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!
KEVIN FROM WORK (ABC Family; W: Barbie Adler; D: McG) - Canadian actor Matt Murray is the latest to board the comedy pilot, about Kevin (Noah Reid), a young man unluckily in love who professes his love to a co-worker, Audrey (Paige Spara), thinking he'll never see her again after he accepts a job offer overseas. But then that job offer is rescinded, and now they have to continue to work with each other. He'll play Brian, "Kevin's best friend and confidant who is also a bit of a prankster; he's always giving Kevin the not smartest advice." (Deadline.com)
QUEEN OF THE SOUTH (USA/FTVS; W: M.A. Fortin & Joshua John Miller; D: Charlotte Sieling) - Adriana Barraza (Babel) has been cast in the drama pilot, about Teresa Mendoza (Alice Braga), a woman who, when her drug-dealing boyfriend is unexpectedly murdered in Mexico, is forced to go on the run and seek refuge in America, where she teams with an unlikely figure from her past to bring down the leader of the very drug trafficking ring that has her on the run. She's set as Camilla, "the lioness ex-wife of a powerful drug lord who is establishing her own empire in America." Hemky Madera and Justina Machado also star. (Deadline.com)
SHANNARA (MTV; W: Al Gough & Miles Millar; D: Jonathan Liebesman) - John Rhys-Davies (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy) has signed onto the upcoming drama, based on Terry Brooks's best-selling fantasy novels about the Shannara family, whose descendants are empowered with ancient magic and whose adventures continuously reshape the future of the world. He'll play King Eventine, "Amberle's (Poppy Drayton) grandfather, who has ruled the Elvin kingdom of Arborlon for decades flanked by his sons Arion and Ander." Aaron Jakubenko, Austin Butler, Manu Bennett and Ivana Baquero also star. (Deadline.com)
TOUGH COOKIE (ABC Family; W/D: Lauren Iungerich) - Shoshana Bush and Arturo del Puerto are the first to be cast in the single-camera comedy pilot, about a young mother who isn't ready to parent and her daughter who doesn't want to be parented. The former is set as Lilla Spencer, "a strong-willed, successful publicist who got pregnant at a young age by a man she loved who dumped her, and she gave her baby girl up for adoption so she wouldn't have to be reminded of him ever again. Now, she learns that her daughter, Eleanor, is slated for another round of foster care unless Lilla gives her a chance in a three-day trial that neither of them is looking forward to." del Puerto then will play Mickey, "one of Lilla's roommates, a neurotic hipster and something of a neat freak." (Deadline.com)
AND IN OTHER NEWS... - FOX has formally pulled the plug on its freshman drama "Red Band Society" (Deadline.com); Suzanne Cryer has joined the cast of "Silicon Valley" as Laurie Bream, "a managing partner at Raviga Capital," succeeding the previously cast Rebecca Creskoff (Deadline.com); Michaela Watkins, John Slattery, Randall Park, Jayma Mays, Lake Bell, Paul Scheer, Rob Huebel and Richard Schiff are among the new faces bound for Netflix's "Wet Hot American Summer" prequel (Deadline.com); writer David E. Kelley and director Jack Bender are spearheading a small screen take on Stephen King's bestselling novel "Mr. Mercedes" for Sonar Entertainment (Deadline.com);
Jason Blum's Blumhouse Productions has inked a multi-year production agreement at Universal Cable Productions with blind series commitments at Syfy and USA (Deadline.com); David Strathairn, Janel Moloney and Gloria Reuben are all bound for "The Blacklist" as part of its post-Super Bowl event (EW.com); Charlotte Ross's Donna Smoak is due back on "Arrow" come episode 18 this season (TVLine.com); Richard Armitage has been cast as Francis Dolarhyde, a.k.a. The Tooth Fairy, on "Hannibal" in a six-episode arc (TVLine.com); and Gentry White will recur on "Turn: Washington Spies" as "a young slave from Virginia, George Washington's right-hand man (at age 17), household servant and vale" (Deadline.com).
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