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[01/17/23 - 11:51 PM]
Development Update: Tuesday, January 17
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!


CHANNEL SURF WITH CRAIG FERGUSON (Syndication, New!) - Craig Ferguson is set to host a proposed half-hour late-night syndicated strip from Sony Pictures Television. "I wanted to do Channel Surf because I think television is ready for the return of the silly/funny/occasional lip-synching puppet format. Also, it's a TV show which contains clips of questionable moments from other TV shows thus creating a spectacular visual turducken of stupid,” Ferguson said. A pilot was "shot a pilot in the UK earlier this month and is being taken out to potential buyers by distributor SPT this week in Los Angeles." Ferguson and Whisper North managing director Tom McLennan will executive produce with Richard Easter and Joe Bolter serving as writers. (Deadline.com)
CROSS (Amazon) - Sharon Taylor has joined the cast of the Aldis Hodge-led drama as Lt. Oracene Massey, "Alex's immediate superior at the Metro PD. She is a tireless self-promoter who understands that advancement doesn't always have anything to do with catching the bad guys, but with pleasing those higher up. In the series, she is pregnant." Taylor replaces Karen LeBlanc, "who exited due to scheduling conflicts." (Deadline.com)
DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN (Disney+) - Nikki M. James has been cast in the revival series in a yet-to-be-revealed role. (Deadline.com)
HEADLINERS (Paramount+/Showtime, New!) - Sports journalist Rachel Nichols is developing an interview series for Paramount Global "that will highlight some of the most influential figures in sports and entertainment." No other specifics were given about the project, which is in addition to her work as a contributor to CBS Sports HQ's overall NBA coverage. (Variety.com)
INTERIOR CHINATOWN (Hulu) - Sullivan Jones and Lisa Gilroy will star opposite Jimmy O. Yang in the comedy series as Miles Turner and Sarah Green, respectively, "the two lead detectives on the procedural crime show Black & White. An expert at making flashy arrests - whenever he's not bantering with his longtime partner Sarah Green - Turner's seemingly perfect exterior masks someone more complex. Ambitious and hyper-competent, Green is indisputably the best detective on the force, but somehow still finds herself always fighting for the light behind Turner's shadow." (Deadline.com)
LINCOLN LAWYER, THE (Netflix) - Matt Angel will recur on the new season as Henry Dahl, "a cosmopolitan erudite with a hipster haircut and clothes. He is the host of a successful true crime podcast that acts the role of a good Samaritan. Distrustful of Henry's motives, Mickey (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) warns him not to interfere with an ongoing case." (Deadline.com)
LOIS & VARGA (Amazon, New!) - Rachel Brosnahan is attached to star in a new limited series at the streamer which "follows a newly-married couple that moves to a small and vaunted island after inheriting a heavenly parcel of oceanfront property. But once they arrive, they meet Varga, the island's only stripper and yoga teacher, who begins to sinisterly unravel their lives." Writer Miriam Battye and director Halina Reijn are spearheading the project, which is based on a short story by Lisa Taddeo. Scrap Paper Pictures' Julie Waters will also executive produce alongside said quartet. (Variety.com)
MIDCOAST, THE (Hulu, New!) - Brett Johnson is spearheading a new drama for the streamer based on Adam White's bestselling novel, "set on the scenic coast of Maine exploring the rise and fall of Ed Thatch, a lobster fisherman turned blue collar criminal with an unstable devotion to his wife." Warren Littlefield, Ann Johnson, Graham Littlefield and Lisa Harrison will also executive produce alongside the pair for the 20th Television-based The Littlefield Company. (Deadline.com)
NCIS: LOS ANGELES (CBS) - Marilu Henner will drop by the show's February 26 episode as Elizabeth, "ex-wife of Gerald McRaney's Kilbride. In said episode, Elizabeth visits her onetime husband to ask him to think about reconnecting with their son, from whom Hollace is known to be estranged." (TVLine.com)
NIGHT COURT (NBC) - Melissa Villaseñor, Pete Holmes, Johnny Weir, Tara Lipinski, Lyric Lewis, Kurt Fuller, Stephnie Weir and Faith Ford are among the faces bound for the reboot series. Ford will portray Abby Stone's (Melissa Rauch) mom however character details on the others were not given. (Deadline.com, 1/15)
PUBLIC DEFENDERS (ABC, New!) - Eddie Quintana has scored a pilot order from the Alphabet for a single-camera comedy which "follows four inexperienced public defenders, up to their earholes in student loan debt, who work tirelessly to keep their clients out of jail. Along the way, they have to rely on each other to navigate their first defendants, the absurd court system, and the copy machine that always jams." McG, Mary Viola and Corey Marsh of Wonderland Sound and Vision will also executive produce for 20th Television. (Deadline.com)
SEVEN DEATHS OF EVELYN HARDCASTLE, THE (Netflix) - The streamer has nixed its plans to adapt Stuart Turton's prize-winning novel. Sophie Petzal had been set to pen the script and executive produce alongside House Productions' Juliette Howell and Tessa Ross. The BBC Studios-owned company plans to shop the project elsewhere. (Variety.com)
STERLING AFFAIRS, THE (FX) - The limited series has cast Harriet Samson Harris as Justine; Corbin Bernsen as Pierce O'Donnell; Yvonna Pearson as Deja; Jock McKissic as Glen "Big Baby" Davis; Darryl Wesley as Jamal Crawford; Rich Sommer as Seth Burton; and Clifton Davis as Elgin Baylor. No other details were given about their roles. (Deadline.com)
UNTITLED BRADY AND YOUSSEF PROJECT (Amazon) - The Ramy Youssef-led animated series, now titled "#1 Happy Family USA," has cast Alia Shawkat as Mona Hussein, "Rumi's slightly older, much taller sister and golden child of the family"; Salma Hindy as Sharia Hussein, "Rumi and Mona's mom, a loud, passionate woman who has made it her mission to raise a good family - and solve the conspiracy around Princess Diana's death"; Randa Jarrar as Grandma, "Sharia's mom, an unapologetically blunt niqabi who loves talk shows"; Mandy Moore as Mrs. Malcolm, "Rumi's sixth-grade teacher and crush, who loves shaping young minds and romancing NBA All-Stars"; Chris Redd as Marcus, "Rumi's closest friend and classmate"; Akaash Singh as Dev, "Rumi's friend and classmate"; and Whitmer Thomas as Garrett, "the rolly-backpack kid of Rumi's class." Youssef - who voices Rumi Hussein, "a hopeful 12-year-old boy with a big imagination"; and Hussein Hussein, "Rumi and Mona's dad, a former cardiothoracic surgeon who now runs a halal cart" - will also executive produce alongside Pam Brady, Mona Chalabi and Josh Rabinowitz. (Variety.com)
WE WERE THE LUCKY ONES (Hulu) - Ido Samuel and Lihi Kornowski will both recur on the limited series. The former is Isaac: "A loyal friend, he tries to help Mila (Hadas Yaron) and her young daughter Felicia escape the ghetto, but his effectiveness - and his relationship with the Kurc family - is painfully tested by his role in the Jewish Police." And Kornowski will play Eliska: "Young, wealthy and beautiful, she meets Addy (Logan Lerman) on a ship carrying refugees attempting to escape the Nazis." (Deadline.com)





  [january 2023]  
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· #1 HAPPY FAMILY USA (AMAZON)
· CHANNEL SURF WITH CRAIG FERGUSON (SYNDICATION)
· CLIPPED (FX ON HULU)
· CROSS (AMAZON)
· DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN (DISNEY PLUS)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· HEADLINERS WITH RACHEL NICHOLS (SHOWTIME)
· INTERIOR CHINATOWN (HULU)
· LINCOLN LAWYER, THE (NETFLIX)
· LOIS & VARGA (AMAZON)
· MIDCOAST, THE (HULU)
· NCIS: LOS ANGELES (CBS)
· NIGHT COURT (NBC)
· PUBLIC DEFENDERS (ABC)
· SEVEN DEATHS OF EVELYN HARDCASTLE, THE (NETFLIX)
· WE WERE THE LUCKY ONES (HULU)





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