline.com)
YOUNG SHELDON (CBS) - Reba McEntire will guest on the series as June, "the "fun and fiery" ex-wife of Craig T. Nelson's Dale Ballard. She strikes up an unlikely friendship with Meemaw (Annie Potts), who is currently dating the little league coach." (TVLine.com)





  [january 2020]  
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· BRITANNIA (EPIX)
· C.B. STRIKE (HBO)
· CITY ON A HILL (SHOWTIME)
· CONFEDERATE (HBO)
· DARK TOWER, THE (AMAZON)
· DEMIMONDE (HBO)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· FRIENDS (NBC)
· GANGS OF LONDON (AMC PLUS)
· LA BREA (NBC)
· LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE (HULU)
· LUCIFER (NETFLIX)
· MINDHUNTER (NETFLIX)
· PRODIGAL SON (FOX)
· STRIKE BACK (CINEMAX)
· THEY'VE GOTTA HAVE US (NETFLIX)
· TOM CLANCY'S JACK RYAN (AMAZON)
· TRACKERS (CINEMAX)
· WARRIOR (MAX)
· YOUNG SHELDON (CBS)





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