or


[05/13/08 - 02:59 PM]
The Futon's Upfront Notes: Abc
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC)

LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- A round-up of the various developments from ABC's upfront presentation that may have gotten lost in the shuffle:

-- 11 series didn't make the cut for ABC's 2008-09 season schedule, including "Oprah's Big Give." "We loved that show and absolutely would have loved to bring it back," ABC entertainment president Steve McPherson said in a conference call this morning. "But it was something [Oprah] didn't want to do." Also confirmed dead: "Big Shots," "Carpoolers," "Cashmere Mafia," "Cavemen," "Just for Laughs," "Men in Trees," "Miss/Guided," "Notes from the Underbelly," "October Road" and "Women's Murder Club."

-- ABC still has 17 pilots under consideration for midseason. McPherson detailed the projects during the actual presentation, which include eight comedies and nine dramas. They are "Bad Mother's Handbook," "Five Year Plan," "Never Better," "Roman's Empire," "This Might Hurt," "Fourplay" (previously "Untitled Kohan/Mutchnick Project"), "Single With Parents" (previously "My Brother's Hot (And Other Dilemmas)" and "In the Motherhood" on the comedy front and "Captain Cook's Extraordinary Atlas," "Castle," "Cupid," "Finnegan," "Good Behavior," "Prince of Motor City," "Untitled David Hemingson Project," "The Unusuals" and "Section 8" on the drama side. All except "Motherhood" were previously announced (as always, you can click on the links to the right for full details on any project). Said half-hour is based on the popular web series of the same name, which starred Jenny McCarthy, Chelsea Handler and Leah Remini. It's not clear why the "Untitled Victor Fresco Project," which has already cast Andrea Anders and Portia de Rossi, was not listed. Overall, only three scripted pilots were completed prior to ABC's upfront: "Life on Mars," "More Things Change..." and the "Untitled Cedric the Entertainer Project." McPherson, who went out of his way to affirm the necessity of the pilot process, hopes to order several new comedies and dramas by August and September respectively for midseason.

-- "Boston Legal" will return for its fifth (and final) season of 13 episodes. The series will shift to Monday's at 10:00/9:00c for its swan song, to be replaced by "The Bachelor" at midseason. McPherson says that creator David E. Kelley is expected to write most of the remaining episodes. Also due at midseason: the "Untitled Banks/Kutcher Project" will spell "Dancing With the Stars" cycles on Mondays while "Scrubs" and newcomer "The Goode Family" will fill the same void on Tuesdays. No time periods were specified for "Lost," "According to Jim" or "Primetime: What Would You Do?"

-- The "Life on Mars" pilot will likely be reshot. McPherson noted that the retooling could involve some recasting but the general idea is establish the vision of incoming executive producers Josh Applebaum, Andre Nemec and Scott Rosenberg.

-- "Here Come the Newlyweds" and "Dance War" may return. Neither project appeared on the Alphabet's 2008-09 schedule but each could potentially return according to network sources. Casting has already begun on a second season of "Newlyweds," however production on a new season hasn't been greenlit.

-- Other odds and ends. "Scrubs" and "According to Jim" have been picked up for 18 episodes each, while the network's fall schedule will kick off during the traditional "premiere week" of September 22.

-- And finally, additional cast and production information has been released about several of the aforementioned pilots:

· Dorian Missick ("Six Degrees") has joined the cast of "Bad Mother's Handbook," while Alison Owen, Faye Ward and Paul Trijbits of Ruby Films have been confirmed as executive producers.

· Newcomer Molly Quinn has been tapped to play Alexis Castle, the daughter of Nathan Fillion's character, in "Castle." Her character is further detailed in the casting notice as follows: "15. The daughter of Nick and Gina, Alexis is a natural beauty, the kind of old soul more at home with adults than with kids her own age. More interested in her physics textbook than in makeup, Alexis is deeply worried about her dad's sudden inability to write, and wants to see her father acting "normally" again. Pleased to share the Castle penthouse apartment with her grandmother, she's even more pleased when Nick's bickering friendship with Detective Kate Beckett gives Nick the germ of an idea for a new character."

· "Veronica Mars" veterans Danielle Stokdyk and Jennifer Gwartz will also serve as executive producers on Rob Thomas's "Cupid" update.

· Gail Mancuso, Jack Bender and Marc Buckland have signed on to direct "Five Year Plan," "The Prince of Motor City" and "Roman's Empire" respectively.

· Tina Majorino ("Veronica Mars") is set as Addy Fisher on David Hemingson's untitled hour.

· And Monique Gabriela Curnen is the first to be cast on "The Unusuals."





  [may 2008]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· ACCORDING TO JIM (ABC)
· ALPHAS (SYFY)
· BACHELOR, THE (ABC)
· BAD MOTHER'S HANDBOOK, THE (ABC)
· BETTER OFF TED (ABC)
· BIG SHOTS (ABC)
· BOSTON LEGAL (ABC)
· CAPTAIN COOK'S EXTRAORDINARY ATLAS (ABC)
· CARPOOLERS (ABC)
· CASHMERE MAFIA (ABC)
· CASTLE (ABC)
· CAVEMEN (ABC)
· CUPID (ABC)
· DANCE WAR: BRUNO VS. CARRIE ANN (ABC)
· DEEP END, THE (2008 VERSION) (ABC)
· FINNEGAN (ABC)
· FIVE YEAR PLAN (ABC)
· FOURPLAY (ABC)
· GOOD BEHAVIOR (ABC)
· GOODE FAMILY, THE (ABC)
· HERE COME THE NEWLYWEDS (ABC)
· IN THE MOTHERHOOD (ABC)
· JUST FOR LAUGHS (ABC)
· LIFE ON MARS (ABC)
· LOST (ABC)
· MEN IN TREES (ABC)
· MISS/GUIDED (ABC)
· MORE THINGS CHANGE… (ABC)
· NEVER BETTER (ABC)
· NOTES FROM THE UNDERBELLY (ABC)
· OCTOBER ROAD (ABC)
· OPRAH'S BIG GIVE (ABC)
· PRINCE OF MOTOR CITY, THE (ABC)
· ROMAN'S EMPIRE (ABC)
· SCRUBS (ABC)
· SINGLE WITH PARENTS (ABC)
· THIS MIGHT HURT (ABC)
· TRUE BEAUTY (ABC)
· UNTITLED CEDRIC THE ENTERTAINER PROJECT (ABC)
· UNUSUALS, THE (ABC)
· WHAT WOULD YOU DO? (ABC)
· WOMEN'S MURDER CLUB (ABC)





[06/27/24 - 04:01 PM]
New Live-Action Series "Soul Mate" Stars Hayato Isomura and Ok Taec-yeon
Written and directed by up-and-coming creator Shunki Hashizume, the Netflix series is a heartfelt depiction of love and its complexities, including joy, pain, and unexplainable deep bonds.

[06/27/24 - 12:43 PM]
AMC Networks Greenlights Untitled Jonathan Glatzer Series
The series is set inside the bubble of Silicon Valley, amid misguided corporate cultures, moony innovation labs and cutthroat private high schools.

[06/27/24 - 12:11 PM]
Video: BET+ Original Series - "The Family Business" Season 5 - Trailer
Based on Carl Weber's book series, this show follows the Duncans, a seemingly upstanding family running an exotic car dealership in New York - but they're living a dangerous double life.

[06/27/24 - 11:37 AM]
Video: WE tv Reveals Supertease for a New Season of "Love After Lockup" Premiering Friday, July 26th at 8PM ET / PT
The first of 10 all-new, must-see, 90-minute episodes premieres Friday, July 26, exclusively on WE tv and will stream exclusively on popular AMC streaming service ALLBLK the following Tuesday.

[06/27/24 - 10:08 AM]
Ina Garten, The Iconic Barefoot Contessa, Re-Ups with New Multi-Year Food Network Deal
The deal includes new episodes of Garten's Emmy-award winning "Be My Guest" series in which she cooks and chats with friends, old and new, at her East Hampton home.

[06/27/24 - 10:07 AM]
MTV's "The West Coast Hustle" Set to Premiere on Thursday, July 18th at 9PM ET
Fans get an intimate look at her journey as she navigates the challenges of her new favorite full-time gig - motherhood - while simultaneously pursuing her music career.

[06/27/24 - 10:03 AM]
Executive Produced and Narrated by Michael Imperioli New Three-Night Event "American Godfathers: The Five Families" Premieres August 11 on The History Channel
Produced by Propagate and the Barnicle Brothers, this six-hour docuseries explores the inception, rise, and fall of New York City's five Mafia families who over a fifty-plus-year period had a hand in every facet of organized crime in America from bootlegging and drug trafficking to extortion and gambling.

[06/27/24 - 10:02 AM]
Racquel Chevremont Joins Bravo's "The Real Housewives of New York City" Season 15
Chevremont joins the previously announced returning housewives, including Sai De Silva, Ubah Hassan, Erin Lichy, Jenna Lyons, Jessel Taank and Brynn Whitfield.

[06/27/24 - 10:01 AM]
Video: "Resurrected Rides" - Official Trailer - Netflix
Comedian and actor Chris Redd, along with his team of next-level mechanics, helps deserving owners transform their beloved beaters into roadworthy masterpieces.

[06/27/24 - 09:06 AM]
Video: Trailer and Key Art Debut - Hulu's "Hit-Monkey" Season 2
Season two will premiere Monday, July 15 on Hulu.

[06/27/24 - 09:01 AM]
Video: "Non Negotiable" - Official Trailer - Netflix
Hostage negotiator Alan Bender is called to rescue the president from a kidnapping, only to find himself also mediating to save his wife and marriage.

[06/27/24 - 09:00 AM]
HBO Original Documentary "Faye" Debuts July 13
Academy Award winning actress and multi-decade movie star, Faye Dunaway, recounts the triumphs and challenges of her illustrious career with frank candor in the first feature documentary about the Hollywood legend.

[06/27/24 - 08:10 AM]
Peacock to Live Stream 30 Big East Men's Basketball Games in 2024-25
Peacock will launch its coverage in 2024-25 with a package of 25 regular season games and five early round and quarterfinal conference tournament games.

[06/27/24 - 08:03 AM]
A&E to Premiere the Two-Night Documentary Event "The Chicano Squad" Beginning Monday, September 2nd at 9PM ET/PT
The project chronicles a groundbreaking team of bilingual patrol officers plucked from their beats and suddenly promoted to Detectives to form the first all-Latin homicide unit dedicated to tackling Houston's soaring rate of Latin homicide cases in 1979.

[06/27/24 - 08:02 AM]
TNT Sports & Big East Conference Announce New Six-Year Media Rights Agreement for Men's & Women's College Basketball Beginning in 2025-26
Highlights include more than 50 men's college basketball regular season games each season, with at least 30 conference games and a minimum of 20 non-conference games.