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TV Pilots for 11/19/13: Shekhar Kapur To Direct & Executive Produce ‘Rasputin’ For FX
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TV Development For 11/26/13: Laurence Fishburne To Star, Exec Produce ‘The Right Mistake’ For HBO
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TV Development For 12/3/13: Halle Berry To Executive Producer ‘Hannibal’ Miniseries For A&E Studios
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TV Development For 12/17/13: Kurt Sutter’s ‘The Bastard Executioner’ Set For FX
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TV Development For 1/21/14: Mark Wahlberg Among Exec Producers For NBC’s ‘Highway To Heaven’ Series Remake
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TV Development For 2/4/14: Untitled David O. Russell/Susannah Grant Project Has 13-Episode Commitment With ABC Ent. Group
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TV Development For 2/11/14: Ken Kwapis To Exec Produce & Direct ‘Redshirts’ Adaptation For FX
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Spotlight: Why X-Files Creator Chris Carter Returned From Sabbatical for Amazon’s New Show The After
A lot has changed since Chris Carter created his megahit The X-Files. New platforms, riskier material, binge-watching, and live Tweeting have changed the television landscape forever.
After taking nearly a decade to regroup and recharge, Carter is back with his Amazon pilot The After, a sci-fi drama about eight strangers, thrown together by mysterious forces, who must help each other survive in a world that is both unfamiliar and unforgiving.
Carter hasn’t been sitting idle all this time—he directed The X-Files: I Want To Believe, and appeared at Comic-Con with stars Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny for a 20th anniversary X-Files reunion. SSN spoke to him about what he thinks of the changing face of television, and why he never, ever reads the comments.
SSN: You took 10 years off after The X-Files—what made you step away for so long? Carter: For me X-Files was 10 years of pure output, and when the show ended I wound up taking the equivalent amount of time for input. I needed to recharge and think about what I wanted to do, and think about television, which was changing at the time; in the time I took off so much changed. We were already seeing the dominance of cable in terms of quality, but little did we know we would start seeing Netflix and Amazon come in and stream original content.
SSN: From your vantage point, what are the positives and negatives of all these changes like binge watching and the eruption of online feedback? Carter: It’s the ultimate water cooler experience, even though it doesn’t take place around a water cooler anymore. When we started The X-Files,the Internet was brand new and chat rooms were just happening. We were right there at the forefront, and to see where it has come in the last 20 years is amazing, with the advent of social media and all of the various platforms. I think for a television show or for any kind of cultural expression, it’s an amazing time.
SSN: What inspired you to come back after your sabbatical? Carter: There’s so much good work being done, and I had ideas. First and foremost I’m a writer and I had things I wanted to say. If you look at the shows I’ve done, none of them are quite like any other TV show, and I’ve always wanted to do something original. When we were doing The X-Files, 20th Century Fox didn’t know what to make of [it]. It created anxiety that they were taking a chance with something that was unproven—that’s what interests me. For people who are the patrons of people like me, it makes them suspicious.
SSN: Can you talk about your path to Amazon with The After? Carter: Amazon read it and liked it and quite a bit of time went by before the project started to take shape. It was a long process but not very different to my experience previously. The difference is we’re doing it knowing the pilot will be screened on the site for anyone to see. I liken it to Gladiator—it’s really a thumbs-up or thumbs-down.
SSN: You’ve said before that with The X-Files you felt that you had to prove yourself, at least at the beginning. Do you feel the same with The After, or does having a track record ease some of that anxiety?
Carter: It’s still a need to prove yourself, but if you don’t write what interests you, you’re going to find yourself in trouble really quickly. I had this amazing experience with The X-Files. I hope it’s not once in a lifetime.
SSN: Does Amazon ask you to plot out the rest of the season before you make the pilot? Carter: Amazon has asked me to lay out where we go. I’m always reluctant to do that, simply for this reason: with X-Files, I had the audience waiting for what happened next, the studio and crew and cast all hungry for that next script. By retaining the secrets and the mystery, you develop a good relationship with your audience. I’m always reluctant to give up too much.
SSN: Are you paying attention to the online feedback about The After? Carter: I’m not reading any of the comments. I glow when I read the good ones and I shrink when I read the bad ones. That’s another feature of the pervasiveness of social media—there are haters out there and as the bumper sticker says, ‘haters gonna hate.’ I’m interested in reading good, astute, constructive criticism, but I’m not interested in reading the mean stuff.
SSN: Do you think you’ll ever give in and join Twitter? Carter: I see the beauty of it and I think it would be a good idea for me, but I’ve been reluctant because I think my time is limited. That’s not to say I won’t do it, but for me I want to focus on what I do and let other people focus on what they do.
Click here to watch the entire first episode of The After, included in Amazon Prime.
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TV Development For 2/25/14: David Fincher’s ‘Utopia’ Adaptation Ordered Straight To Series At HBO
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TV Castings For 2/26/14: Viola Davis Lands Lead In ABC’s ‘How To Get Away With Murder’
Pilots
Viola Davis has landed the lead in joins ABC’s How To Get Away With Murder, centered on ambitious law students and their brilliant, mysterious criminal defense professor who become entangled in a murder plot. Charlie Webber has also joined the cast. Taraji P. Henson and Jussie Smollett have been cast opposite Terrence Howard in Fox’s Empire, about a music superstar determined to take his company, Empire Entertainment, public -- a first in the field of urban entertainment. But when he challenges his three sons to compete for the head job at Empire, he sets in motion internecine forces that could tear his empire -- and his family -- apart. Nate Torrence and Becky Newton join Fox’s Weird Loners, about four comically clueless misfits- who've never been able to sustain emotional relationships more than a few weeks- who gather together and form a new support unit -- a sort of extended family of "weird loners" who have one another's backs, come what may. Judd Hirsch and Ion Gruffudd have been cast in ABC’s Forever, about a star medical examiner harboring the secret of his own immortality. Keir Gilchrist, Amanda Detmer, Michael Trucco and Kevin G. Schmidt have booked ABC’s Sea Of Fire, about three teenage girls in a small town who star in a porn film, which tears their families apart and leads to a disappearance and murder. Mykelti Williamson, Kathleen Munroe and Nick Gehlfuss are set for ABC’s Clementine, about a profoundly troubled 28-year-old psychic who sees her life to begin to change in unexpected ways when she decides to stop running from her past. Paget Brewster will co-star opposite Michael Imperioli in ABC’s Saint Francis, centered on a blue-collar, no-nonsense Long Island cop and family man who butts heads with the modern, liberal world when his 29-year-old sister gets pregnant out of wedlock. Tracee Ellis Ross joins ABC’s Untitled Anthony Anderson Project, about an upper-middle-class black man who struggles to raise his children with some sense of cultural identity despite constant contradictions and obstacles coming from his liberal wife, old-school father, and his own assimilated, color-blind kids. Natasha Bassett has been cast in Fox’s Here’s Your Damn Family, about a stunted, set-in-his-ways thirty-something man living with his mom who finds his perfectly organized world upended when she gets married and her new husband- plus his three teenage children- move in. Treat Williams will play a Colonel in NBC’s Odyssey, where three families are torn apart when a stranded female soldier, a disillusioned corporate attorney and a disrespected political activist are pulled into the same shocking international military conspiracy. Ben Feldman, Leonora Crichlow and Henry Zebrowski join NBC’s A To Z, which follows a relationship between a young couple, comprehensively, from meeting to breakup, over the course of a season. Tone Bell will play the bailiff in the courtroom on NBC’s Bad Judge, about a hard-living, sexually unapologetic woman who plays with the law, and whose life on the edge is constantly in balance as she also happens to be a judge in the Criminal Court system. Sean Faris, Nathaniel Buzolic and Lucien Laviscount will lead Supernatural: Tribes, following various Mafia-esque monster families that, unknowingly to humans, "run" the underbelly of Chicago and are being tracked by a newly minted Hunter who’s trying to stop them and rid Chicago of anything or anyone supernatural. Elisha Cuthbert will star opposite Nick Zano in NBC’s One Big Happy, that centers on a lesbian and her straight male best friend who get pregnant just as he meets and marries the love of his life. Amber Stevens has been cast in ABC’s Keep It Together, about the post-divorce life of a couple trying to forge a friendship for the sake of their kids. Kevin Hart will guest star in the pilot and recur if the series is picked up. Justin Long, Pete Davidson and Ally Maki book Fox’s Sober Companion, about an out-of-control lawyer forced to enlist a sober companion in order to get his life back on track. Barry Sloane and Milo Ventimiglia are set as the male leads in ABC’s The Visitors, about a race against the clock to defeat an unseen alien enemy out to destroy the world using our most precious resource against us. Catalina Denis, Lily Rabe and Kyle Harrison Breitkopf have also joined the cast. Nick Thune will co-star in NBC’s Old Soul, about a young woman who is trying to find herself, but in the meantime she’s working as the aide to a group of opinionated elderly people. Tim Meadows, Sarah Wright and Tymberlee Hill join NBC’s Marry Me, that centers on a young couple who get engaged, something they quickly realize is harder than it looks. Jolene Purdy has been cast in USA’s Benched, about a lawyer who loses her boyfriend and job on the same day, and is forced to work in the Public Defender's office, where she finds things more out of whack than her personal life. Morena Baccarin and Steve Kazee will play husband and wife in ABC’s Warriors, that follows the best and brightest of active duty military doctors and nurses as they practice trailblazing medicine on critically wounded warriors returning home from Afghanistan, on military families and veterans, as well as administering to Washington’s government elite. Greg Grunberg, Hampton Fluker and Justina Machado have also joined the cast. Krysten Ritter will star in NBC’s Mission Control, that examines what happens when a strong woman butts heads with a macho astronaut in the race to land on the moon. Charlie Cox has been cast in CBS’ Untitled Wall Street Project, that follows a smart and sophisticated Wall Street hedge fund trader who served his country in Iraq and has the integrity and desire to do good. Michael Stahl-David is set for NBC’s Two To Go, centering on the last two singles in a group of friends moving into marriage and parenthood, navigating life and love as they Friday- night barhop then Saturday-morning moon bounce surrounded by kids — none of whom are their own. Richard Cabral has joined ABC’s American Crime, focusing on a racially charged murder and the subsequent trial, which are examined through the personal lives of the victims, the accused, and their families. Geoffrey Blake will recur in TNT’s Agent X, centering on a person called upon in times of extreme crisis, when traditional law and government aren’t in a position to help. Created by the original founding fathers, but hidden from the public, the agent of unknown identity that is trained and ready to serve — and deployed only at the careful discretion of the Vice President. Molly Shannon has been tapped as the lead in ABC’s Bambi Cottages, where an overworked father dreaming of being "on vacation all year" who decides to uproot his family from the city and move them to New Hampshire where they open a group of tourist cottages. And where they rarely, if ever, feel like they’re on vacation. Julianna Guill is the first cast in CBS’ The Mistake, that revolves around a couple who had just "finished" raising their kids when they discover they are pregnant again. Laz Alonso joins NBC’s The Mysteries Of Laura, that follows the life and relationships of a female homicide detective who can handle murderous criminals — but not her evil twin children. Meta Golding, Jee Young Han and Erik Palladino have been cast in ABC’s Agatha, in which a big city criminologist who is brought in to help local police crack a case involving a shocking string of disappearances. Domenick Lombardozzi and Eva Amurri Martino will play husband and wife in ABC’s The Winklers, about an emotionally reserved construction worker who learns about love, life and hugs while unexpectedly living with his in-laws. Matt Ryan lands the lead in NBC’s Constantine, centered on John Constantine, an enigmatic and irreverent con man-turned-reluctant supernatural detective who is thrust into the role of defending us against dark forces from beyond. Christian Borle and Lindsay Price join NBC’s Lifesaver, an odd couple comedy in which two polar opposites become inextricably linked after one saves the other’s life. Chloe Wepper has been added to ABC’s My Thoughts Exactly, a romantic comedy told from the point of view of both the male and the female. Hope Davis and Margarita Levieva will star in NBC’s Coercion, about a grown man who finds his parents are former spies, and faces a choice between family and country when their handler returns and demands his cooperation. Janet McTeer has been cast in CBS’ Battle Creek, about two detectives, with very different world views, who are teamed up. Leslie Bibb will star in NBC’s Love is Relative, about a married-with-children couple who find their life and their habits challenged when the wife’s newly single brother, comes to live with them. Tim Daly will play Tea Leoni’s husband, in CBS’ Madam Secretary, that explores the personal and professional life of a maverick female Secretary of State as she drives international diplomacy, wrangles office politics and balances a complex family life. Geoffrey Arend has also joined the cast. Clifton Collins, Jr. has landed a role in ABC’s Secrets & Lies, about a family man who finds the body of a young boy and quickly becomes the prime murder suspect. Michelle Harrison will guest star and possibly recur in CW’s The Flash, about a Central City assistant police forensics investigator who arrives in Starling to look into a series of unexplained robberies that may have a connection to a tragedy in his past. Jamie Lee Curtis has booked the lead in CBS’ Only Human, AKA Untitled David Marshall Grant Project, that revolves around quadruplets – three brothers and a sister – who grew up on a reality show. Skeet Ulrich will co-star opposite Meagan Good, playing dual roles, in NBC’s Babylon Fields, about a town’s residents that come back from the dead. Sandrine Holt, Pedro Pascal and Peter De Jersey have been cast in ABC’s Exposed, about an intrepid female journalist who uncovers a vast criminal conspiracy involving both the government and the corporate world. Cedric Yarborough joins Fox’s Dead Boss, that centers on a woman trying to prove her innocence after being falsely accused and convicted of killing her boss. Callum Blue is set for TNT’s Proof, about a surgeon who investigates cases of reincarnation, out-of-body experiences, hauntings — all of it looking for verifiable proof, to try to answer one of life’s greatest questions: Is death truly the end, or is there something … beyond? Alexia Fast has landed a role in WGN America’s Manhattan, set against the backdrop of the clandestine mission to build the world’s first atomic bomb in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Plot follows the brilliant but flawed scientists and their families as they attempt to co-exist in a world where secrets and lies infiltrate every aspect of their lives. Malcolm Goodwin, Alexandra Krosney and David Anders join CW’s iZombie, that centers on a med student-turned-zombie who takes a job in the coroner’s office to gain access to the brains she must reluctantly eat to maintain her humanity. Matt Lauria has been cast in DirecTV’s Navy Street, following a family set against the backdrop of a mixed martial arts (MMA) gym in Venice, California. Ashley Judd, Stark Sands, Meg Steedle, Emma Dumont and Jake Picking have joined NBC’s Salvation, about a big family saga set against the backdrop of a Texas mega church. When the leader of the Spring Hill Congregation dies, the matriarch of the Strickland family rallies to keep the family together in a show about faith and family and all the complications that come with both. Drew Tarver is set for Fox’s How I Met Your Dad, that follows a group of New York friends and chronicles a female member of the group’s quest to meet her future husband. Quincy Jones and Peggy Lipton, will play the parents of real-life daughter, Rashida Jones in TBS’ Tribeca, about an eccentric but brilliant group of people who investigate crime and reveal too much personal information about themselves in the process. Alfred Molina will guest star and possibly recur.Current Series
Tim Daly to guest star on Fox’s The Mindy Project. Sherry Stringfield is set to recur on season 2 of CBS’ Under the Dome. Michael Gross (Family Ties) will guest star on ABC’s Last Man Standing. Questlove (Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show bandleader and The Roots drummer)and Katie Couric (Good Morning America)will guest star on NBC’s Law and Order: SVU. Mike Tyson will guest star as himself on TNT’s Franklin and Bash. Samuel Anderson is set to recur on BBC America’s Doctor Who. Ann-Margaret and Kip Pardue will recur on season 2 of Showtime’s Ray Donovan. Bailee Madison has landed a recurring role in season 2 of ABC Family’s The Fosters. Melody Thomas Scott will guest star on CBS’ The Crazy Ones.Limited Series
Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele will recur in FX’s Fargo, as FBI partners.↧
Part Two – Taking Steps Into The Future: Pilot Pick-Up Orders 2014-2015
In part two of three of SSN's look into the 2014-2015 pilot season, we're giving you a list of the pilot pick-up orders.
Click here for the Printable PDF of the Complete Network 2014 Pilot Grid
PILOT PICK UP ORDERS (BY NETWORK)
Agatha Network: ABC Studio(s): ABC Studios, The Mark Gordon Co. Genre/Format: Hour Drama Commitment: Pilot Key ABL Players: Tom Donaghy (Writer/EP), Mark Gordon (EP), Nicholas Pepper (EP), Andrea Shay (EP), Michael McDonald (EP), Jace Alexander (Pilot Director), Erik Palladino (Star), Meta Golding (Star), Jee Young Han (Star), Christian Keyes (Star) Logline: A character-driven procedural centering on a former convict-turned-big-city criminologist who is brought in to help local police crack a case involving a perplexing disappearance. SSN Insight: Invoking memories of Agatha Christie novels just based on the title won't be enough for this typical crime drama to secure a coveted series order.
American Crime Network: ABC Studio(s): ABC Studios, Stearns Castle Genre/Format: Hour Drama Commitment: Pilot Key ABL Players: John Ridley (Writer/EP/Pilot Director), Michael McDonald (EP), Elvis Nolasco (Star), Caitlin Gerard (Star), Richard Cabral (Star), Johnny Ortiz (Star) Logline: A hard crime drama that examines the personal lives of the players involved in a racially charged trial as their worlds are turned upside down. SSN Insight: ABC has had great success with legal dramas in the past, but they've modernized and serialized their spin with this character-driven series taking a stance on some important, still timeless issues.
An American Education Network: ABC Studio(s): ABC Studios, Tiger Aspect Genre/Format: Half-Hour Single-Camera Comedy Commitment: Pilot Key ABL Players: Peter Huyck (Writer/EP), Alex Gregory (Writer/EP), Jack Whitehall (EP), Ben Cavey (EP), Rosie Perez (Star), Jack Whitehall (Star), Brittany Snow (Star), Devin Ratray (Star), David Mares (Star), Phil Morris (Star) Logline: A remake of the U.K.'s Bad Education, an unorthodox Southern California public teacher's naive enthusiasm and unconventional methods put him at odds with test-obsessed administrators. SSN Insight: This may be a little too close to CBS' Bad Teacher for comfort, especially considering it stands alone as a workplace comedy on a network known for family sitcoms.
Bambi Cottages Network: ABC Studio(s): ABC Studios, Sony Pictures Television, Olive Bridge Genre/Format: Half-Hour Single-Camera Comedy Commitment: Pilot Key ABL Players: Brian Gallivan (Writer/EP), Will Gluck (EP), Richie Schwartz (EP), Phil Trail (Pilot Director), Molly Shannon (Star) Logline: An overworked father dreaming of being "on vacation all year" moves his family from the city to New Hampshire, where they open a group of tourist cottages. SSN Insight: While Shannon is certainly a person of interest, there is a bit of concern that the male lead at the center of this project has not yet been cast.
Black-ish Network: ABC Studio(s): ABC Studios, Cinema Gypsy, Principato Young Genre/Format: Half-Hour Single-Camera Comedy Commitment: Pilot Key ABL Players: Kenya Barris (Writer/EP), Laurence Fishburne (EP/Star), Helen Sugland (EP), Tom Russo (EP), Peter Principato (EP), Paul Young (EP), Brian Dobbins (EP), Anthony Anderson (Star), Tracee Ellis Ross (Star) Logline: Loosely autiobiographical, an upper-middle class African American man struggles to raise his children with a sense of cultural identity despite constant contradictions and obstacles coming from his liberal wife, old-school father and his own assimilated, color-blind kids. SSN Insight: ABC has the family comedy that everyone wants to try to emulate with Modern Family, and they are out to do it again here.
Clementine Network: ABC Studio(s): ABC Studios, The Mark Gordon Co. Genre/Format: Hour Drama Commitment: Pilot Key ABL Players: Dean Georgaris (Writer/EP), Mark Gordon (EP), Michael Dinner (Pilot Director), Mykelti Williamson (Star), David Strathairn (Star), Kevin Alejandro (Star), Sarah Snook (Star), Edwin Hodge (Star), Kathleen Munroe (Star), Nick Gehlfuss (Star) Logline: A habitual criminal digs into the mystery of her origins after she becomes the target of a group of zealots who fear she possesses latent supernatural abilities that she will one day harness for either profound good or monstrous evil. SSN Insight: The alphabet network has dabbled in redemption stories before as a part of the cores of their primetime soap heroines, but here they are going for a more heavy-handed, albeit it slightly fantastical, approach that would be a bit out of the box for their brand.
Damaged Goods Network: ABC Studio(s): Warner Bros. Television Genre/Format: Half-Hour Single-Camera Comedy Commitment: Pilot Key ABL Players: Lauren Iungerich (Writer/EP), Declan Lowney (Pilot Director), Steve Talley (Star), Justin Hartley (Star), Ben Lawson (Star) Logline: Sexual politics between men and women have changed in the post-feminist era and this comedy explores that concept with a variety of characters, each "stuck" in specific areas of life because of their relationships SSN Insight: Iungerich's project has a strong and clear voice, but it leans more towards the Happy Endings friends-as-family comedies that haven't worked well enough for ABC before. This one is a fresh ensemble piece that execs have responded to for Iungerich's uniqueness, though.
Exposed Network: ABC Studio(s): Universal Television Genre/Format: Hour Drama Commitment: Pilot Key ABL Players: Charles Randolph (Writer/EP), Peter Traugott (EP), Rachel Kaplan (EP), Patty Jenkins (Pilot Director), Sandrine Holt (Star), Pedro Pascal (Star), Peter DeJersey (Star) Logline: Based on a Scandanavian series, an investigative journalist will stop at nothing to uncover the truth -- including making questionable alliances. SSN Insight: ABC has not had much ratings success of late with adapted series, and this one doesn't promise to be much different.
Forever Network: ABC Studio(s): Warner Bros. Television, Lin Pictures Genre/Format: Hour Drama Commitment: Pilot Key ABL Players: Matt Miller (Writer/EP), Dan Lin (EP), Jennifer Gwartz (EP), Ioan Gruffudd (Star), Judd Hirsch (Star) Logline: New York City's best medical examiner studies the dead for a reason-- he is immortal, and he has had a long and colorful life that will be exposed through his cases. SSN Insight: Such a larger than life premise hinges on the actor in the role keeping the character grounded in our reality, and Gruffudd is just serious enough to do that while still keeping a twinkle of the magic in his eye.
Fresh Off The Boat Network: ABC Studio(s): 20th Century Fox, Popular Misconception Genre/Format: Half-Hour Single-Camera Comedy Commitment: Pilot Key ABL Players: Nahnatchka Khan (Writer/EP), Jake Kasdan (EP), Melvin Mar (EP), Randall Park (Star), Constance Wu (Star) Logline: Based on Eddie Huang's memoir, hip-hop loving Eddie grows up in suburban Orlando, raised by an immigrant father who is obsessed with all things American and an immigrant mother who is often bewildered by white culture. SSN Insight: With Huang not involved in the project, Khan's distinct wit shines through, though this coming of age story feels like it would have better fit with last pilot season's nostalgia comedy trend (see The Goldbergs, Surviving Jack, Growing Up Fisher).
Galavant Network: ABC Studio(s): Abbey C Studios for ABC (U.K.), Rhode Island Ave. Productions Genre/Format: Half-Hour Single-Camera Comedy Commitment: Pilot Key ABL Players: Dan Fogelman (Writer/EP), Alan Menken (EP), Glenn Slater (original lyrics), Chris Koch (EP/Pilot Director), Timothy Omundson (Star), Joshua Sasse (Star), Vinnie Jones (Star), Karen David (Star), Mallory Jansen (Star), Luke Youngblood (Star) Logline: A fairy-tale musical centering on handsome a Prince Galavant and his quest for revenge against the king who stole his one true love. SSN Insight: Execs have been raving about the quality of both the wit and the original songs in this project. It certainly helps that Entertainment President Paul Lee regards Fogelman's other comedy (The Neighbors) in high, cheeky, regard.
How To Get Away With Murder Network: ABC Studio(s): ABC Studios, Shondaland Genre/Format: Hour Drama Commitment: Pilot Key ABL Players: Peter Nowalk (Writer/EP), Shonda Rhimes (EP), Betsy Beers (EP), Michael Offer (Piilot Director), Viola Davis (Star), Matt McGorry (Star), Aja Naomi King (Star), Alfred Enoch (Star), Karla Souza (Star), Jack Falahee (Star), Chris Weber (Star), Liza Weil (Star) Logline: A sexy, suspense-driven legal thriller centering on ambitious law students and their brilliant and mysterious criminal defense professor who become entangled in a murder plot that could rock their entire university and change the course of their lives. SSN Insight: This may not have been given a straight to series order, but things would have to go very wrong in pilot production for ABC not to pick it up. It is a Rhimes project, after all, and she has served them well!
Irreversible Network: ABC Studio(s): Reshet TV, Sony Pictures Television Genre/Format: Half-Hour Single-Camera Comedy Commitment: Pilot Key ABL Players: Segahl Avin (Writer/EP/Pilot Director), Peter Tolan (EP), Michael Wimer (EP), David Schwimmer (Star) Logline: Based on the Israeli series Bilti Hafich, a somewhat eccentric, self-absorbed couple experience trials and tribulations, most of which they bring on themselves. SSN Insight: While the original series was #1 in Israel and ABC has a habit of adapting foreign series for their own sensibilities, buzz picked up when Schwimmer, who has most recently spent time behind the camera as a director, signed on to star in his first post-Friends comedy.
My Thoughts Exactly Network: ABC Studio(s): ABC Studios, Brillstein Entertainment Genre/Format: Half-Hour Single-Camera Comedy Commitment: Pilot Key ABL Players: Jeff Lowell (Writer/EP), Peter Traugott (EP), Robin Schwartz (EP), Analeigh Tipton (Star), Jake McDorman (Star), Jade Catta-Preta (Star), Nicolas Wright (Star), Kurt Fuller (Star), Chloe Wepper (Star) Logline: This romantic comedy exposes the internal monologues of a young couple embarking on a new relationship. SSN Insight: Despite its comedy success coming from the family side of the genre, ABC refuses to give up on relationship comedies, too. After Happy Endings failed to perform the way the network needed it to and Mixology was launched on a gimmick, they scaled back and went with a simpler concept here.
Saint Francis Network: ABC Studio(s): ABC Studios, Tagline Pictures Genre/Format: Half-Hour Multicamera Comedy Commitment: Pilot Key ABL Players: Chris Moynihan (Writer/EP), Ron West (EP), Kelly Kulchak (EP), Michael Imperiol (Star), Paget Brewster (Star) Logline: A blue-collar, no-nonsense, Long Island cop and family man butts heads with the modern, liberal world when his sister gets pregnant out of wedlock. SSN Insight: The star power of Imperioli and Brewster ignite the opposite-sex odd couple of this project. Thought Saint Francis was not cast contingent, interest certainly piqued when these two signed on.
Selfie Network: ABC Studio(s): Warner Bros. Television Genre/Format: Half-Hour Single-Camera Comedy Commitment: Pilot Key ABL Players: Emily Kapnek (Writer/EP), Julie Anne Robinson (EP/Pilot Director), Karen Gillan (Star), Allyn Rachel (Star) Logline: A satrical look at how technology is taking over our lives, a self-obsessed woman suffers a public and humiliating breakup and enlists the help of a marketing expert to help repair her tarnished image. SSN Insight: Kapnek is a darling at ABC with her Suburgatory in its third season, and her unique wit rings loud here as well. This particular project is very specific to our time, utilizing everything from Instagram filters to GIFs in the action and visual style of the piece which some at the network may not understand as well as the public.
Untitled Richard LaGravanese Network: ABC Studio(s): ABC Studios Genre/Format: Hour Drama Commitment: Pilot Key ABL Players: Richard LaGravanese (Writer/EP), Erwin Stoff (EP), Ilene Staple (EP), Wren Arthur (EP), Taylor Hackford (Pilot Director) Logline: The story of the love and rivalry of two equally matched, powerful socialites who play out their obsessive attraction and seduction of each other through their manipulation of others. SSN Insight: This complex psychological drama could be as twisty and seductive as stories like Gone Girl-- or could fall as flat as Betrayal. It will fall greatly on the shoulders of the leads, who unfortunately have yet to be cast.
The Visitors Network: ABC Studio(s): ABC Studios, Amblin Television, Grady Girl Productions Genre/Format: Hour Drama Commitment: Pilot Key ABL Players: Soo Hugh (Writer/EP), Dawn Olmstead (EP), Justin Falvey (EP), Darryl Frank (EP), Steven Spielberg EP), Mark Romanek (Pilot Director), Barry Sloane (Star), Lily Rabe (Star), Milo Ventimiglia (Star), Derek Webster (Star), Kyle Harrison Breitkopf (Star), Catalina Denis (Star) Logline: A race against the clock to defeat an unseen alien enemy out to destroy the world using the Earth's most precious resource: children. SSN Insight: This production team seems solely dedicated of late to aliens in storytelling. Though the quintessential may be Spielberg's E.T., this time around they are skipping the light and fuzzies and depicting an even bleaker world than that on Falling Skies. The concern is whether or not audiences will want to watch such a dark dystopia.
Warriors Network: ABC Studio(s): ABC Studios, Mandeville Genre/Format: Hour Drama Commitment: Pilot Key ABL Players: Chris Keyser (Writer/EP), Todd Lieberman (Writer/EP), David Hoberman (Writer/EP), Martin Campbell (Pilot Director), Morena Baccarin (Star), Steve Kazee (Star), Don Hany (Star), Courtney B. Vance (Star), Eloise Mumford (Star), Justina Machado (Star), Greg Grunberg (Star) Logline: Inspired by Walter Reed Military Medical Center and based on a teleplay by Steven Baigelman, the best and brightest of active duty military doctors and nurses practice trailblazing medicine on critically wounded warriors returning home from Afghanistan, on military families and veterans as well as administering to Washington's government elite. SSN Insight: The high concept and even higher emotionality of this piece inspired a connection at the network level.
The Winklers Network: ABC Studio(s): 20th Century Fox TV, The Walcott Co. Genre/Format: Half-Hour Single-Camera Comedy Commitment: Pilot Key ABL Players: Phil Rosenthal (Writer/EP), Max Winkler (EP), Rob Reinis (EP), Jake Johnson (EP), Henry Winkler (Star), Domenick Lombardozzi (Star), Eva Amurri Martino (Star) Logline: Based on the Winklers' lives, an emotionally reserved construction worker learns about love, life and hugs while unexpectedly living with his over-sharing in-laws. SSN Insight: A sweet throwback to family sitcoms as well as being a return to the medium that made him famous for Winkler, all eyes are on this potential new comedy.
>>>Next Page - CBS
Page 1 (ABC) --- 2 (CBS) --- 3 (CW & FOX) ---4 (NBC)
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Part Three – Taking Steps Into The Future: Presentation Pick-Ups & Cast Contingent Pilot Orders 2014-2015
In part three of three of SSN's look into the 2014-2015 pilot season, we're giving you a list of the presentation pick-ups and cast contingent pilot orders.
Click here for the Printable PDF of the Complete Network 2014 Pilot Grid
PILOT PRESENTATION PICK-UPS (BY NETWORK)
Cristela Network: ABC Studio(s): 20th Century Fox Television Genre/Format: Half-Hour Multicamera Comedy Commitment: Proof of concept presentation pilot Key ABL Players: Cristela Alonzo (Writer/EP/Star), Kevin Hench (Writer/EP), Marty Adelstein (EP), Shawn Levy (EP), Becky Clements (EP), John Pasquin (Pilot Director) Logline: A semi-autobiographical story about an American Latina straddling two cultures while not fully belonging to either. SSN Insight: This is the perfect example of why the pilot season model is faulty: if a network isn't confident enough in a series concept, it probably needs further development, not a bunch of money to make a subpar product that won't make a blip on the radar anyway.
CAST CONTINGENT PILOT ORDERS (BY NETWORK)
Strange Calls Network: ABC Studio(s): 20th Century Fox, Kapital Entertainment, Hoodlum Entertainment Genre/Format: Half-Hour Single Camera Comedy Commitment: Cast Contingent Key ABL Players: Donick Cary (Writer/EP), Ruben Fleischer (EP/Pilot Director), Aaron Kaplan (EP), Tracey Robertson (EP), Nathan Mayfield (EP), Heather Petrigala (EP) Logline: Based on an Australian series, a good-hearted but somewhat inept Boston cop pulls night duty on Nantucket island, where he works from a creaky lighthouse and encounters strange, inexplicable phenomena that require teaming with an eccentric lighthouse keeper and paranormal expert to deal with it. SSN Insight: The supernatural has not fared as well on ABC as soap operas, so the fact that this was ordered at all seems like a last ditch effort to tap into what so many of the other networks already have. But seeing as how no cast has been locked yet, this one won't spike any radars.
Keep It Together Network: ABC Studio(s): 20th Century Fox TV, 3 Arts Genre/Format: Half-Hour Multicamera Comedy Commitment: Cast Contingent Key ABL Players: Kevin Hart (Writer/EP), Neil Goldman (Writer/EP), Garrett Donovan (Writer/EP), Dave Becky (EP), Romany Malco (Star), Amber Stevens (Star) Logline: A semi-autobiographical comedy based on Hart's stand-up, taking a look at the post-divorce life of a couple trying to forge a friendship for the sake of their kids, despite their differences. SSN Insight: Hart may not be starring (only recurring) in this vehicle but with the recent surge in his Q rating, ABC will certainly do everything possible to set this one up for success to keep the former Modern Family guest star in their family.
Lifesaver Network: NBC Studio(s): Universal Television, TBD Entertainment Genre/Format: Half-Hour Multicamera Comedy Commitment: Cast Contingent-- until leads locked, now regular pilot order Key ABL Players: Wil Calhoun (Writer/EP), Peter Traugott (EP), Rachel Kaplan (EP), Christian Borle (Star), Lindsay Price (Star), Jonathan Ryland (Star) Logline: An odd couple comedy centering on a man who needed a kidney-- and the man who gave him one. SSN Insight: The peacock network got what they wanted in key cast members-- enough to cross out the cast contingent part of this pilot order and push it on through-- but the premise may still be too thin to warrant a 22 episode season.
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TV Development For 3/18/14: Syfy Sets ‘Ascension’ Miniseries From Blumhouse Productions & Sea To Sky Studios
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The Pros & Cons of Straight-to-Series TV Pickups
In last week's roundup of the 2014 pilot season, we noticed a pattern of straight-to-series pickups coming from the Big Four networks. We only mentioned a few of these shows, but perusing a comprehensive list of new programs being considered for the 2014 – 15 season shows over a dozen series that fall into that category.
FOX leads the way with seven straight-to-series orders and five others that are getting good signals they'll be picked up, too. It stands to reason that FOX is the leader in this department, as entertainment president Kevin Reilly has made it known that his network will abandon the traditional pilot season in favor of more series commitments and faster decision times.
Ordering a show straight-to-series is fraught with peril, as the folks at NBC found out when they won last year’s bidding war for The Michael J. Fox Show by making a 22-episode commitment. After the show sank like a rock in the ratings, they pulled it early, leaving them with a third of a season they’re obligated to air. Still, there are advantages to a system where a showrunner can work on their show rather than fret about its status until the last possible minute.
To point out the advantages and disadvantages of each system, we're going to crib from Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon and present our (not all that funny) Series Commitment Pros and Cons:
PRO: Networks Don't Waste Money on Pilots that Never get Picked Up
For some reason, networks have always been fine with throwing money down the black hole of pilot season, commissioning dozens of scripts, greenlighting two dozen or more to be made into pilots, only to pick up a handful of those for series. Pilots are expensive, too. Most comedy pilots fall within the $2 million range and drama pilots are in the $5 million range, according to The Hollywood Reporter. That's a lot of money to spend on shows that never see the light of day, even on the network's website.
Straight-to-series commitments allow networks to spend less money on pilots and more money on shows they're actually going to air. It helps that many of these commitments are made to projects (Gotham) or showrunners (Tina Fey) that give execs some confidence that the shows will find an audience.
CON: It's a Lot of Money if the Show Fails
Of course, ordering six, thirteen, or 22 episodes of a series is a money commitment all by itself, and if the series fails, then the network may be skittish about making such a large monetary bet again. Think NBC will make another Fox-like commitment? Not for a long time. CBS is feeling the pain big-time after ordering 15 episodes each of "limited series" Hostages and Intelligence, only to see both attract ratings more suitable for NBC.
Even FOX, on the cutting edge of this model, likely regrets sinking so much money into Terra Nova, which went through numerous production delays then aired to mediocre ratings. They managed to air all episodes and likely made back their money with international and DVD sales, but they were hoping for more.
PRO: Producers Don't Need to go All-Out on the Pilot
Do you ever wonder why cable shows like True Detective and Shameless look and feel consistent from their first episodes onward? It's because they never had to blow their production budgets on pilots laden with cast, locations, and effects they'd never be able to replicate on more limited series budgets. But a spectacular pilot is often the best way for a producer to ensure that his or her show gets noticed by the network brass.
PRO: Producers have Time to get Things Right
With an early pickup, series producers have their choice of writers and actors, and can get started on those first few scripts immediately. With May pickups, as much as a year can go by between a show’s pilot and when it can finally proceed. That's often the reason why a pilot looks different than the rest of the series; not only is the budget different, but the actors have all grown a year older. Additionally, showrunners only have about a month to put together a writing staff, who then must scramble write the first few episodes as they get ahead of the production schedule.
Early pickups allow writers more time to think through episodes two and three (and 21 and 22), and more time to break stories and give them a logical flow.
CON: What you See is what you Get
Don't like the female lead in a show that's been picked up early? Well, have fun seeing her for at least those first 13, because the producers created the show in a vacuum. Since they didn't have a pilot to recast and reshoot (no one remembers that Rachel Dratch originally played Jane Krakowski's role on 30 Rock), all casting decisions are ones that producers have to live with until they figure out how to write off the character. Also, much of the order is completed without ratings or audience feedback, which could be good (Happy Endings) or not (just ask Michael J. Fox).
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TV Development For 4/1/14: David Duchovny Set As Lead of 13-Episode ‘Aquarius’ For NBC
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TV Development For 4/8/14: Jay Roach & Kristin Gore’s ‘Women In Space’ At HBO
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TV Development For 4/22/14: Christopher Vane’s ‘Impastor’ Set For TV Land
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TV Development For 5/6/14: Spike Lee To Write & Direct ‘She’s Gotta Have It’ For Showtime
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TV Development For 5/20/14: David Hollander & Michael Costigan’s ‘Dope’ Set For Showtime
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TV Development For 5/27/14: Eli Roth To Direct ‘South of Hell’ for WE tv
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