or


[04/27/07 - 05:04 PM]
Development Update: Week of April 23-27
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 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!


ANDY BARKER, P.I. (NBC) - Jonathan Groff, the co-creator of the short-lived comedy, has inked a two-year overall deal with 20th Century Fox Television. The pact, which has an option for a third year, calls for the writer/producer to create new series projects for the studio.


BROTHERHOOD (Showtime) - Tony winner Brian F. O'Byrne ("Frozen") has joined the cast of the pay channel drama, which returns for its second season this fall. He'll play Colin Carr, a charming but ruthless cousin of Jason Isaacs and Jason Clarke's characters who comes from Ireland to Providence and gets involved in the former's criminal world.


FAMILY GUY (FOX) - Twentieth Television has upped the show's off-network clearance to local stations covering 90% of the country. KBCW/KPIX San Francisco-Oakland, WMOR Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida, KSAZ/KUTP Phoenix, KMSP/WFTC Minneapolis-St. Paul, WUAB/WOIO Cleveland, WOFL/WFTC Orlando-Daytona Beach, WPGH/WCWB Pittsburgh and KMCI/KSHB Kansas City, Missouri were among the latest stations to sign on to carry the series, which begins its syndicated run this fall. In total, "Guy" was been cleared in 150 markets, including 24 of the top 25.


GREY'S ANATOMY/PRIVATE PRACTICE (ABC) - Krista Vernoff and Marti Noxon has been tapped as the day-to-day showrunners of "Grey's Anatomy" and "Private Practice" respectively next season. Said appointments come as creator Shonda Rhimes preps for the expected series order for the latter series, the backdoor pilot of which airs next week.


LAW & ORDER (NBC) - Chris Levinson, a co-executive producer on the flagship series, has inked a two-year overall deal with NBC Universal Television. The pact calls for the writer/producer to develop new series projects for the studio, regardless of "Law & Order's" fate.


LEVEL NINE (UPN) - Sci Fi's off-network run of the short-lived UPN drama is set to begin Friday, June 1 at 7:00/6:00c. The cable channel purchased the broadcast rights to the series last year (read the story) as part of its deal with CBS Paramount Domestic Television for "Star Trek: Enterprise."


LIFETIME ORIGINAL SERIES (Lifetime) - The cable channel has detailed its full 2007-08 season development slate (read the story), which includes a half-dozen scripted series as well as a handful of unscripted projects and original movies. The scripted efforts are: "Burnt Toast," an adaptation of Teri Hatcher's memoir of the same name from "Reba" creator Allison Gibson and the ABC Television Studio; "Chambermaid," about a law school grad who clerks for a power-hungry judge from Paula Weinstein ("Blood Diamond") and Jeffrey Levine ("Monster-in-Law"); "Bailey Weggins," a small screen take on the series of mystery novels about a recently divorced investigative reporter by Cosmo editor-in-chief Kate White from Lionsgate Television and executive producers Lawrence Bender, Kevin Brown and Rick Copp ("The Brady Bunch Movie"); "Lovely and Talented," about a woman who opens an adult-education class for women trying to attain stardom from executive producer Denise Di Novi and creator/co-executive producer Eileen Walls; and "Mile High," an adaptation of a British series about an airline crew of the same name from executive producer Jill Condon ("Friends") and original series creator Jane Hewland for the ABC Television Studio. The quintet joins the previously announced "The Madness of Jane" (previously "Ava"), starring Ever Carradine, the pilot of which is close to wrapping post-production.

On the unscripted front, pilot orders have been issued to "Judgment Day," a popularity contest from Fox Television Studios, and "America's Psychic Challenge," which pits psychics against each other, from Bunim-Murray Productions ("The Real World"). Also in the works are "Going for Broke," from Reveille ("The Biggest Loser") and Super Delicious ("MTV's '70s House"), a competition series where women in financial trouble battle to have their debt forgiven, as well as the previously announced "How to Look Good Naked," hosted by "Queer Eye" alum Carson Kressley from RDF Media. As for its signature - original movies - Lifetime is developing everything from "House of Hilton," a biopic of the Hilton family's rise from poverty to immense wealth; to "Victoria Woodhull," about the story of the woman who in 1872 ran for president even though women didn't have the right to vote; to "Custody of the Heart," a movie about a custody battle between the stepfather and birth father of a 13-year-old girl. Telefilm gurus Howard Braunstein and Michael Jaffe are behind both "Hilton" and "Heart," the former of which will use Jerry Oppenheimer's book as a basis. Barbara Lieberman ("Murder in the Hamptons") and Robert Greenwald ("Beach Girls") then are shepherding "Woodhull" alongside Agatha Dominik, John Crutchfield, Arlene and Irving Sorkin ("Something the Lord Made").


THE O.C. (FOX) - Writer/producer John Stephens has signed a six-figure, two-script deal with the show's producer Warner Bros. Television. The pact calls for Stephens to pen two original scripts for the studio.


OCTOBER ROAD (ABC) - Co-stars Lindy Booth and Rebecca Field are set to be upped to series regulars should "Road" return for a second season. It's understood said decision was made to keep the actors from testing for other pilots this season, a solid sign the show is on track to return in the fall.


Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [april 2007]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S


· '70S HOUSE, THE (MTV)
· AMERICA'S PSYCHIC CHALLENGE (LIFETIME)
· ANDY BARKER, PI (NBC)
· BAILEY WEGGINS (LIFETIME)
· BEACH GIRLS (LIFETIME)
· BIGGEST LOSER, THE (USA)
· BROTHERHOOD (SHOWTIME)
· BURNT TOAST (LIFETIME)
· CHAMBERMAID (LIFETIME)
· CUSTODY OF THE HEART (LIFETIME)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· FAMILY GUY (FOX)
· FRIENDS (NBC)
· GOING FOR BROKE (LIFETIME)
· GREY'S ANATOMY (ABC)
· HOUSE OF HILTON (LIFETIME)
· HOW TO LOOK GOOD NAKED (LIFETIME)
· JUDGMENT DAY (LIFETIME)
· LAW & ORDER (NBC)
· LEVEL NINE (UPN)
· LOVELY & TALENTED (LIFETIME)
· MADNESS OF JANE, THE (LIFETIME)
· MILE HIGH (LIFETIME)
· MILE HIGH (BBC AMERICA)
· MURDER IN THE HAMPTONS (LIFETIME)
· OC, THE (FOX)
· OCTOBER ROAD (ABC)
· PRIVATE PRACTICE (ABC)
· QUEER EYE (BRAVO)
· REAL WORLD, THE (FACEBOOK)
· REBA (CW)
· SOMETHING THE LORD MADE (HBO)
· STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE (UPN)
· VICTORIA WOODHILL (LIFETIME)
· WIFE SWAP (PARAMOUNT)





[04/19/24 - 01:30 PM]
Earth Day 2024 Marked by Unprecedented Content Rollout Across Disney+, Hulu and Disney Entertainment Television to Celebrate the Wonders of ourHOME
Beginning April 19 through April 22, Earth Day-themed content will be spotlighted across ABC News, Disney+, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Freeform, FX, FXX, Hulu, National Geographic, Nat Geo WILD and Nat Geo Mundo, with ourHOME collections on Disney+ and Hulu.

[04/19/24 - 01:00 PM]
CBS Celebrates 33 Nominations for the "51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards," Airing Live, June 7 on CBS
"The Young and the Restless" and "The Bold And The Beautiful" each received 12 nominations, and "The Talk" received two nominations with the hosts nominated for Outstanding Daytime Talk Series Host.

[04/19/24 - 12:09 PM]
All-New Docuseries "Expedition from Hell: The Lost Tapes" Premieres Sunday, May 12 on Discovery Channel
The series unfolds a stranger-than-fiction story of Mickey Grosman, a former special forces demolitions expert who took a group of amateur adventurers on a nearly impossible journey across South America.

[04/19/24 - 09:00 AM]
"The Iron Claw" Begins Streaming on Max May 10
The film stars Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson, Stanley Simons, Maura Tierney, with Holt McCallany and Lily James.

[04/19/24 - 09:00 AM]
National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) Announces 2024 Daytime Emmy Nominations
The Lifetime Achievement honorees, hosts, presenters, Silver and Gold Circle honorees and telecast categories will be announced at a later date.

[04/19/24 - 08:01 AM]
Video: "Katt Williams: Woke Foke" - Official Trailer - Netflix
Comedian Katt Williams lets loose in real time as he hits the stage on May 4 for Netflix's second livestreamed stand-up event.

[04/19/24 - 07:04 AM]
Video: Prime Video Releases Official Trailer for "Maxton Hall - The World Between Us"
Produced by UFA Fiction, the German series tells the modern love story of James Beaufort and Ruby Bell, an upper-class boy and a working-class girl in a world of glamor, prestige, secrets, and drama.

[04/19/24 - 06:45 AM]
ESPN Delivered Top Two Most-Watched SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament Eastern Conference Games Ever on April 17
The 76ers 105-104 victory over the Heat averaged 3,403,000 viewers, peaking with 5,490,000 viewers at 9:30 p.m. ET.

[04/19/24 - 06:00 AM]
Video: "Welcome to Wrexham" - Season 3 Official Trailer - FX
The Emmy award-winning series returns May 2 on FX.

[04/18/24 - 05:01 PM]
Video: First Look at Season 2 of "Gordon Ramsay's Food Stars" Premiering Wednesday, May 22, on FOX
Gordon Ramsay and Lisa Vanderpump each bring their expert knowledge and unique leadership styles to the second season of the competition series.

[04/18/24 - 04:09 PM]
"Fallout" Has a Blast of a Debut: Amazon MGM Studios and Kilter Films' Hit Series to Return for Season Two
In its first four days, the high-octane fueled series has become a hit with its global audience, ranking among the service's top three most-watched titles ever and the most-watched season globally since "Rings of Power."

[04/18/24 - 04:01 PM]
Netflix Announces Production of "Last Samurai Standing": An Epic Battle Royale for Survival in Historic Japan
Based on the novel "Ikusagami" by Shogo Imamura, winner of the 166th Naoki Prize in 2021, the series features the multi-talented Junichi Okada in the lead role.

[04/18/24 - 01:31 PM]
"Call Me Country: Beyonce & Nashville's Renaissance" from CNN FlashDocs Comes to Max April 26
As Beyoncé recently became the first Black woman to ever top Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, a larger conversation about what defines country music has exploded into the zeitgeist.

[04/18/24 - 11:59 AM]
Starz Releases First-Look Photos for the Highly Anticipated Fourth and Final Season of "Power Book II: Ghost"
Additionally, Golden Brooks will join the upcoming season in a recurring role as Janet Stewart, Monet Tejada's cousin.

[04/18/24 - 11:33 AM]
New TLC Medical Series "Botched Bariatrics" Premiering on Wednesday, May 15th
The new medical transformation series features patients whose lives have been turned upside down after suffering complications from their bariatric surgery.