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[05/17/24 - 11:41 PM]
Development Update: Week of May 13-17
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!


007: ROAD TO A MILLION (Amazon) - Brian Cox has closed a deal to return as The Controller for the show's expected second season. (Deadline.com, 5/15)
12 12 12 (Apple TV+, New!) - Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan are attached to star in a proposed drama at the streamer which follows "a disgraced FBI agent (Mackie) and an American career criminal (Dornan) who play a zero-sum game of cat and mouse across Europe. At the center of it all is the daring, epic raid on a bank vault deep beneath the streets of Zurich." The series will take place across three timelines - the 12 months prior to the heist, the 12 hours of the heist, and the 12 days after. Writers Dudi Appleton and Jim Keeble and director Kari Skogland are behind the project, which is "nearing a series order." Dornan, Mackie, Jason Spire, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Matt Thunell also executive producing for Make It With Gravy, Inspire Entertainment, Skydance Television and Anonymous Content. (Variety.com, 5/15)
9-1-1 (ABC) - A crew member on the series "died on Saturday in a freeway accident following a 14-hour shift." "On behalf of the studio and everyone at 9-1-1, we send our sincere and deepest condolences to Rico Priem's family and friends," a spokesperson for 20th Television said in a statement. "We are fully committed to the safety and the well-being of all our members and express our heartfelt condolences to the member's family," IATSE said in a statement. "Workers have a reasonable expectation that they can get to work and come home safely. No one should be put in unsafe circumstances while trying to earn a living." (Deadline.com, 5/13)
CHICKEN SISTERS, THE (Hallmark Channel, New!) - Schuyler Fisk, Genevieve Angelson, Lea Thompson and Wendie Malick are set to star in a new drama at the network based on the novel by KJ Dell'Antonia "set in the fictional town of Merinac, where a generations-old rift between dueling fried chicken restaurants - Mimi's and Frannie's - has left the founders' families fractured and the locals taking sides." When a popular cooking show comes to town, things get more complicated as sparks begin to fly and secrets are uncovered." Annie Mebane is spearheading the eight-episode series for MarVista Entertainment, Lighthouse Pictures and Busy B Entertainment. Bradley Gardner, Larry Grimaldi, Ani Kevork, Hannah Pillemer, Fernando Szew, Shawn Williamson and Jamie Goehring will also executive produce. (Variety.com, 5/13)
DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN/IRONHEART (Disney+) - Marvel Studios has indicated the former is now targeted for a March 2025 with the latter also coming in 2025. (Deadline.com, 5/14)
DOCTOR ODYSSEY/FEUD/GROTESQUERIE/UNTITLED KIM KARDASHIAN PROJECT (Various) - Jon Robin Baitz has signed an overall deal with 20th Television believed to be for five years. The pact will cover his duties on the aforementioned series, all of which hail from the studio-based Ryan Murphy Productions, as well as any future development. (Deadline.com, 5/13)
DUNE: PROPHECY (Max) - Jessica Barden, Jihae and Tabu have all landed roles on the prequel series. Barden will play Young Valya Harkonnen, "ambitious, stubborn and forceful. Young Valya Harkonnen dreams of restoring her family's noble status. When a tragedy shatters her plans for the future, she finds herself on a new path that leads to the Sisterhood." Jihae then is Reverend Mother Kasha, "the Emperor's own Truthsayer and confidant. Reverend Mother Kasha occupies a position of great influence in the Imperium. But when a new challenge leads her to question the Sisterhood's intentions, she finds her role increasingly difficult to navigate." And Tabu is Sister Francesca, "strong, intelligent, and alluring, Sister Francesca leaves a lasting impression in her wake. Once a great love of the Emperor, her return to the palace strains the balance of power in the capital." (Variety.com, 5/15)
FBI/FBI: MOST WANTED (CBS) - Series reglars on both series "will have their minimum guarantees trimmed by 2 episodes next season" as part of cost-cutting moves. The report states: "For the upcoming 22-episode seasons of FBI and FBI: Most Wanted, series regulars will be "guaranteed" payment for 20 episodes, which means that the producers likely will use them in that many in order to utilize the savings because actors will have to be paid extra for additional installments." (Deadline.com, 5/17)
FOREVER, INTERRUPTED (Netflix, New!) - Laura Dern and Margaret Qualley are set to star in and executive produce a limited series at the streamer based on the novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid: "In Forever, Interrupted, Elsie (Qualley) and Ben's whirlwind romance is electric - within months they're married and living happily ever after - when Ben's unexpected death forces Elsie to come face to face with Susan (Dern), the mother-in-law who doesn't know that she exists. Told through a dual timeline, the series recounts Elsie and Ben's once-in-a-lifetime love, intercut with Elsie and Susan's unexpected journey as their at first turbulent connection ultimately brings both women cathartic new beginnings." Julia Bicknell is spearheading the project for A24, Pacesetter Productions, Circle of Confusion, Jaywalker Pictures and I Understand Pictures with Reid, Brad Mendelsohn, Jayme Lemons, Brett Hedblom, Jessica Rhoades and Alison Mo Massey also slated to executive produce. (Deadline.com, 5/17)
FOUND (NBC) - Michael Cassidy will recur on the show's sophomore run as "a grief counselor with controversial ties to Gabi's past, who shows up to help in more ways than one." (Deadline.com, 5/15)
FRASIER (REBOOT SERIES) (Paramount+) - Amy Sedaris will guest on the new season as Dr. "Doc" Stathos, described as "a municipal therapist with a down home, scattered veneer. She works with the firefighters at Freddy's firehouse and is also a big, BIG fan of Frasier Crane from his old TV talk show." (Variety.com, 5/13)
FUBAR (Netflix) - Carrie-Anne Moss has signed onto the Arnold Schwarzenegger-led drama as Greta Nelso, "a former East German spy who has a passionate history with Luke Brunner (Schwarzenegger). After his last mission in saving another operative - who just so happened to be his daughter - he's back and face to face with new villains. This one is an old flame from Luke's past who threatens to destroy the world... if she doesn't destroy his life first." (Deadline.com, 5/13)
GEORGIE & MANDY'S FIRST MARRIAGE (CBS) - Will Sasso and Rachel Bay Jones will reprise their "Young Sheldon" roles of Jim and Audrey McAllister, Mandy's parents, as regulars in the spinoff series. (Deadline.com, 5/15)
GREY'S ANATOMY (ABC) - Jake Borelli's Levi Schmitt and Midori Francis's Mika Yasuda are both departing the medical drama after the current season. The actors however are in talks to return next season to wrap up the story of their characters. (Deadline.com, 5/13; Deadline.com, 5/15)
HARRY POTTER: WIZARDS OF BAKING (Food Network) - James and Oliver Phelps, who played Fred and George Weasley in the "Harry Potter" films, will host the newly announced competition series. (Variety.com, 5/15)
HUNTING PARTY, THE (NBC) - Josh McKenzie has been cast in the new drama as Shane Florence, described as "selfless, sincere and charismatic. Shane is a former soldier in Iraq and a prison guard at a highly classified facility." (Variety.com, 5/15)
MISTLETOE MURDERS (Hallmark Channel, New!) - Sarah Drew is set to topline and executive produce a new series for the cable channel: "When Emily isn't busy running her charming small-town Christmas-themed store, "Under the Mistletoe," she finds herself compelled to investigate local murders with the help of handsome local police detective and his teen daughter. On the surface, Emily is a perfectly lovely, good-natured mystery lover - but she is hiding a secret past that, if exposed, threatens to destroy the new life she has built in Fletcher's Grove." Writer Ken Cuperus, director Grant Harvey, Jocelyn Hamilton and Michelle Melanson are also among the executive producers for Entertainment One, Headspinner Productions and Lionsgate Television. (Deadline.com, 5/16)
NATALIA (A.K.A. UNTITLED ORPHAN PROJECT) (Hulu) - The Ellen Pompeo-limited series has been given a formal moniker. (Deadline.com, 5/14)
RAVEN'S HOME (Disney Channel) - Raven-Symoné's multi-camera comedy series will not return for a seventh season. Nevertheless, an Alice-centered spin-off has received a pilot order with Raven-Symoné set to direct and executive produce: "Alice in the Palace picks up when Alice (Mykal-Michelle Harris), Raven's young cousin, returns to England and reunites with Duchess Clementine (also portrayed by Harris), a young royal who looks exactly like her. In the process, Clementine gets a taste of the fun side of "normal" life, while Alice gets a taste of the finer side of "regal" life." Raven-Symoné's involvement is part of a new multi-year overall deal with Disney Branded Television. Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas will write the pilot for the spin-off and executive produce. (Deadline.com, 5/15)
SEX LIVES OF COLLEGE GIRLS, THE (Max) - Rebecca Wisocky will recur on the new season as Professor Dorfmann, "a professor at Essex College." (Deadline.com, 5/14)
SILK: SPIDER SOCIETY (MGM+) - The streamer has shuttered the proposed Spider-Man Universe series from Sony Pictures Television, which has been in the works since 2019. (Deadline.com, 5/16)
SPECIAL OPS: LIONESS (Paramount+) - Thad Luckinbill's Kyle will return as a regular for the show's second season. (Deadline.com, 5/17)
THIS BLEW UP (Netflix, New!) - Raw TV has reportedly landed a new five-part series at the streamer: "Each episode of This Blew Up will spotlight a successful company, individual, or event that fell from grace or spiraled out of control, with the linking factor being that the downfall was enabled or escalated by social media." No specific auspices however were given. (Deadline.com, 5/15)
UNTITLED HILTON & RICHIE PROJECT (Peacock, New!) - "The Simple Life" duo of Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie will reunite for a new reality series for the streamer. No specifics however were given. (Deadline.com, 5/13)
WATSON (CBS) - Peter Mark Kendall and Ritchie Coster have both been cast in the Morris Chestnut-led drama. The former will play twins Dr. Stephens Croft and Dr. Adam Croft: "Hailing from a privileged family in Pennsylvania, the Croft brothers are twins whose differences have been shaped by and because of each other. Stephens excelled in academics, graduating top of his class at Johns Hopkins Med, specializing in infectious diseases, while Adam excelled in athletics, until an injury led him to functional medicine at Boston University. Stephens is deeply independent and emotionally unavailable due to his workaholism, while Adam is endlessly charming, empathetic, and at his worst, needy. Despite their differences, and Stephens' attempt to carve out his own path apart from his brother, the twins end up working side-by-side in the Holmes Clinic." And Coster is Shinwell Johnson: "A reformed man, thanks to Sherlock Holmes, Shinwell has traveled back across the pond to serve alongside Dr. Watson as an Administrative Aide for the new clinic. Thanks to his seedier days, Shinwell has insights and connections that the rest of the team wouldn't otherwise have access to, and when push comes to shove, his 'coercive tactics' and brooding physical presence are very valuable assets. As long as he's on Watson's side we have nothing to fear. But are his loyalties unwavering? Or is there a game afoot?" (Variety.com, 5/14)





  [may 2024]  
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· 007: ROAD TO A MILLION (AMAZON)
· 12 12 12 (APPLE TV PLUS)
· 9-1-1 (ABC)
· ALICE IN THE PALACE (DISNEY)
· ALL'S FAIR (HULU)
· CHICKEN SISTERS, THE (HALLMARK PLUS)
· DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN (DISNEY PLUS)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· DOCTOR ODYSSEY (ABC)
· DUNE: PROPHECY (HBO)
· FBI (CBS)
· FBI: MOST WANTED (CBS)
· FEUD (FX)
· FOREVER, INTERRUPTED (NETFLIX)
· FOUND (NBC)
· FRASIER (REBOOT SERIES) (PARAMOUNT PLUS)
· FUBAR (NETFLIX)
· GEORGIE & MANDY'S FIRST MARRIAGE (CBS)
· GOOD AMERICAN FAMILY (HULU)
· GREY'S ANATOMY (ABC)
· GROTESQUERIE (FX)
· HARRY POTTER: WIZARDS OF BAKING (FOOD)
· HUNTING PARTY, THE (NBC)
· IRONHEART (DISNEY PLUS)
· MISTLETOE MURDERS (HALLMARK PLUS)
· PARIS & NICOLE: THE ENCORE (PEACOCK)
· RAVEN'S HOME (DISNEY)
· SEX LIVES OF COLLEGE GIRLS, THE (MAX)
· SILK: SPIDER SOCIETY (MGM PLUS)
· SPECIAL OPS: LIONESS (PARAMOUNT PLUS)
· THIS BLEW UP (NETFLIX)
· WATSON (CBS)
· YOUNG SHELDON (CBS)





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