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!
AGENCY, THE (Showtime) - The upcoming spy drama has cast Reza Brojerdi as Reza, "a university professor who runs a sought-after exchange program to Tehran"; Adam Nagaitis as Grandma, "a Security Officer and strong arm"; Ambreen Razia as Blair, "an undercover CIA agent and former handler"; Bilal Hasna as Simon, "a CIA agent and intelligence analyst"; David Harewood as Dalaga, "a Sudanese businessman"; Kurt Egyiawan as Osman, "a Sudanese Mukhabarat agent running security for secret negotiations"; Ray BLK as Dozer, "a security officer on the surveillance team"; Sabrina Wu as Raine, "assistant to the Director of Operations at the CIA's London Station"; and Tom Vaughan-Lawlor as Ben, "the signals intelligence expert." (Deadline.com, 10/8)
ALL AMERICAN (The CW) - Samantha Logan will reprise her role of Olivia Baker in the second episode of the show's new season. No other details were given. (Deadline.com, 10/10)
ASSOCIATE, THE (A.K.A. THE DONOVANS) (Showtime) - Tom Hardy, Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan are in final talks to star in the project, which has been "reworked into a standalone series with no connections" to "Ray Donovan." No other details were given. It was originally detailed as follows: "With the most powerful clients in Europe, The Donovans will see family fortunes and reputations at risk, odd alliances unfold, and betrayal around every corner; and while the family might be London's most elite fixers today, the nature of their business means there is no guarantee what's in store tomorrow." (Variety.com, 10/9)
BIG BANG THEORY SPIN-OFF PROJECT, THE (Max) - Kevin Sussman, Brian Posehn and Lauren Lapkus have signed talent-holding deals with Warner Bros. Television to reprise their roles from "The Big Bang Theory" (Stuart Bloom, Bert Kibbler and Denise, respectively) in the proposed spin-off series. The report adds the project "remains in early stages of development with no green light yet as the script is still being written." (Deadline.com, 10/10)
BUTTERFLY (Amazon) - Daniel Dae Kim, the show's star and executive producer, has closed a first-look deal with 20th Television to develop new series projects via his 3AD banner. (Deadline.com, 10/9)
CELEBRITY WHEEL OF FORTUNE/PRESS YOUR LUCK/MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL/SCAMANDA/WHAT WOULD YOU DO? (ABC) - The Alphabet has expanded its simulcasts of sibling ESPN's "Monday Night Football" for the remainder of the season, save for November 11 (Miami Dolphins at Los Angeles Rams) and December 2 (Cleveland Browns at Denver Broncos). As a result, ABC will hold onto previously announced Monday entries "Celebrity Wheel of Fortune" and "Press Your Luck" until midseason with "What Would You Do?" moving to Wednesdays at 10:00/9:00c. The latter in turn replaces newcomer "Scamanda," which is also being pushed to midseason. Nevertheless, an original Halloween-themed installment of "Press Your Luck" will air at a special night and time: Sunday, October 27 at 10:00/9:00c. (ESPN.com, 10/11)
CIVIL JUSTICE WITH SEAN COLLINSON (Roku/The CW App, New!) - Paramount Global Content Distribution and Kapital Entertainment have sold a new court show to said outlets: "Civil Justice with Sean Collinson is a court mediation show taking place in a virtual courtroom. In each episode, mediator Sean Collinson resolves two separate disputes." 40 episodes have been produced of the series with Collinson, Adam Werbach, Michael Lohmann, Ty Cameron and Sean Macias executive producing. Chantay Brown is a co-executive producer. (Deadline.com, 10/11)
DOWNFORCE (Hulu) - The Eve Hewson/Murray Bartlett-led comedy pilot has cast Harry Delano as Cayley, "Alastair's son, an engineering genius who's put to work to help the team"; Reece Shearsmith as Alastair, "Regent Racing's fastidious chief race engineer"; Amar Chadha-Patel as Ihsan, "the gentle giant of a chief mechanic for Team Regent"; and Arturo Del Puerto as Emiliano, "the ostentatious Spanish owner of a competing team who's hellbent on destroying Regent Racing." (Deadline.com, 10/11)
GREY'S ANATOMY (ABC) - Julia Rose has been cast in a recurring role as Mika's (Midori Francis) sister, Chloe Yasuda, on the series: "Witty with a great sense of humor, Chloe Yasuda (Rose), who has been admitted to Grey Sloan as a patient, is a harried honor student and VP of student activities who also runs varsity cross-country at her college." (Deadline.com, 10/10)
HAPPY'S PLACE (NBC) - Steve Howey will reunite with fellow "Reba" alums Reba McEntire and Melissa Peterman on the series as "a potential sperm donor" for Peterman's character, "a wealthy business owner that Gabby has met at a dog park." (TVLine.com, 10/10)
HIS & HERS (Netflix) - The limited series has cast Jamie Tisdale as Rachel, "a former friend of Anna's from St. Hilary's whose life in Dahlonega is not at all what it seems"; Izzy Kusman as Teen Rachel; Tiffany Ho as Teen Helen, "the younger version of [Poppy] Liu's character"; Kristen Maxwell as Teen Anna, "the younger version of [Tessa] Thompson's character"; Leah Merritt as Teen Zoe, "the younger version of [Marin] Ireland's character"; Astrid Rotenberry as Catherine Kelly, "an awkward teen who doesn't seem to fit in at St. Hilary's Academy"; Rhoda Griffis as Carol Turner, "a seasoned pathologist who performs autopsies with clinical charm"; Dave Maldonado as "a southern, no-nonsense sheriff who is determined to keep the status quo"; Mike Pniewski as Jim Pruss, "the smart, ratings-obsessed general manager at WSK news in Atlanta"; and Ellie Rose Sawyer as Meg, "who, playful and wise beyond her years, adores her Uncle Jack." (Deadline.com, 10/8)
KAOS (Netflix) - The Jeff Goldblum-led series has been canceled after one season. (Deadline.com, 10/8)
LOPEZ VS LOPEZ (NBC) - The show's third season will guest star Vicki Lawrence as Ruthie Van Bryan, "the loving Midwestern mom of Quinten. When she and her husband, Sam (Stephen Tobolowsky) come to celebrate their son's upcoming wedding to Mayan, tensions arise between families." Additionally, look for Francia Raisa as Carina, "an entitled social media influencer who proves to be a challenge for George's moving company, Lop-EZ Movers"; Rizwan Manji as Crispin, "an arrogant, pompous employee at a fancy, high-end hardware store who snubs George"; Adam Irigoyen as Orlando, "Rosie's spoiled nephew who inspires the family to examine their gender biases"; and Annie Gonzalez in an unspecified role. (Deadline.com, 10/8)
MAN ON FIRE (Netflix) - Alice Braga has joined the cast of the series with Scoot McNairy and Paul Ben-Victor also on board in recurring roles. Braga will play Valeria Melo, "a professional driver with family connections to a gang that runs a favela in Brazil. Creasy hires her and quickly comes to rely on her as he tries to protect a young girl while pursuing terrorists." McNairy is Henry Tappan, "an intelligent and calculating CIA field agent stationed in Brazil"; with Ben-Victor as Moncrief, "the director of the CIA." (THR.com, 10/8)
MONARCH: LEGACY OF MONSTERS (Apple TV+) - Amber Midthunder will recur on the show's second season as Isabel, described as "an intelligent and powerful businesswoman." (Variety.com, 10/8)
MY DARLINGS (Amazon, New!) - Writers Justin W. Lo and Leo Richardson are set to team with director James Griffiths for a small screen take on Marie Still's new novel at Amazon MGM Studios: "My Darlings is described as a satirical thriller that centers on Eloise Williams, an interior designer, doting wife and mother, and queen bee of her social circle - who is also a serial killer. When a mysterious blackmailer threatens to expose her past, murder becomes not just a desire, but a necessity." Kelly Ripa, Mark Consuelos and Albert Bianchini will also executive produce for Milojo Productions and Fee Fi Fo Films with Lindsay Maizel as a co-executive producer. (THR.com, 10/8)
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (Netflix, New!) - Dolly Alderton is spearheading a new TV series adaptation of the Jane Austen classic for the streamer: "Pride and Prejudice is a novel about love and class. Penned by Austen in the early 19th century, it tells the story of Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy, who eventually fall in love but have to navigate various obstacles." Lookout Point TV is producing. No other details were given. (Deadline.com, 10/11)
SERPENT QUEEN, THE (Starz) - The pay channel is not moving forward with a third season of the series. The cast however will be paid out after their season three options were picked up by producer Lionsgate Television back in March. Nevertheless, a spin-off series centering on Queen Elizabeth I (Minnie Driver) is in the works from writer Justin Haythe and fellow executive producer Erwin Stoff. No other details were given, nor is Driver attached to reprise her role. (Deadline.com, 10/9)
UNSTABLE (Netflix) - The streamer has axed the Rob Lowe-led comedy series after two seasons. Producers are "quietly shopping the show" to other outlets. (Deadline.com, 10/11)
UNTITLED DANIELS & KOMAN PROJECT (Peacock) - Gbemisola Ikumelo, Alex Edelman, Tim Key and Eric Rahill have all scored roles on the mockumentary series set in the same universe as "The Office." Ikumelo, Edelman and Rahill will also serve as writers on the project. No other details were given. (Deadline.com, 10/10)
UNTITLED DESUS NICE PROJECT (Amazon, New!) - Amazon MGM Studios has commissioned a pilot presentation for a new travel series featuring Desus Nice. Story Syndicate is producing. No other details were given. (Deadline.com, 10/9)
VELMA (Max) - The streamer has pulled the plug on the series after two seasons. "Over the past two seasons, Mindy [Kaling] and Charlie [Grandy] have created an incredibly fun and fresh world within the iconic whodunit franchise," Max said in a statement. "While we won't be moving forward with another season of the series, we thank them for their compelling coming-of-age storytelling, unrivaled clues, and hilarious hijinks." (TVLine.com, 10/9)
WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS (FX) - Alyssa Limperis is bound for the show's final season as Lisa, who "works in a corporate environment" in the show. (Deadline.com, 10/9)
Z-SUITE, THE (Tubi) - Mark McKinney, Rhys Darby, Dani Kind, Nadine Djoury, Richard Waugh and Peter Keleghan are all slated to guest on the newcomer. McKinney will appear as George, "CEO of Boppin' Burger and the ad agency's biggest client"; with Darby as "a sardonic, successful ad executive who always knows best"; Kind as "an assistant to the CEO at Atelier ad agency"; Djoury as "the HR manager"; Waugh as "a longtime employee"; and Keleghan's character "owns Atelier." (THR.com, 10/9)
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