NBC is the only network that has announced its new series. Here's what its competitors are considering.
By Maria Elena Fernandez Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
April 5, 2008
Pilot season is notoriously frantic. This season -- the Darwinian process in which the television industry rushes to write, cast and produce a slate of new scripted fare -- is even more frantic thanks to the three-month writers strike.
Some six weeks ahead of its competitors, NBC announced earlier this week its 12 new series for this fall and into the next year. But it's still a mystery which pilots ABC, Fox, CBS and the CW will pick for their prime-time schedules.
So far, among them they have 30 dramas and 23 comedies under consideration -- about half the number of projects those four networks usually develop this time of year. Those numbers could easily increase, though, as networks scramble for the next big hit.
What is certain is that next fall there will be fewer new dramas and comedies premiering across the networks. The most noticeable trend is the reliance on international successes -- 11 TV hits in Britain, Israel, Canada and Australia being remade at NBC, CBS, ABC and Fox. There also seems to be a wave of nostalgia sweeping the small screen, with projects that recast TV classics as well as literary masterpieces.
ABC
ABC leads the pack with 20 projects in development. But none is likely to roll out in the fall, because of strike-imposed time constraints.
Left with little time to assess the newcomers, the network already took the unusual step of renewing 14 programs, including four freshman series -- some of which in a nonstrike year would have been canceled.
Like ABC, the other networks also have given a high number of low-performing freshman series a second shot on their schedules -- thus saving much of the new fare for midseason.
"At the end of the day, we ended up with fewer pilots than we thought we were going to make before the strike," said Suzanne Patmore Gibbs, executive vice president of drama development. "We have to balance the risks with the things that might make safer bets."
In addition to nine drama and 10 comedy pilots, ABC has ordered an untitled series created by Zak Penn ("X-Men: The Last Stand") about people with extraordinary neurological abilities. The network has already shot the pilot of "Life on Mars," a David E. Kelley adaptation of a BBC series about a modern detective (Jason O'Mara) who is transported to the 1970s.
One project with the potential to be groundbreaking is novelist Tom Wheeler's "Captain Cook's Extraordinary Atlas," which executives describe as "Harry Potter" meets "Pan's Labyrinth" meets "Indiana Jones." The story of a 12-year-old girl who finds an atlas that reveals a secret world beneath Earth was coveted by several networks.
"It's one of the more ambitious things we're talking about, because we haven't seen this on TV," Patmore Gibbs said.
ABC also is venturing into the animated comedy arena with "The Goode Family," whose efforts to be politically, socially and environmentally correct do not go as planned. It also has landed Cedric the Entertainer on a multi-camera comedy about an Inglewood family that becomes wealthy overnight and moves to Beverly Hills.
Fox
Except for the reduced number of projects, Fox's pilot roster carries little evidence of a writers strike this season. In addition to the highly anticipated new Joss Whedon series, "Dollhouse," Fox has seven drama pilots from some of the industry's most prominent writer-producers: "The Oaks" (Shawn Ryan of "The Shield); "Queen B" (Ryan Murphy of "Nip/Tuck"); "Courtroom K" (Paul Attanasio of "House"); "Virtuality" (Ronald D. Moore of "Battlestar Galactica"); "Lie to Me" (Brian Grazer of "24" and "American Gangster"); "Night Life" (Zach Braff and Adam Braff); and "Fringe," the $10-million two-hour J.J. Abrams project that is sure to be picked up.
"These are substantial commitments with major players," said Fox President of Entertainment Kevin Reilly. "So there's a tremendous amount of momentum behind them."
Fox, which has seven fewer hours of prime time to fill per week than the other major networks, will probably announce only two new hours of shows for the fall, Reilly said. The network will save some of its high-profile fare for midseason to launch with the return of "American Idol" and "24."
"The fall for Fox historically is not our high-water mark," said Reilly. "And we think by being very, very stable with our schedule and really focusing on one or two things, we can make those stick."
Of Fox's seven comedy pilots, three are animated, including a "Family Guy" spinoff based on the Cleveland Brown character. Bernie Mac is starring in a multi-camera comedy created by Bruce Helford of "The George Lopez Show."
CBS
CBS President of Entertainment Nina Tassler used the labor stoppage to experiment with production models. As a result, she opted to make only four full drama pilots and rely on shorter presentations to showcase the other five dramatic series CBS has in the works.
The network will make pilots of its high-profile projects -- Jerry Bruckheimer's "Eleventh Hour," starring Rufus Sewell; and Bruno Heller's "The Mentalist," starring Simon Baker.
It also will produce full episodes of "Ny-Lon," a British import about a love affair spanning 3,000 miles, between London and New York; and "Mythological Ex," based on a successful Israeli show about a woman (Rachel Boston) who tracks down all of her ex boyfriends after a psychic tells her she has already met her future husband.
The network will make 15- to 35-minute presentations of five projects, including "The Meant to Be's" by Glenn Gordon Caron ("Medium" and "Moonlighting"), and Jon Turteltaub's horror adventure, "Harper's Island."
"It's much better to look at a presentation, see what elements work, make changes you need to make in a very cost-efficient way and add to the presentation the elements that do work," Tassler said.
Tassler also has ordered six comedy pilots, including "Single White Millionaire," starring Fred Savage, and "Mike Birbiglia's Secret Public Journal."
The CW
The CW is turning 3 -- and coincidentally, the young network has ordered only three pilots this season. But who is counting when network executives can brag that they have the most buzzed-about pilot of the season -- the "90210" spinoff?
The contemporary version of the Fox hit has quickly become the stuff blogosphere dreams are made of, even though only one role has been cast. Dustin Milligan ("Runaway") will play one of the central characters.
"People who grew up with that show have such an affection toward it," CW President Dawn Ostroff said. "It's actually fascinating."
Ostroff will announce a schedule to advertisers in May, using presentations instead of complete pilots. "How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls," created by Rina Mimoun ("Everwood"), is based on Zoey Dean's book about a Yale grad who takes a job mentoring two insufferable rich girls on how to get into a top college. The CW also is giving the medical genre a shot with "Austin Golden Hour," a drama told in real time centering on young (and to be sure: hot) emergency medical technicians and surgeons at a trauma center.
Ostroff said she might wait until summer to order comedy pilots.
"We don't want to do comedies that are just cute or funny," she said. "We are looking to move the needle."
Originally posted by Zedman2: Ostroff said she might wait until summer to order comedy pilots.
The good news is: more comedy. Not sure how they can do upfronts without even having any pilots to present, though.
quote:
"We don't want to do comedies that are just cute or funny," she said. "We are looking to move the needle."
I hope that by 'move the needle' they aren't going to choose comedy pilots that aren't cute or funny. When CW first came into existence, my idea for the network was to 'push the envelope', not play with the WB children's demo that they chose to pursue. Comedies like Malcomn in the Middle, The Simpsons, and Married with Children put FOX on the map becasue they weren't edgeless. Aliens in America actually has that feel, but no one has tried it. hopefully, whatever new stuff they come up with as 'comedy' will be 'edgy', but still have an ability to draw a 'mass audience'.
The CW is turning 3 -- and coincidentally, the young network has ordered only three pilots this season.
Well, you figure that two will cover the loss of Smackdown, so that may mean that, at most, only 1 current show will not be on the schedule this fall.
Life is Wild also won't be back. Since other networks are ordering more pilots as late as this week, CW may as well. They have also said that they may order additional comedy pilots this summer. More than likely, though, is that they may simply order up more reality series for next year.
Side note: Futon critic lists 4 drama pilots for CW.
The CW is turning 3 -- and coincidentally, the young network has ordered only three pilots this season.
Well, you figure that two will cover the loss of Smackdown, so that may mean that, at most, only 1 current show will not be on the schedule this fall.
Life is Wild also won't be back. Since other networks are ordering more pilots as late as this week, CW may as well. They have also said that they may order additional comedy pilots this summer. More than likely, though, is that they may simply order up more reality series for next year.
Side note: Futon critic lists 4 drama pilots for CW.
The CW is best off leaving Fridays for movies at this point. Concentrate on the other nights of the week right now. Then focus on Fridays later on.
Originally posted by mushu_jj: The CW is best off leaving Fridays for movies at this point. Concentrate on the other nights of the week right now. Then focus on Fridays later on.
The real problem for the CW is that they now do not have a strong, growing show.
ANTM & Smallville have show some free falling lately. No new show has really shown any promise and they are losing Smackdown. They have 15 hours they need to work on. They almost need to start from scratch. But, we know that wont happen.
Originally posted by mushu_jj: The CW is best off leaving Fridays for movies at this point. Concentrate on the other nights of the week right now. Then focus on Fridays later on.
The real problem for the CW is that they now do not have a strong, growing show.
ANTM & Smallville have show some free falling lately. No new show has really shown any promise and they are losing Smackdown. They have 15 hours they need to work on. They almost need to start from scratch. But, we know that wont happen.
I really thought Reaper, Aliens, and Life is Wild had the real chances of growing for the network this year but mismanagement on all levels has killed any momentum they could build. Gossip Girl was the buzzed show but its pretty clear its audience is fairly limited, especially when they put it against Private Practice. A Tuesday lineup from the get go of GG and OTH would've made more sense. But enough of the past. Looking forward, if the new Monday night flops and if Reaper can't hold onto the small traction its had on Thursday, then I don't have any clue what sort of junk we'll be seeing next fall. Probably one or two new reality shows at least.
Nice to know CW is learning from its mistakes and greenlighting a bunch of programming options.
With the comedy department gone, I have a feeling you will see a lot more reality on CW. A lot of those empty spots are going to be filled with crap like Styledome.
Originally posted by WlcmBlueBloodWorstEnemy: Nice to know CW is learning from its mistakes and greenlighting a bunch of programming options.
With the comedy department gone, I have a feeling you will see a lot more reality on CW. A lot of those empty spots are going to be filled with crap like Styledome.
And the ratings will keep getting lower and lower and lower.
Originally posted by WlcmBlueBloodWorstEnemy: I actually think the Mentalist will do well replacing Moonlight in the Friday block. It has the same feel as Ghost Whisperer.
I only have what I have read to go on, but I'm not seeing this as a GW type of show, rather a new slant on the crime genre. I'm getting that it would be less conventional than the current CBS crime group but not as paranormal as GW.
Also, it appears that this would be getting more exposure than fri nite brings. It is shaping up as a frontliner, again, from preliminary information.
I agree MOONLIGHT is still very vulnerable to cancellation. But if so, I would be surprised if this is the show that ends up in that hour.
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Originally posted by WlcmBlueBloodWorstEnemy: I actually think the Mentalist will do well replacing Moonlight in the Friday block. It has the same feel as Ghost Whisperer.
I only have what I have read to go on, but I'm not seeing this as a GW type of show, rather a new slant on the crime genre. I'm getting that it would be less conventional than the current CBS crime group but not as paranormal as GW.
Also, it appears that this would be getting more exposure than fri nite brings. It is shaping up as a frontliner, again, from preliminary information.
I agree MOONLIGHT is still very vulnerable to cancellation. But if so, I would be surprised if this is the show that ends up in that hour.
If any new CBS show should be paired with GW, it would logically be Meant to Be's a drama about a young woman who dies, but in order to "pass over," she must return to earth and help people improve their lives.
If Meant to Be's does not scream a match made in heaven for GW, than I do not know what would, especially on such a crime centric network.
CBS should work out a schedule somewhat like: Meant to Be's [8pm] - a women gets sent back from the dead to aid the living. Ghost Whisperer [9pm] - a women who can see the dead that aids them in finding closure with the living. Without a Trace or Cold Case [10pm] - both dramas are just as or of equal sentiment to the above 2 shows, but also terrifying enough to suit GW's new storyline direction.
If CBS does try any of the 2 combo's mentioned, it would defiantly be a ratings grabber/winner for Females of all age groups.
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Another dilemma The CW faces is that they need to prepare a midseason slate. This season had nothing new to offer, therefore they had nothing to replace flops such as Life Is Wild, Online Nation, and CW Now.
I'm surprised they only have 3 pilots. I guess they have 4 reality series on the way *sigh*...Farmer Wants a Wife and 13 this spring/summer. Then they also have the Untitled Fashion Magazine Project and Styledome which could debut this Fall or possibly midseason of 08-09.
You'd think that The CW would ease up on the reality fare, especially after it's rough Sophomore year with reality: Crowned, Girlicious, Beauty & the Geek, America's Next Top Model. But who am I kidding, the network is ran by the monkey's cousins.
