 |
 |
[05/01/14 - 11:28 PM]
Development Update: Thursday, May 1
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!
BESSIE (HBO, New!) - Queen Latifah is set to play iconic blues singer Bessie Smith in a proposed biopic at the pay channel, which "chronicles how Smith overcame her tempestuous personal life to become one of the most acclaimed performing and recording artists of the 1920s and '30s, earning the nickname Empress of the Blues." Dee Rees (Pariah) wrote and will direct the project, which is based on the biography "Bessie" written by Chris Albertson. Latifah will also executive produce alongside Shakim Compere, Lili Fini Zanuck, Richard Zanuck, Shelby Stone and Randi Michel with Hallie Foote as co-executive producer and Ron Schmidt as producer for Flavor Unit Entertainment and the Zanuck Company. (Deadline.com)
DIG (USA/UCP; W: Gideon Raff & Tim Kring; D: S.J. Clarkson) - Regina Taylor and Omar Metwally have both booked roles on the event series, about an FBI agent stationed in Jerusalem (Jason Isaacs) who, while investigating a murder of a young female archeologist, uncovers a conspiracy 2000 years in the making. She'll play Ruth Ridell, "the U.S. ambassador to Israel who has little time for problems that Peter creates for her with the local authorities"; while he's set as Yussef Khalid, "an American who disappeared after being accused of murder." Alison Loren Sudol, Anne Heche and David Costabile also star. (THR.com)
HOW AND WHY (FX/FXP; W/D: Charlie Kaufman) - Marcella Plunkett (Dark Touch) has joined the cast of the comedy pilot, the story of a man, Goodman Hesselman (John Hawkes), who can explain how and why a nuclear reactor works, but is clueless about life. She'll play two roles, "Cynthia, a photographer at Goodman's new TV station in Murfreesboro, and Magda, Mendelson's (Michael Cera) secretary, whose day is spent in a cramped, tiny room, not much bigger than her desk." Sally Hawkins and Catherine Keener also star. (Deadline.com)
UNSTRUNG (ABC Family; W: Emily Whitesell; D: TBA) - Chanel Celaya and Sofia Mattsson are the first to be cast in the drama pilot, which explores the sexy, cutthroat, and emotional stakes of the professional world tour of tennis as brother and sister Luke and Ellie Holt compete to move up the ranks. Celaya will play the aforementioned Ellie, "an athletic, spunky beauty with great talent but not-so-great discipline"; with Mattsson as Ninotchka Andropov, "a diva ranked 3rd in the world but first in looks." (THR.com)
UNTITLED ANDY ST. CLAIR/PAUL O'TOOLE PROJECT (MTV, New!) - Andy St. Clair and Paul O'Toole have scored a cast-contingent pilot order from the network for a new comedy about "22-year-old Andy, who after he catches his girlfriend cheating, accidentally rear-ends a celebrity. Taking pity on Andy, the celebrity takes it upon himself to teach him how to man up." Odenkirk Provissiero's Marc Provissiero will executive produce the project with St. Clair and O'Toole serving as co-executive producers. (THR.com)
AND IN OTHER NEWS... - Brian Percival has bowed out of helming the AMC drama pilot "Knifeman" for personal reasons (Deadline.com); "Nashville" executive producer R.J. Cutler has signed a first-look development deal with CBS Television Studios for scripted projects, ending his run at Lionsgate Television (Deadline.com); Kristin Chenoweth has been cast as Maleficent in Disney Channel's "Descendants," "who butts horns with her daughter Mal (Dove Cameron)" (Deadline.com); Nestor Serrano and Brit Morgan will both recur on the new season of "Graceland" (TVLine.com); and Tyler Hilton is bound for the upcoming CBS drama "Extant" as "the chief coder on the Humanichs Project at the center of the story" (THR.com).
|
|
|
 [may 2014]  |
S |
M |
T |
W |
T |
F |
S |
| | | | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
[01/28/25 - 12:30 PM]
ESPN Celebrates Black History Always on February 5 with Inaugural All-Black Staffed NBA Broadcast
In total, more than 40 Black employees will contribute to ESPN's NBA coverage across game and studio platforms throughout the day, the majority of whom contribute to its basketball coverage year-round.
|
[01/28/25 - 12:17 PM]
ABC News Studios Announces Two Gripping New True Crime Docuseries to Premiere in February, Streaming Exclusively on Hulu
Look for "Wicked Game: The Devil in the Desert" on February 4, followed by "The Fox Hollow Murders: Playground of a Serial Killer" on February 18.
|
[01/28/25 - 12:00 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of Jan. 20: "Back in Action" and "The Night Agent" Lead an Action-Packed Top 10
"XO, Kitty" Season 2 snapped up No. 2 on the English TV list with 9.2 million views - while Season 1 is also feeling the love at No. 5 with 3.8 million views.
|
[01/28/25 - 10:54 AM]
CBS Originals Return with Most-Watched Monday of The Season, Up +18% from Its Season Average
"NCIS" had its most watched episode of the season with an average audience of 7.31 million Live+SD viewers.
|
[01/28/25 - 10:01 AM]
Peacock Releases Premiere Date, Key Art and First Look Images for New Limited Drama Series "Long Bright River"
"Long Bright River" is a suspense thriller series that tells the story of Mickey (Amanda Seyfried), a police officer who patrols a Philadelphia neighborhood hard-hit by the opioid crisis.
|
[01/28/25 - 09:10 AM]
MGM+ Orders Comedy Series "American Classic" Starring Oscar Winner Kevin Kline
"American Classic" centers on Broadway star and notorious narcissist Richard Bean, played by Kline, who suffers a spectacular public meltdown and returns to his hometown and the family-run theater where he first became aware of his own brilliance.
|
[01/28/25 - 09:09 AM]
Bravo's "Top Chef" Heads North for Season 22 - Destination Canada
The series premieres Thursday, March 13 on Bravo with an entire season of supersized episodes airing every Thursday night from 9 - 10:15 p.m.
|
[01/28/25 - 09:01 AM]
History's "The Food That Built America" Returns with a Delicious New Season on February 23 at 9/8c
From unlocking original ideas to elevating old favorites, this season unveils the inspiration and innovation behind the products that became household names.
|
[01/28/25 - 08:47 AM]
Ending 2024 as #1 Cable Entertainment Network on Friday & Saturday Nights, Reelz Orders 90 New Episodes of Hit Documentary Series "On Patrol: Live"
Hosted by Dan Abrams, "On Patrol: Live" follows live news-gathering protocols as 50+ cameras in regions across the country document for viewers in real time the nightly work of law enforcement officers on patrol.
|
[01/28/25 - 08:20 AM]
FOX Sports and FOX Deportes "Geaux" Marching Into Super Bowl LIX with 67 Hours of Gameday and Super Bowl Week Programming
On Super Bowl Sunday, FOX broadcasts five-and-a-half hours of pregame coverage beginning at 1:00 PM ET with FOX Super Bowl LIX Pregame live from three separate locations, including the FOX Sports set on New Orleans' iconic Bourbon Street.
|
[01/28/25 - 08:00 AM]
Video: Prime Video Releases Trailer and Key Art for Upcoming Biblical Drama Series "House of David"
The series will premiere on February 27 on Prime Video with three episodes and one episode weekly thereafter in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.
|
[01/28/25 - 07:01 AM]
Video: "Love Is Blind" Season 8 - Official Trailer - Netflix
A new group of singles face the ultimate dating experiment. Will they find their soulmates and get married, or will looks get in the way of love?
|
[01/28/25 - 07:00 AM]
Video: Prime Video Sets March 27 Premiere Date for the Highly Anticipated Third and Final Season of "Bosch: Legacy" with a "Bosch" Franchise Look-Back Teaser
Season three of "Bosch: Legacy" is based on Michael Connelly's best-selling novels Desert Star (2022) and The Black Ice (1993).
|
[01/28/25 - 06:47 AM]
FireAid Benefit Concert: How to Watch and Listen Live on Thursday, January 30
Featuring a lineup of iconic performers and the support of 25 broadcast partners, FireAid aims to raise funds for critical wildfire recovery and prevention efforts.
|
[01/28/25 - 05:26 AM]
The Jonas Brothers Are Coming Home for the Holidays with a "Jonas Brothers Christmas Movie" (wt) Set for 2025 on Disney+
In the movie, Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas and Nick Jonas face a series of escalating obstacles as they struggle to make it from London to New York in time to spend Christmas with their families.
|
|
|
|
