or


[04/25/08 - 06:16 PM]
Development Update: Friday, April 25
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 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!


CASTLE (ABC) - Nathan Fillion ("Desperate Housewives") is in negotiations to topline the drama pilot, about a famous mystery novelist helping the NYPD solve crimes. Fillion would play the title character, Nick Castle. Rob Bowman is directing the ABC Studios-based project from a script by Andrew Marlowe.


CRIMINAL MINDS (CBS) - A&E and ION Media Networks have each acquired the off-network rights to the veteran CBS drama. The former, whose license fee is estimated to in the $650,000-$700,000 per episode range, will begin airing weekly repeats of the series starting next month with a five-night-a-week expansion in the fall of 2009. ION, who is said to have forked over $175,000 per episode, will likewise begin its strip of the series in the fall of 2009. The pact with co-producers ABC Studios and CBS Paramount Network Television is capped at eight seasons. In terms of comparable off-network sales, the combined $825,000-$875,000 per episode fee falls behind recent acquisitions such as "Cold Case" (TNT, $1.4 million), "Without a Trace" (TNT, $1.4 million) and "CSI: NY" (Spike TV, $1.9 million) but ahead of "Bones" (TNT, $450,000).


LAW & ORDER (NBC) - Tom Everett Scott ("Cashmere Mafia") is set to appear in the show's final two episodes this season. He'll play Governer Shalvoy in said installments, one of which will also feature Alison Elliott ("The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford") as his wife, Rita. No other details about their roles were given.


LITTLE GIRL LOST: THE DELIMAR VERA STORY (LMN, New!) - Judy Reyes ("Scrubs"), Ana Ortiz ("Ugly Betty") and A Martinez ("General Hospital") have all signed on to star in a new original for the Lifetime sibling. The project, due later this year, is based on the true story of Luz Cuevas (Reyes), who believed that her infant daughter, Delimar, had perished in a fire in their Philadelphia apartment, only to spot her at a birthday part six years later. Ortiz will play Valerie Valleja, a distant relative of Luz's, while Martinez is as Angel Cruz, a councilman who helps Luz. Paul Kaufman, Joey Plager, Larry Thompson and Harvey Kahn of Front Street Productions are executive producing the project, which Kaufman is directing. Lifetime is co-producing in association with TF1.


THE MEANT TO BE'S (CBS) - Tom Hollander ("Pirates of the Caribbean") has joined the cast of the pilot, a romantic drama about a young woman (Amy Smart) who dies, but in order to "pass over," she must return to Earth and help people improve their lives. He'll play the head of the Fate division who is bending the rules to save lives. Ioan Gruffudd also stars in the project, which comes from CBS Paramount Network Television and creator Glenn Gordon Caron.


MY BROTHER'S HOT (AND OTHER DILEMMAS) (A.K.A. UNTITLED KRISTIN NEWMAN PROJECT) (ABC) - Alyssa Milano ("My Name Is Earl") is in talks to play the lead role in the comedy pilot, about a thirtysomething woman (Milano) who tries to break free of her overbearing and dysfunctional family, friends and boss. Her character, Louisa "Lou," is further detailed in the casting notice as follows: "Early 30s, Female, a bit rumpled and girl-next-door pretty, intelligent, with a sense of humor, selfless. Lou has never gotten married or even managed much of a life of her own because she's always been caught up in the lives of her parents: her larger-than-life, selfish, charming mother, Elizabeth, and her irresponsible father, Joe, both of whom got divorced when she was 12. Something of a mother figure to Joe's young children by his second wife, Lou works at a literacy program funded by a famous playboy athlete, and is pretty much put herself in call to the catastrophes/demands of both her parents. Urged by her best friend Sasha to get some "me" time and go out of town to hook up with The Nice Chicago Guy, Lou finds her plans put off - again - when her dad drops his latest bomb: he's marrying again, his kids are in rebellion, his new fiance has a hunky 35 year old son who's perfect for Lou, and worst of all--her mother chooses this moment to decide to devote the rest of her life to her relationship to Lou." The single-camera half-hour comes from creator Kristin Newman and co-producers ABC Studios and DreamWorks Television.


THE PRINCE OF MOTOR CITY (ABC) - Aunjanue Ellis ("Justice") is the first to be cast in the drama pilot, a gothic family soap inspired by William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" set in the world of the Detroit auto industry. She'll play Cora Neel in the ABC Studios-based project, which comes from co-creators Hamish Linklater and Jessica Goldberg. Her character is detailed in the casting notice as follows: "40s-50s, African-American, "Diana Ross sexy and Condi Rice ruthless," she's a member of Hamilton's board who is absolutely appalled by the information that Billy is the new owner of Hamilton Motors. She believes the best idea is to sell the entire company to a German manufacturer. She and Paul Riley have a tense relationship, and no one except Cora knows why William Hamilton appointed Cora to the board in the first place."


Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [april 2008]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
  


· BONES (FOX)
· CASHMERE MAFIA (ABC)
· CASTLE (ABC)
· COLD CASE (CBS)
· CRIMINAL MINDS (CBS)
· CSI: NEW YORK (CBS)
· DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· JUSTICE (FOX)
· LAW & ORDER (NBC)
· LITTLE GIRL LOST: THE DELIMAR VERA STORY (LMN)
· MEANT TO BE'S, THE (CBS)
· MY NAME IS EARL (NBC)
· PRINCE OF MOTOR CITY, THE (ABC)
· SCRUBS (ABC)
· SINGLE WITH PARENTS (ABC)
· UGLY BETTY (ABC)
· WITHOUT A TRACE (CBS)





[04/24/24 - 10:59 AM]
Prime Video Announces Premiere Date and Key Art for Stand-Up Comedy Special "Marlon Wayans: Good Grief"
The one-hour special will premiere in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide on June 4.

[04/24/24 - 09:09 AM]
Video: Disney+ Shares Official Trailer for "Jim Henson Idea Man"
Produced with the full participation and cooperation of the Henson family, "Jim Henson Idea Man" is an unprecedented, intimate look at Henson's illustrious, revolutionary career and complex personal life.

[04/24/24 - 09:05 AM]
Gird Your Loins! Prime Video Releases Official First Look Images and Launch Date for "My Lady Jane"
Also announced, the series will premiere exclusively on Prime Video on Thursday, June 27 in more than 240 countries and territories around the world.

[04/24/24 - 09:01 AM]
Steve Carell to Star in "The Four Seasons" Netflix Comedy Series from Universal Television
Carell will star in the series alongside Tina Fey.

[04/24/24 - 09:01 AM]
ID Announces New Docuseries "Fallen Idols: Nick and Aaron Carter"
From their outsized fame in the late 1990s and early 2000s to their headline-making struggles in recent years, the docuseries pulls back the curtain on the fraught dynamic of the Carter family and the dark side of such an abrupt rise to fame.

[04/24/24 - 09:01 AM]
Video: "Black Twitter: A People's History" - Official Trailer - Hulu
The rise, movements, voices and memes that made Black Twitter an influential and dominant force in nearly every aspect of American political and cultural life.

[04/24/24 - 07:59 AM]
Starz Confirms Additional Casting for "Outlander: Blood of My Blood"
Joining the cast in a role "Outlander" fans will recognize from early seasons is Sally Messham as Mrs. Fitz, Ellen's maid at Castle Leoch and Murtagh's aunt.

[04/24/24 - 07:03 AM]
Video: Apple TV+ Debuts Trailer for "The Big Cigar," New Limited Series Starring Andre Holland as Black Panther Leader Huey P. Newton, Premiering Globally on Friday, May 17
Based on the magazine article of the same name by Joshuah Bearman, who also serves as executive producer, "The Big Cigar" tells the incredible true story of Hollywood revolution meeting social revolution.

[04/24/24 - 07:02 AM]
Paramount+ Renews Original Animated Preschool Series "Dora" for a Second Season
The iconic Latina heroine made her triumphant return earlier this month in the all-new CG-animated series produced by Nickelodeon Animation.

[04/24/24 - 07:01 AM]
Video: "Golden Kamuy" - Official Trailer - Netflix
On the Hokkaido frontier, a war veteran and Ainu girl race against misfits and military renegades to find treasure mapped out on tattooed outlaws.

[04/24/24 - 06:01 AM]
Video: "Illusions for Sale: The Rise and Fall of Generacion Zoe" - Official Trailer - Netflix
This documentary follows the rise and fall of GeneraciĆ³n Zoe, a spiritual coaching network hiding the most unusual scam in Argentina's history.

[04/24/24 - 01:01 AM]
Video: "My Oni Girl" - Official Trailer - Netflix
A shy teenage boy's inability to say no is tested when a headstrong girl drags him on a mystical journey amid summer snow to find her missing mom.

[04/24/24 - 12:01 AM]
Video: "Thank You, Next" - Official Teaser - Netflix
After a painful breakup, a young lawyer dives head first into the confusing world of modern dating, with the unwavering support of her best friends.

[04/23/24 - 07:01 PM]
Video: "The Atypical Family" - Official Trailer - Netflix
Once blessed with unique superpowers, a family loses their abilities due to modern day problems - until a mysterious woman changes everything.

[04/23/24 - 03:01 PM]
"Tamron Hall" Grows Week to Week in Women 18-49 Hitting 6-Week High and Ranking No. 2 Among All Syndicated Talk Shows
In addition, "Tamron Hall" turned in increases for the same week last year in Households and Women 18-49.