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!
ADAM & EVE (FOX) - Ryan Hansen will join Odette Annable as the title roles on the comedy pilot, about one couple at three stages of their relationship -- young and passionate, middle-aged with kids, and navigating retirement. It's a comedy about the big questions: What makes a marriage last? Do people ever really change? And, after 40 years together, why can't we pick a place for dinner without it turning into a whole, you know, "thing?" (Deadline.com)
BLUFF CITY LAW (NBC) - MaameYaa Boafo is the latest addition to the legal drama pilot as Briana Logan, "a private investigator who works for Elijah's (Jimmy Smits) firm." (Deadline.com)
BUNK'D (Disney Channel) - Israel Johnson, Shelby Simmons and Scarlett Estevez have all joined the cast of the show's fourth season. Johnson will play Noah, "a junior camp counselor and former child actor who is upbeat, enthusiastic and sometimes over-dramatic"; with Simmons as Ava, "a junior counselor from Queens who is tough as nails but fiercely loyal to her friends"; and Estevez as Gwen, "an eccentric and somewhat naïve new camper who has lived off the grid her whole life." They'll join returning co-stars Miranda May (Lou), Will Buie, Jr. (Finn), Raphael Alejandro (Matteo) and Mallory James Mahoney (Destiny). (Deadline.com)
COURTHOUSE (CBS) - Marg Helgenberger has signed onto the legal drama pilot as Judge Judith, "who broke the glass ceiling by becoming one of the rare female judges in California. Originally a progressive voice from the bench, over time she has become an entrenched member of the judicial establishment. As Supervising Judge, Judith is a powerful and influential figure who oversees Lola's transition to judge - and through that relationship, she will rediscover her passion for justice." (Deadline.com)
HEART OF LIFE (ABC) - Jessica Stroup has snagged a role on the drama pilot as Alexandra Reid, "Wes' (Dave Annable) sister, one of the two sets of adult siblings. The other set is played by Harry Shum Jr. and Katie Findlay." (Deadline.com)
JANE THE NOVELA (The CW) - Remy Hii, Benito Martinez, Holland Roden and "Jane the Virgin" co-star Ivonne Coll are all bound for the potential anthology series spin-off. Hii is set as Luen, "Estela's sweet, dependable, long-term boyfriend"; with Coll as Camila, "Estela's adoptive mother"; Martinez as Raul, "the winery's enigmatic riddler"; and Roden as Sienna, "Felix's not-so-regular sister who is determined to save the world, one endangered animal at a time." (Deadline.com)
LOVESTRUCK (FOX) - Rachel Bilson has been tapped for a lead role on the drama pilot, in which the entire first season takes place over the course of single night at a wedding. She'll play the bride, Daisy Valentine: "A "bolt of pure sunshine," she's sweet, thoughtful, assertive, has deep soulful eyes and works in music education." (Deadline.com)
PASTORIZED (ABC) - Lilah Richcreek has been cast in the Leslie Odom, Jr./Kelly Jenrette-led comedy pilot as Angela, "Hope's (Jenrette) spirited and flirtatious assistant." (Deadline.com)
PATSY & LORETTA (Lifetime) - Kyle Schmid and Joe Tippett will join Megan Hilty and Jessie Mueller in the network's Patsy Cline/Loretta Lynn original movie. Schmid will play Charlie Dick, Patsy's second husband; with Tippett as Doolittle "Mooney" Lynn, Loretta's husband and father of their four children. (Deadline.com)
RAISED BY WOLVES (TNT) - Matias Varela has scored a role on the upcoming sci-fi drama as Lucius, "a loyal soldier, who is trying to make up for the perceived failings of his father, a man whose sense of kindness and mercy were his ultimate undoing. Lucius is so committed to reversing his father's legacy, that he devotes himself to serving the very man who executed him, a man he believes may be a savior to his people." (Deadline.com)
STAR TREK: DISCOVERY (CBSAA) - As expected, Anson Mount - who plays Captain Christopher Pike on the current second season - will not return for the show's third. The actor signed a one-year deal last April. Rebecca Romijn's Number One, who has appeared in one episode thus far, is likewise not due back. (Deadline.com)
TANKED (Animal Planet) - The cable channel is calling it quits on the reality series after eight years, 15 seasons and 146 episodes. "After 15 fantastic seasons, the series came to a natural end late last year," Paul Schur, Animal Planet's VP communications/media relations told the publication. "The team from Las Vegas's Acrylic Tank Manufacturing was the focus of the show, which spotlighted exotic, unusual, colorful and dangerous fish in captivity via elaborate aquariums." Said report further indicates the decision was "not related to a recent domestic disturbance involving [host Wayde King]." (Deadline.com)
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN (CBS) - Raymond Ablack, Michael Cassidy, Taylor Deardon and Ana Villafañe - plus director Mark Cendrowski - are all bound for the multi-camera comedy pilot, about Evan (Michael Angarano), who sets out with his group of 20-something friends to accomplish a list of challenges he wrote for himself years ago in an effort to turn around his banal life. They'll play Tanner, Kellen, Croz and Lea Carter, respectively. (Deadline.com)
UNTITLED BLACK-ISH SPIN-OFF PROJECT (ABC) - Arica Himmel, Anders Holm and Tika Sumpter are set to star in the backdoor pilot episode, which follows the formative years of Tracee Ellis Ross' Rainbow (played by Himmel). Holm then will play Paul, Bow's father, with Sumpter as Alicia, Bow's mother. Also featured in said installment are Gary Cole as Harrison, Paul's father; Ethan William Childress as Johan; Mykal-Michelle Harris as Santamonica; and Christina Anthony as Denise, Alicia's sister. (Deadline.com)
UNTITLED GAME OF THRONES SPIN-OFF PROJECT (HBO) - Miranda Richardson has joined the ensemble cast of the prequel pilot, which also stars Naomi Watts, Josh Whitehouse, Naomi Ackie, Denise Gough, Jamie Campbell Bower, Sheila Atim, Ivanno Jeremiah, Georgie Henley, Alex Sharp and Toby Regbo. As usual, no details were given. (Deadline.com)
UNTITLED HALO PROJECT (Showtime) - Steven Kane has been tapped as co-showrunner of the upcoming live-action drama. He'll work alongside Kyle Killen, "who wanted to focus on the big-budget drama's stateside production - including writing and producing - as he sought a partner who was able to spend the better part of a year in Budapest during physical production on Halo." (THR.com)
US PROJECT, THE (CBS) - Elizabeth Alderfer and David Walton have both landed lead roles in the comedy pilot, about Morgan (Alderfer), "a self-described "bailer" who has drifted from job to job and now in her 30s, is experiencing alarm bells about getting serious about life. She's concerned that her current job at a "click-hungry" website is making the world worse, and that her jiujitsu-crazed boyfriend (Parker Young) might not be the one. Then she meets Kevin (Walton), and the next decade of her life is transformed." Walton's Kevin then is "a recently divorced father of two teenage girls (Vanessa and Laura Marano). Normally secure and loyal, Kevin still is heartsick over his ex - though he won't admit it - and has been adrift since the split. Then he meets Morgan, and their tangled romantic relationship begins." (Deadline.com)
VEEP (HBO) - Rhea Seehorn and Michael McKean will both drop by the show's final season. He'll play "the governor of Iowa in one episode"; while she's set as Michelle, "the chief of staff of a rival candidate in several episodes." (EW.com)
WARRIOR NUN (Netflix) - Alba Baptista has been tapped for the title role on the upcoming manga-turned-drama series as Ava, a 19 year-old woman who wakes up in a morgue with a new lease on life and a divine artifact embedded in her back. She discovers she is now part of an ancient order that has been tasked with fighting demons on Earth, and powerful forces representing both heaven and hell want to find and control her. Also cast in the project are Toya Turner as Shotgun Mary; Tristan Ulloa as Father Vincent; Thekla Reuten as Jillian Salvius; Kristina Tonteri-Young as Sister Beatrice; Lorena Andrea as Sister Lilith; and Emilio Sakraya as J.C. (Deadline.com)
WAYWARD CHILDREN (Syfy, New!) - Joe Tracz is looking to bring Seanan McGuire's four-book series to the small screen. The drama "centers on a mysterious boarding school for students who have returned from trips to magical worlds where they were heroes or monsters and now have to readjust to being ordinary children. All of them are looking for a way back to their fantasy realms, but when students start turning up dead, those who remain team up to catch the killer - lest none of them ever get to go home again." Legendary Television is producing. (THR.com)
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