or


[02/14/05 - 12:00 AM]
Development Update: February 14
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC)

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 newly revamped "Series in Development" charts. Visitors can now filter our listings by network, genre and even development stage (ordered to pilot, cast-contingent, script, etc.). It's updated every day!

20 THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOU'RE 30 (UPN, New!) - "King of the Hill" veterans Alan Cohen and Alan Freedland are looking to import the British comedy of the same name - about four twentysomething friends who create a list of 20 things they want to do before they are 30 and set out to accomplish them - for UPN. The netlet has given a pilot order to the project, which is set up at Touchstone Television. The news marks the second time the comedy has been developed for U.S. audiences, the first being by Conan O'Brien and Lester Lewis ("Happy Family") for NBC in 2003 (read the story). Cohen and Freedland will write the pilot script and executive produce.

3 LBS. (CBS) - Oscar-winner Barry Levinson has been tapped to direct the pilot for the project, a medical drama revolving around brain surgeons. Already cast in the Paramount Network Television-based pilot is Reiko Aylesworth while Peter Ocko and Paul Stupin are the executive producers.

CRAZY LAWYERS (FOX) - Aimee Garcia ("All About the Andersons") has joined the cast of the drama pilot, about a successful golden boy lawyer (Chris O'Donnell) who has a nervous breakdown and teams up with another mentally disturbed lawyer with an anger problem to help people with issues, legal and otherwise. She'll play the lawyer in distress' loyal assistant in the project, which comes from executive producers Bill Chais, Jeff Rake and Barry Josephson as well as 20th Century Fox Television.

EIGHT SIMPLE RULES (ABC) - The Alphabet threw some extra support behind another one of its veteran comedies over the weekend, ordering two extra installments of "Rules." Said order brings its season total to 24 episodes. To date this season "Rules" is averaging 7.03 million viewers, ahead of fellow Friday comedies "Less Than Perfect" (6.48 million) and "Complete Savages" (6.09 million) and just short of "Hope & Faith" (7.35 million).

THE EVIDENCE (ABC) - Oscar winner Martin Landau ("Ed Wood") and Orlando Jones ("Evolution") have been cast the drama pilot, a San Francisco-based procedural which presents all the evidence and then tries to deconstruct the crime. Jones will play Det. Clint Bishop in the project while Landau is believed to be set as Dr. Saul Gold. Here's how Bishop is described in the show's casting notices: "Early-mid 30s, African-American, charismatic, sensitive, compassionate, well-educated (MA's in criminal psychology), Bishop is a San Francisco detective. He is trying to resuscitate his partner, Sean Riley, and gets a lot of flak for his propensity to play "therapist" to everyone. Bishop has a brother in prison, and will struggle with his eventual release, as well as with his own capacity for forgiveness." Gold then is described as: "65-72, seasoned, respected, wry, he's a CSU supervisor with nothing left to prove." The project is set up at John Wells Productions and Warner Bros. Television.

FRIENDS IN THE A.M. (UPN, New!) - Courteney Cox and David Arquette's Coquette Productions has scored a pilot order from the netlet for a new comedy about the brutally honest, fiercely loyal and incredibly complex on- and off-camera exploits of the three female hosts of a morning talk show. Allison Gibson ("Reba") is on board to write and executive produce the project, which is set up at Touchstone Television. Cox and Arquette will also serve as executive producers.

NUMB3RS (CBS) - The Eye has ordered four additional episodes of the successful Friday-night drama, bringing its season total to 12 installments. 11.55 million viewers tuned into its February 4 broadcast, making it the most-watched program on the night.

REUNION (FOX) - Chyler Leigh ("The Practice") is the latest addition to the drama pilot, about the lives of six close friends from their high school graduation in 1986 to their 20th reunion in 2006. Leigh joins the previously cast Alexa Davalos, Sean Faris, Amanda Righetti and Dave Annable in the project, which comes from "Tru Calling" creator Jon Harmon Feldman, Warner Bros. Television and Class IV Productions. Leigh will play Carla, a good girl whose life is transformed over the show's 20 years.

THRESHOLD (CBS) - Charles S. Dutton ("Roc") is the first to be cast in the drama pilot, about a female government contingency analyst who leads a team of scientists and military personnel to respond to the threat of a mysterious alien lifeform. No details were given about his character in the project, which comes from Paramount Network Television and executive producers David Goyer, David Heyman, Bragi Schut, Mark Rosen and Brannon Braga.

UNTITLED DAN MAZER PROJECT (NBC, New!) - "Da Ali G Show" executive producer Dan Mazer has booked a pilot presentation order from the Peacock for a new sketch comedy series along the lines of the HBO comedy. Already cast in the pilot are Matt Walsh ("Old School"), Andrea Savage ("The 40-Year-Old Virgin"), A.D. Miles ("Wet Hot American Summer") and Zach Galifianakis ("Late World With Zach"). No other details were released about the project, other than it will will mix actors (as newscasters) and real-life people, in the vein of "Ali G."

UNTITLED TOM FONTANA/BARRY LEVINSON PROJECT (The WB) - Ernest Waddell ("The Wire") and Penn Badgley ("The Mountain") have signed onto the drama pilot, an ensemble drama about the lives of students and teachers at a small Manhattan college. HBO Independent Productions and Warner Bros. Television are behind the project, which comes from Fontana, Levinson, Jim Finnerty and Julie Martin.

Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [february 2005]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
  


· 20 THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOU'RE 30 (UPN)
· 3 LBS. (CBS)
· ALL ABOUT THE ANDERSONS (WB)
· BEDFORD DIARIES, THE (WB)
· COMPLETE SAVAGES (ABC)
· DA ALI G SHOW (HBO)
· DOG BITES MAN (COMEDY CENTRAL)
· EIGHT SIMPLE RULES (ABC)
· EVIDENCE, THE (ABC)
· HAPPY FAMILY (NBC)
· HEAD CASES (FOX)
· HOPE & FAITH (ABC)
· KING OF THE HILL (FOX)
· LESS THAN PERFECT (ABC)
· MOUNTAIN, THE (WB)
· NUMB3RS (CBS)
· PRACTICE, THE (ABC)
· REBA (CW)
· REUNION (FOX)
· TALK SHOW DIARIES (UPN)
· THRESHOLD (CBS)
· TRU CALLING (FOX)
· WIRE, THE (HBO)





[01/10/25 - 12:01 PM]
"Saturday Night Live" Kicks Off 2025 with New Shows Beginning Jan. 18
Look for Dave Chappelle to host on January 18 followed by Timothée Chalamet on January 25.

[01/10/25 - 10:31 AM]
The "Doc" Is in with a Double Dose of FOX's Gripping New Medical Drama
The show's debut installment will rebroadcast this Sunday, January 12 and Monday, January 13.

[01/10/25 - 08:31 AM]
Cleveland Cavaliers Victory Over Oklahoma City Thunder on ESPN Averaged 1.87 Million Viewers
Wednesday's coverage peaked at 2.5 million viewers.

[01/10/25 - 07:06 AM]
"Puppy Bowl XXI" Returns Sunday, February 9 Across Animal Planet, Discovery, TBS, truTV, Max and discovery+
The annual three-hour television event will feature 142 rescue puppies from 80 shelters across 40 states - and two countries - as they compete in the cutest competition of the year.

[01/10/25 - 05:31 AM]
Venu Sports Will Be Discontinued
Venu Sports, the proposed virtual MVPD service from ESPN, FOX and Warner Bros. Discovery, will be discontinued.

[01/10/25 - 03:01 AM]
Video: "My Family" - Official Teaser - Netflix
A terminally ill father prepares his chaotic family to care for his two young kids and face life without him - but they must put old quarrels to rest.

[01/10/25 - 01:23 AM]
Disney+ and Curious Films to Produce "Caroline (w/t)" Original Feature Length Documentary Film
The film will celebrate the life and career of one of the UK's most popular TV presenters Caroline Flack and follows Christine, Caroline's mother, as she seeks to understand the events in the final months of her daughter's life.

[01/09/25 - 01:54 PM]
Video: Hunting Down the Truth - "The Hunting Party" - Trailer - NBC
After an impossible breakout at a top-secret prison, one team must race against time to recapture escaped serial killers who are more dangerous than ever before.

[01/09/25 - 11:21 AM]
CBS Program Advisory: "Hollywood Squares" Premiere Moves to Next Thursday
In light of the ongoing tragic wildfires in Los Angeles and the surrounding areas, tonight's premiere of "Hollywood Squares" will move to next Thursday, January 16.

[01/09/25 - 08:32 AM]
ESPN's College Football Bowl Viewership Reaches Record Highs for 2024-25 Season
The 33 non-College Football Playoff bowls averaged 2.7 million viewers, marking a 14 percent year-over-year increase and the largest audience since the 2019-20 season.

[01/09/25 - 08:25 AM]
"The American Revolution," A New Film from Ken Burns, to Premiere November 16, 2025
The new six-part, 12-hour documentary series that explores the country's founding and its eight-year War for Independence, will premiere on Sunday, November 16 and air for six consecutive nights through Friday, November 21st at 8:00-10:00 p.m. ET on PBS.

[01/09/25 - 08:01 AM]
Video: "Lucca's World" - Official Trailer - Netflix
Determined to help her son, who has cerebral palsy, Bárbara takes her family to India for an experimental treatment. Based on the book of the same name.

[01/09/25 - 07:00 AM]
WWE "RAW" Wrestles Up 4.9M Global Views for Netflix Debut
The inaugural event on Netflix averaged 2.6 million households (Live+SD) in the US, according to VideoAmp, which is 116% higher than "RAW's" average 2024 US audience of 1.2 million households, and higher than any other "Monday Night RAW" broadcast in the past five years.

[01/09/25 - 06:00 AM]
Video: "Onside: Major League Soccer" - Official Trailer - Apple TV+
Off the pitch and on the record. An access-all-areas look at Major League Soccer.

[01/09/25 - 05:31 AM]
Video: "Sakamoto Days" - Final Trailer - Netflix
Once the greatest hitman of all, Taro Sakamoto retired in the name of love. But when his past catches up, he must fight to protect his beloved family.