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[10/05/21 - 11:49 PM]
Development Update: Tuesday, October 5
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!


BLUMHOUSE FILM SERIES (Epix) - Finn Jones, Jessica McNamee, Dane Rhodes and Donna Biscoe will star "The Visitor," the latest installment in the film series. Justin P. Lange is directing from a script by Adam Mason and Simon Boyes. Its logline is as follows: "After a series of tragedies including the death of his father-in-law, Robert and his wife Maia leave their home in London to move back to her childhood home. But when Robert discovers an old portrait in the attic of a man who is his spitting image, he goes down a rabbit hole to discover the identity of this mysterious doppelganger known only as the visitor. It isn't long until he realizes - where the visitor goes, death follows." (Deadline.com)
BOYS, THE (Amazon) - Frances Turner, Kristin Booth and Jack Doola are all bound for the show's third season. Turner will return as Monique, "wife of Mother's Milk (Laz Alonso)"; with Booth and Doolan as "supe siblings Tessa and Tommy, aka the TNT Twins." (Deadline.com)
CANDY (Hulu) - Jessica Biel is set to star as Candy Montgomery in the true-crime limited series at the streamer, 20th Television and UCP. Elisabeth Moss had been attached to play said role but had to bow out due to scheduling conflicts. The project, which has formally been ordered to series, is "set in 1980 Texas, where Candy Montgomery (Biel) seemingly had it all - a loving husband with a good job, a daughter and a son, a nice house in the brand new suburbs - so why did she kill her friend from church with an ax?" Biel will also executive produce with her producing partner Michelle Purple through their company Iron Ocean (likewise replacing Love & Squalor's Moss and Lindsey McManus) alongside director Michael Uppendahl, writer Robin Veith, Nick Antosca and Alex Hedlund. (Deadline.com)
COERCION (Showtime) - Akende Munalula, Shacai O'Neal, Lily Keene and Margot Catherine Terry will round out the cast of the drama pilot, which "depicts Bender's (Sydney Chandler) escape from the world of sex trafficking after six years, her struggles to return to a 'normal' life, and her emergence as a confident, funny and impassioned advocate for justice." Munalula will play Dev, "a successful, wealthy Las Vegas-based human sex trafficker"; with O'Neal as Mia, "a sex worker"; Keene as Didi, "also a sex worker"; and Terry as Lexi, "the young daughter of Rebecca (Chandler)." (Deadline.com)
EXTRA ORDINARY (TBS, New!) - Writer/directors Mike Ahern and Enda Loughman are developing a small screen take on their 2019 horror comedy at the cable channel, which "follows Rose and Martin, a ghostbustin' duo, as they counsel ghosts in their small Irish village while navigating their own budding and sometimes awkward relationship. Everything is going well until an American family with supernatural powers moves into the local castle." Animal Pictures' Maya Rudolph, Natasha Lyonne, and Danielle Renfrew Behrens; and Blinder Films' Katie Holly and Yvonne Donohoe will also executive produce. (Deadline.com)
FLICKER IN THE DARK, A (HBO Max, New!) - Morgan Gould is developing Stacy Willingham's upcoming novel for television at the streamer. The project follows Chloe Davis, "who was shocked to discover at 12 years old that her own father confessed to the murder of six teenage girls in their small Louisiana town. 20 years later, Chloe is a psychologist in Baton Rouge whose life begins to unravel when local teens start to go missing." Fruit Tree's Emma Stone and Dave McCary will also executive produce for A24. (Variety.com)
GREASE: RISE OF THE PINK LADIES (Paramount+) - Justin Tranter, Jamal Sims and Alethea Jones have all signed onto the prequel series. Tranter will provide new original music for the project; while Sims will choreograph the musical numbers; and Jones will direct the first episode and produce. (Deadline.com)
INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE (AMC) - Bailey Bass has been cast as Claudia in the Anne Rice adaptation, "an orphan child brought into the Blood in 1794 by Lestat and Louis in New Orleans." Kirsten Dunst originated the role in the 1994 feature. (Deadline.com)
L.A. LAW (ABC) - The Blair Underwood-led reboot series has been ordered to pilot by the network. Anthony Hemingway will direct from a script by Marc Guggenheim and Ubah Mohamed with Jesse Bochco and Dayna Bochco also executive producing for 20th Television. (Deadline.com)
LIGHTYEARS (Amazon) - Lily Cardone and Lowrey Brown have been cast as the younger versions of series leads Sissy Spacek and J.K. Simmons. Cardone's Young Irene (seen as a young woman from ages 19-30) is "surprised to find herself charmed by Franklin, but later throws herself into building their life as a family, her work as a teacher, and parenting their son Michael." And Brown's Young Franklin (seen at ages 21-30) is "entranced by Irene from the first time he sees her, through their first years together as newlyweds and as young parents." (Deadline.com)
ONE OF US IS LYING (Peacock) - Alimi Ballard has been confirmed as recurring on the upcoming drama as Kevin Clay: "An ex-athlete, he's Cooper's (Chibuikem Uche) intense but loving father/coach, who just wants for his son to become a baseball star and have a (much) better life than he ever did." (Deadline.com)
POWER BOOK III: RAISING KANAN (Starz) - K.J. Smith will recur on the series as Palomar: "One of Famous's new neighbors, Palomar is a young mom who's frequently mistaken for her daughter, Corinne's, older sister. Any responsible parent wouldn't let their daughter within a mile of Kanan, Famous, and their friends, but Palomar is not that parent." (Deadline.com)
PREACHER (AMC) - Executive producer Sam Catlin has signed an overall deal with Apple where he'll develop new series projects via his Short Drive Entertainment banner on an exclusive basis. (Deadline.com)
SECRET LIVES OF CHURCH LADIES, THE (HBO Max) - Tori Sampson has signed on to co-create the drama series alongside author Deesha Philyaw. The project "explores the raw and tender places where Black women and girls dare to follow their desires and pursue a momentary reprieve from being good." Tessa Thompson will likewise executive produce. (Deadline.com)
SHELTER (Amazon) - Constance Zimmer has been cast in the YA drama pilot as Shira Bolitar, "Mickey's aunt and a severely Type-A prosecutor in the midst of a messy divorce. She has moved back to New Jersey to take care of her nephew, who wants nothing to do with her due to a generational family rift. But Shira has her own side to the story and her own reasons for returning to the hometown she mysteriously fled from all those years ago." (Variety.com)





  [october 2021]  
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· ANNE RICE'S INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE (AMC)
· BLUMHOUSE FILM SERIES (EPIX)
· BOYS, THE (AMAZON)
· CANDY (HULU)
· COERCION (SHOWTIME)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· EXTRA ORDINARY (TBS)
· FLICKER IN THE DARK, A (HBO MAX)
· GREASE: RISE OF THE PINK LADIES (PARAMOUNT PLUS)
· HARLAN COBEN'S SHELTER (AMAZON)
· LA LAW (ABC)
· NIGHT SKY (AMAZON)
· ONE OF US IS LYING (PEACOCK)
· POWER BOOK III: RAISING KANAN (STARZ)
· PREACHER (AMC)
· SECRET LIVES OF CHURCH LADIES, THE (HBO MAX)





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