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!
AMERICA'S GOT TALENT (NBC) - Jason Raff is bowing out as showrunner of the series after 19 seasons. Sam Donnelly, who has served as showrunner alongside Raff, will continue as solo showrunner on Season 20. (Deadline.com, 10/28)
DAILY SHOW, THE (Comedy Central) - Jon Stewart has closed a deal to continue as a once-weekly host of the series through the end of 2025. (Deadline.com, 10/28)
DMV (CBS) - Alex Tarrant, Tony Cavalero and Gigi Zumbado will round out the cast of the single-camera comedy pilot. Tarrant will play Noa, "a dreamy, charismatic, golden boy who seems destined for much greater things than working at the DMV. He is good at everything and never gets into awkward situations. A star surfer, he lives the "Pura Vida" life and doesn't sweat the small stuff." Cavalero is Vic, "who, before landing at the DMV, worked as a bouncer, security guard, head cook and has found his true calling as a driving examiner. While Colette (Dyer) takes the nervous drivers, he takes the entitled ones who deserve to be taken down a notch. A lovable scumbag and odd-ball, Vic has no edit, doesn't think about consequences, and has a wildly inflated sense of himself." And Zumbado is Ceci, "a scrappy, tough, and sassy, counter representative who has no time for anyone's nonsense. She's impatient, critical, and thinks she can do everyone's job better than they can." (Deadline.com, 11/1)
ÉTOILE (Amazon) - Tony winner Jonathan Groff will guest on the ballet-themed dramedy in a yet-to-be-revealed role. (TVLine.com, 10/31)
FBI (CBS) - Lisette Olivera's new series regular Syd Ortiz will now depart after filming a handful of episodes. According to said report: "Ortiz was designed to be a new partner for John Boyd's Scola, succeeding Katherine Rebee Kane's Tiffany Wallace who departed in the Season 7 premiere. Since then, Scola has been trying out partners, going through a revolving door of hopefuls. Ortiz will now join the list of temps, departing after a brief trial period." (Deadline.com, 10/31)
GAME OF THRONES (HBO) - The book-turned-TV franchise is reportedly being eyed for the big screen. Said project is described as in "very early stage development, with no filmmaker, cast or writer yet attached." (THR.com, 10/31)
GEN V (Amazon) - Keeya King, Stephen Kalyn, Julia Knope, Stacey McGunnigle, Tait Fletcher, Wyatt Dorion and Georgie Murphy have scored top secret roles on the series' sophomore season. (Deadline.com, 11/1)
LANTERNS (HBO) - Kelly Macdonald and Garret Dillahunt have both landed roles on the DC Comics series. Macdonald will play Sheriff Kerry, "a no-nonsense woman deeply devoted to her family and close-knit town. Her resilience, shaped by a complex past that's hardened her resolve, anchors her when the community's secrets begin to surface." And Dillahunt will play modern cowboy William Macon, "a self-righteous, conspiracy-minded man who masks his ruthless ambition behind a charming and calculated facade." (Deadline.com, 11/1)
MARGO'S GOT MONEY TROUBLES (Apple TV+) - Nick Offerman has signed onto the eight-part series as Jinx, the estranged father of Elle Fanning's title character. (Deadline.com, 10/28)
ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING (Hulu) - Téa Leoni has formally joined the cast of the show's fifth season, having appeared in the final minutes of the season four finale as Sofia Caccimelio, "wife of Nicky "The Neck" Caccimelio, a missing person with ties to the Caputo crime family mentioned previously in Episode 9 this season." (Deadline.com, 10/29)
PERFECT LINE, THE (Syndication, New!) - Deborah Norville is attached to host a proposed syndicated game show from CBS Media Ventures: ""The Perfect Line" is trivia game that includes questions about from world events, pop culture, sports, science and other topics. Contestants are given a category and then arrange events, items or people order - such as arranging six actors in the order of their worldwide box office gross. Winners are able to create "the perfect line" via that correct order, and try not to be eliminated after every round. The last person standing plays a final round for a chance at $10,000." A pilot is believed to have been shot in August for a targeted fall 2025 launch. No producing auspices were given. (Variety.com, 10/29)
PRESUMED INNOCENT (Apple TV+) - Producers have acquired Jo Murray's upcoming debut legal thriller "Dissection of a Murder," which will serve as the basis for the anthology's second season: "The book, set for a spring 2026 publication by Pam Macmillan, follows Leila Reynolds who has just been handed her first murder case. She's way out of her depth but the defendant only wants her - and to make matters worse, her husband is the prosecutor. Soon Leila is fighting to keep her own secrets buried too." (Deadline.com, 10/29)
SCARPETTA (Amazon) - The Nicole Kidman/Jamie Lee Curtis-led drama has cast the following actors to recur: Tiya Sircar as Blaise Fruge, "a policewoman"; Anna Diop as Sierra "Tron" Patron, "a Cyber Investigator with the FBI"; Graham Phillips as Past Matt Petersen, "a handsome, genteel actor"; and Georgia King joins as Past Maggie Cutbush. (Deadline.com, 11/1)
SOMETHING VERY BAD IS GOING TO HAPPEN (Netflix) - Camila Morrone and Adam DiMarco are in talks to star in the upcoming drama: "Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen is an atmospheric horror series set at a wedding, following a bride and groom in the week leading up to their ill-fated nuptials. That's not a spoiler - just read the title..." No other details were given. (Deadline.com, 11/1)
SQUID GAME (Netflix) - David Fincher is reportedly spearheading a U.S. take on the Korean-language thriller. No details were given about the project, which will presumably be part of the parent show's universe. (Deadline.com, 10/28)
TOMB RAIDER (Amazon) - Sophie Turner and Lucy Boynton are reportedly testing for the title role on Phoebe Waller-Bridge's live-action TV series based on the video game franchise. (Deadline.com, 10/29)
UNDOING OF ALEJANDRO VELASCO, THE (Amazon, New!) - Diego Boneta is attached to star in a proposed TV take on the actor's upcoming debut novel of the same name for Amazon MGM Studios: "The psychological thriller centers on handsome stranger Julian Villareal (Boneta), who visits the family of Alejandro Velasco at their opulent estate to pay his respects following Velasco's death. Julian and Alejandro were close friends and tennis rivals. Soon Julian becomes entwined in the family's glamorous lifestyle - and their daughter Sofia's mysterious allure. Mercurial and quick-witted, Sofia seems determined to give Julian a run for his money. And he's prepared to play along, both on and off the tennis courts." Oliver Goldstick and Natalia Castells-Esquivel are penning the script, with PKM Productions' Patrick Moran and Lynley Bird, StoryGiants' Lauren Oliver and Lexa Hillyer, and Three Amigos' Diego Boneta and Natalia Boneta likewise executive producing. (Deadline.com, 10/30)
UNTITLED 9-1-1 SPIN-OFF PROJECT (ABC) - Hawaii has reportedly "emerged as a leading contender to serve as backdrop" for the new spin-off series, beating out Las Vegas. (Deadline.com, 10/29)
WEATHER GIRL (Netflix, New!) - Brian Watkins's "apocalyptic one-woman play about a Californian weather girl in meltdown" is being developed for TV by the streamer. Star Julia McDermott is also attached to the project: "Directed by Tyne Rafaeli, the darkly comic Weather Girl tells the story of Stacey, a Californian in meltdown regularly delivering bulletins about our dying planet while reckoning with her own mental health, before she discovers something that will save us all. The play touches on themes of environmentalism, the climate emergency and consumer capitalism." Francesca Moody's Francesca Moody Productions is behind the play, the company behind the theater versions of "Baby Reindeer" and "Fleabag." No other auspices were given. (Deadline.com, 10/31)
WILL TRENT (ABC) - Ariana Madix will drop by the series as herself: "In the episode, Madix is in Atlanta for work while also helping to stage an intervention for a friend. She hires Det. Ormewood (Jake McLaughlin) to help work security for the intervention." (Variety.com, 10/30)
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