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!
ADVERSARIES, THE (ABC/ABCS; W: David Zabel; D: TBA) - Enuka Okuma ("Rookie Blue") is the latest addition to the drama pilot, about Charlie Fisher (Terry O'Quinn), the patriarch of a New York legal dynasty who becomes embroiled in a trial of his own, and his federal prosecutor daughter (yet to be cast) must decide which side she will fight on. She'll presumably play Aisha Irby, a lovely, cool under pressure an attorney at Fisher's firm. Christine Lahti and Lenny Platt also star. (Deadline.com)
ANGEL FROM HELL (CBS/CBSP; W: Tad Quill; D: Don Scardino) - Actors Kyle Bornheimer and Kevin Pollak as well as director Don Scardino all have signed onto the comedy pilot, about the unlikely friendship formed between two women, one of whom, Amy (Jane Lynch), claims to be the guardian angel of the other, Allison (yet to be cast). Pollak is set as Marv, "Allison's father and a veteran dermatologist who has made Allison his junior partner"; with Bornheimer as Brad, "Allison's younger brother who lives rent-free over her garage, and has a life-long crush on her best friend Jill." Scardino then will also executive produce alongside creator Quill. (THR.com)
BOOM (ABC/ABCS; W: Josh Pate & Rodes Fishburne; D: Jonas Pate) - Chace Crawford, Caitlin Carver and Yani Gellman are the latest to be cast in the drama pilot, about a young couple (Crawford, Rebecca Rittenhouse) 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 said fellow, Billy LeFever, "a born hustler who trusts to his luck and his quick wits." Carver then will play Lacey Boyd, "the younger daughter of Hap (Don Johnson)"; with Gellman as A.J. Menendez, "Hap's personal driver who leads a triple life." Delroy Lindo, India de Beaufort and Scott Michael Foster also star. (Deadline.com)
BROAD SQUAD, THE (ABC/ABCS; W: Bess Wohl; D: Coky Giedroyc) - Morgan Spector ("Allegiance") has joined the cast of the drama pilot, a fictionalized account of the graduating class of Boston's first female patrol officers in 1978. He'll play Tommy Anthony, "a scruffy, sideburned, loose cannon of a cop who sidles up to Lisa (Cody Horn) at a bar, unprepared for her outpouring of vitriol. He's later assigned as Lisa's training officer, and they navigate a complex relationship, both of them strong-willed and unaccepting of each other." Alberto Frezza, Charlotte Spencer, Kenneth Mitchell, Lauren Ambrose, Michael Gaston and Rutina Wesley also star. (Deadline.com)
CATCH, THE (ABC/ABCS; W: Helen Gregory, Jennifer Schuur & Kate Atkinson; D: Julie Anne Robinson) - Alimi Ballard and Rose Rollins are the latest to book roles on the drama pilot, about Alice Martin (Mireille Enos), a gutsy female forensic accountant who exposes fraud for a living and has finally found fulfillment both at work and in love until a case comes along that threatens to turn her world upside down. She'll play Andie Derringer, "Evan's (Alimi Ballard) wife who is confused when she finds out that Alice didn't know her fiancé Kieran (Damon Dayoub) was lying to her the entire time." Elvy Yost, Jacky Ido and Jay Hayden also star. (THR.com)
DOUBT (CBS/CBSP; W: Joan Rater & Tony Phelan; D: Adam Bernstein) - Teddy Sears ("Masters of Sex") is set as the male lead on the drama pilot, about Sadie Barrow (KaDee Strickland), 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. He'll play William "Billy" Conway, "a decent, altruistic, pediatric surgeon recently accused of murdering a 15-year-old girl many years ago and is having a secret love affair with Sadie." Dreama Walker, Dule Hill, Elliott Gould and Kobi Libii also star. (Deadline.com)
FOR JUSTICE (CBS/CBSP; W: Rene Balcer; D: Ava DuVernay) - Shawn Hatosy ("Reckless") has joined the cast of the drama pilot, about Natalia "Nat" Chappel (Anika Noni Rose), an FBI agent who works in the Criminal Section of the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division investigating crimes based on civil rights violations across the country. He's on board as Jess Kearney, "a lawyer with the Department of Justice, a Boston jock who wears his heart on his sleeve." Phylicia Rashad also stars. (Deadline.com)
FRANKENSTEIN (FOX/20th; W: Rand Ravich; D: Michael Cuesta) - Dilshad Vadsaria ("Revenge") has joined the cast of the drama pilot, about Ray Pritchard (Philip Baker Hall), a morally corrupt retired cop, who is given a second chance at life when he is brought back from the dead as a younger, stronger man (Rob Kazinsky). She'll play Mary Goodwin, "the beautiful, brilliant young woman who, with her brother Otto (Adhir Kalyan), have built a cyber empire." Tim DeKay also stars. (Deadline.com)
GAME OF SILENCE (NBC/Sony; W: David Hudgins; D: Niels Arden Oplev) - Deidrie Henry (Beyond the Lights) has been tapped for a role on the drama pilot, about Jackson Pogue (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. She'll play Liz Winters, a brittle but savvy "police detective in the Gangs Squad Henry." Bre Blair, Claire van der Boom, Conor O'Farrell, Demetrius Grosse, Larenz Tate and Michael Raymond-James also star. (Deadline.com)
GRANDPA (FOX/ABCS; W: Danny Chun; D: TBA) - Christina Milian and Paget Brewster have both been tapped for roles on the single-camera comedy pilot, about Jimmy (John Stamos), a charismatic longtime bachelor whose life is upended when he discovers he's a father - and a grandfather. Brewster plays Jimmy's old girlfriend Sara, "a former rocker chick who became pregnant with his child 26 years ago, but has raised their child, Gerald (Josh Peck), single-handedly."; while Milian is set as Vanessa, "a hip, hot mess," who is mother to Gerald's two-year-old daughter, the product of their one-night stand. (Deadline.com)
LA CRIME (ABC/ABCS; W: Steven Baigelman; D: Tom Shankland) - Gabriel Luna ("Matador") and Anne Winters ("Tyrant") have snagged roles on the anthology series pilot, about two LA cops as they track a Bonnie & Clyde-esque serial killer team amidst the rock-and-roll, coke-infused revelry of the 1980s Sunset Strip. He'll play one of said cops, Paco Contreras, "Jack's (Adam Rothenberg) newly transferred partner who struggles to fit in with the unit, since he was responsible for the demise of Jack's old partner"; while she's set as Vicki Roth, "daughter of Jack and Trish (Holley Fain)." Darrell Britt-Gibson, Erika Christensen, Karolina Wydra and Taissa Farmiga also star. (Deadline.com)
LFE (CBS/CBSP; W: Paul Downs Colaizzo; D: David Slade) - Melissa Leo ("Treme") has joined the cast of the drama pilot, a high-octane medical procedural centering on second-year residents at New York City's top hospital as they attempt to balance their god complexes with their humanity. She'll play Julie, "an attending physician in the surgical wing and a den mother to the second-year residents. While her attempts to be a part of her own family clan never are fully successful, the young residents, at least, need her guidance in their lives and give her the relationship she wishes she had with her own children." Ana Kayne, Andy Mientus, Annie Funke and Daniel Sharman also star. (Deadline.com)
LIMITLESS (CBS/CBSP; W: Craig Sweeny; D: Marc Webb) - Jake McDorman ("Manhattan Love Story") has scored the lead role on the drama pilot, based on the 2011 feature, which follows Brian Sinclair as he discovers the power of the mysterious drug NZT and is coerced into using his newfound drug enhanced abilities for good. He'll play said fellow, a role originated by Bradley Cooper (who's one of the executive producers) in the film. (Deadline.com)
STUDIO CITY (FOX/WBT; W: Krista Vernoff; D: Sanaa Hamri) - Riley Smith ("True Blood") has booked a role on the drama pilot, about a young singer, Catalina "Cat" Evans (Florence Pugh), as she comes of age living with her songwriter father, Rob (Eric McCormack) - who turns out to be a drug dealer to the stars. He's set as Jax, "a hip, sexy, charismatic rocker-dude musician and Rob's songwriting partner." Heather Graham and Jeanine Mason also star. (Deadline.com)
UNCLE BUCK (ABC/ABCS; W: Brian Bradley & Steven Cragg; D: TBA) - Sayeed Shahidi ("The First Family") has joined the cast of the comedy pilot, based on John Hughes's 1989 film about a childish man (Mike Epps) who learns how to be an adult by taking care of his brother's kids in a very childish way. He's set as Miles, "Will and Alexis' (Nia Long) only son, a precocious kid who is too bright for his own good." (Deadline.com)
UNTITLED O'SHANNON & WARREN PROJECT (CBS/CBSP; W: Dan O'Shannon & Peter Warren; D: Pamela Fryman) - Tyler Labine ("Animal Practice") is the latest to be cast in the comedy pilot, about a group of friends and family at three different times in their lives. He'll play Chris, "who always has a plan and goes with his gut. Though awkward when he was a kid, by the time he's 25, he's fit and confident, but still utterly Chris. By the time he's 40, he's pudgier, balding, and a father, with a baby strapped to his chest." Kelly O'Sullivan also stars. (Deadline.com)
AND IN OTHER NEWS... - "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek has inked a new contract with producer Sony Pictures Television through the 2017-18 season (Deadline.com); Dylan Walsh will visit "NCIS: New Orleans" as "a friend of Special Agent Dwayne Pride (Scott Bakula) and a lifelong law enforcement officer in the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office" (Deadline.com); Richard Harmon's John Murphy has been upped to series regular on "The 100" (@RichardSHarmon); Lauren Bowles has been cast as Mellie's (Bellamy Young) sister in "Scandal" (THR.com);
Matt Bennett has likewise been tapped as the younger half-brother of Simon Helberg's character in "The Big Bang Theory" (TVLine.com); David Ellison's Skydance Productions is developing a TV series based on the 1975 political thriller "Three Days of the Condor" (THR.com); Tyler Hoechlin's Derek Hale is departing "Teen Wolf" as a series regular (Buzzfeed.com); and Courtney Love will recur on "Revenge" as "a jetsetter who comes to the Hamptons because of Margaux (Karine Vanasse)" (People.com).
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