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!
HOW WE LIVE (NBC/Universal; W: Brian Bradley & Steven Cragg; D: TBA) - Chris Klein, Jared Gertner and Lindsay Price have all been cast in the single-camera comedy pilot, about blogger Russell (yet to be cast), and his wife, Holly (also yet to be cast), who move to the suburbs where he begins writing about marriage and the family lives of his suburban friends and neighbors, in the style of an anthropologist who's stumbled on an undiscovered tribe. Klein will play Russell's best friend Matt, "a former brat guy who loves sports and red meat and helps Russell navigate the pitfalls of his new environment"; with Gertner as Matt's friend Dennis, "a sweet, nerdy, emotional guy who likes cooking"; and Price as "Dennis' sweet, quirky and a little scattered wife Claudia." (Deadline.com)
MAMMA DALLAS (HBO; W/D: Mike White) - Paul Fitzgerald, Mary Catherine Garrison and Nico Tortorella are the latest additions to the comedy pilot, which follows a conservative family in Texas who unwittingly hire a hard-living drag queen, Liberty (Augustus Prew), as their live-in nanny. Catherine and Fitzgerald will play said couple, Carrie ("a perfectionistic who needs a nanny with her decorating business taking off") and Hugh Cox ("an earnest, successful man with political aspirations who is deathly afraid of any hint of scandal"), with Tortorella as Liberty's lowlife boyfriend Jesse, "who runs a chop shop and steals high-priced sports cars with Liberty's help." Creator Mike White will also appear as Liberty's roommate Tammy, "a chain smoker who is always strung out and has no life ambitions." (Deadline.com)
SHAQ, INQ. (truTV/; W: Jeremy Garelick; D: John Fortenberry) - Meryl Hathaway, Miles Fisher, Matty Cardarople and Carl Anthony Payne have all snagged roles on the scripted comedy pilot, which follows Shaquille O'Neal and the team who runs his sprawling business empire. Hathaway will play Laura, "the executive who Shaq calls "L-Train", the only person at Shaq, Inc hired on her own merit"; with Fisher as Ed, "the CEO of Shaq, Inc."; Cardarople as Blake and Payne as cousin Mike. (Deadline.com)
WARRIOR (NBC/Universal; W: David DiGilio; D: Phillip Noyce) - Will Yun Lee ("True Blood") is the first to be cast in the drama pilot, about a damaged heroine who works undercover with physical and spiritual guidance from a mysterious martial arts master to bring down an international crime lord. He'll play Susano, "a deadly and dangerous martial arts expert who is head of a Japanese crime syndicate where he enjoys considerable power, wealth and respect." (Deadline.com)
AND IN OTHER NEWS... - Courtney B. Vance has been cast as defense attorney Johnnie Cochran in FX's "American Crime Story" (Deadline.com); Damon Wayans, Jr. has opted to exit "New Girl" at the end of the show's current fourth season (TVLine.com); Steve Pink has signed on to helm the premiere of NBC's Eva Longoria-led comedy "Telenovela" (Deadline.com); James Burrows has likewise been tapped for pilot duty on Bill Wrubel's "Joe Time" for CBS and the untitled Suzanne Martin comedy pilot for NBC (Deadline.com);
Luke Mitchell will recur on "Marvel's Agents of SHIELD" as "a charismatic Inhuman named Lincoln, who has an important role to play in Skye understanding the true extent of her transformation" (Marvel.com); Megalyn Echikunwoke is set to visit "The Following" as "a beautiful, troubled, drug user who is Theo's (Michael Ealy) sister and the one person whom he confides in and knows his secrets" (Deadline.com); Amy Smart and David Koechner are both found for the Rashida Jones-led comedy "Angie Tribeca" at TBS (TVLine.com); and Boris Kodjoe will drop by FOX's "The Last Man on Earth" in a mystery role (Variety.com).
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