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!
THE BIONIC WOMAN (NBC) - Michelle Ryan ("EastEnders") has been cast in the lead role of the drama pilot, a re-imagination of the 1970s series. She'll play Jaime Sommers, a bright woman who is transformed into a technological wonder with $50 million worth of bionic components implanted in her body.
Commitment: Ordered to pilot
Cast: Michelle Ryan (Jaime Sommers)
Writer: Laeta Kalogridis
Director: Michael Dinner
Executive Producers: David Eick, Laeta Kalogridis
Studio: NBC Universal Television
BURN NOTICE (USA) - The cable channel has reportedly given a series order to the drama pilot, about an ousted secret agent (Jeffrey Donovan) who goes into business for himself as a private eye, using his special training to help people who can't go to the police and to search for the bad guys who ordered his career ended. It's understood USA is eying the series for a June bow, using its upcoming mini-series "The Starter Wife" to hype its premiere. No specific episode order was mentioned.
Commitment: Ordered to series
Cast: Bruce Campbell, Gabrielle Anwar, Jeffrey Donovan (Michael Weston), Sharon Gless
Writer: Matt Nix
Director: Jace Alexander
Executive Producers: Mikkel Bondesen (Fuse Entertainment)
Co-Executive Producer: Matt Nix
Producer: Michael J. Wilson
Studio: Fox Television Studios
FORT PIT (NBC) - Elias Koteas ("Zodiac") is the latest addition to the drama pilot, about one of the worst police precincts in Brooklyn, New York. He's set as Jack Cade, who's described in the casting notice as follows: "36-45. This fit and trim police veteran can still run an eight minute mile and bench press 300 pounds. A legend on the police force, Cade operates out of the infamous 74th precinct as if it were his own private fiefdom, cutting through red tape and standard operating procedures as if they were so much garbage to be ignored. Needless to say, Cade's maverick methods put him at immediate odds with the idealistic young Bonelli, whose respect for authority contrasts violently with Cade's own iconoclasm. Just who will prevail in this battle of wills, wits and methods remains an open question."
Commitment: Ordered to pilot
Cast: Dania Ramirez (Angela Hardwick), David Call (Don Van Ness), Elias Koteas (Jack Cade), James Badge Dale (Bobby Bonelli), Michael Rispoli (Sgt. Jim Wesson)
Writers: Michael Chernuchin, Peter Tolan
Director: Peter Tolan
Executive Producers: Denis Leary (Apostle Productions), Jim Serpico (Apostle Productions), Michael Chernuchin, Peter Tolan
Producers: Lou DiGiamo, Robert Cea
Studio: Sony Pictures Television
JUDY'S GOT A GUN (ABC) - Matt Lanter ("Heroes") has booked a role on the drama pilot, about a suburban woman (Louise Lombard) who balances being a single mother with being a detective investigating suburban crimes. He'll play Isaac Prentice, who's detailed in the casting notice as: "Early-Mid 20s, but must believably look high school age. An undercover narc posing as a high school age kid on academic probation, he's "a food court James Dean; bad boy sexy." Isaac is pursued by Maya and Patrick, who want to question him about some internet porn; however, when they physically bring him down, they learn to their chagrin that he's actually an undercover narc. Unfazed by their error, Isaac makes it quite clear he's interested in Maya and gives them a valuable clue for their case."
Commitment: Ordered to pilot
Cast: Colm Feore (Captain Ruttgauer), Louise Lombard (Judy Lemen), Margo Harshman (Maya Spektor), Matt Lanter (Isaac Prentice), Michael Michele (Pamela Coates), Steve Sandvoss (Patrick)
Writers: Michelle King, Robert King
Director: Sheree Folkson
Executive Producers: Michelle King, Robert King, Stu Bloomberg (Cabloom!)
Studio: ABC Television Studio
KATH & KIM (NBC) - The Peacock has pushed production the pilot, about a divorced mother and her miserable daughter who live together in the suburbs, to the summer. No reason was given for the move.
Commitment: Ordered to pilot
Cast: TBA
Writer: Nancy Pimental
Director: TBA
Executive Producers: Ben Silverman (Reveille), Nancy Pimental
Studio: NBC Universal Television Studio
NEW AMSTERDAM (FOX) - Zuleikha Robinson ("Rome") and Alexis Gilmore have both scored roles in the drama pilot, about a man (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) cursed with immortality who works as a homicide detective in New York. No details were given about their respective characters.
Commitment: Ordered to pilot
Cast: Alexis Gilmore, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (John Amsterdam), Zuleikha Robinson
Writers: Allan Loeb, Christian Taylor
Director: Lasse Hallstrom
Executive Producers: Allan Loeb (Scarlet Fire Productions), Christian Taylor, David Mason (Sarabande Productions), Lasse Hallstrom (Laha Films), Leslie Holleran (Laha Films), Steven Pearl (Scarlet Fire Productions)
Studio: Regency Television
PROTECT & SERVE (CBS) - Steve Harris ("Heist") has joined the cast of the drama pilot, about the lives of street cops in suburban Los Angeles. He'll play one of them, a seasoned cop who is physically imposing but not that fit.
Commitment: Ordered to pilot
Cast: Eric Balfour, Monica Potter, Steve Harris
Writers: Mark Gibson, Philip Halprin
Director: TBA
Executive Producers: Gary Scott Thompson, Mark Gibson, Philip Halprin
Studio: NBC Universal Television Studio
TO LOVE AND DIE IN L.A. (USA) - The cable channel has asked for several additional scripts for the drama project, about a young woman (Shiri Appleby) with abandonment issues who finds a new career path after she tracks down her father, a contract killer. Said scripts will keep the pilot under consideration until later this year.
Commitment: Ordered to pilot (90 minutes)
Cast: Frances Fisher (Janet), Ivan Sergei (Blue), Shiri Appleby, Tim Matheson
Writer: Sara Goodman
Director:
Executive Producers: David Kanter, JoAnn Alfano (Broadway Video Television), Lorne Michaels (Broadway Video Television)
Co-Executive Producer: Sara Goodman
Producer: Andrew Singer
Studio: NBC Universal Television Studio
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
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