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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!
SHADES OF BLUE (NBC/Universal; W: Adi Hasak; D: Barry Levinson) - Gino Anthony Pesi ("Dallas") is the latest to snag a role on the Jennifer Lopez-led drama, about a tight-knit crew of police officers who are effective at keeping the streets safe but also corrupt when it comes to lining their pockets and protecting their own. When one of the officers, Harlee Santos (Lopez), is forced to become a federal informant, she must decide between her own family's welfare and that of her police family. He'll play Assistant District Attorney James Nava. Drea de Matteo, Hampton Fluker, Ray Liotta, Sarah Jeffery, Vincent Laresca and Warren Kole also star. (Variety.com)
UNDERGROUND (WGN America/Sony; W: Joe Pokaski & Misha Green; D: Anthony Hemingway) - Johnny Ray Gill ("Rectify") has been cast in the period drama, set in the pre-Civil War South and following the slaves who set foot on the fabled Underground Railroad, the secret network of men and women who risked their lives aiding them, and the mercenaries tasked with hunting them down at any cost. He'll play Sam, "a talented carpenter on the plantation with dreams of freedom." Alano Miller, Christopher Meloni, Devon Gummersall, Mykelti Williamson, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Reed Diamond, Aldis Hodge and Jessica De Gouw also star. (Variety.com)
AND IN OTHER NEWS... - Mark Deklin won't return as series regular on "Devious Maids" while Edy Ganem and Drew Van Acker will only be back on a recurring basis (Deadline.com); Pierre Morel has signed on to helm the pilot for Lifetime's "The Clan of the Cave Bear" (Deadline.com); Paul Ben-Victor (Maury Gold), Birgitte Hjort Sorensen (Ingrid), James Jagger (Kip Stevens) and J.C. Mackenzie (Skip Fontaine) have all been upped to regulars on HBO's "Untitled Rock 'N' Roll Project" (Deadline.com);
Bad Robot Productions has acquired to rights to Tavis Smiley's "Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Final Year" to develop for TV (Deadline.com); The Weinstein Company has likewise optioned Truman Capote's 1966 bestseller "In Cold Blood" as a potential event series (Deadline.com); Katee Sackhoff is set to write and star in "Rain," a prospective drama from Reunion Pictures set in the future (Deadline.com); and Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution and Telepictures will roll out a three-week test run of "Ice & Coco," a daytime talk show hosted by Ice-T and wife Coco Austin, on select Fox TV stations beginning Monday, August 3 (Deadline.com).
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