To give you a better idea of what pilot season is like, I have listed a few projects that the broadcast networks have picked up to pilot:
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| Project in contention at ABC Entertainment |
GILDED LILYS
GILDED LILYS comes from Shonda Rimes (left), creator of Grey's Anatomy
and Private Practice. It is an epic love story set in 1895 that follows
the opening of the
first grand luxury hotel in New York, against a backdrop of vicious
family rivalries, scandalous secrets, and conflict and commingling of
classes. Even though Grey's Anatomy is the leading drama series on the
network, the show is slowly losing its viewership. ABC is desperately
looking for a drama project that will help bring back those viewers and
once again they have put their faith in Shonda Rimes. Depending on how
well her new series SCANDAL does, set to premiere April 2012, the
network will probably wait and determine whether this project deserves
to be made into a series. Keep in mind though, this season ABC has tried
and failed to capture viewers with nostalgic throwback shows like PAN
AM and CHARLIE'S ANGELS. If this project is done right, in the vain of
freshman soap-drama series REVENGE, it can easily gain favor with
executives at ABC.
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| Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Pan Am, Charlie's Angels, and Revenge |
 |
| Project in contention at CBS Entertainment |
TWEAKED
Comedy projects are the hot commodity these days. Amongst all the
broadcast networks, CBS is leading the way in comedy viewership with
their hit shows TWO AND A HALF MEN and THE BIG BANG THEORY. It is no
surprise that the network has picked up TWEAKED, an ensemble comedy
about the dating scene among single parents in Santa Monica, California.
Jon Favreau (right), best known for directing the Iron Man movies, is
set to write and direct this pilot. Even though the network has high
profiled Jon Favreau attached to the project, it will be hard for it to
be made into a series. The only comedy casualty this season for CBS is
HOW TO BE A GENTLEMAN. With new sitcom ROB! has been off to a solid
start and TWO BROKE GIRLS doing well, it will definitely be interesting
to see if any life can be brought to this project.
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| Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, How to be a Gentleman, ROB!, and Two Broke Girls |
 |
| Project in contention at The CW |
ARROW AKA GREEN ARROW
The CW is looking to fill a void that was left when the series SMALLVILE
ended last year. The network is obviously trying to bring back that
crowd with ARROW, a action series based on DC Comic's Green Arrow.
Green Arrow, aka Oliver Queen, is a vigilante superhero who fights
crime using archery, martial arts and technology. This season, The CW
has done a pretty good job in launching new series like THE SECRET
CIRCLE and RINGER that stays true to its brand. However, this pilot
season should be different for the network as comedy shows are now in
demand and The CW not wanting to miss out on the wave. The one thing
pulling ARROW being made into a series is that the character was
featured already in SMALLVILLE. Due to his popularity, Green Arrow was
made into a series regular towards the end of the series.
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| Smaville, The Secret Circle, and Ringer |
 |
| This project is in contention at Fox Broadcasting Company |
LITTLE BROTHER
FOX is not particularly known for their comedy shows but they broke
through with success of RAISING HOPE and NEW GIRL. Therefore, the
network is trying to continue this streak with LITTLE BROTHER. It
centers on a former rock musician who
discovers that he has a 20-something half brother who was the product of
his absentee dad's one night encounters. He's thrilled to get
this new information until he learns that his new little brother is a
paroled criminal who wants to move in with him and his wife. T.J. Miller
(right), a rising comedian and star of feature film Cloverfield, is set
to play one of the brothers. With the status of I HATE MY TEENAGE
DAUGHTER unknown, FOX is certainly preparing to beef up their comedy
line up. LITTLE BROTHER is definitely a front runner to be made into a
series.
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| Raising Hope, New Girl, and I Hate My Teenage Daughter |
 | |
| This project is in contention at NBC |
THE MUNSTERS
NBC has been having a hard time maintaining its viewership. It's sad to
know that the best thing going for the network is SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL.
Casualties this season have already included THE PLAYBOY CLUB, FREE
AGENTS, and PRIME SUSPECT. Hopefully, a reboot of 1960's hit THE
MUNSTERS will spark the interest of viewers. This version kicks off when
10-year-old Eddie, who has no idea that
there's anything weird about him and his family, starts to transform
into a werewolf. The family moves to a new town to protect Eddie from
the truth about his transformation, but they ultimately have to share
the truth about vampires, Frankenstein and werewolves. Due to the
success of the original series, add that it is a modern take on the
classic, you can speculate this project being one of the top contenders
of being picked up to series at NBC.
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| Sunday Night Football, The Playboy Club, Free Agents, Prime Suspect |
Well, I hope this overload of information has kept you somewhat
entertained. I did not include any projects from the cable networks
because they do not operate like the broadcast networks. They tend to
pick up pilots sporadically. Maybe my next post will include projects
that I find interesting from the cable networks.
