General Pilot & Shows In Development Discussion

[Trini]

I could have sworn there was already a pilot season thread...

 

We can use this to discuss shows that are not on the air yet, and general pilot trends and news.

 

Variety Development Scorecard,

The Futon Critic DevWatch

[BizBuzz]

I could have sworn there was already a pilot season thread...

 

We can use this to discuss shows that are not on the air yet, and general pilot trends and news.

 

Variety Development Scorecard,

The Futon Critic DevWatch

 

Actually, when I saw you created this, I thought so too, but looked, and can't find it ... HA!

 

I will ask my co-lead if he remembers ... if there is one we will merge, if not, this stays!  Thanks!

[Trini]

TV Upfronts: Who's Up, Who's Down,

[galax-arena]

Julie Plec is getting another show. The CW needs to stop....

[Brandi Maxxxx]

Julie Plec is getting another show. The CW needs to stop....

That would still be true out of context.

[galax-arena]

That would still be true out of context.

I can't hate them entirely because they gave me Nikita and my favorite TV female friendship in Nikita/Alex. 

 

...But I gotta admit that I'm not too thrilled with their superhero bent over the last few seasons, with IIRC yet another one in the pipeline. Not that their past predilection for "rich people drama" was that great either. 

[The Crazed Spruce]

Actually, when I saw you created this, I thought so too, but looked, and can't find it ... HA!

 

I will ask my co-lead if he remembers ... if there is one we will merge, if not, this stays!  Thanks!

I don't remember seeing one, but it's entirely possible.

I'll dig through the lower bowels of this forum later, and if I trip over another pilot thread, I'll merge the two. :)

[paulvdb]

I also thought there was a thread for this but I couldn't find it. I did find two threads that sort of cover (part of) this topic: Your Most and Least Anticipated New Shows and The Cancellation Pool.

[Hanahope]

Both Fox and ABC had some teasers that look interesting, but NBC was awful.  That said, I'm so gun-shy about starting a new show, especially one that involves any sort of mystery, that I tend to just DVR the first few weeks to see if it withstands immediate cancellation.  No point in putting in time for a show that doesn't last past week 3-4, and if they do, I spend the weekend binge-watching those episodes.    There are a few I watched from the beginning, Agent Carter, Galavant, but those were short enough that I expected to see all the episodes regardless. 

[Chrissytd]

Fox trailers

NBC trailers

ABC trailers

CBS trailers

Edited May 13, 2015 by Chrissytd

[DearEvette]

NBC & CBS are doing nothing for me.

Fox and ABC look the most interesting to me.

 

I am kinda digging Lucifer, The Catch & The Real O'neals.

[Rick Kitchen]

Lucifer looks like fun.

The Family looks awesome.

The Real O'Neals looks really funny.  It's loosely based on exec producer Dan Savage's boyhood.  And Martha Plimpton is a goddess of comedy.

Code Black might be good.

 

Interesting, Bradley Cooper in a TV series.  I wonder how many appearances he's going to make.

[Hanahope]

CBS looks ok, though again, I could do without a hospital procedural.  How come every time I have to go to the emergency room (me or kids), there's absolutely nothing going on, maybe another patient or two, but its all so quiet, there's no blood, no crying or screaming families, no drama.

[Chaos Theory]

How come every time I have to go to the emergency room (me or kids), there's absolutely nothing going on, maybe another patient or two, but its all so quiet, there's no blood, no crying or screaming families, no drama.

You're not doing it right? Or maybe..... If you can't find the drama in the hospital you ARE the drama in the hospital.

Edited May 14, 2015 by Chaos Theory

[Chrissytd]

Sans Supergirl, Code Black, and maybe Blindspot, the CBS/NBC trailers didn't really generate any interest. Looking forward to Lucifer, The Frankenstein Code, and a majority of what ABC has to offer.

And Martha Plimpton is a goddess of comedy.

Interesting, Bradley Cooper in a TV series.  I wonder how many appearances he's going to make.

Martha Plimpton is great. I've caught Raising Hope reruns on WGN America and cannot believe I did not watch that show when it was on the air.

From what I've read, Cooper has a recurring role in Limitless.

[selkie]

Some pilots have gotten sent out to the online survey companies, who then pay people in the desired demographics $3-$5 to watch online and comment on them. I remember Code Black and Lucifer getting that treatment a while back and the people who had sen them gave them kind of mixed reviews.

[Shannon L.]

The toughest part of pilot season is having to decide which ones to watch and hope you made the right choice.  There's just no time to watch everything that looks interesting, especially when we have favorites that are returning (oh and the Netflix shows we're in the middle of). 

 

FOX:  The Minority Report looks interesting and, since I need a little lightness among all the dark shows that are on these days, I may just try out Rosewood.  It looks like something that my husband and I can enjoy with the kids.

 

NBC:  I need to see more on the NPH show, but none of the others interests me.

 

ABC:  I'll try The Muppet Show for the hell of it just to see what it's like.  I grew up with them, so a bit of nostalgia is always with me where they're concerned.  The Family and Wicked City, while intriguing, look way too dark and depressing.  I'll try The Real O'Neals--it looks like it could be really funny and I really liked Martha Plimpton in Raising Hope.  Quantico looks good, but it'll be interesting to see how they make it into a long running series (if it lasts).  Right now, it looks like it would make a good, 2 hour movie.

 

CBS:  I'll try Supergirl--again, it's something a bit lighter that we can all watch as a family.  Code Black looks really good and Life in Pieces might have promise.

 

Of course, if our dvr is way too crowded, then we'll just have to skip a few and see if they eventually end up on Netflix or Amazon Prime.

[Minneapple]

Aside from Supergirl, there's nothing I'm really digging. The Fox shows look kind of interesting--Frankenstein and Lucifer. I'll also give Scream Queens a shot.

Usually one or two CW shows catch my eye, but not this year. The new superhero show looks like it will be a mess (though Caity Loitz, I still love you). ABC's The Family looks well-done, but just so angsty and depressing.

Edited May 16, 2015 by Minneapple

[DearEvette]

OH, The CW's My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend looks like it could either be brilliant or an out and out mess.  One thing, the trailer was very...thorough.  LOL.  I think I will have to give that one a shot.

[Chas411]

Quantico looks like Greys Anatomy meets Homeland. The female lead while beautiful is a weak actress and already spouting lines/mannerisms that are Mary Sueish.

I hoped Code Black would be the new ER but the trailer is just full of the usual medical show cliches and the lighting/set looks outdated and super depressing.

The Catch looks good though as does The Family.

My Super Ex Girlfriend looks hilarious.

Edited May 17, 2015 by Chas411

[crimsongrl]

I'm only excited about Blindspot (NBC) and Angel from Hell (CBS). Nostalgia says I have to watch The Muppets (ABC) and I don't know about all the singing but I'm in for a few episodes of My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (CW). Supergirl looks cute, which is not what I was expecting but I'll give it a shot. Lucifer (Fox), Quantico (ABC), Limitless (CBS) and Containment (CW) seem like the type of shows that start strong but fade by mid-season. If they're given short episode orders of 12 I'm more likely to give them some DVR space.

I've learned my lesson with Ryan Murphy and Shonda Rhimes productions so Scream Queens and The Catch are out.

[ABay]

seem like the type of shows that start strong but fade by mid-season

ITA. A lot of the new series sound like they should be limited series because they won't be able to sustain the story past mid-year, let alone a second season.

[DittyDotDot]

I can't decide what's wrong with me lately. None of the promos I've seen got me excited. Not a one. I see potential with Limitless, but also feels like they're trying too hard and the promo might be all it's got in the end.

 

Seriously, shouldn't there be at least one that peaks my interest? Maybe I'm just getting too old for this?

[supposebly]

Same here. I still haven't seen Game of Thrones season 4. Haven't caught up on the final season of Justified and Hannibal is about to start. I feel I don't need a new show to watch.

 

I might try Blindspot and the real O'Neals but I'm not exactly super excited about them.

 

I just saw that CW trailer about some Avengers-type rip-off? Youtube commenters inform me that DC did the Avengers thing before Marvel. Anyway, that's what it looked like to me. My eyes rolled so hard, it's official, I'm too old for that stuff. Unless it has Robert Downey Jr. in it, I'm out.

[ShortyMac]

I will give NBC's Heartbreaker a chance (which means it will get cancelled) because I need medical dramas to fill the void that ER and House left behind. 

[Minneapple]

Quantico looks like Greys Anatomy meets Homeland. The female lead while beautiful is a weak actress and already spouting lines/mannerisms that are Mary Sueish.

Priyanka Chopra, she's a Bollywood A-lister. She's a bad actress but she's actually improved over the years. Her early Bollywood work is downright hilarious.

[Trini]

With recent discussions here about one-season-wonder Kings, I really curious to see how well Of Kings and Prophets will do. Other than that, nothing else from ABC interests me.

 

Looking forward to Supergirl; and I was interested in Rush Hour, but the trailer was bad (to me). I can already see it being next year's Battle Creek. On NBC, Blindspot looks good, and I'm glad to see Wesley Snipes working again, but The Player doesn't look like something I'd stick with. Will check out Heroes: Reborn -- even though I've been burned by Kring before. In theory, Minority Report is something I should be all over, but Fox has burned me too many times when it comes to sci-fi. I'll wait to see what others say about it. I thought I'd be more excited by Legends of Tomorrow, but the trailer made the show look like the hodgepodge of elements and characters that it is, and so far there are only two characters I'm eager to see.

Edited May 18, 2015 by Trini

[Hybridcookie]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS_20JPaEnA

 

Trailer for The Magicians. I thought the book was terrible, but the show looks good

[Wax Lion]

I'm disappointed but not surprised that CBS passed on Super Clyde a second time. I did like the original pilot.

[DeLurker]

I have no idea what the premise actually is/was, but I want Super Clyde to be a spinoff of Elementary starring Clyde the tortoise.

[Actionmage]

What I  Liked/ Am Interested in:

 

*FOX: The Frankenstein Code, Grandfathered, Lucifer and Rosewood;  Runners- Up: Minority Report and The Grinder

*NBC: Blindspot and maybe The Player; I'm usually down with any variety show, but they can't/won't show us what to expect, so I'm not guessing.

*ABC: The Muppets and maybe Quantico; Runners-Up: The Chosen and Dr. Ken

*CBS: Supergirl and Limitless; Runners-Up: Code Black and Life in Pieces

 

The Frankenstein Code feels like Once and Again meets Revenge, if Revenge was about an old man getting payback. Limitless could be fun, since supposedly Bradley Cooper is okay popping up here and there for the show.

[Wax Lion]

FWIW, Super Clyde was a comedy pilot from Greg Garcia, who also created My Name is Earl. The original pilot had Rupert Grint as Clyde, a fast food worker who inherits a fortune and decides to become a "super-hero" who looks for deserving people and schemes to gives them things they need. (It turns out the relative who left him the inheritance had a similar hobby.) In some ways, it was Earl with a smarter protagonist.

 

CBS eventually put the pilot online and it was very promising. (It's no longer on CBS' site but I found it on YouTube.) Unfortunately, that year they passed on it for another show from Garcia, The Millers.

 

This year they re-made the pilot with the boy from The Middle but passed on it again.

[Guest]

The Guide to Surviving Life seems derivative of Old School and the Hangover.

[Brandi Maxxxx]

I'm disappointed but not surprised that CBS passed on Super Clyde a second time. I did like the original pilot.

Greg Garcia and CBS are turning into Charlie Brown and the football.

Edited May 24, 2015 by Brandi Maxxxx

[Trini]

Cheerleader Death Squad may not be totally dead.

“Either we’ll redevelop it, or you might see it come out in a different form,” Wind says. “[Writer/producer] Marc Cherry and I are working on all sorts of ideas with it.”

 

I was hoping this would get picked up; I wanted to check it out at least.

Edited May 29, 2015 by Trini

[BetterButter]

'Urban Cowboy' Remake in the Works at Fox

[Chrissytd]

The Wicked + The Divine Comic To Be Adapted As TV Series By Universal TV Edited May 30, 2015 by Chrissytd

[Trini]

According to TVLine, Fox is considering reviving Prison Break as a limited series. I don't know about the cast returning, but the concept can definitely be remade. When the original series ended, I remember saying that they should do a remake with Michael's son and Sucre's daughter; although they'd have to wait about 20 years!

Edited June 3, 2015 by Trini

[AimingforYoko]

With recent discussions here about one-season-wonder Kings, I really curious to see how well Of Kings and Prophets will do.

Your curiosity is going to linger for a bit.

[Minneapple]

Cheerleader Death Squad may not be totally dead.

 

I was hoping this would get picked up; I wanted to check it out at least.

Me too, the title and concept sound awesomely cracky, I think in the right hands it could be really good.

[GaT]

I'm not sure this is the right place to put this, but I couldn't find anywhere better. They are apparently making a series called Shadowhunters based on The Mortal Instruments books, & I can't imagine why. The movie was a huge disappointment, & the sequel was shelved, so why does anyone think a TV series will work?

[Rick Kitchen]

I'm not sure this is the right place to put this, but I couldn't find anywhere better. They are apparently making a series called Shadowhunters based on The Mortal Instruments books, & I can't imagine why. The movie was a huge disappointment, & the sequel was shelved, so why does anyone think a TV series will work?

 

I couldn't even get through the first book, let alone the whole series.  I was bored by the whole thing.

[Trini]

A Fame reboot in the works at Lifetime.

[Lady Calypso]

I guess I missed watching the Fox trailers when they premiered last month, so I guess I'll do my own list of shows I'll give a try:

 

Fox: Minority Report, Grandfathered, Rosewood for sure. I will possibly give The Grinder a chance, as well as Lucifer and The Frankenstein Code. Fox has some interesting choices this year, so I'll have to pick and choose which ones I want to watch. I think I could like Grandfathered, but it's most likely going to get cancelled if I like it. I'm not a fan of sitcoms/comedies because I have a different type of humour than most shows nowadays, but all the ones I've gotten into the past few years (Enlisted, The Crazy Ones, A to Z) have been cancelled. So...trying to lower my expectations for Grandfathered, but I do love the cast. So clearly, Fox is winning for me this year with interesting shows.

 

NBC: Not much to go on this year, but maybe Blindspot. Heroes Reborn, but only because I recently watched the first three seasons for the first time and I'll eventually watch the fourth....but I'm just a sucker for superhero shows, or at least shows that involve powers. 

 

ABC: The Family, Quantico and The Real O'Neals. I will possibly give Wicked City, Uncle Buck and Oil a look at too. A lot of these choices are based on the actors/actresses, if I have to be honest. The Real O'Neals looks like both a show I would loathe and a show I might actually surprise myself by laughing at. Quantico I can see being easily renewed for a season 2, and could last up to five seasons. The Family is most likely a one off, but it has potential. If it can surprise me, then I'll stick with it. Also, The Catch. It feels like it would make for a better movie, to be honest. Dr. Ken looks stupid and definitely not my type of humour, but like The Millers, it'll probably stick around for two seasons before it gets cancelled. Three, if it's lucky. But maybe I'll be proven wrong. 

 

CBS: Supergirl for sure. I might give Limitless, Angel from Hell and Code Black a chance. I highly doubt I'll stick with Angel from Hell and Code Black looks like it can go either way. I never watched the full movie of Limitless so I'll have to do that before watching the pilot.

 

CW: Legends of Tomorrow, of course. What can I say? Caity Lotz had me pulled in. Crazy Ex Girlfriend looks stupid and I'm not quite sure why it got picked up? But hell if I don't give the pilot a chance. 

 

And...that's about it. I will probably narrow things down to maybe four new shows overall, but these are the ones that look the most interesting and that I'll give a couple of episodes to wow me. I'm going to predict that I'll stick with Quantico, Grandfathered, Legends of Tomorrow and Rosewood or Lucifer or Minority Report. Let's come back to this in March and see if these predictions are correct. 

[Trini]

A Xena: Warrior Princess reboot? Feels like a response to Game of Thrones.

 

-----

ETA: Looks like this is just a rumor.

Edited July 23, 2015 by Trini

[Princess Sparkle]

 

 

CW: Legends of Tomorrow, of course. What can I say? Caity Lotz had me pulled in. Crazy Ex Girlfriend looks stupid and I'm not quite sure why it got picked up? But hell if I don't give the pilot a chance. 

 

 

I remember reading (and for the life of me, I can't remember where; it was a few months ago) that Crazy Ex Girlfriend is a show with good writing and a lousy title.  The article I read thought the CW would change it, but I guess not.

[BetterButter]

Little Women to become little warriors in “gritty” CW reboot

[Luckylyn]

Little Women to become little warriors in “gritty” CW reboot

Seriously?! I like the idea of a modern adaptation of Little Women but in a post-apocalyptic world? Why not just do a more straightforward adaption? Sisters growing up with their mother while their father is away at war could be easily modernized without adding unnecessary b.s.

[Trini]

I don't think they actually wanted to do an adaptation, which is why they should have left "Little Women" out of the pitch. They could have still had the perfectly fine idea of four sisters fighting evil (or whatever); tying it Louisa May Alcott just makes it seem dumb.

Edited August 1, 2015 by Trini

[Snow Apple]

I'm tired of post-apocalyptic and dystopian and that genre. It's been done to death.

 

I would have been all over a straight up adaptation series of Little Women. I miss shows like Dr. Quinn and Christy.