or


[04/05/04 - 12:00 AM]
Development Update: April 5
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC)

CHICAGO (thefutoncritic.com) -- The latest development news, culled from recent wire reports:

Looking to keep track of all the various pilots and other projects in development? Be sure to check out our detailed production chart listings by clicking here.

DARK SHADOWS (WB) - Alexis Thorpe ("Days of Our Lives"), Jenna Dewan ("The Hot Chick") and Jason Shaw ("Charmed") are set to round out the cast of the Frog's "Dark Shadows" revival. Shaw and Dwann will play Joe Haskell and Sophia respectively while Thorpe is set as Kelly Greer, a new character created specificially for the updated version. Production began this weekend on the Warner Bros. Television/John Wells Productions drama pilot, which also stars Blair Brown, Marley Shelton, Ivana Milicevic, Alec Newman, Jessica Chastain, Martin Donovan, Matt Czuchry and Alexander Gould.

EARTHQUAKE (ABC) - Tami Anderson ("MacArthur Park") will play Debbie and Steven Walsh is set as Junior in the single-named comedian's comedy pilot at the Alphabet. Earthquake stars as an unlucky father of four who, with his wife (Holly Robinson-Peete), struggles to make ends meet. Charles Duckworth, Christopher Pinnick and Rhyon Nicole Brown also star in the project, which comes from Touchstone Television/Tollin-Robbins Productions.

FRIENDS (NBC) - Warner Bros. Domestic Television is asking for a minimum bid of $1 million per episode, plus 90 seconds of advertising time per half-hour, from local stations across the country for the continued syndicated rights to the series when its current contract expires in 2011. The studio is giving an April 19 deadline for stations to submit bids for the show's second cycle, which would run for four years beginning in September 2011. Industry insiders suggest the rather high premium is designed to take advantage of the show's current spotlight as it closes its 10-season, 236-episode run on May 6.

I MARRIED SOFIA (ABC) - Joseph Lawrence ("Run of the House") has joined the cast of the comedy pilot, about a single mother from Colombia (Sofia Vergara) who pays an American stockbroker to marry her for a green card. Lawrence will play Tony, the male lead in the Touchstone Television/DDJ Productions project, said American stockbroker. In addition, Jon Lovitz has signed on to guest star in the pilot episode as an I.N.S. agent.

I'M A RICH KID, GET ME OUT OF HERE! (ABC, New!) - The Alphabet has given a cast-contingent series order of 10 episodes for an updated version of last year's much-ballyhooed reality series "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!" The project, which is targeted to air over two weeks in early September, will feature a group of "celebutantes" and ordinary offspring of rich folks as they struggle to survive for 10 days in the Australian outback. "I'm a Celebrity's" Granada Television will once again be behind the series while former ABC executive John Saade is expected to return as an executive producer.

IT'S ALL RELATIVE (ABC) - The Alphabet has confirmed the freshman comedy will wrap its season on Tuesday, April 20 at 9:30/8:30c. Here's how ABC describes the finale, "Fight for Your Invite to Party," via press release: "The O'Neils and the Stoddard-Banks families feud over the wording of the kids' wedding invitations. Mace still wants to downplay the fact that Liz's parents are gay, which causes Philip and Simon to verbally strike back via drafts of the invitation. Meanwhile, Liz tries desperately to convince Bobby's priest (Tom Bosley) that they are ready for marriage, but the stress of juggling wedding plans and school assignments takes its toll on her in some very embarrassing ways, on the season finale of "It's All Relative," TUESDAY, APRIL 20 (9:30-10:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network."

MARRIED TO THE KELLYS (ABC) - "Kansas v. Tom's Parents," the show's season finale, has been scheduled to air Friday, April 23 at 9:30/8:30c. Here's how ABC's press materials describe the episode: "Tom's pretentious parents from New York attend Bill and Sandy Kelly's anniversary party in Kansas, and Chris refuses to sell the house he just refurbished, on ABC's "Married to the Kellys," FRIDAY, APRIL 23 (9:30-10:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network."

ME, ME, ME (UPN) - Singer-actor Innis Casey ("24") is the latest to join the cast of the comedy pilot, about two best friends whose shallow New York ways are compromised when one of the pair's younger sister comes to town. Julie Gonzalo and Ayda Field also star in the project, which is set up at 20th Century Fox Television.

REVELATIONS (NBC) - John Rhys-Davis ("The Lord of the Rings") has nabbed a recurring role in the upcoming limited series, which centers on a group's efforts to forestall the apocalypse. He'll play Lampley, a wheelchair-bound Harvard professor emeritus, a genius astrophysicist and mentor to star Bill Pullman's character. Pariah Television is behind the project, which also stars Natascha McElhone.

THANK GOD IT'S MONDAY (ABC) - Matthew Morrison ("Hairspray") is the latest to join the cast of the pilot, an ensemble workplace comedy about guys who talk about their home life at work. Ever Carradine, Tamara Taylor, Ed Kerr and Louis Lombardi also star in the project, which comes from Touchstone Television.

THAT '70S SHOW (FOX) - Carsey-Werner-Mandabach has announced the studio has just completed sales of a second daily run of the veteran comedy to TV stations in 70% of the U.S. for the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons. Said pacts bring "That '70s Show's" current syndicated value to $1.8 million per episode in straight sales, not including the 90-seconds of bartered ad time C-W-M gets from the stations. Combined with its cable run on FX (set to begin in September 2005), which is valued at $475,000 per half-hour in cash plus another $125,000 for 60-seconds of bartered ad time within each run, "That '70s Show's" total value is expected to hit $700 million by the end of its run. Currently "That '70s Show" ranks as the fourth most-watched comedy in syndication, behind "Seinfeld," "Friends" and "Everybody Loves Raymond."

UNTITLED LEWIS BLACK PROJECT (ABC) - Michael Boatman ("Spin City") will play vice principal to Lewis Black's principal in the comedy pilot, which comes from Paramount Network Television. Anne Dudek, Brad Raider and Stephanie Childers also star.

Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [april 2004]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· 24 (FOX)
· CHARMED (WB)
· DARK SHADOWS (WB)
· EARTHQUAKE (ABC)
· EDUCATING LEWIS (ABC)
· EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND (CBS)
· FRIENDS (NBC)
· I MARRIED SOFIA (ABC)
· I'M A CELEBRITY, GET ME OUT OF HERE! (NBC)
· I'M A RICH KID, GET ME OUT OF HERE! (ABC)
· IT'S ALL RELATIVE (ABC)
· MARRIED TO THE KELLYS (ABC)
· ME, ME, ME (UPN)
· REVELATIONS (NBC)
· RUN OF THE HOUSE (WB)
· SPIN CITY (ABC)
· THANK GOD IT'S MONDAY (ABC)
· THAT '70S SHOW (FOX)





[01/23/25 - 08:01 AM]
Paramount+ to Premiere True-Crime Docuseries "Burden of Guilt" on February 4
The three-part series follows a woman's quest to solve the mystery of what or who really killed her 4-month-old baby brother.

[01/23/25 - 08:00 AM]
Max Original Four-Part Documentary Series "The Takedown: American Aryans" Debuts February 6
The four-part documentary series takes viewers inside the cult-like world of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas from the late 2000s to the present day.

[01/23/25 - 08:00 AM]
The CBS Original "Hollywood Squares" Lands Special Week-Long Daytime Run
As announced yesterday, beginning Wednesday, January 29, CBS Wednesday game nights will kick off with original episodes of "Hollywood Squares" at 8:00/7:00c.

[01/23/25 - 07:16 AM]
Move to the Rhythm of Love on AXS TV with a Day of Rockin' Romance in the Whole Lotta Love Marathon, Airing Friday, February 14
As part of the festivities, viewers are invited to join in on the Valentine's Day fun with AXS TV's Viewer Video Valentines!

[01/23/25 - 06:35 AM]
The Walt Disney Company Earns 15 Academy Award Nominations
"The Oscars" will air live on ABC and for the first time stream live on Hulu on Sunday, March 2, at 7 p.m. EST/4 p.m. PST, with the official live red-carpet show airing at 6:30 p.m. EST/3:30 p.m. PST.

[01/23/25 - 06:31 AM]
Video: "Court of Gold" - Official Trailer - Netflix
The 1992 dream team brought basketball to the global stage. 30 years later, the world's caught up and the talent gap has closed. No one is untouchable. Witness the drama unfold in the battle to dethrone the US. It's more than a game, it's personal.

[01/23/25 - 06:02 AM]
"Berlin" Season 2 Starts Filming
Pedro Alonso once again takes on the role of the iconic Berlin, and along with him, his entire gang returns.

[01/23/25 - 06:01 AM]
Set the Sails & Hoist the Jolly Roger: The LEGO Group Embarks on a New Adventure with Netflix's "One Piece"
Fans of LEGO building and "One Piece" can prepare to embark on an adventure through the East Blue where fans will experience iconic moments and scenes from the hit live-action adaptation in a new way, ahead of the epic return of the live-action "One Piece" Season 2.

[01/23/25 - 01:01 AM]
Prime Video Announces the Launch of Groundbreaking Documentary Series "Calleja en el Espacio"
The documentary series for Spanish television will follow renowned explorer and presenter Jesús Calleja in his most ambitious adventure to date: becoming the first Spanish civilian to travel to space.

[01/22/25 - 07:01 PM]
First Crucial Clues Unveiled in "Dalah: Death and the Flowers", a Gripping Whodunit Coming Soon
As the police race to track down suspects in a high-profile murder case, the mysterious death proves to be just the beginning in a series of dark revelations waiting to be uncovered in "Dalah: Death and the Flowers."

[01/22/25 - 04:01 PM]
Spring Blooms with "When Life Gives You Tangerines", Premiering on March 7
The drama series follows the adventures of Ae-sun, "the remarkable rebel," and Gwan-sik, nicknamed "unyielding iron," through four vibrant seasons on Jeju Island.

[01/22/25 - 03:06 PM]
HBO Renews "The White Lotus" for a Fourth Season
The eight-episode third season debuts Sunday, February 16 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT) on HBO and will be available to stream on Max.

[01/22/25 - 03:01 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 vs. CBS' "After Midnight" and NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers"
On Monday (1/13/25), "Nightline" scored its most-watched telecast (1.340 million) in over 1 year.

[01/22/25 - 01:27 PM]
College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T Tops College Football Postseason Viewership, Delivering 22.1 Million Viewers
Said broadcast peaked with 26.1 million viewers from 8:30-8:45 p.m. ET.

[01/22/25 - 12:49 PM]
PBS and BBC Release First-Look Images from the Series "Walking with Dinosaurs" Premiering Later This Year
This new six-part series will take viewers on a unique journey back through time, revealing the incredible life stories of these long-lost giants.