or


[02/18/15 - 11:49 PM]
Development Update: Wednesday, February 18
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC)

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!


BLINDSPOT (NBC/WBT; W: Martin Gero; D: Mark Pellington) - Sullivan Stapleton ("Strike Back") is set as the male lead on the drama pilot, about Jane Doe (Jaimie Alexander), a beautiful woman, with no memories of her past, who is found naked in Times Square with her body fully covered in intricate tattoos. Her discovery sets off a vast and complex mystery that immediately ignites the attention of the FBI who begin to follow the road map on her body to reveal a larger conspiracy of crime while bringing her closer to discovering the truth about her identity. He'll play FBI special agent Kurt Weller, "the leader of an elite FBI unit." (Deadline.com)


DOUBT (CBS/CBSP; W: Joan Rater & Tony Phelan; D: TBA) - Dule Hill and Kobi Libii have both been cast in the drama pilot, about Sadie Barrow (yet to be cast), a smart, successful 30-something defense attorney who shockingly falls for one of her clients who may or may not be guilty of a brutal crime. The former will play Albert Cobb, "Sadie's law partner and close friend with a good sense of humor who is working with her on a very high-profile case, representing a member of a prominent New York family"; with Libii as Nick Fox, "a smart, ambitious and enterprising recent law school graduate who is determined to work with the best criminal defense attorney in New York." (Deadline.com)


FANTASY LIFE (FOX/20th; W: Tim McAuliffe; D: TBA) - Utkarsh Ambudkar ("The Mindy Project") is the latest to be cast in the Kevin Connolly-led comedy pilot, about Mitch, a hard-working guy who lands his ultimate dream job hosting a fantasy football show where he's forced to navigate office politics while becoming the star he never thought he could be. He'll play Max, "an outgoing and sometimes embarrassingly obsequious IT guy at Fox Sports who is a fantasy football buff and longtime fan of Mitch's." Vanessa Williams also stars. (Deadline.com)


GAME OF SILENCE (NBC/Sony; W: David Hudgins; D: Niels Arden Oplev) - Michael Raymond-James ("Once Upon a Time") and Larenz Tate ("Rush") are the latest to be cast in the drama pilot, about Jackson (David Lyons), a rising attorney on the brink of success who could lose his perfectly crafted life when his long lost childhood friends threaten to expose a dark secret from their violent past. Raymond-James will play Gil, "one of four childhood friends entangled in the conspiracy"; while Tate is on board as Tony, "the peacemaker of the group who hangs out with Gil and helps him with his petty crime schemes." (Deadline.com)


LIFE IN PIECES (CBS/20th; W: Justin Adler; D: Jason Winer) - Dianne Wiest and Zoe Lister-Jones have both snagged roles on the single-camera comedy pilot, about one family as told through the separate stories of its different family members. Wiest will plays the matriarch Joan Short, "who adores her family and would do absolutely anything for them - as long she agrees with it"; while Jones is set as Greg Short's (Colin Hanks) wife Jen, "a woman used to being in control who now has a baby and finds for the first time she's not." Betsy Brandt also stars. (Deadline.com)


LOVE IS A FOUR LETTER WORD (NBC/20th; W: Diana Son; D: TBA) - Rockmond Dunbar ("The Mentalist") has scored a lead role on the drama pilot, in which race, sexuality and gender roles collide when three diverse couples put modern marriage to the test. He'll play Nick, "a charismatic and charming ad agency entrepreneur whose first marriage to Julie, the mother of two of his children, broke up over his affair with Fiona, now his wife. Nick and Fiona have an open marriage, and Fiona takes full advantage of their 'arrangement' - but through the years, Nick has always pined for Julie, the true love of his life." (Deadline.com)


MADOFF (ABC, New!) - Oscar winner Richard Dreyfuss (The Goodbye Girl) is set to play Bernie Madoff in a new mini-series at the Alphabet, which "chronicles the rise and spectacular fall of the imprisoned swindler and the $65 billion Ponzi scheme he concocted." Ben Robbins penned the script based on Brian Ross's book "The Madoff Chronicles." ABC News' Lincoln Square Productions ("The Assets") is behind the project, with Linda Berman and Joe Pichirallo serving as executive producers. (Deadline.com)


STRANGE CALLS (NBC/20th; W: Blake McCormick; D: Jason Winer) - Patrick Brammall is set to reprise his role in the single-camera comedy pilot, an import of the Australian series of the same name about an affable but down on his luck young police officer who is transferred to a rural town where - with the help of a peculiar elderly night watchman - he starts to realize the town has a bizarre supernatural underbelly. He'll return as Lloyd, "a macho cop who made Sergeant at a young age, but is not quite as smart, tough or cool as he thinks he is." (Deadline.com)


TAXI-22 (CBS/CBSP; W: Tad Quill; D: TBA) - Lenny Venito, Sahr Ngaujah, Jennifer Esposito, Rebecca Creskoff, F. Murray Abraham and Christopher Nicholas Smith have all booked roles on the John Leguizamo-led pilot, an import of the French Canadian comedy about a politically incorrect NYC cab driver. Venito will play Dean, "Bobby's (Leguizamo) boss at the Yellow Cab Garage"; with Ngaujah as Valentine, "a Nigerian cab driver who shares a taxi as well as a love hate relationship with Bobby (Leguizamo) at Yellow Cab." The others are set in unspecified guest starring/recurring roles. (Deadline.com)


UNVEILED (NBC/Universal; W: John Sakmar & Kerry Lenhart; D: TBA) - Stephan James (Selma) is the first to be cast in the pilot, a drama following an ensemble of flawed guardian angels who intervene in the lives of those who find themselves facing crisis in an attempt to restore their faith and, often, save their lives. He'll play Daniel Shepard, "a rookie Guardian angel unfamiliar with human suffering, but striving to understand it. Overcome by a loving desire to help others, Daniel sometimes bends the rules for the greater good." (Deadline.com)


AND IN OTHER NEWS... - Marisa Tomei has inked a one-year, first-look development deal at HBO (Deadline.com); Neil Marshall's Applebox Entertainment has signed a two-year overall deal with Legendary Television (Deadline.com); Katie Jacobs is shephereding "Dr. Del," an independently produced drama pilot starring John Hawkes (Deadline.com); Lloyd Braun's Whalerock Industries has extended his overall deal with MGM until 2017 (Deadline.com); Dick Van Dyke will guest on "The Middle" as Frankie's (Patricia Heaton) uncle, Dutch Spence, and the estranged brother of Tag (Jerry Van Dyke) (EW.com); and Doug Jones will visit "Arrow" as DC Comics villain Deathbolt (IGN.com).






  [february 2015]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S


· ARROW (CW)
· ASSETS, THE (ABC)
· BLINDSPOT (NBC)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· DOUBT (CBS)
· FANTASY LIFE (FOX)
· GAME OF SILENCE (NBC)
· LIFE IN PIECES (CBS)
· LOVE IS A FOUR LETTER WORD (NBC)
· MADOFF (ABC)
· MENTALIST, THE (CBS)
· MIDDLE, THE (ABC)
· MINDY PROJECT, THE (HULU)
· ONCE UPON A TIME (ABC)
· RUSH (USA)
· STRANGE CALLS (NBC)
· STRIKE BACK (CINEMAX)
· TAXI 22 (CBS)
· UNVEILED (NBC)





[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.