or


[10/15/09 - 06:21 PM]
Development Update: Thursday, October 15
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!


BITCHES IN BRITCHES (THE CW, New!) - Bob Brush and Mel Harris are developing a new family soap at the netlet set in the equestrian world of Millbrook, New York. Lionsgate and Ish Entertainment are behind the hour, which will be executive produced by the duo, designer Zac Posen and Ish's Michael Hirschorn and Stella Stolper.


THE BRADLEYS (FOX, New!) - Peter Bagge's graphic novels are set to be the focus of a potential new animated series at the network. Bagge himself and Matthew Lawton ("Crank Yankers") are co-writing the script to the project, which will revolves around a dysfunctional suburban family, as seen through the eyes of teen Buddy Bradley. The pair will also executive produce the 20th Century Fox Television-based half-hour, which has a script commitment, alongside Barry Katz, Brian Volk-Weiss and Michael Pelmont.


CONFESSIONS OF A BACKUP DANCER (THE CW, New!) - Alloy Entertainment ("Gossip Girl," "The Vampire Diaries") is looking to bring yet another young adult book series to the small screen. Ilene Chaiken ("The L Word") is set to adapt "Confessions of a Backup Dancer," about "a woman who scores a gig as a backup dancer for a major pop star." She'll also executive produce alongside Alloy's Leslie Morgenstein and Bob Levy for Warner Bros. Television.


THE GATES (ABC, New!) - Fox Television Studios ("Defying Gravity') has landed another international co-production at the Alphabet, this time for a drama about "a cop who gives up his job in a major city to be chief of police in a planned suburban community, where he discovers there's more to the residents than meets the eye." Richard Hatem and Grant Scharbo are behind the hour, which has a 13-episode order contingent on the studio's foreign financing coming through for the production. Hatem and Scharbo then will executive produce alongside the former's Little Engine partner Gina Matthews. Production is set to begin in early to mid-2010, with South America among the locations being considered.


THE MARCH SISTERS (THE CW, New!) - Jill Gordon ("90210") has set up a drama script at the netlet about "working-class siblings trying to make it in the wealthy, glamorous world of Park Avenue." The project, which is being billed as "Little Women" meets "Sex and the City," comes from CBS Television Studios. Gordon will pen the script and executive produce with Meryl Poster.


NASHVILLE/SPY SCHOOL FOR GIRLS (THE CW, New!) - "One Tree Hill" creator Mark Schwahn has sold a pair of scripts to the network from CBS Television Studios. First up is "Nashville," about "a young female singer destined for stardom and a young male songwriter whose career path is uncertain." Neal Dodson and Matt Bomer ("White Collar") penned the script on spec and are executive producing alongside Schwahn and country music star Brad Paisley, who plans to write songs for the show and appear as himself. Then there's "Spy School for Girls," about "female spy trainees at a CIA facility." Schwahn is penning the hour based on a book in the works by former spy Larry Kolb. The pair will then also serve as executive producers.


PLYMOUTH ROCK (THE CW, New!) - "Party Down" executive producers Rob Thomas, Danielle Stokdyk, Jennifer Gwartz and Dan Etheridge are set to reteam for a new drama at the netlet about "young people on a ship traveling to a distant planet in order to colonize and save the human race." Thomas will write the hour executive produce alongside his "Party Down" partners for Warner Bros. Television.


UNTITLED JONAH HILL PROJECT (FOX, New!) - Jonah Hill ("Superbad") has booked a pilot presentation order from the network for a new animated comedy about "a 7-year-old socialite who acts and talks like an adult - and finds himself out of his element when forced to attend public school." Hill will voice the lead character as well as co-write the script alongside Andrew Mogel and Jarrad Paul ("Yes Man"). The project is set up at the 20th Century Fox Television-based the Chernin Co. with the company's Peter Chernin and Katherine Pope executive producing alongside the trio.


UNTITLED JULIE MARTIN PROJECT (THE CW, New!) - Julie Martin has scored a script commitment form the netlet for a new drama "based on the life of socialite Sloan Barnett and set in Manhattan's Early Case Assessment Bureau, where she worked." The project is set up at CBS Television Studios and Tribeca Entertainment with Martin writing and executive producing alongside Tribeca's Robert De Niro's and Jane Rosenthal.


Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [october 2009]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· 90210 (CW)
· ALLEN GREGORY (FOX)
· BITCHES IN BRITCHES (CW)
· BRADLEYS, THE (FOX)
· CONFESSIONS OF A BACKUP DANCER (CW)
· CRANK YANKERS (COMEDY CENTRAL)
· DEFYING GRAVITY (ABC)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· FELONY REVIEW (CW)
· GATES, THE (ABC)
· GOSSIP GIRL (CW)
· L WORD, THE (SHOWTIME)
· MARCH SISTERS, THE (CW)
· NASHVILLE (CW)
· ONE TREE HILL (CW)
· PARTY DOWN (STARZ)
· PLYMOUTH ROCK (CW)
· SPY SCHOOL FOR GIRLS (CW)
· VAMPIRE DIARIES, THE (CW)
· WHITE COLLAR (USA)





[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.