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[05/01/14 - 11:28 PM]
Development Update: Thursday, May 1
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC) |
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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!
BESSIE (HBO, New!) - Queen Latifah is set to play iconic blues singer Bessie Smith in a proposed biopic at the pay channel, which "chronicles how Smith overcame her tempestuous personal life to become one of the most acclaimed performing and recording artists of the 1920s and '30s, earning the nickname Empress of the Blues." Dee Rees (Pariah) wrote and will direct the project, which is based on the biography "Bessie" written by Chris Albertson. Latifah will also executive produce alongside Shakim Compere, Lili Fini Zanuck, Richard Zanuck, Shelby Stone and Randi Michel with Hallie Foote as co-executive producer and Ron Schmidt as producer for Flavor Unit Entertainment and the Zanuck Company. (Deadline.com)
DIG (USA/UCP; W: Gideon Raff & Tim Kring; D: S.J. Clarkson) - Regina Taylor and Omar Metwally have both booked roles on the event series, about an FBI agent stationed in Jerusalem (Jason Isaacs) who, while investigating a murder of a young female archeologist, uncovers a conspiracy 2000 years in the making. She'll play Ruth Ridell, "the U.S. ambassador to Israel who has little time for problems that Peter creates for her with the local authorities"; while he's set as Yussef Khalid, "an American who disappeared after being accused of murder." Alison Loren Sudol, Anne Heche and David Costabile also star. (THR.com)
HOW AND WHY (FX/FXP; W/D: Charlie Kaufman) - Marcella Plunkett (Dark Touch) has joined the cast of the comedy pilot, the story of a man, Goodman Hesselman (John Hawkes), who can explain how and why a nuclear reactor works, but is clueless about life. She'll play two roles, "Cynthia, a photographer at Goodman's new TV station in Murfreesboro, and Magda, Mendelson's (Michael Cera) secretary, whose day is spent in a cramped, tiny room, not much bigger than her desk." Sally Hawkins and Catherine Keener also star. (Deadline.com)
UNSTRUNG (ABC Family; W: Emily Whitesell; D: TBA) - Chanel Celaya and Sofia Mattsson are the first to be cast in the drama pilot, which explores the sexy, cutthroat, and emotional stakes of the professional world tour of tennis as brother and sister Luke and Ellie Holt compete to move up the ranks. Celaya will play the aforementioned Ellie, "an athletic, spunky beauty with great talent but not-so-great discipline"; with Mattsson as Ninotchka Andropov, "a diva ranked 3rd in the world but first in looks." (THR.com)
UNTITLED ANDY ST. CLAIR/PAUL O'TOOLE PROJECT (MTV, New!) - Andy St. Clair and Paul O'Toole have scored a cast-contingent pilot order from the network for a new comedy about "22-year-old Andy, who after he catches his girlfriend cheating, accidentally rear-ends a celebrity. Taking pity on Andy, the celebrity takes it upon himself to teach him how to man up." Odenkirk Provissiero's Marc Provissiero will executive produce the project with St. Clair and O'Toole serving as co-executive producers. (THR.com)
AND IN OTHER NEWS... - Brian Percival has bowed out of helming the AMC drama pilot "Knifeman" for personal reasons (Deadline.com); "Nashville" executive producer R.J. Cutler has signed a first-look development deal with CBS Television Studios for scripted projects, ending his run at Lionsgate Television (Deadline.com); Kristin Chenoweth has been cast as Maleficent in Disney Channel's "Descendants," "who butts horns with her daughter Mal (Dove Cameron)" (Deadline.com); Nestor Serrano and Brit Morgan will both recur on the new season of "Graceland" (TVLine.com); and Tyler Hilton is bound for the upcoming CBS drama "Extant" as "the chief coder on the Humanichs Project at the center of the story" (THR.com).
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[04/25/24 - 08:30 AM]
CBS Renews Drama "The Equalizer" for the 2024-2025 Broadcast Season
It is a top 10 primetime broadcast drama, ranking #8 overall season-to-date with 7.89 million viewers, according to Nielsen Most Current Data.
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[04/25/24 - 08:01 AM]
Paramount+ Announces New Docuseries "Lolla: The Story of Lollapalooza" to Premiere May 21
Directed by the multi-Emmy nominated Michael John Warren and executive produced by multi-Emmy nominees James Lee Hernandez and Brian Lazarte, the three-part series made its triumphant world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
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[04/25/24 - 08:00 AM]
Lights, Camera... "Action"! The High-Octane Documentary Series Makes Its Streaming Debut on Peacock on April 26
The new series features the real lives behind some of Hollywood's top stunt performers, including behind-the-scenes footage of Universal Pictures' The Fall Guy (in theaters May 3).
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[04/25/24 - 05:00 AM]
Entertainment Icon Reba McEntire to Host the 59th Academy of Country Music Awards
The 16-time ACM Award-winning host will also take center stage to perform new music, in addition to helming country music's longest-running awards show.
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[04/25/24 - 12:01 AM]
Video: "In Good Hands 2" - Date Announcement - Netflix
A newly reunited father and son grapple with new beginnings after tragedy, but can they manage to fill the void left by a beloved wife and mother?
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[04/24/24 - 08:01 PM]
Video: "Monster" - Official Trailer - Netflix
After being abducted and taken to a desolate house, a girl sets out to rescue her friend and escape from their malicious kidnapper.
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[04/24/24 - 02:01 PM]
Video: "Drawing Closer" - Official Teaser - Netflix
The film is a live-action adaptation of a best-selling novel that became a hot topic on social media for how it moves readers to tears.
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[04/24/24 - 01:45 PM]
What's New on Max This May
Highlights include new seasons of "Hacks" and "Pretty Little Liars: Summer School"; and the streaming debuts of "Turtles All The Way Down," "Stop Making Sense" and "The Iron Claw."
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[04/24/24 - 01:32 PM]
Tracee Ellis Ross Packs Her (Many) Bags for New Roku Original Travel Doc-Series "Tracee Travels" (wt)
The docu-series will shoot later this year and debut exclusively on The Roku Channel in 2025.
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[04/24/24 - 10:59 AM]
Prime Video Announces Premiere Date and Key Art for Stand-Up Comedy Special "Marlon Wayans: Good Grief"
The one-hour special will premiere in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide on June 4.
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[04/24/24 - 09:09 AM]
Video: Disney+ Shares Official Trailer for "Jim Henson Idea Man"
Produced with the full participation and cooperation of the Henson family, "Jim Henson Idea Man" is an unprecedented, intimate look at Henson's illustrious, revolutionary career and complex personal life.
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[04/24/24 - 09:05 AM]
Gird Your Loins! Prime Video Releases Official First Look Images and Launch Date for "My Lady Jane"
Also announced, the series will premiere exclusively on Prime Video on Thursday, June 27 in more than 240 countries and territories around the world.
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[04/24/24 - 09:01 AM]
Steve Carell to Star in "The Four Seasons" Netflix Comedy Series from Universal Television
Carell will star in the series alongside Tina Fey.
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[04/24/24 - 09:01 AM]
ID Announces New Docuseries "Fallen Idols: Nick and Aaron Carter"
From their outsized fame in the late 1990s and early 2000s to their headline-making struggles in recent years, the docuseries pulls back the curtain on the fraught dynamic of the Carter family and the dark side of such an abrupt rise to fame.
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[04/24/24 - 09:01 AM]
Video: "Black Twitter: A People's History" - Official Trailer - Hulu
The rise, movements, voices and memes that made Black Twitter an influential and dominant force in nearly every aspect of American political and cultural life.
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