or


[01/29/09 - 06:09 PM]
Development Update: Thursday, January 29
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!


BACK (CBS, New!) - Storyline Entertainment's Craig Zadan and Neil Meron have landed a pilot commitment from the Eye for a new drama about a man who disappeared in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks only to suddenly show up, eight years later. Dean Widenmann penned the pilot, which will track the man as he learns how to reconnect with his family and a world that moved on without him. The project is set up at CBS Paramount Network Television with Zadan and Meron executive producing and Widenmann serving as a supervising producer.


BOARDWALK EMPIRE (HBO) - Oscar nominee Michael Shannon ("Revolutionary Road") and Vincent Piazza ("Rescue Me") have joined the cast of the drama pilot, about the early 20th century origins of Atlantic City, New Jersey. Shannon will play Van Alden, "a dedicated senior agent with the Treasury Department who with his team has been charged with controlling bootlegging in the Prohibition era," while Piazza is set as a young Lucky Luciano, "a young associate of Arnold Rothstein, a rich, blunt New York businessman who wants in on Nucky's (Steve Buscemi) liquor production." Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt and Kelly Macdonald also star in the hour, which Martin Scorsese is directing from a script by Terrence Winter based on Nelson Johnson's book of the same name.


LET IT GO (UNTITLED LAUREN GRAHAM/ALEX HERSCHLAG PROJECT) (ABC) - The Lauren Graham-led comedy pilot has formally received a production green light. Alex Herschlag is behind the Sony Pictures Television-based half-hour, which stars Graham as a self-help guru who teaches women how to "let it go" but fails to follow her own advice when her perfect boyfriend dumps her. Tantamount's Eric Tannenbaum, Kim Tannenbaum and Mitch Hurwitz are executive producing the project alongside Herschlag with Graham serving as a producer.


LOST IN THE '80S (NBC) - Billy Campbell ("The 4400") is the first to be cast in the drama pilot, a family drama set in the 1980s. He'll play patriarch Pete Mobley, married with four kids and proprietor of a car dealership. Bob Brush is behind the hour, which comes from Sony Pictures Television and Tantamount. P.J. Hogan is directing.


THE NEW TWENTY (ABC, New!) - Tad Quill ("Scrubs") has scored a pilot order from the Alphabet for a new comedy about two forty-something friends who embark on very different lives - one has a newborn child, while the other has a kid heading into college. The project is set up at ABC Studios where Quill will write and executive produce.


SURVIVING SUBURBIA (The CW) - ABC is reportedly in talks to acquire the rights to the Bob Saget-led comedy, which was orphaned after The CW canceled its deal with Media Rights Capital. 13 episodes have been completed of the multi-camera half-hour, which comes from executive producers Michael Hanel, Mindy Schultheis and creator Kevin Abbott. Cynthia Stevenson, G Hannelius, Jared Kusnitz, Jere Burns and Lorna Scott also star in the project, about a misanthropic dad (Saget) who just wants to be left alone.


UNTITLED ELLEN BARKIN PROJECT (HBO, New!) - Ellen Barkin ("Ocean's Thirteen") is set to topline a potential new comedy at the pay channel about "a woman famous for her high-profile marriage who divorces and re-enters the singles market and finds herself developing a close, platonic bond with the 24-year-old son of her ex-husband." Shauna Cross is penning the half-hour and will executive produce alongside Barkin and Mosaic's Jimmy Miller with the company's Sam Hansen and Ann Blanchard also serving as producers.


UNTITLED FRANK MILITARY PROJECT (CBS, New!) - Frank Military ("The Unit") has set up a new legal drama at the Eye. The project, which has a pilot commitment, revolves around a team of federal prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan. Military wrote the pilot and will executive produce for CBS Paramount Network Television.


WASHINGTON FIELD (CBS) - Edward Allen Bernero's drama for the Eye has received a pilot order from the network. The project, which comes from CBS Paramount Network Television, revolves around the FBI's Washington Field Office that houses the National Capital Response Squad, "a unit comprising elite experts in different areas who travel around the world, responding to events that concern the U.S. national interest." Bernero co-created the hour alongside brothers Jim and Tim Clemente, an FBI profiler and a former terrorism expert on NCRS, respectively. Bernero will then executive produce with the Clementes serving as producers.


Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [january 2009]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· 4400, THE (USA)
· BACK (CBS)
· BEST THING EVER (ABC)
· BOARDWALK EMPIRE (HBO)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· LET IT GO (ABC)
· LOST IN THE '80S (NBC)
· RESCUE ME (FX)
· SCRUBS (ABC)
· SURVIVING SUBURBIA (ABC)
· UNIT, THE (CBS)
· UNTITLED ELLEN BARKIN PROJECT (HBO)
· US ATTORNEY (CBS)
· WASHINGTON FIELD (CBS)





[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.