or


[04/22/08 - 05:10 PM]
Development Update: Tuesday, April 22
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!


THE GLASS SEAGULL (Hallmark, New!) - Lesley Ann Warren and Meredith Baxter are set to topline a new original movie for the cable channel about two lifelong friends struggling with the news that one has cancer. Said event forces one friend (Baxter) to make a decision over whether to tell her daughter she is really the daughter of the other (Warren), a Broadway star. David Cass Sr. is directing the project from a script by Darrell V. Orme Mann. Production is underway for a spring 2009 premiere with Larry Levinson, Randy Pope, Dan Gross and Michael Moran serving as executive producers and Lincoln Lageson and Traceigh Scottell producing.


MY NAME IS EARL (NBC) - Danielle Sanchez-Witzel, a supervising producer on the series, has inked a two-year, seven-figure overall deal with Universal Media Studios. During the first year of the pact, Sanchez-Witzel will be loaned out to the 20th Century Fox Television-produced "Earl," where she'll be upped to co-executive producer next season. Additionally, she'll develop new series projects for the studio.


THE PHILANTHROPIST (NBC) - Executive producer Tom Fontana has departed the upcoming drama, which received a blind series commitment back in September. Fontana's exit is reportedly due to creative differences with the network over the show's direction. The Universal Media Studios-based project centers on a renegade billionaire who uses his wealth, connections and power to help people in need no matter what the risks or costs. Fontana penned the pilot script based on an idea by Original Media's Charlie Corwin. It's understood Fontana wanted to focus on social issues as immigration, drug addiction and the use of children soldiers in parts of world, while the network was looking for a more escapist and fantastical approach. In any case, the search is underway for a new showrunner. Fontana's producing partner Barry Levinson is also departing, leaving Corwin as the sole executive producer for the time being. It's not clear if the network plans to thrown out any of the show's six completed scripts.


THE WENDY WILLIAMS SHOW (Syndication) - Debmar-Mercury is set to launch a test run of the talk show in four markets beginning July 14. The participating stations - WNYW New York, KTTV Los Angeles, KDFW Dallas and WJBK Detroit, all Fox owned-and-operated - will carry a six-week, 30-episode run of the show with an eye toward a nationwide rollout in the fall of 2009. In addition, Rob Dauber ("Martha") has been tapped to co-executive produce the New York-based series - which will feature Williams's commentary on celebrity gossip and news events, as well as interviews, fashion and advice segments - alongside Williams and her husband/manager Kevin Hunter. Said stations will pay an unspecified cash license fee as well as hand over four minutes of ad time for national ad sales by Debmar-Mercury.


Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [april 2008]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
  


· BOUND BY A SECRET (HALLMARK)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· MARTHA (HALLMARK)
· MY NAME IS EARL (NBC)
· PHILANTHROPIST, THE (NBC)
· WENDY WILLIAMS SHOW, THE (SYNDICATION)





[04/30/24 - 02:32 PM]
Roku Reimagines "Tightrope!" Into Comedy Series Fronted by Ty Burrell and Executive Produced by Bryan Cranston
Through reimagined dialogue and a new lead actor in Ty Burrell, "Tightrope!" reshapes the drama of the vintage 1950s series into a slapstick comedy, where Burrell plays a lone wolf detective following cases city to city, while he searches for his long-lost love who got away.

[04/30/24 - 01:01 PM]
"Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in All Key Target Demos vs. NBC and CBS
Season to date, "Nightline" is growing versus the comparable weeks last season in Total Viewers (916,000 vs. 914,000), posting its largest overall audience in 3 years.

[04/30/24 - 12:30 PM]
HBO Original Comedy Series "Fantasmas" Debuts This June
The six-episode season is created, directed, and written by Julio Torres.

[04/30/24 - 11:32 AM]
Season Four of "Couples Therapy" to Premiere Friday, May 31
Nine episodes will drop for binge-viewing on Friday, May 31 on streaming and on-demand for Paramount+ subscribers with the Paramount+ with Showtime plan before episodes 401 and 402 debut on air on Sunday, June 2.

[04/30/24 - 11:04 AM]
Video: Trailer Now Available - Onyx Collective's "Queenie"
Queenie Jenkins is a 25-year-old Jamaican British woman living in south London, straddling two cultures and slotting neatly into neither.

[04/30/24 - 11:01 AM]
Netflix's "Black Rabbit" Adds Academy Award Winner Troy Kotsur, Abbey Lee, Odessa Young, Robin De Jesus & More
When the owner of a New York City hotspot (Jude Law) allows his turbulent brother (Jason Bateman) back in his life, he opens the door to escalating dangers that threaten to bring down everything he's built.

[04/30/24 - 10:34 AM]
Oxygen True Crime's Favorite Guilty Pleasure "Snapped" Celebrates Its 20th Anniversary with a Two-Hour Special Sunday, May 12 at 6:00PM ET/PT
20 years in the making, the "Snapped" special reexamines the Internet's first murder trial, taking viewers back to the days of internet chat rooms and clever screen names, VHS tapes sent via snail mail, and a veritable scarcity of cell phones.

[04/30/24 - 10:31 AM]
Investigation Discovery Debuts Slate of Eight Returning True Crime Premieres for May and June
"Crimes Gone Viral," "In Pursuit with John Walsh," "Signs of a Psychopath," "Homicide Hunter: American Detective," "American Monster," "High Speed Chase," "Late Night Lockup" and "Fear Thy Neighbor" are all due back.

[04/30/24 - 10:01 AM]
Netflix Announces Some Guests for the Six Live Episodes of "John Mulaney Presents: Everybody's in LA"
This hard to describe show will feature special guests and field pieces shot in Los Angeles.

[04/30/24 - 09:33 AM]
TNT's Original Scripted Thriller "The Lazarus Project" Returns with Season 2 Premiere on Sunday, June 9, 2024 at 9PM ET/PT
In the new season, resolute Lazarus agent George (Paapa Essiedu) has been left in disgrace after betraying the organization in the name of love.

[04/30/24 - 09:31 AM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of Apr. 22: "Baby Reindeer" and "Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver" Hold Onto the Top Spots
"Dead Boy Detectives," the new supernatural detective series, debuted in second place with 3.1M views.

[04/30/24 - 09:13 AM]
Ray and Eilyn Jimenez Compete in a Spousal Showdown for Real-Life Design Clients When HGTV Premieres Its New Series "Divided by Design" on Monday, June 10, at 10 p.m. ET/PT
"We do the exact same thing, but we don't work together. We're the competition," said Ray. "But regardless of who wins a client, we're here to support each other no matter what."

[04/30/24 - 09:00 AM]
Peacock Announces Comedic Commentary Series "Olympic Highlights with Kevin Hart and Kenan Thompson"
The 8-episode series will roll out with 2-3 episodes per week beginning July 26 on Peacock, the same day as the Opening Ceremony.

[04/30/24 - 09:00 AM]
"My Adventures with Superman" Returns to Adult Swim on May 25
From Warner Bros. Animation, "My Adventures with Superman" is a serialized coming-of-age story centered on twenty-somethings Clark Kent, Lois Lane, and Jimmy Olsen as they discover who they are, together.

[04/30/24 - 08:35 AM]
FOX Nation to Present Surviving a Serial Killer with Harris Faulkner
The new three-part series details the 1984 abduction and escape of then 17-year-old Lisa McVey.