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!
ANIMAL KINGDOM (TNT/WHT; W: Jonathan Lisco; D: John Wells) - Ben Robson ("Vikings") has snagged a role on the drama pilot, about 17-year-old Josh (Finn Cole), who moves in with his wild, free-wheeling relatives in their Southern California beach town and is pulled into their life of indulgence and excess. He'll play Craig, "the tough, fearless middle son of the Cody crime family. A veteran criminal, he is an extreme-sports maniac and the most daring of the Codys." Ellen Barkin, Jake Weary, Scott Speedman and Shawn Hatosy also star in the project, which begins production on Friday. (Deadline.com)
FUTURE MAN (Hulu, New!) - Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg have landed a pilot order from the streaming service for a high-concept comedy that "centers on a janitor by day/world-ranked gamer by night who is tasked with preventing the extinction of humans after mysterious visitors from the future proclaim him the key to defeating the imminent super-race invasion." Kyle Hunter and Ariel Shaffir penned the half-hour which Point Grey Pictures' Rogen and Goldberg will direct and executive produce alongside James Weaver and Matt Tolmach Productions' Matt Tolmach for Sony Pictures Television. (Deadline.com)
MARVEL'S MOST WANTED (ABC/ABCS; W: Jeffrey Bell & Paul Zbyszewski; D: TBA) - The proposed "Marvel's Agents of SHIELD" spin-off featuring Adrianne Palicki's Bobbi Morse and Nick Blood's Lance Hunter is getting a formal pilot commitment. Said effort, to be written by Jeffrey Bell and Paul Zbyszewski, was publicly confirmed back in April but ultimately didn't move forward in time for ABC's May scheduling announcement. Jeph Loeb will also executive produce for ABC Studios. (Variety.com)
TRIAL, THE (Amazon; W: David E. Kelley & Jonathan Shapiro; D: David Semel) - Olivia Thirlby (Juno) is the latest addition to the drama project, which centers on Billy McBride (Billy Bob Thornton), a once respectable lawyer who was ousted from the high-profile firm he co-founded. Billy now spends his days getting drunk, with the occasional case tossed his way by his ex-wife. She's set as Lucy Kittridge, "a whip-smart, driven to succeed, high-powered attorney who knows what she wants, which is money, sex, and respect." (Deadline.com)
UNTITLED NKECHI OKORO CARROLL PROJECT (FOX, New!) - Nkechi Okoro Carroll ("Bones") has set up a potential drama at the network about "three brilliant young doctors who grew up together in Compton and are reunited at an extraordinary cutting-edge hospital in Beverly Hills. Now the shared secrets from their past force them to straddle the line between the opulence of their new world and the hard streets they came from." Howard Gordon and Hugh Fitzpatrick will also executive produce the project, which has a significant penalty attached, via their 20th Century Fox Television-based Teakwood Lane banner. (Deadline.com)
UNTITLED TIG NOTARO PROJECT (Amazon/FXP; W: Diablo Cody & Tig Notaro; D: Nicole Holofcener) - John Rothman (The Devil Wears Prada) is the latest addition to the comedy pilot, in which Notaro is abruptly summoned home to Pass Christian, Miss., to take her ailing mother off life support and finds herself reconnecting with her dysfunctional Gulf Coast family and the loss of the one person who held everything together. He's set as Bill, Tig's stepfather, "a stoic businessman who's hours away from becoming a widower." In addition, Nicole Holofcener has been tapped to direct. (Deadline.com, THR.com)
AND IN OTHER NEWS... - Stephanie Savage has revealed tonight's installment of "Astronaut Wives Club" was indeed its series finale (Variety.com); "The Big Bang Theory" co-star Simon Helberg has inked a two-year overall deal with Warner Bros. Television where he'll develop series projects alongside his wife Jocelyn Towne via their Wildline Entertainment banner (Deadline.com); Carlson Young will visit "Grimm" as "a character forced to hide the survivor of an attack that resulted in her boyfriend's death" (TVLine.com);
TNT has quietly ordered five additional episodes of "Major Crimes," bringing its fourth season total to 23 (TVLine.com); Mare Winningham is the latest bound for "American Horror Story: Hotel" as "the titular establishment's laundress who works closely with Evan Peters' character" (EW.com); and John Leguizamo has joined the cast of Netflix's "Bloodline" as Ozzy Delvecchio, "a charming, violent, opportunistic wild card from Danny's past" (TVLine.com).
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