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[12/26/08 - 06:43 PM]
Development Update: Week of December 22-26
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!
BITCHES (FOX, New!) - Feature writer Michael Dougherty ("Superman Returns") has scored a hefty script commitment from the network for a new drama about a quartet of female friends in New York who are werewolves. The project, which has a penalty attached should it not move forward to pilot, is set up at Warner Bros. Television. Writer/producers Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts ("Pushing Daisies") have been tapped to supervise Dougherty and executive produce. No other specifics were given.
GILMORE GIRLS (The CW) - One day after filing a lawsuit against CBS over "Two and a Half Men" (see below), Warner Bros. Television itself has been sued by producer Gavin Polone over "Gilmore Girls." The breach-of-contract lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims the vertically integrated Time Warner companies Warner Bros. Television and The WB "have colluded to defraud the originator of hit 'Gilmore Girls' television series with a scheme that rivals the greed and bravado of any story line defendants could script." Hofflund/Polone, Polone's company with Judy Hofflund, alleges the "modified adjusted gross," the money the show earns after costs are deducted, for "Gilmore's" first six seasons was modified by the studio - through "collusion among defendants to set below-market license fees" and a series of improper charges - which cut into Hofflund/Polone's profits as a result. A third-party audit commissioned by Hofflund/Polone in October 2006 alleges that number was understated by $45.5 million and the company has asked for "tens of millions of dollars" in damages as a result. Warner Bros. has yet to comment on the suit.
LOST & FOUND (NBC) - Australian actor Damon Herriman ("All Saints") has joined the cast of the drama pilot, which centers on Tessa Cooper (Katee Sackhoff), an offbeat LAPD detective who, after butting heads with higher-ups, is sent as punishment to the basement to work on John and Jane Doe cases. He'll play Anthony Yeckel, an oddball civilian consultant to the police's lost-and-found department who has an obsessive love of old detective TV shows. Brian Cox and Josh Cooke also star in the Universal Media Studios/Wolf Films-based hour, which Michael Engler is directing from a script by creator Chris Levinson.
TWO AND A HALF MEN (CBS) - Warner Bros. Television filed a $49 million breach of contract lawsuit against CBS on Tuesday. Said suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims the network owes Warner Bros. additional fees toward the production deficit carried by the studio. The "deficit recoupment" was understood to be tied to "Men" hitting certain ratings milestones as specified by the show's original four-year license agreement signed in 2003. The suit indicates the studio incurred a $61.1 million deficit over the course of the first four years of the show (for instance CBS paid $750,000 per episode during "Men's" first season while Warner Bros. actual cost to produce the show came in at $1.22 million), a cost which CBS would cover should "Men" finish as a top 10 show. Additionally, should "Men" finish in the top five in its fourth season, CBS would pay an additional $650,000 more per episode in the fifth and sixth seasons (with a downward scale from there). "CBS has reaped the benefits of the tremendous success of 'Two and a Half Men" but wants to deny Warner Bros. the right to its agreed-upon share," Warner Bros. said in a statement. CBS countered with simply, "Wow, I wonder what they got the other networks for Christmas."
UGLY BETTY (ABC) - "Dexter" co-star Lauren Velez has booked a multi-episode arc on the Thursday dramedy. She'll play Elena, a nurse that enters the lives of the Suarez family, whom reports speculate will be linked to a major plot development. It's not clear when her first episode will air.
UNTITLED MARIA BELLO PROJECT (HBO, New!) - Maria Bello ("The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor") is set to topline a potential new drama at the pay channel about a woman who's forced into a life of crime to support her three teenage sons after her husband is killed. Gary Lennon ("The Shield") is penning the hour, which sees the woman using her sons as henchmen, leading them all down a destructive road. Bello herself will executive produce alongside Lennon, Gavin Polone and John Carrabino.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
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[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.
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[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.
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[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.
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[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.
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[01/22/25 - 12:00 PM]
Prime Video Reveals First-Look Images for Season Three of "The Wheel of Time"
This release is part of #WOTWednesdays, a fan-favorite weekly reveal of series news and assets leading up to the season premiere.
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[01/22/25 - 11:30 AM]
CBS Program Advisory: "Hollywood Squares" Moves to 8PM on CBS' Wednesday Game Night
Beginning January 29, Wednesdays will kick off with original episodes of "Hollywood Squares" (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT), followed by "The Price Is Right at Night" (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) and then "Raid the Cage" (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT).
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[01/22/25 - 11:25 AM]
"Doc," FOX's New Hit Medical Drama, Delivers Nearly 16 Million Viewers with Debut Episode, +609% Increase Over Live+Same Day
"Doc" is also FOX's most streamed premiere episode across 7-day viewing in over a year.
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[01/22/25 - 11:02 AM]
Paramount+ Announces New Documentary "The Carters"
The new two-part documentary takes a deeply personal look at the extreme highs and tragic lows of a family propelled into the spotlight by the meteoric rise of the musical careers of two brothers, Nick Carter (Backstreet Boys) and the late pop sensation Aaron Carter.
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[01/22/25 - 10:44 AM]
ABC and ESPN Platforms Present the 2025 NWSL Season
ABC will broadcast six games, up from four in 2024, including three playoff matches in November.
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[01/22/25 - 10:36 AM]
TNT Sports Announces First Half of 2025 MLB Tuesday Regular Season Schedule on TBS & Max
MLB Tuesday will begin its coverage on Tuesday, April 1, with a matchup of the two most recent World Series runners-up: unanimous 2024 AL MVP Aaron Judge and the reigning American League Champion New York Yankees will host 2024 NL All-Star Ketel Marte and the Arizona Diamondbacks at 7 p.m. ET.
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[01/22/25 - 10:01 AM]
Video: National Geographic Dishes Up Deliciously Exciting New Series Trailer for "No Taste Like Home with Antoni Porowski"
This tantalizing docuseries invites viewers to join culinary expert and Emmy Award-winning star of "Queer Eye" Antoni Porowski as he guides celebrity guests on epic journeys to explore their ancestral gastronomic roots.
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[01/22/25 - 10:01 AM]
"Love Is Blind" Celebrates 5 Years and Is Renewed Through Season 10
This Valentine's Day marks the 5th anniversary of the beloved series, coinciding with the highly anticipated premiere of Season 8.
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[01/22/25 - 10:00 AM]
CBS Presents a Never-Before-Seen Look at the Making of Music's Biggest Night, on "Inside the 67th Annual Grammy Awards," Airing Friday, Jan. 31 on CBS
The one-hour special replaces the previously scheduled premiere of "NCIS: Sydney," which moves to a new date and time: Friday, February 7 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT).
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[01/22/25 - 09:30 AM]
New Max-Starz Streaming Bundle Launches on Prime Video in the U.S.
Customers can access the ad-free Max and Starz bundle for $20.99/month, an approximate 25 percent savings.
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[01/22/25 - 09:30 AM]
Legendary Comedian George Lopez Sets Premiere Date for Upcoming and Final Comedy Special
"George Lopez: Muy Católico" will premiere February 18 on Prime Video.
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