or


[09/27/05 - 12:00 AM]
Development Update: September 26-27
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 newly revamped "Series in Development" charts. Visitors can now filter our listings by network, genre and even development stage (ordered to pilot, cast-contingent, script, etc.). It's updated every day!

ASPEN/THE FABULOUS BAKKER BOY/SECRET LIVES (A&E, New!) - The life of unconventional minister Jamie Bakker, the lives of those who work and play at a small resort town and the lives of those who live double-lives and want to come clean are set to be the focus of three new reality pilots recently ordered by the cable channel. The former, entitled "The Fabulous Bakker Boy," will track the son of Tammy Faye and his efforts with Revolution Ministries, a church dedicated to reaching out to those who were turned off or away by more traditional congregations. World of Wonder is behind the project, with its principals Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato executive producing. Next up is "Aspen," from Stone & Co. Entertainment, which focuses on the tourists and year-round residents who work and play in the small resort town. And the latter is "Secret Lives," a one-hour project which tracks men and women who want to come clean to their friends and loved ones about the double lives they've been leading. Among the subjects: a bigamist raising families in neighboring towns and a woman who's lived her whole life as a man. Meg TV (A&E's "Sports Wives") is behind "Lives," which is being targeted as a companion to the second season of "Intervention."

CLASS ACTION (NBC, New!) - Erin Brockovich is spearheading a new legal drama at the Peacock from feature writers Mark Gibson and Phil Halprin ("Coach Snoop"). The project, which comes from Gina Matthews and Grant Scharbo's 20th Century Fox Television-based Roundtable Ink, tracks a team of high-powered lawyers - not all of whom have the most altruistic intentions - in the morally vague world of class-action lawsuits. NBC has made a script commitment to the project with a six-figure penalty if it doesn't go to pilot. Brockovich, Gibson, Halprin, Matthews and Scharbo then will all serve as executive producers.

CRIMINAL MINDS (CBS) - Feature director Richard Shepard ("The Matador"), who helmed the pilot to the Mandy Patinkin-led drama, has signed a talent holding deal with Touchstone Television. The pact calls for Shepard to direct at least one pilot for the studio, mostly likely targeted for the 2006-07 season.

MADE IN THE U.S.A. (USA) - The cable channel's latest reality offering has been bumped out of primetime following its disastrous 793,000-viewer showing last week. "Made" opened to 1.1 million viewers on Wednesday, September 14 with last week's performance marking a 27.91% drop from its lackluster premiere numbers. Even more troubling was its 63% drop in audience from its "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" lead-in that same night. The remaining episodes will now run on Thursdays at 6:00/5:00c beginning September 29 with the finale set for October 13 - one week earlier than previously indicated.

THE MAN SHOW (Comedy Central) - Videogame channel G4 has purchased the repeat rights to all 104 episodes of the one-time Comedy Central staple. The non-exclusive pact with distributors Debmar Studios and Mercury Entertainment, valued at $7.8 million, marks the largest in the network's history. Back-to-back episodes are scheduled to run weeknights at 10:00/9:00c beginning October 10 as a lead-in to "X-Play." G4 executives hope the addition of "The Man Show," as well as recently acquisition "Fastlane," will help propel the niche network beyond its sub-50,000 household viewership in primetime.

MTV ORIGINAL SERIES (MTV) - The cable channel has revised a few of its upcoming premiere and finale dates. Among them: "Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County" will now run through Monday, November 7, two weeks later than previously indicated. Said move will bump the launch of "The Real World/Road Rules Challenge's" latest season to November 14. Also in November look for "The Real World's" latest edition to wrap on November 22 (with a reunion special on November 29) while lead-out "The Reality Show" is set to close on November 15.

OVER THERE (FX) - Uber-producer Steven Bochco has signed a three-year overall deal with Touchstone Television. The deal marks an end to his stay at Paramount Network Television, where his Steven Bochco Productions had been based for the past five years. Bochco will take all three of his current projects - a legal drama (with Chris Gerolmo) and a baseball comedy (with Mitchel Katlin and Nat Bernstein) at FOX as well as a cop drama at the WB - with him to Touchstone as part of the pact. It's also understood Bochco has a fourth project in the works for ABC however no details were specified.

PASADENA (FOX) - SoapNet's off-network run of the short-lived FOX series is set to begin this Saturday (October 1) at 6:00/5:00c. Episodes will encore at 9:00/8:00c that same night.

THE SHIELD (FX) - Forest Whitaker ("The Twilight Zone") is set to join the cast of the veteran cable drama when it returns for its fifth season in January. He'll play Detective Jon Kavanaugh, an ambitious newcomer to the Los Angeles Police Department's Internal Affairs division who is tasked with investigating Michael Chiklis's character and his team. No other details, such as the number of episodes he'll appear in, were given.

SONS & DAUGHTERS (ABC) - Co-creators Nick Holly and Fred Goss have signed a two-year overall deal with Touchstone Television. The pact calls for the duo to develop new projects for the studio along the lines of their midseason comedy for ABC. Said project comes from NBC Universal Television and Broadway Video Television.

UNTITLED AL ROKER PROJECT (NBC, New!) - "Today's" Al Roker and his self-titled production banner have inked a deal with the Peacock to produce a family-oriented sitcom for the network. Roker reportedly will write and executive produce - but not star in - the project, full details of which weren't given. In addition to his "Today" gig, Roker currently produces and hosts Food Network's "Roker on the Road" and Court TV's "Al Roker Investigates" among other projects. Lisa Sharkey ("Good Morning America"), Roker's company head, will likely also serve as an executive producer of the NBC project.

UNTITLED ROSIE PEREZ PROJECT (FOX, New!) - Rosie Perez ("Lackawanna Blues") has inked a one-year talent holding deal with the network. The pact calls for FOX to cast the actress, who is said to have been pursued by several networks during the past few months, in one of its upcoming projects or develop one around her, most likely a comedy.

Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [september 2005]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· ASPEN (A AND E)
· CHALLENGE, THE (MTV)
· CLASS ACTION (NBC)
· CRIMINAL MINDS (CBS)
· FABULOUS BAKKER BOY, THE (A AND E)
· FASTLANE (FOX)
· INTERVENTION (A AND E)
· LACKAWANNA BLUES (HBO)
· LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT (NBC)
· MADE IN THE USA (USA)
· MAN SHOW, THE (COMEDY CENTRAL)
· MEET THE ROKERS (NBC)
· NEWPORT HARBOR: THE REAL ORANGE COUNTY (MTV)
· OVER THERE (FX)
· PASADENA (FOX)
· REAL WORLD, THE (FACEBOOK)
· REALITY SHOW, THE (MTV)
· SECRET LIVES (A AND E)
· SHIELD, THE (FX)
· SONS & DAUGHTERS (ABC)
· TWILIGHT ZONE, THE (UPN)
· UNTITLED KATLIN & BERNSTEIN PROJECT (FOX)
· UNTITLED ROSIE PEREZ PROJECT (FOX)
· UNTITLED STEVEN BOCHCO PROJECT (WB)
· UNTITLED STEVEN BOCHCO PROJECT (FOX)





[05/04/24 - 08:30 AM]
NBC Sports and Churchill Downs Extend Historic Partnership, Kentucky Derby to Be Presented on NBC and Peacock Through 2032
This year's 150th "Run for the Roses" is today at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.

[05/04/24 - 08:00 AM]
Video: Disney+ Celebrates Star Wars Day With Debut of New Trailer & Poster for Upcoming Star Wars Series "The Acolyte"
The thrilling, suspenseful live-action series launches on Tuesday, June 4, with the first two episodes, exclusively on Disney+.

[05/03/24 - 07:41 PM]
Video: "The Boys" Explosive Season Four Official Trailer Revealed at CCXP Mexico
The fourth season will premiere on June 13 with three episodes, followed by a new episode each week, ending with the epic season finale on Thursday, July 18.

[05/03/24 - 12:02 PM]
ABC Announces Summer 2024 Premiere Dates as the Network Leads the Season as No. 1 in Entertainment for the Fifth Consecutive Year
Highlights include: "Celebrity Family Feud" celebrates 100 episodes and its 10th anniversary, beginning Tuesday, July 9.

[05/03/24 - 11:01 AM]
NBC Renews Comedy Series "Night Court" for a Third Season
The second season, executive produced by Dan Rubin, Melissa Rauch, Winston Rauch and John Larroquette, has reached 24 million total viewers across linear and digital platforms to date.

[05/03/24 - 10:29 AM]
TLC's Teen Pregnancy Series "Unexpected" Returns on Monday, June 3 at 9PM ET/PT
This season features three new couples and two returning that each have unique experiences and obstacles as young, expecting parents.

[05/03/24 - 09:56 AM]
New Season of "Gold Rush: Parker's Trail" Premieres on Discovery Channel on May 31
After becoming the biggest landowner in the Yukon, Parker no longer needs to focus on finding ground urgently, but his pioneering spirit remains and he has set his eyes on Brazil: the biggest gold frontier on earth and the center of a raging modern battle between government forces and miners.

[05/03/24 - 09:32 AM]
Paramount+ Reveals First Look at New Season of "Criminal Minds: Evolution," Premiering with Two Episodes on Thursday, June 6
The first two episodes will be available to stream at launch with subsequent new episodes dropping weekly on Thursdays.

[05/03/24 - 07:23 AM]
Video: "Raising Voices" - Official Trailer - Netflix Spain
When a 17-year-old reports a sexual assault at her high school, an investigation upends her life and tests her relationships.

[05/03/24 - 06:01 AM]
Video: "Emily in Paris" Season 4 - Official Announcement - Netflix
Season 4 will be split into two 5-episode parts, with Part 1 premiering on August 15, followed by Part 2 on September 12.

[05/03/24 - 12:01 AM]
Video: "Thank You, Next" - Official Trailer - Netflix
After a painful breakup, a young lawyer dives head first into the confusing world of modern dating, with the unwavering support of her best friends.

[05/02/24 - 03:49 PM]
Captain Lee Rosbach Reveals Calm Waters Can Turn Deceptively Sinister with New Oxygen Series "Deadly Waters with Captain Lee," Premiering Saturday, June 1 at 9 P.M. ET/PT
The series exposes the wicked intentions of those who thought committing crimes on the water would shield them from justice.

[05/02/24 - 03:45 PM]
"American Idol" Is the No. 1 Entertainment Program of the Night in Adults 18-49 for Second Week of Live Coast-to-Coast Telecasts
The show reached season highs in week 2 of live, coast-to-coast telecasts in Total Viewers (5.31 million) and Adults 18-49 (0.64 rating) on Sunday night with its strongest numbers since last season's finale.

[05/02/24 - 02:11 PM]
Video: "Uncle Samsik" - Official Trailer - Hulu
Uncle Samsik introduces himself to Kim San as the one who can turn his world around - promising that he can make any dream a reality.

[05/02/24 - 12:45 PM]
CBS Announces Its 2024-2025 Primetime Schedule
New scripted series "Matlock," "Poppa's House," "NCIS: Origins" and "Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage" join 18 returning shows.