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[01/23/26 - 11:32 PM]
Development Update: Week of January 19-23
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC) |
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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!
4 BLOCKS ZERO (HBO Max) - Tariq Al-Saies has been cast as Ibrahim Mansour in the prequel series to the German crime drama "4 Blocks." (Deadline.com, 1/20)
ABANDONS, THE/VINCE STAPLES SHOW, THE (Netflix) - The streaming service has pulled the plug on said series after one and two seasons, respectively. (Deadline.com, 1/21)
AFTER THE MOVE TO NEVADA (Disney+, New!) - Danny Brocklehurst is developing a new U.K. drama at the streamer: "Brocklehurst's script is about a gangster movie fan who goes to a crime convention in Nevada, hence the title. While there, he gets mistaken for a mafia boss, and the story follows from there." Wild Mercury is producing with casting conversations underway. (Deadline.com, 1/22)
ASTROLOGY HOUSE, THE (Peacock, New!) - Christina Ricci is attached to star in a small screen take on Carinn Jade's novel at the streamer: "The story follows the cosmically intertwined lives of Rini and Margot (Ricci). When Rini invites Margot and her family-and-friend group to vacation at her astrology retreat, long-held resentments, secrets and lies boil over, culminating in death." Lindsay Calhoon Bring is behind the adaptation, with Ricci and Michael Peters also executive producing Cat Full of Spiders and Universal Television. Jade is a consulting producer. (Deadline.com, 1/21)
BALLARD (Amazon) - Rosanna Arquette will recur as Jenny Ballard, "Renée Ballard's (Maggie Q) estranged mom," in the upcoming second season. (Deadline.com, 1/22)
BARBERSHOP (Amazon) - The franchise's latest TV adaptation has added the following guest stars: Zack Fox as Alderman Warren; Ego Nwodim as Shelly-Ann; Diallo Riddle as Pastor Devante; Ziwe as Abbi; Tituss Burgess as Juan Grillz; Comedian CP as Marvin; Devon Walker as Southside Swole; and Belmont Cameli as Shep. No other details were given. (Deadline.com, 1/22)
BAYWATCH (FOX) - McG has signed on to direct and executive produce the debut installment of the reboot series via his Wonderland Sound and Vision banner. (Deadline.com, 1/20)
CHICAGO FIRE (NBC) - Rob Morgan will recur on the veteran drama as Battalion Chief Hopkins, "who has a long, haunted past in overseeing several Chicago firehouses and is quick to assert authority over his colleagues." He'll succeed Dermot Mulroney's Battalion Chief Dominick "Dom" Pascal, who is departing after episode 14 for yet-to-be-revealed story reasons but may return next season. (Deadline.com, 1/22)
CHOCOLATE WARS (BritBox, New!) - The streamer is on track to greenlight a long-in-the-works series "chronicling 19th-century confectionery empire-building" based on the book of the same name by Deborah Cadbury, which "tells the story of the invention of the chocolate bar and the battle between three British families (Cadbury, Rowntree, and Fry), American entrepreneur Milton Hershey, and European firms Nestlé and Lindt." Chloë Mi Lin Ewart is spearheading the project with Faye Ward, Hannah Farrell, Freddie Highmore, and Claire Londy executive producing for Sony Pictures Television, Fable Pictures, and Alfresco Pictures. (Deadline.com, 1/21)
CUPERTINO (CBS) - Ella Stiller has scored a role in the upcoming drama as Christy, "a young assistant at the new start-up law firm in Cupertino that's at the heart of the story." (Deadline.com, 1/21)
GREAT BRITISH BAKING SHOW, THE (Netflix) - Prue Leith is stepping down as a judge on the competition series after nine seasons. (@prueleith, 1/21)
IF I RULED THE WORLD (Hulu, New!) - The streamer is developing Amy DuBois Barnett's debut novel as a drama series, which "centers on Nikki Rose, a young magazine editor - and the only Black editor on staff - as she navigates the volatile intersection of hip-hop, fashion and editorial culture in the Y2K era." Lee Daniels is co-writing the pilot with Barnett and will executive produce alongside Emma Watts for 20th Television. (Variety.com, 1/23)
LORE OLYMPUS (Amazon, New!) - Amazon MGM Studios has commissioned an adult animated series based on Rachel Smythe's webcomic: "In Lore Olympus, witness what the gods do... after dark. The friendships and the lies, the gossip and the wild parties, and of course, forbidden love. Because it turns out, the gods aren't so different from us after all, especially when it comes to their problems. Stylish and immersive, this is one of mythology's greatest stories - The Taking of Persephone - as it has never been told before." Julia Cooperman is behind the project and executive produces alongside David Madden, Sydney Bright, Aron Levitz, Lisa Henson, and Halle Stanford for Webtoon Productions and The Jim Henson Company. (Deadline.com, 1/20)
MINDF*CK (Amazon) - Sylvester Stallone's Balboa Productions has signed a multi-year first-look film and television deal with Amazon MGM Studios, home to said project. (Deadline.com, 1/21)
POP CULTURE JEOPARDY! (Netflix) - Colin Jost will return as host for the Prime Video-turned-Netflix series' second season. (@popculturejeopardy, 1/23)
POSER (Netflix) - Sadie Stanley has joined the cast of the upcoming drama as Emmy, "a deeply empathetic, unassuming beauty who lives under the radar, but yearns for more and covets her long lost best friend who lives down the street." (Deadline.com, 1/22)
POWER: ORIGINS (Starz) - The prequel series has added Kelly McCreary as Melanie Rivers, "a strategic and take-charge kind of woman who can be quite secretive and isn't who she seems to be"; Hill Harper as Burns, "a speculative, curious, and relentlessly persistent cop who has a need to dig and insert himself in investigations that aren't his own"; Tonya Pinkins as Grandma Charlayne, "Ghost's loving grandmother, and a warm but unsteady presence whose neurological issues leave her slipping in and out of focus"; Damon Gupton as Glover Archibald, "who has seen and heard it all, a man who doesn't like to be challenged and believes in solving cases the old-fashioned way"; and Nadia Dajani, reprising her "Power Book III: Raising Kanan" role of Teresa Boselli, "the widow of Sal Boselli (Michael Rispoli), who is known to be tough and unsentimental." (Deadline.com, 1/21)
PRESUMED INNOCENT (Apple TV) - Ji-young Yoo will recur on the show's sophomore run in a yet-to-be-revealed role. (Deadline.com, 1/23)
TRACKER (CBS) - Erica Durance will guest on the March 22 episode as Laura, "a stuntwoman who brings in [Justin] Hartley's expert tracker Colton Shaw when her boyfriend disappears from a film set." (@mattmitovich, 1/23)
UNDER PRESSURE (ABC, New!) - Jessica Grasl and Garrett Lerner are set to team for a domestic take on the Brazilian medical drama at the Alphabet: "Under Pressure is a medical drama set at All Saints Hospital, an under-staffed and under-resourced hospital in Savannah, Georgia. At the heart of the hospital is CAM, a surgeon and man of faith who cares deeply for his patients and community. But beyond just the medical cases, the show will focus on a complicated love triangle. It will have all the "will they-won't they" tension and push and pull of a "traditional" soapy, love story, but with a twist that will leave the audience redefining their ideas of love, loss, and faith." David Shore, Erin Gunn, Alon Aranya, Renata Brandão, and Tereza Gonzalez will also executive produce for Shore Z Productions, Paper Plane Productions, Conspiração, and 20th Television. (Deadline.com, 1/22)
UNTITLED SUNDANCE INSTITUTE PROJECT (Hulu, New!) - The streamer has ordered a three-part series from Searchlight Television "telling the story of the Sundance Institute, which has seen attendances from the likes of Quentin Tarantino, Chloé Zhao, Ryan Coogler, Paul Thomas Anderson, Ava DuVernay, Alfonso Cuarón and Darren Aronofsky." Braden King will direct and executive produce alongside Ryan Coogler, Lynette Howell Taylor, writer Mark Monroe, Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian, Kelli Buchanan, Carly Hugo, and Matthew Parker for 51 Entertainment, Truckstop Media, Proximity Media, and Loveless. Sundance's Michelle Satter, Amy Redford and John Cooper also serve as consulting producers. (Deadline.com, 1/21)
UNTITLED TONY PARSONS PROJECT (Netflix, New!) - The streamer has commissioned an U.K. documentary series about Tony Parsons: "Parsons, a former Royal Navy Officer who had survived cancer, was killed after being hit on the road by a drunk driver in 2017 during a solo charity bike ride in Scotland. Alexander McKellar, the man who killed Parsons, hid his body in a remote peat bog and left the scene with his twin brother Robert." No auspices however were given. (Deadline.com, 1/22)
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[10/27/26 - 03:36 PM]
College Football on FOX Scores Big Numbers in Week 8
7,015,000 viewers tuned into FOX "Big Noon Saturday" for Indiana's win over Michigan.
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[10/27/26 - 03:14 PM]
FOX's "America's Game of the Week" Roars with 24,670,000 Viewers in Week 7
The network's Sunday window ranks as the #1 program in all of television through the first seven weeks of the season (24,749,000 average).
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[10/27/26 - 03:03 PM]
No Time Like October: FOX Sports Drives in 12,259,000 Viewers for Game 1 and 10,854,000 Viewers for Game 2
Both telecasts were the most-watched of their respective days on any network.
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[10/27/26 - 02:59 PM]
NBC and Peacock Deliver Most-Watched WNBA Finals Game 4 Ever
Led by Gabby Williams' 17 points, Golden State's 67-62 win over Atlanta peaked at 2.5 million viewers for the game's exciting conclusion from 3:30-3:45 p.m. ET.
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[10/27/26 - 02:40 PM]
"College GameDay Built by The Home Depot" Continues Record-Setting Season; ESPN Networks Deliver Three of the Top Five Games Across All Nets
Ole Miss/Texas (8.1 million) was the top game of the week and added to ESPN's nine total games this season with 8+ million viewers.
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[10/27/26 - 02:06 PM]
Chiefs-Seahawks Is Most Watched Week 7 NBC "Sunday Night Football" Game Since 2013, Averaging 26.3 Million Viewers on NBC & Peacock
The audience peaked at 29.0 million viewers on NBC and Peacock in the second quarter (9:30-9:45 p.m. ET).
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[10/27/26 - 02:01 PM]
ABC Decks the Halls with Festive Holiday Programming for 2026
Highlights include joyful episodes of "Abbott Elementary," "America's Funniest Home Videos," "Celebrity Family Feud," "Press Your Luck," "Scrubs" and "What Would You Do?: Holiday Edition."
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[10/27/26 - 01:01 PM]
"Crystal Lake" Makes Killer Debut on Peacock
"Crystal Lake" has generated 1.3 billion minutes watched over its first 11 days, making it the fourth highest scripted original series ever on Peacock.
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[10/27/26 - 12:01 PM]
Video: "Allen" - Official Trailer - Netflix
20 years after his encounter with an alien, Petey never moved on. Now his old friend has returned, and the reason why is complicated - and unexpected.
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[10/27/26 - 12:01 PM]
School Is Back in Session: FOX Enrolls Summer Breakout Hit "Nation's Dumbest" for a Second Season
Hosted by acclaimed comedian Jack Whitehall, the series will return to FOX for a new season of pop quizzes, physical challenges and classroom chaos, as a fresh group of celebrities compete to avoid earning the distinction no one wants: the title of The Nation's Dumbest.
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[10/27/26 - 11:31 AM]
Video: "The Mosquito Bowl" - Red Band Trailer - Netflix
In the aftermath of Pearl Harbor, four college football stars enlist in the US Marines, discovering the strength of brotherhood and the cost of war.
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[10/27/26 - 11:08 AM]
Melissa Joan Hart Set to Star in and Executive Produce Lifetime's New Ripped from the Headlines Movie "Black Widow Killer: The Judy Buenoano Story" (wt)
The film also stars Chris Bauer and Matthew Settle.
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[10/27/26 - 11:01 AM]
Professional Bowlers Association Reimagines Tournament Formats and Expands 2027 PBA Tour Broadcast Schedule to 30 Live Events Across The CW Network, ESPN App, CBS, Paramount+, and CBS Sports Network
The best players in the world from over 30 countries will compete February through June in five PBA major tournaments and title events on the biggest stage in the sport.
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[10/27/26 - 11:00 AM]
FOX Entertainment Studios and Endemol Shine North America Break New Ground with "Fear Factor" Vertical Series
The new vertical video production, set to debut on Holywater Tech's My Drama platform, marks the first time an established unscripted television franchise has been transformed into an original scripted series.
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[10/27/26 - 10:01 AM]
Video: Peacock Debuts Official Trailer & Key Art for New Amy Poehler Comedy "Dig"
The series follows a team of dedicated archaeologists (and less-dedicated college students) who spend their summer working on a dig site in Greece.
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