Fall '09 Pilots


JackFetch

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NBC

Mercy

From the people who brought you "Friday Night Lights" (Liz Heldens)

Logline: A look at three nurses and their personal and professional lives

How it’s different: They’re not doctors, they’re nurses

Trauma

From the people who brought you “Faceless,” “Hancock” (Dario Scardapane, Peter Berg)

Logline: Ensemble series where EMTs help people

How it’s different: They’re not doctors, they’re paramedics, and they move around a lot

Legally Mad

From the people who brought you “Boston Legal” (David E. Kelley)

Logline: Father and daughter lawyers work at firm with eccentric characters

How it’s different: They’re not just lawyers, they’re family members. Will there be unresolved tension from their past that spills into their professional lives?

Lost & Found

From the people who brought you “Law & Order” (Dick Wolf)

Logline: Female cop upsets superiors and is sent to her department's basement as punishment, finds items from the lost & found and uses them to solve cold cases

How it’s different: Puts Katee Sackhoff in a basement

Day One

From the people who brought you “Heroes” (Jesse Alexander)

Logline: In the aftermath of a "global event" that devastates the world's infrastructures, a small band of survivors strive to rebuild society and unravel the mysteries of why the event took place

How it’s different: Can "Jericho" protesters just pretend this is "Jericho" and stop buying ads lobbying CBS to bring back the show?

Parenthood

From the people who brought you "Friday Night Lights" and “Parenthood” (Jason Katims, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer)

Logline: A dramedy a based on Howard's 1989 feature that centered on a Midwestern family

How it’s different: Family dramedy, with a name you’ve heard before

Southland

From the people who brought you “ER” (John Wells)

Logline: A group of police officers in Los Angeles solve crimes; fast-tracked to series

How it’s different: Um...

FOX

Masterwork

From the people who brought you “Prison Break” (Paul Scheuring)

Logline: Race against time to recover the world's most sought-after artifacts in the vein of “National Treasure” and “The Da Vinci Code”

How it’s different: This is the type of idea that you always hope will be cool and fun and live up to its premise, but it's tough to make work on a TV budget

Untitled Reincarnation Project (formerly titled "Reincarnationist")

From the people who brought you “Friday Night Lights” (David Hudgins)

Logline: Past-life investigators use reincarnation to solve mysteries

How it’s different: They’re not cops, they work outside the law

Maggie Hill

From the people who brought you “Shark” (Ian Biederman)

Logline: "Genius comes with a price." Female heart surgeon who’s also suffering from schizophrenia

How it’s different: She’s a doctor, but also kind of crazy

Virtuality

From the people who brought you “Battlestar Galactica” (Ron Moore)

Logline: Sci-fi drama set in two different worlds, outer space and a seemingly limitless virtual reality

How it’s different: Sound like “Law & Order” to you? Unfortunately odds are against this one going to series with the pilot being reworked

Eva Adams

From the people who brought you “The West Wing” (Kevin Falls)

Logline: Male chauvinist wakes up in woman’s body

How it’s different: It's an hourlong drama instead of a comedy like one might expect, so that makes it a bit different

Human Target

From a new writer (Jon Steinberg) and the people who brought you “Chuck” (McG)

Logline: Based on the DC Comics title, Christopher Chance is a mysterious security-for-hire who assumes the identities of people in life-threatening danger, becoming the "human target" on behalf of his clients

How it’s different: If the comic book were any good, wouldn't it be three movies by now? And will it be better than ABC's 1992 version that starred Rick Springfield?

CBS

Untitled NCIS spinoff

From the people who brought you “NCIS”

Logline: Spinoff set in the “NCIS” universe

How it’s different: It might end up starring Chris O’Donnell and L.L. Cool J; other than that, it's basically another NCIS team

Untitled U.S. Attorney Project

From the people who brought you "The Unit" (Frank Military)

Logline: Legal ensemble centered around a team of federal prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan

How it's different: They're not lawyers, they're federal prosecutors

House Rules

From: The people who brought you "North Country" and “Grey’s Anatomy” (Michael Seitzman and Mark Gordon)

Logline: Follows the freshman class of congressmen/women as they begin their careers in Washington

How it’s different: Networks keep trying to develop a “young faces of Capitol Hill” series; maybe this will break the curse

Washington Field

Logline: Set in the elite Washington field office of the FBI that protects national interests, this team of agents is called together for only the most critical cases

How it’s different: They're not cops, they're FBI agents. And you can't bother them for just anything, you know

Back

Logline: A man returns home only to discover he had been reported missing eight years earlier, following 9/11. He must learn how to reconnect with his family and a world that moved on without him

How it’s different: The combination of 9/11 and time travel you've been craving

A Marriage

From the people who brought you "Once and Again" (Marshall Herskovitz, Edward Zwick)

Logline: "Anatomy of a marriage that works"

How it’s different: That's an anatomy of a logline that doesn't work. Presumably something dramatic happens at some point

ABC

Untitled Jerry Bruckheimer crime drama

From the people who brought you “CSI” (Bruckheimer)

Logline: Team of amateur detectives working on cases of unidentified victims

How it’s different: They’re not just cops, they’re amateurs

Brothers & Detectives (now untitled)

From the people who brought you “Dexter” (Daniel Cerone)

Logline: Low-level detective discovers he has a brilliant 11-year-old brother who loves solving puzzles

How it’s different: He’s not a cop, he’s 11

Empire State

From Michael Seitzman

Logline: "Romeo and Juliet" love story about two families -- ironworkers and real estate tycoons -- collide in present-day Manhattan

How it’s different: You just know somebody is falling off a 60-story-high girder, and it ain't gonna be an ironworker

Eastwick

From the people that brought you "Jack & Bobby" (Maggie Friedman)

Logline: Based on John Updike's "The Witches of Eastwick," three modern-day women discover they have magical powers

How it’s different: Magical realism on ABC is hardly new, but "Eastwick" could be interesting

Flash Forward

From the people who brought you “Threshold” (Daivd Goyer, Brannon Braga)

Logline: Everyone in the world blacks out for two minutes and has a vision of their future. Chaos ensues

How it’s different: Firmly different

Happy Town

From the people who brought you "October Road" (Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec, Scott Rosenberg)

Logline: Mystery in a small town that had enjoyed a seven-year peace after a series of kidnappings until it is hit by another crime

How it’s different: They’re not cops, they’re townsfolk

I, Claudia

From the people who brought you “The Days” (John Scott Shepherd)

Logline: Young female attorney who will one day be a contender for president of the United States

How it’s different: She’s not just an attorney, she’s the future leader of the free world

Inside the Box

From the people who brought you “Grey’s Anatomy” (Shonda Rhimes)

Logline: Ensemble female-centric drama set in a Washington network news bureau

How it’s different: They're reporters. Always dicey since, unlike cop-lawyer-doctors, the process of reporting tends to lack big victories and dramatic happy endings (sniff)

Untitled Dave Hemingson

From the people who brought you “How I Met Your Mother” (Hemingson)

Logline: Blue-collar kid gets job as attorney at powerful L.A. entertainment firm. " 'Entourage' meets 'Melrose Place' meets 'L.A. Law' "

How it’s different: They’re really attractive lawyers and, hey look, a celebrity

Limelight

From the people who brought you "Chuck" and "Gossip Girl" (McG, K.J. Steinberg)

Logline: Teachers and students at performing arts college in New York

How it’s different: From what? From "Fame"? Um, quicker editing? Tighter leotards?

V

Logline: Based on the 1983 miniseries, "V" chronicles human resistance fighters battling aliens.

From the people that brought you "The 4400" (Scott Peters)

How it’s different: Both the copy machine and apocalypse icon for this one, but still: Who doesn't like an alien invasion? It's after they invade that the storytelling gets tricky

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Human Target

From a new writer (Jon Steinberg) and the people who brought you “Chuck” (McG)

Logline: Based on the DC Comics title, Christopher Chance is a mysterious security-for-hire who assumes the identities of people in life-threatening danger, becoming the "human target" on behalf of his clients

How it’s different: If the comic book were any good, wouldn't it be three movies by now? And will it be better than ABC's 1992 version that starred Rick Springfield?

The ONLY one I'm interested in.

V

Logline: Based on the 1983 miniseries, "V" chronicles human resistance fighters battling aliens.

From the people that brought you "The 4400" (Scott Peters)

How it’s different: Both the copy machine and apocalypse icon for this one, but still: Who doesn't like an alien invasion? It's after they invade that the storytelling gets tricky

Yeah, ask Marvel

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"Vampire Diaries," from WBTV and Alloy, is based on Alloy's 15-year-old series of novels, which are enjoying a resurgence with their reprinting in the wake of the success of "Twilight."

It centers on a tragic young heroine who is the object of passion for two vampire brothers -- one good, one evil -- who are at war for her soul and for the souls of her friends, family and other residents of the small town in which she resides.

Kevin Williamson, creator of "Dawson's Creek" and the "Scream" feature franchise, wrote the script with Julie Plec ("Kyle XY). Williamson is exec producing with Plec, Alloy's Les Morgenstein and Bob Levy.

"Body Politic," from CBS Par, gives a look at D.C. politics through the eyes of optimistic young staffers, focusing on a young woman who moves to D.C. to work for a Senator and the other eager up-and-comers with whom she becomes friends.

Jason Rothenberg and Bill Robinson penned the script and will exec produce with Peter Horton.

"Body Politic" is the second Capitol Hill-set pilot this season, along with the CBS drama "House Rules," about freshmen congressmen/congresswomen.

The CW tried the arena last year with Rod Lurie's drama pilot "I'm Paige Wilson."

"Vampire Diaries" and "Body Politic" join CW's "Gossip Girl" spinoff, which was greenlighted as a backdoor pilot, and "Light Years."

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/conten...7b37c73cbe60217

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David Nutter, the director-producer who is 14-for-14 in helming pilots that have earned series pickups, has signed on to direct and exec produce the pilot of "Eastwick," Warner Bros. TV's adaptation of 1987 hit "The Witches of Eastwick" for ABC.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR111799980...yid=14&cs=1

So this Fall season is all about the remakes of old stuff?

There are a bunch of mid season comedies coming:

At ABC, new Bob Saget laffer "Surviving Suburbia" falls in line with ABC Entertainment Group topper Steve McPherson's desire to return to the net's sitcom roots.

The Alphabet has high hopes for "Suburbia," a multicamera comedy in the vein of "Roseanne" and "Home Improvement," two shows that (for many) still define the ABC brand more than a decade after they went off the air. "Suburbia" had been scheduled for Media Rights Capital's Sunday night sked on the CW; when that deal collapsed, MRC brought the show to ABC (which will launch it in April).

"We were all skeptical when we went to look at it, but it does feel like a traditional ABC show," says ABC Entertainment exec VP Jeff Bader. "Our research shows that's what people expect from ABC, even though we haven't had a show like that in years."

Indeed, McPherson told reporters last month that the Alphabet was looking to develop more comedies of that ilk.

"That kind of show is missing," McPherson says. "These are tough times, and people want more comfort food. ... There's an intimacy missing when the sitcom is nowhere on the air. People respond to those comedies. I would like to see us get back to a contemporary version of ('Roseanne' or 'Home Improvement'). There's a real place for that."

ABC has several family-oriented laffers in development, including the Patricia Heaton starrer "The Middle," the comedy "18 to Life" and the Chris Lloyd/Steve Levitan entry "My American Family." The Alphabet also has a multicam sitcom in the works starring Kelsey Grammer.

Bader says he hopes to program at least two hours of comedy next fall. Whether he can do that depends on whether ABC can attract auds to its midseason comedy blocks. Other newcomers "Better off Ted" and "In the Motherhood" are set to bow in March, while the animated comedy "The Goode Family" will likely land a spot in May.

The network will go male-centric on Wednesdays, where "Scrubs" will be paired with "Ted" starting March 18 in the 8 p.m. hour prior to "Lost."

That pits "Scrubs" against CBS' "The New Adventures of Old Christine" in a battle of solid comedies that have never become smashes, and "Ted" against modest first-year laffer "Gary Unmarried."

On Thursdays starting March 23, ABC is targeting femme auds in the 8 p.m. hour before "Grey's Anatomy," putting "Ugly Betty" on hiatus to pair sophomore entry "Samantha Who" with the bow of "In the Motherhood." ("Samantha's" old post-"Dancing with the Stars" berth on Monday nights is now going to "Suburbia.")

ABC is taking the unusual step of opening the night with newcomer "Motherhood," which will go up against NBC's established "My Name Is Earl." That might be because "Samantha" has been tasked with facing off against the Peacock's much-buzzed-about new Amy Poehler comedy, "Parks and Recreation."

"Samantha" may benefit from early tune-in for "Grey's," and it will get a head start on "Parks and Recreation" by a few weeks.

But it's gonna be a tough battle, as "Parks" is easily the most anticipated of the new comedy crop.

"Parks and Recreation," which comes from "The Office's" Greg Daniels and Mike Schur, bows April 9 at 8:30 p.m., in the slot vacated by lackluster fall sitcom "Kath & Kim." Net is turning the show around quickly, and just recently started shooting its pilot episode.

If NBC has any hopes of launching a second comedy block next season, "Parks" needs to work -- allowing the Peacock to move one of its Thursday entries to another night.

CBS Entertainment prexy Nina Tassler has already suggested the Eye will continue to program two nights of comedy next season. The net isn't bowing anything new in midseason, but is bringing back "Rules of Engagement" on Mondays in the post-"Two and a Half Men" slot vacated by "Worst Week."

Sitting out the live-action comedy race for now is Fox, which is focusing on its comedy bread-and-butter this midseason -- animation -- with "Sit Down, Shut Up." Fox hopes to get back into the game next season, having recently greenlit four comedy pilots, as well as a fourth season of the Brad Garrett sitcom " 'Til Death"

"We're down to a low pulse level on the live-action comedy brand," Reilly says. "Until we have a show that can fire up a time period or we can find a show that can be compatible with 'Idol,' we'll be a bit methodical."

Among Fox's new comedy pilots: a blue-collar comedy set in Detroit, and another project about a mall cop.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR111799971...yid=14&cs=1

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  • 2 months later...
Although most pilots -- especially on the comedy side -- are yet to be completed, several projects are enjoying early buzz based on screenings, testings, dailies or the strength of their script and cast.

ABC's sci-fi drama "Flash Forward" starring Joseph Fiennes is a lock for a series order.

Also hot on the drama side at ABC are "Happy Town," "Eastwick" and "Inside the Box," with "Limelight," "V" and the Dave Hemingson project also looking good. Last year's pilot "Captain Cook's Extraordinary Atlas," which didn't make the cut in August, is back in contention, now for next season.

On the comedy side, "An American Family," the untitled Ricky Blitt project starring Alyssa Milano, and "Cedric" are being buzzed about, along with the Courteney Cox starrer "Cougar Town."

At Fox, the comic book-based "Human Target," directed by Simon West and starring Jackie Earle Haley, is considered a shoo-in, joining the already ordered "Glee."

Also hot is the medical drama "Maggie Hill." Comedy-wise, "Sons of Tucson" and "Cop House" are considered front-runners.

"Trauma" looks strong at NBC, with the opening action sequence of the Peter Berg-directed pilot creating a lot of buzz. "Parenthood," a recognizable property is based on the 1989 movie, boasts a well-liked script by Jason Katims and a star-studded cast that includes Peter Krause, Maura Tierney, Monica Potter, Erika Christenen and Craig T. Nelson. That project has begun preliminary staffing.

Also in serious contention at NBC are David E. Kelley's "Legally Mad" and the Katee Sackhoff starrer "Lost & Found."

On the comedy side, "Community," starring Joel McHale and Steve Martin, is hot, with the previously shot "Off Duty," starring Bradley Whitford, looking promising along with "100 Questions for Charlotte Payne," which is coming off a strong table read.

At CBS, the "NCIS" planted spinoff starring Chris O'Donnell and LL Cool J looks like a sure bet.

The rest of the field is still murky, with the drama "Three Rivers," toplined by Alex O'Loughlin, considered a strong contender. Also talked about are the dramas "The Good Wife," "Washington Field" and "US Attorney" and the comedies "Happiness Isn't Everything," starring Jason Biggs, Richard Dreyfuss and Mary Steenburgen, and "Accidentally on Purpose," starring Jenna Elfman.

All six CW pilots are tracking well for now.

The new "Melrose Place" is considered a go, and network brass is said to be happy with the "Gossip Girl" planted spinoff, also considered a front-runner.

The competition will be fierce for the remaining couple of slots, with "Light Years," "A Beautiful Life," "Body Politic" and "Vampire Diaries" all said to be in contention.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/conten...37a9c9dd3c2268e

I don't really see anything huge there. I think the networks are scared to do a big blockbuster type show after Knight Rider failed to live up to the hype. V is the only thing that even remotely interests me.

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  • 1 month later...
Guest DCAUFan1051

figured I'd put this here...... since I can't find the NCIS Spinnoff thread... it's still on topic here:

I just saw on twitter that TV Guide posted about CBS's upfront. They've picked up Medium. Which will run on Fridays either in front of Ghost Whisperer or behind it.

NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles so I guess that's the new spinoff title kinda goes into the storyline of what happened in the last few episodes of the NCIS sixth season.

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Flash forward looks interesting.

I can't believe the people who made Ally McBeal and Boston Legal are making ANOTHER show set in a law firm. For the love of god, why not set it in a government building or advertising agency? Something new for gods sake! I don't need to see the story of a mixed gender child trying to sue their parents for forcing them to take male hormones for the 15th time.

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