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[02/20/15 - 11:57 PM]
Development Update: Friday, February 20
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) - Rob Brown, Audrey Esparza, Ukweli Roach and Marianne Jean-Baptiste have all booked roles 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. Brown is the friendly but lethal Edgar Ramirez; with Esparza as the brainy and fit Tasha Oslo"; Roach as Dr. Borden, "an impressive scientist/psychiatrist brought in to help evaluate and treat Alexander's character"; and Jean-Baptiste as FBI Assistant Director Bethany Mayfair, "who heads the investigation." Sullivan Stapleton also stars. (Deadline.com)


BOOM (ABC/ABCS; W: Josh Pate & Rodes Fishburne; D: TBA) - Scott Michael Foster ("Greek") has landed a lead role on the drama pilot, about a young couple who moves to a contemporary boomtown in North Dakota in pursuit of the American dream and are seduced by the sudden wealth of frontier life. He'll play Wick Boyd, "an entitled rich kid." (Deadline.com)


BROAD SQUAD, THE (ABC/ABCS; W: Bess Wohl; D: Coky Giedroyc) - Charlotte Spencer is the first to be cast in the drama pilot, a fictionalized account of the graduating class of Boston's first female patrol officers in 1978. She'll play one of them, Molly Callahan. "Her dad was a notorious criminal who disappeared when she was young (while working with Whitey Bulger), and she grew up with her three delinquent brothers." (Deadline.com)


CHICAGO FIRE (NBC) - Laurie Holden ("The Walking Dead") has booked a role on the show's latest spin-off, "Chicago Med," this time set at the county hospital. She'll play Dr. Hannah Tramble, "a fearless, brilliant ER surgeon whose tough as nails childhood has given her a dark edge," in a backdoor pilot episode due later this season. Nick Gehlfuss, S. Epatha Merkerson and Yaya DaCosta co-star. (Deadline.com)


CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR, THE (Lifetime/Fox 21/Lionsgate; W: Linda Woolverton; D: TBA) - Hal Ozsan and Johnny Ward are the latest additions to the drama pilot, based on Jean M. Auel's book which takes place at a time in prehistory more than 25,000 years ago when Neanderthals shared the Earth with the first early modern humans and a band of cave dwellers adopt blond and blue-eyed Ayla (Millie Brady), a child of the "Others." Ozsan will play Brun, the leader of his Clan, with Ward as Broud, the son of Brun. (Deadline.com)


DAMIEN (Lifetime/FTS; W: Glen Mazzara; D: Shekhar Kapur) - Omid Abtahi ("Those Who Kill") has been cast in the upcoming drama, which follows the adult life of Damien Thorn (Bradley James), the mysterious child from the 1976 motion picture who has grown up, seemingly unaware of the satanic forces around him. He'll play Amani Golkar, "Damien's big hearted wingman and best friend who doesn't know Damien's dark secret." Megalyn Echikunwoke also stars. (Deadline.com)


DR. KEN (ABC/ABCS/Sony; W: Jared Stern; D: Scott Ellis) - Sitcom veteran Dave Foley has been cast in the Ken Jeong-led multi-camera comedy, about a brilliant physician with zero bedside manner. He'll play Pat, "the head of the hospital." Albert Tsai also stars. (Deadline.com)


FAMILY OF THE YEAR (ABC/ABCS; W: Casey Johnson & David Windsor; D: Todd Holland) - Matthew Shively and Bebe Wood are the latest cast in the single-camera comedy pilot, about the O'Neals, a picture perfect family that is turned upside down when the youngest son, Danny (yet to be cast), comes out of the closet. He'll play Jimmy, "Danny's older brother, a two-time all-state wrestling champion"; while she's set as Shannon, "Danny's little sister, a real do-gooder who's always working on some new charity." Jay R. Ferguson also stars. (Deadline.com)


HALF OF IT, THE (CBS/CBSP; W: Mike Gibbons; D: TBA) - Christine Ko has scored a role on the multi-camera comedy pilot, about a newly divorced dad who revels in the fact that he now gets to keep half his stuff, which is more than he ever had when he was married. She will play Suzi, "a fun-loving 20-something hipster and an exceptional whiz kid." (Deadline.com)


LIVING ON VIDEO (HBO; W: Bob Stevenson & Rich Wilkes; D: David Fincher) - Charlie Rowe ("Red Band Society") has been reportedly tapped as the new lead of the comedy pilot, about the players of the then-exploding music video industry in 1983 Los Angeles. He'll succeed Tyler Ross as Robby, "a wide-eyed guy who drops out of college and drives to Hollywood with dreams of directing a sci-fi epic and lands a job as a PA for a company making music videos." Sam Page, Jason Flemyng, Kerry Condon and Elizabeth Lail also star. (Deadline.com)


MIX (ABC/WBT; W: Jennifer Cecil; D: Daniel Barnz) - Actress Camille Guaty ("Scorpion") and director Daniel Barnz (Cake) have both signed onto the drama pilot, about the realities of modern-day families - multi-cultural and multi-generational, built through divorces, affairs and adoptions - set against the backdrop of a revered family restaurant at a crossroads. She'll play eldest child in her family Lola, "a perfectionist model-turned-photographer whose cool judgmental attitude keeps others at bay. She resents her younger half-sister Remy and devotes her energies to raising her recently adopted 9-year-old Ethiopian son." (Deadline.com)


QUANTICO (ABC/ABCS; W: Josh Safran; D: TBA) - Graham Rogers ("Revolution") have joined the cast of the drama pilot, about a group of diverse FBI recruits going through 21 weeks of training to become special agents at the FBI's academy in Quantico, Virginia - one of which is a sleeper terrorist, who in the near future, has perpetrated the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil since 9/11. He'll play Caleb Haas, "an athletic, somewhat cocky golden boy FBI trainee who's having a hard time making the grade." Tate Ellington also stars as Simon Asher. (Deadline.com)


ROSEWOOD (FOX/20th; W: Todd Harthan; D: Richard Shepard) - Morris Chestnut has been tapped for the title role in the drama pilot, about Dr. Beaumont Rosewood, Jr., the top private pathologist in all of Miami. As owner of one of the most sophisticated, state-of-the-art independent labs in the country, he finds the secrets in bodies that others usually miss. Despite being constantly surrounded by death Rosewood is obsessed with life and savors every moment. His eternal optimism will frustrate the cynical female detective he often works with, but she can't argue with the results that his unique perspective provides. (Deadline.com)


SHARING (NBC/Universal; W: Jeremy Bronson; D: TBA) - Stephen Schneider and Jack Carpenter have scored lead roles in the pilot, a workplace comedy about the different groups of people working side by side in a shared office space. Carpenter will play "the nerdy, sweet and nervous Jesse, who handles all the technology for Giftr"; while Schneider is set as Todd, "the cocky and brash third member of the Giftr team." (Deadline.com)


SKETCHY (ABC Family, New!) - The cable channel is looking to bring Olivia Samms's young-adult novels "The Bea Catcher Chronicles" to the small screen. The project follows Bea Washington, "an edgy, rebellious 18-year-old with a skill in which she can draw the truth out of people - literally. Shocked by what she sketches while observing the latest victim of a series of assaults on young women, Bea takes it upon herself to find the perpetrator before he strikes again." Samms herself will pen the adaptation and serve as a co-executive producer with Atlas Entertainment's Charles Roven and Alex Gartner presumably executive producing and Jake Kurily as a producer. (Deadline.com)


SUPERSTORE (NBC/Universal; W: Justin Spitzer; D: Ruben Fleischer) - Lauren Ash ("Super Fun Night") is the first to be cast in the single-camera comedy pilot, about a group of employees at a big box store and examines love, friendship, and the beauty of every day moments. She's on board as Dina, "the store's assistant manager who lives and breathes her job." (Deadline.com)


TAKE IT FROM US (NBC/Sony; W: Barry Schwartz & Greg Malins; D: TBA) - Stacey Farber ("Degrassi: The Next Generation") has been cast as the female lead in the comedy pilot, about a couple that tells their son the lessons they learned growing up in the '90s in hopes he and his fiancée can avoid making the same mistakes. She'll play Aly as a twentysomething in the 1990s. "Coming from a semi-prominent family, she was told her whole life that if she just followed the rules - get straight As, don't get in trouble, go to a good college, find a good guy with a good job - she'll be happy and successful. So she did all that, only to find out it's not true. Now she's looking to change her life in a big way." (Deadline.com)


AND IN OTHER NEWS... - Laura Benanti will guest on "Supergirl" at CBS as Alura Zor-El, the birth mother of Kara (Melissa Benoist) (Deadline.com); MTV has passed on its Zach Braff-helmed drama pilot "Self Promotion" (Deadline.com); Stephen Colbert will visit "The Mindy Project" as Father Michael O'Donnell (@mindykaling); Lena Dunham will drop by "Scandal" in a top secret role (Variety.com); and Jason Biggs's Larry Bloom won't return for season three of "Orange Is the New Black" but may return in the future (NYDailyNews.com).






  [february 2015]  
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· BLINDSPOT (NBC)
· BLOOD & OIL (ABC)
· BROAD SQUAD (ABC)
· CHICAGO FIRE (NBC)
· CHICAGO MED (NBC)
· CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR (LIFETIME)
· DAMIEN (A AND E)
· DEGRASSI: THE NEXT GENERATION (TEEN NICK)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· DR KEN (ABC)
· GREEK (ABC FAMILY)
· HALF OF IT, THE (CBS)
· MINDY PROJECT, THE (HULU)
· MIX (ABC)
· ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK (NETFLIX)
· QUANTICO (ABC)
· REAL O'NEALS, THE (ABC)
· RED BAND SOCIETY (FOX)
· REVOLUTION (NBC)
· ROSEWOOD (FOX)
· SCANDAL (ABC)
· SCORPION (CBS)
· SELF PROMOTION (MTV)
· SHARING (NBC)
· SKETCHY (ABC FAMILY)
· SUPER FUN NIGHT (ABC)
· SUPERGIRL (CW)
· SUPERSTORE (NBC)
· TAKE IT FROM US (NBC)
· THOSE WHO KILL (LMN)
· VIDEOSYNCHRAZY (HBO)
· WALKING DEAD, THE (AMC)





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