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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!
BYE BYE BIRDIE LIVE! (NBC) - The Jennifer Lopez-led musical has been pushed once again to 2019 "due to the difficulty of coordinating with Lopez's busy schedule." (Variety.com)
FOR LOVE (ABC) - Ethan Peck and Jon Ecker are both set as leads in the drama pilot, about an epic love triangle set against a grounded, secret world of magic in present day New Orleans. Peck plays Hope's current boyfriend, Gabriel Dumaine: "Charming, handsome and worldly, Gabriel is a member of the powerful Dumaine family and also a candidate in the upcoming mayoral race. Respectful of Hope's loss, he's very much in love with her and hoping to start a life with her, even though he realizes that might expose her to the dangerous secret the Dumaine family hides." Ecker's Charlie Lapree "is hardworking and delightful, fully in love with Hope and a journalist himself. After taking a call while remodeling their new apartment, Charlie is found dead after a car accident. Five years later, he reappears." (Deadline.com)
GRAND HOTEL (ABC) - Demian Bichir has been tapped as the male lead in the drama pilot, which is set against the backdrop of a Miami Beach hotel, centering around the family who owns the business, the staff who run it, and the explosive secrets they hide under the perfect exterior. He will play Gonzalo Cardenas, "the handsome and charismatic owner of the Grand Riviera Hotel. Gonzalo's superpower is his charm. He is one of those people who can talk to anyone and make them feel like fast friends. Gonzalo has built himself up from nothing and will do anything to keep what he has." (Deadline.com)
HOW MAY WE HATE YOU (ABC) - Actress Angela Kinsey and director Will Gluck are the latest additions to the single-camera comedy pilot, about two inseparable guest-services associates at a high-end resort property and the co-workers and hotel guests that they're stuck with for eight to 16 hours a day. She's set as Dana: "A kind hotel employee, Dana has the worst luck of all time. If something bad can happen, it has probably already happened to Dana. Nevertheless, she tries to keep her head up." (Deadline.com)
IN THE DARK (The CW) - Perry Mattfeld, Brooke Markham and Keston John are the first to be cast in the drama pilot, about a flawed and irreverent blind woman is the only "witness" to the murder of her drug-dealing friend. After the police dismiss her story, she sets out with her dog, Pretzel, to find the killer while also managing her colorful dating life and the job she hates at Breaking Blind - the guide dog school owned by her overprotective parents. Mattfeld will play said lead, Murphy, "a disaffected, hard-drinking, promiscuous mess who pushes away anyone who cares for her, even her roommate and best friend, Jess (Markham). Jess is a well-meaning, nurturing veterinarian who is somewhat overly protective of Murphy, much to Murphy's occasional irritation." John then will portray Darnell, "a local drug dealer whose young cousin, Tyson, was dealing for him. He initially dismisses Murphy's claims that she found Tyson dead in an alley before his body mysteriously disappeared." (Deadline.com)
MAGNUM, PI (CBS) - Perdita Weeks is set to play Juliet Higgins in the reboot of the famed drama, about Thomas Magnum (Jay Hernandez), a decorated ex-Navy SEAL who, upon returning home from Afghanistan, repurposes his military skills to become a private investigator. Weeks's Higgins is "the "majordomo" (i.e., property manager) for the large Hawaiian estate of writer Robin Masters, for whom Magnum ostensibly works security and lives in his guest house. She is commanding, confident, tough, uses sarcasm to deflect emotion and is hard to get to know - but it's worth it in the end." (Deadline.com)
MURDER (CBS) - Jennifer Mudge is the latest bound for the potential Michael Chiklis/Teyonah Parris-led true crime anthology as Beth Garrity, "an ER nurse who's seen just as much death and pain as her husband, Detective Mason Garrity (Chiklis). The marriage is the solid rock on which both of their lives are built. Beth's professional training and grounded Brooklyn roots give her a clear-eyed, common-sense perspective on life that she's passing down to her four daughters." (Deadline.com)
PLAYING DEAD (The CW) - Clara Lago and Luke Youngblood are the latest additions to the Tyler Ritter-led pilot, a dysfunctional family dramedy about a mortician and his son whose lives are turned upside down when the woman who abandoned them 15 years ago returns and asks them to fake her death. She'll play said woman, Isabel Reyes, "a fiery, self-serving con artist with a wicked sense of humor who also happens to be on the run from the mafia. Used to living dangerously, trained in martial arts and with a knack for improvisation, Isabel has come up with a plan to save her own skin and make Joe a whole lot of money. But first Joe has to agree to help her fake her own death." Youngblood then will play Oliver Barnes, "Joe's loyal, longtime assistant at the funeral parlor as well as his best friend. He clearly blames Isabel for causing Joe so much pain and has no problem making that clear to them both." (Deadline.com)
SACRED LIES (Facebook) - Elena Kampouris, Kevin Carroll, Kiana Madeira and Ryan Robbins have all been cast in the 10-episode series about a handless teen who escapes from a cult and finds herself in juvenile detention, suspected of knowing who killed her cult leader. Kampouris will play Minnow Bly: "Physically and emotionally scarred and handless, Minnow is now in juvie for brutally beating a young man." Carroll then will portray Dr. Wilson, "Minnow's mental health coordinator. He's a forensic psychologist working for the FBI, who's not your typical on paper psychologist"; with Madeira as Angel, "Minnow's roommate in juvie. A science buff (her hero is Carl Sagan) and a convicted murderer (who claims she acted in self-defense), Angel is intrigued by her handless new roommate and her background." And finally, Robbins will play Samuel Bly, "Minnow's father. Once a weak and susceptible man, he joined the cult hoping for a better life for him and his family. Fully believing that the Prophet speaks to God, Samuel instantly becomes the Prophet's second-in-command." (Deadline.com)
SALVAGE (ABC) - Will Patton is the latest to board the drama pilot as Guy Hill, "Jimmy's (Toby Kebbell) dad. A man of dubious ethical character (Jimmy's fear is that he's like his dad), who's always running some scheme or con, Guy was a foreman of Duke's (Jim Belushi) citrus plant until Duke fired him years ago, and ever since then he's despised Duke Daniels." (Deadline.com)
SINGLE PARENTS (ABC) - Taran Killam, Leighton Meester, Brad Garrett and Jake Choi are all set to star in the single-camera comedy pilot, which revolves around a group of single parents who lean on each other as they raise their kids and look for another chance at love (or at least sex). Killam will play Will Cooper, "a single dad whose daughter is his whole world - but, because of his devotion to her, he's forgotten how to be a man." Meester then will portray Angie, "mom to an overly attached son whom she is doing everything she can to protect for as long as possible. She's scrappy, strong and has had to hustle as a single mom for years to make ends meet." Garrett plays Douglas, "a rich, retired, country club member who's "not-not racist." He has an old-school mentality on parenting and gender roles and easily throws money at whatever problems he faces, no matter how small." And finally, Choi is set as Miggy, who is in way over his head with this baby. (Deadline.com)
SO CLOSE (NBC) - Dan Bucatinsky ("Scandal") has joined the cast of the Sasheer Zamata/Sean Kleier-led multi-camera comedy pilot as Christopher, "another lawyer in the firm and Riley's (Zamata) closest friend. He adores Riley, looks out for her, feels the need to protect her." (Deadline.com)
SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS (Facebook) - Mamadou Athie, Janet McTeer and Jovan Adepo are the latest cast in the Elizabeth Olsen-led series, about "the life of widow Leigh Gibbs (Olsen) as she deals with the grief of her late husband while reconnecting with relationships of her past." Athie will play Danny Gibbs, "Matt's (Adepo) brother, Danny always thinks he's the smartest person in the room, and by his pretty specific and relatively narrow definition of intelligence, he usually is the smartest person in the room." Kelley Marie Tran also stars as Jules, "Amy's (McTeer) adopted daughter, Leigh's sister. Jules is a manic-pixie dream addict, the most fun girl at the party and an absolutely impossible person to live with." (Deadline.com)
STATIES (ABC) - Newcomer Ava Capri has joined the cast of the Annie Ilonzeh/Andy Karl-led drama pilot as Felicity, "Sam's (Karl) teenage daughter who works at the front desk of the Oregon State Police station." (Deadline.com)
STATION 19 (ABC) - Brett Tucker has scored an arc on the upcoming drama as Ripley, a yet-to-be-revealed character. (Deadline.com)
SUSPICION (NBC) - Actors Derek Luke and Paula Newsome as well as director Brad Anderson have signed onto the drama pilot, about Danny Goldman, who is coerced to work as an informant for the FBI after accepting a handshake loan from his new friend and millionaire neighbor. Luke will play said role, "a reluctant hero who doesn't know it yet. The widower is a focused and hardworking man who has done everything in his power to provide for his daughter, Ellie, and to make a life with his new fiancée, Lucy." Newsome then is set as Agent Peters: "With a calm demeanor, Agent Peters still makes Danny uneasy despite her efforts to be honest and straightforward." (Deadline.com)
TRIAL & ERROR (NBC) - Amanda Payton has joined the cast of the show's second season as Nina Rudolph, "a hip girl from New York who has relocated to East Peck." Kristin Chenoweth was also recently tapped for the new season. (Deadline.com)
UNTITLED BAD BOYS SPIN-OFF PROJECT (NBC) - Jessica Alba is slated to star opposite Gabrielle Union in the drama pilot, a small screen incarnation of the film franchise. She'll play Nancy McKenna, "a working mom who can't help but look at Syd's freedom with some grass-is-greener envy. These two have totally different lifestyles and approaches, but they both are at the top of their fields in this action-packed, character-driven procedural. Alba's Nancy McKenna joined the Army out of high school and spent most of the 2000s in Iraq and Afghanistan. Women weren't allowed in combat, so she joined the military police to get closer to the action. McKenna is now a detective raising two preteen stepkids with her husband." Additionally, Alba will receive an executive producer credit on the project. (Deadline.com)
WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD (CBS) - Cedric the Entertainer has signed on to co-star and executive produce the multi-camera comedy pilot, about the nicest guy in the Midwest who moves his family into a tough neighborhood in L.A. where not everyone appreciates his extreme neighborliness. He'll play Calvin: "A strong and proud man, Calvin lives next door to new neighbors, the Johnson family, who he regards with disdain and as a pack of interlopers. A natural contrarian, acerbic, even downright misanthropic, Calvin thinks these people will upset the delicate balance that has existed in his neighborhood "forever" - (actually more like 30 years)." Eric Rhone of Cedric's A Bird and a Bear Entertainment will likewise executive produce. (Deadline.com)
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