3/26 development news
David
DEVELOPMENT UPDATE: MONDAY, MARCH 26
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!
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1321 CLOVER (CBS) - Paul F. Thompkins (VH1's "Best Week Ever"), Amanda
Detmer ("What About Brian") and Logan Grove ("Christmas Do-Over") are
the first to be cast in the pilot, a documentary-style comedy about a
typical suburban family. Detmer, whose involvement is in second
position to "Brian," will play Sharon. Said character is further
detailed in the casting notice as follows: "30s, Female. A mother of
two. Sharon is Rob's extremely patient and loving wife. She tolerates
Rob's antics because she knows he is, underneath it all, just an
insecure guy who is trying his best to provide for his family. Sharon
is also trying her best. She has her hands full with her two children
(ages 6 years and 6 months). She worries that other moms in the
neighborhood seem to be juggling the demands of motherhood with less
anxiety - although she finds the occasional afternoon beer helps with
that. Sharon is cute and could even look beautiful - if she had more
than ten minutes a day to shower, get dressed and put on some makeup.
Sharon allows Rob to believe he wears the pants in the family, but she
is clearly the one running the show. Sharon is not convinced that
being the subject of a documentary is a great idea."
Grove then is set as Tyler - "6, Male. Tyler is an average 6-year-old
boy - very average. He does not excel academically, athletically or
socially. He is surrounded by hypercompetitive, exceptional children.
Luckily, he hasn't noticed. Tyler is a genuinely good kid, who is too
innocent to realize that having a Hello Kitty bounce house at his
birthday party isn't exactly cool. He knows his parents love him and
he loves them, even when his dad does something embarrassing, which is
pretty often." - with Thompkins as Rob, Sharon's insecure husband.
Commitment: Ordered to pilot
Cast: Amanda Detmer (Sharon), Logan Grove (Tyler), Paul F. Thompkins
(Rob)
Writers: Brad Walsh, Paul Corrigan
Director: Walt Becker
Executive Producers: Brad Walsh, Paul Corrigan
Studio: CBS Paramount Network Television
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EIGHT DAYS A WEEK (The CW) - "Strong Medicine" alum Rosa Blasi has
been cast in the comedy pilot, about four twentysomethings employed by
top movers and shakers in New York. She'll play the boss of one of the
quartet, a big-name personal publicist.
Commitment: Ordered to pilot
Cast: Anna Chlumsky, Rosa Blasi
Writers: Marcie Ulin, Meredith Lavender
Director: TBA
Executive Producers: Marcie Ulin, Meredith Lavender, Sean Hayes (Hazy
Mills Productions), Todd Milliner (Hazy Mills Productions)
Studio: CBS Paramount Network Television
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HELL ON EARTH (The CW) - Kim Coles ("Living Single") is the first to
sign onto the comedy pilot, about a "mean girl" who gets hit by a bus,
goes to purgatory and is given a second chance at life as an ordinary
girl. She'll play an angel in the project.
Commitment: Ordered to pilot
Cast: Kim Coles
Writers: Jack Amiel, Michael Begler
Director: TBA
Executive Producers: Jack Amiel, Michael Begler
Studio: CBS Paramount Network Television
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THE HILL (ABC) - Mark Moses ("Desperate Housewives") and Smith Cho
("Emily's Reasons Why Not") have both scored roles on the comedy
pilot, about an aide (Eric Christian Olsen) to a Democratic senator
who falls for the daughter (Michelle Trachtenberg) of his boss' arch
enemy (Moses). Moses will play said enemy, a Republican senator, while
Cho is set as the best friend of Trachtenberg's character.
Commitment: Ordered to pilot
Cast: Eric Christian Olsen (Matt O'Brien), Mark Moses, Michelle
Trachtenberg (Maggie Rogers), Smith Cho, Wendie Malick (Bryce Lowell)
Writer: Shana Goldberg-Meehan
Director: Andy Ackerman
Executive Producers: Andy Ackerman, Shana Goldberg-Meehan
Studio: Warner Bros. Television
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I'M IN HELL (CBS) - Feature helmer Frank Coraci ("Click") has come
aboard to direct the comedy pilot, about a high-flying Wall Street guy
(Jason Biggs) who dies in a Blackberry-related car crash only to be
sent back stripped of his career, his fancy apartment and the fabulous
trappings of his former existence. He'll work from a script by co-
creators Aron Abrams and Greg Thompson.
Commitment: Ordered to pilot
Cast: Jason Biggs (Nick)
Writers: Aron Abrams, Greg Thompson
Director: Frank Coraci
Executive Producers: Aron Abrams, Greg Thompson
Producers: Jason Biggs, Peter Kiernan
Studio: CBS Paramount Network Television
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ME & LEE? (FOX) - Bill Smitrovich ("Without a Trace") and Jason Antoon
("The Lost Room") have both been cast in the comedy pilot, about a
chronic back pain victim (Jamie Kennedy) who gets more than he
bargained for when he undergoes "bionic" surgery in a secret lab run
by actor Lee Majors in the basement of his Beverly Hills mansion. The
former is set as the man's obnoxious and opinionated father while
Antoon will play Blitt, the lab's technician.
Commitment: Ordered to pilot
Cast: Bill Smitrovich, Jamie Kennedy (Joel Salsberg), Jason Antoon
(Blitt), Lee Majors (Lee Majors)
Writer: Matthew Salsberg
Director: Paul Dinello
Executive Producers: Allan Loeb (Scarlet Fire Productions), Jenji
Kohan, Matthew Salsberg, Steven Pearl (Scarlet Fire Productions)
Studio: Lionsgate Television
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NURSES (FOX) - Katheryn Winnick, who had been briefly cast as Eve
Morrow on the drama pilot, has inked a one-year, mid-six-figure talent
holding deal with the network. The pact calls for FOX to cast the
actress in another project during its next development cycle.
Commitment: Ordered to pilot
Cast: Brett Dalton (Dr. Kurt Taylor), Drew Sidora (Becca Dimato),
Eliza Dushku (Eve Morrow), Gregory Harrison (Dr. Richard Morrow),
Jaclyn DeSantis (Joanne "Jo" Mazur), Melinda Page Hamilton (Margo
MacDonald), Ramon Rodriguez (Patrick De Leon), Sara Rue (Chris
Korenek)
Writers: Andy Stern, Samantha Goodman
Director: P.J. Hogan
Executive Producers: Ann McManus (Shed Productions), Barry Josephson
(Josephson Entertainment), Eileen Gallagher (Shed Productions), P.J.
Hogan
Co-Executive Producers: Andy Stern, Samantha Goodman
Studio: 20th Century Fox Television
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THE THICK OF IT (ABC) - John Michael Higgins ("Arrested Development")
has been tapped for the lead role in the comedy pilot, about the
nonpartisan high jinks that ensue in the office of a newly elected
congressman. He'll play Albert Alger, said congressman, in the
project.
Commitment: Ordered to pilot
Cast: Alex Borstein (Hope Mueller), John Michael Higgins (Albert
Alger), Michael McKean (Glen Glahm), Oliver Platt (Malcolm Tucker),
Rhea Seehorn (Ollie Tadzio)
Writer: Mitchell Hurwitz
Director: Christopher Guest
Executive Producers: Armando Iannucci, Mitchell Hurwitz, Paul Telegdy
(BBC Worldwide Productions)
Studio: Sony Pictures Television
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Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
William December Starr
"David" <diml...@yahoo.com> quoted from the futon critic:
> HELL ON EARTH (The CW) - Kim Coles ("Living Single") is the first
> to sign onto the comedy pilot, about a "mean girl" who gets hit by
> a bus, goes to purgatory and is given a second chance at life as
> an ordinary girl. She'll play an angel in the project.
and:
> I'M IN HELL (CBS) - Feature helmer Frank Coraci ("Click") has come
> aboard to direct the comedy pilot, about a high-flying Wall Street
> guy (Jason Biggs) who dies in a Blackberry-related car crash only
> to be sent back stripped of his career, his fancy apartment and
> the fabulous trappings of his former existence.
Hmm.
--
William December Starr <wds...@panix.com>