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[12/18/08 - 06:42 PM] Development Update: Thursday, December 18 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!
1%/LAST OF THE NINTH (HBO) - On the heels of HBO ordering "Hung" to series (see below), the pay channel has reportedly passed on both Michael Tolkin's "1%" and David Milch's "Last of the Ninth." The former, set in the world of biker gangs, starred Donal Logue, Abraham Benrubi, James LeGros, Jason Matthew Smith, Kim Dickens, Lucy Punch, Marisa Ryan, Timm Sharp and W. Earl Brown. Alan Taylor helmed the hour from a script by Tolkin with Alex Hertzberg and Guymon Casady also serving as executive producers. "Ninth" was a gritty 1970s cop drama toplined by Jonah Lotan and Ray Winstone. Carl Franklin directed the pilot from a script by Milch and Bill Clark. Clifton Powell, Fredric Lehne, Lily Rabe, Michael Gaston and Michael Raymond-James also co-starred.
AN AMERICAN FAMILY (ABC) - The Alphabet has given a pilot order to Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd's comedy, about the lives of three families living in the same suburb as told through a documentary crew. 20th Century Fox Television is behind the half-hour, which previously had a put pilot commitment. As for specifics, the families include "a traditional family comprised of a working dad, stay-at-home mom and three kids; another that includes a 60-year-old man who becomes a stepfather after marrying a Colombian single mom who is 30 years his junior; and a gay couple who have just adopted a Vietnamese baby." Levitan likens the show to "FootHooker," a low-budget FOX pilot from a few years ago about an American rock band that's huge in Asia but not in the States. Levitan and Lloyd penned the pilot and are executive producing.
HOUSE OF CARDS (FX, New!) - "The Shield" star Michael Chiklis has landed a script commitment from the cable channel for a drama about the operator of a Ponzi scheme, in which a few early participants gain considerable wealth through the investment of later contributors rather than earned profits from a product or business. Chiklis has been developing the project since February, when he and his wife were revealed to having been Ponzi scheme victims themselves. It's also proving to be nothing but timely - headlines this week were dominated by news that Wall Street investment manager Bernie Madoff allegedly pulled off a similar scheme on a major scale. Chiklis will executive produce but won't star in the hour, which is currently searching for a writer/showrunner.
HUNG (HBO) - The pay channel has given a 10-episode commitment to the drama project, which stars Thomas Jane as a well-endowed struggling high school basketball coach who figures out a way to use his best asset. Alexander Payne helmed the pilot from a script by co-creators Dmitry Lipkin and Colette Burson. The pair had already been writing the fifth installment in anticipation of a series order. Production then is set to begin shortly for a June premiere, making it one of the fastest turnarounds in the network's history. It's understood Payne will stay on the series as an executive producer alongside Lipkin and Burson as well as Blueprint Entertainment's Michael Rosenberg, Noreen Halpern and John Morayniss.
LEGALLY MAD (NBC) - "Pushing Daisies" alum Kristin Chenoweth is the first to be cast in the drama pilot, about an aging partner and his daughter who work together at a Chicago law firm. She'll play the supporting role of Skippy Pylon, whom the cast notice details as: "30ish, female, any ethnicity, a pixie, dresses like a sixteen-year old, knee-sox, delights in being confused for a teenager. Speaks in a cheerful sing-songy Stepford tone, she's either medicated or should be. She can go from The Flying Nun to Mommy Dearest in a nano-second. A brilliant attorney, but not well." David E. Kelley is behind the hour, which comes from his new home of Warner Bros. Television.
THE OFFICE (NBC) - "The Office" stars Rainn Wilson and Jenna Fischer have each landed scripts at the Peacock and Universal Media Studios. "Hump Tulips," from Wilson and Adam Braff ("Night Life"), is a single-camera comedy about a lawyer who winds up in a small Washington town in pursuit of the woman he loves. The pair are co-writing and executive producing. Fischer then is developing an untitled hour about a lumber salesman who solves a crime and becomes a private eye, along with a ragtag group of pals. She'll serve as a non-writing executive producer on the project, the writers of which weren't specified.
POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS (Showtime) - Eva Amurri and Kimberly Quinn are the latest additions to Tim Robbins's drama pilot, about the Hunt family, which runs a pharmaceutical firm. Amurri - the daughter of Robbins' partner, Susan Sarandon - will play Libby, the angst-ridden lesbian daughter of Max Hunt (Josh Lucas), with Quinn as Max's wife. Ellen Burstyn, Jason Butler Harner and Tim Blake Nelson also star in hour, which was written and directed by Robbins.
TIMBERMAN/BEVERLY PRODUCTIONS (A.K.A. 25C PRODUCTIONS, Various) - Sarah Timberman and Carl Beverly's Sony Pictures Television-based Timberman-Beverly Productions, formerly known as 25C Productions, has lined up eight projects across the cable landscape. Best known for such broadcast fare as NBC's "Kidnapped," the company has subsequently dipped its toe into cable, including the drama "Danny Fricke" at A&E earlier this year. Currently in the hopper are: ABC's "The Nelsons," from writers Peter and Dee Steinfeld and director Barry Sonnenfeld, a drama about "an average American family who, unbeknownst to their neighbors and friends, are superheroes"; CBS's "Holly Gale," from Barbara Wallace and Tom Wolfe, a single-camera comedy about "a former cheerleading star who returns to her hometown to take over as head cheerleading coach, becoming a dubious mentor to her teen charges"; an untitled hour from Becky Mode at CBS about "New York City pediatricians who have to contend with a generation of overly involved, micromanaging modern parents, in addition to their own family, romantic and professional entanglements"; Lifetime's "Between Smith and Jones," from Mimi Schmir, a drama about "the lives of three families from the same Santa Monica neighborhood through the eyes of the manny they share"; Showtime's "Carry Me," from Dan Bucatinsky, a single-camera comedy about "an outspoken and sometimes crass surrogate mom who rents her womb out to a different set of intended parents each season"; Showtime's "Fade to Black," from Chris Keyser and Amy Lippman, a drama which "tells the intertwined stories of a group of Tinseltown writers, directors and actors whose lives are irrevocably altered by the Hollywood Blacklist"; FX's "Hit Man," from writer/director Michael Dinner, a drama based on Lawrence Block's book trilogy about a regular lonely urban guy who happens to be a hitman; and FX's "Fire in the Hole," from writer Graham Yost (based on Elmore Leonard's short story) and director Michael Dinner, a drama about "Kentucky U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens and chronicles his cases as well his personal life, including his unfinished business with an ex-wife and his aging father." Timberman and Beverly are executive producing each effort.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
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[11/26/24 - 03:01 PM] Video: New Games, New Stakes - "Squid Game" Season 2 Main Trailer and Key Art "Round and Round" Unveiled With its premiere just around the corner on December 26, the trailer delivers an electrifying glimpse into the deadly games and gripping character dynamics that await fans worldwide.
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[11/26/24 - 02:34 PM] Video: Paramount+ with Showtime Debuts Official Trailer for Showtime's "Dexter: Original Sin" The series premieres Friday, December 13 on streaming and on demand for Paramount+ subscribers with the Paramount+ with Showtime plan, before making its on-air US debut on Sunday, December 15 at 10pm ET/PT.
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[11/26/24 - 01:15 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" "Nightline" posted double-digit gains week to week across the board, hitting a 6-week high in overall viewers and 7-week highs in both key Adult demos.
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[11/26/24 - 12:03 PM] Netflix Top 10 Week of Nov. 18: "The Merry Gentlemen" and "A Man on the Inside" Take the Top Spots Season 2 of the animated series "Arcane" laid siege to #2 (6.4M views), while Season 1 took #5 with 2.2M views.
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[11/26/24 - 11:44 AM] TNT Sports to Debut "Evolve and Flex" with Lance Fresh Friday, Dec. 6, on truTV and Max The show is hosted by sports-lifestyle expert Lance Fresh and features candid conversations with guests to discuss how life's events have contributed to their sense of style.
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[11/26/24 - 11:19 AM] MGM+ Announces 2025 Premiere Date for "NFL Icons" Season Four In the upcoming fourth season, the docuseries will feature Pro Football Hall of Famers Joe Montana, DeMarcus Ware, Kurt Warner and Gale Sayers.
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[11/26/24 - 10:24 AM] Video: "Rogue Heroes" (MGM+ 2025 Series) Season 2 Tease "Rogue Heroes" is a dramatized account of how the world's greatest Special Forces unit, the SAS, was formed under extraordinary circumstances in the darkest days of World War Two.
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[11/26/24 - 10:09 AM] Video: Acorn TV Releases Official Trailer for Second Season of Hit Australian Drama, "Darby and Joan" The new season debuts with a two-episode premiere, exclusively on Acorn TV, on December 30, followed by weekly episodes through January 27.
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[11/26/24 - 10:01 AM] ABC News Studios Announces Fourth Season of Hit True-Crime Series "Wild Crime," Streaming Dec. 5 Only on Hulu "Wild Crime: Eleven Skulls" delves into the haunting 2012 disappearance of Samantha Koenig, an 18-year-old Anchorage barista last seen leaving her place of work with an unknown man on a dark winter night.
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[11/26/24 - 08:32 AM] Bravo Greenlights "Vanderpump Rules" Season 12 with a New Group of SUR-vers In addition, "Vanderpump Rules" will celebrate the past decade of heartbreaks, friendship rifts and scandals with a retrospective special highlighting the past 11 seasons.
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[11/26/24 - 08:30 AM] Video: Paramount+ and Nickelodeon Reveal Teaser, First-Look Images and Premiere Date for "Henry Danger The Movie" "Henry Danger The Movie" will be available to stream in the U.S. on Paramount+ Friday, January 17, and premiere on Nickelodeon that same day at 7 p.m. (ET/PT).
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[11/26/24 - 08:01 AM] Video: "Makayla's Voice: A Letter to the World" - Official Teaser - Netflix Makayla is a teenage girl who has spent her life grappling with a rare form of autism that rendered her essentially nonverbal until her parents, filled with unwavering belief in their daughter's potential, embarked on a transformative journey to discover the true depth of Makayla's inner world.
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[11/26/24 - 08:01 AM] HBO Announces Ian Bonhote & Peter Ettedgui's Award-Winning "Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story," Debuting December 7 on HBO and Max The critically acclaimed film had its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and recently won six Critics Choice Documentary Awards.
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[11/26/24 - 08:00 AM] HGTV Greenlights Gutsy Las Vegas Renovation Series "Sin City Rehab" (wt) Starring Indomitable Designer Alison Victoria The eight-episode series will document Alison, best known for her Emmy-nominated series "Windy City Rehab," taking the biggest gamble of her career as she expands her successful design business out West.
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[11/26/24 - 07:01 AM] Video: "The Manny" Season 2 - Release Date Announcement - Netflix A busy executive hires a cowboy to care for her kids in a moment of panic. Little does she know he'll challenge her views of gender roles - and of love.
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