2011-2012 Pilots

WBTV took Kelley's Wonder Woman spec out to the networks in the first week of January. At the time, NBC was the most interested but, with Greenblatt still on the sidelines, the network couldn't commit to the type of license fee that the studio was seeking in order to do the show Kelley had envisioned, and WBTV decided to shelve the project. With Greenblatt now firmly taking the reins and Kelley just delivering one of the most promising new series for NBC this season, Harry's Law, NBC stepped up to greenlight Wonder Woman. The project is described as a reinvention of the iconic D.C. comic in which Wonder Woman -- aka Diana Prince -- is a vigilante crime fighter in L.A. but also a successful corporate executive and a modern woman trying to balance all of the elements of her extraordinary life. "I had a lot of fun writing it," Kelley said of the script at TCA last week when the project had just been put on hold. "It's a huge project, and it was probably a bit too much to ask anyone to try to chew on it for next season. But I'm confident it will still happen. It's a very complicated piece, which is the most fun thing about it."

**Toups** · January 22, 2011

NBC: Mann's World

Mann's World, which [Michael Patrick] King will also direct, is a one hour drama following the complicated life of Allan Mann, a celebrity hair stylist in glamorous Los Angeles as he navigates the complexities of his business, his family life, and his goal to stay relevant in a world that moves quickly. The project is already casting.

**Toups** · January 22, 2011

NBC: Smash

New NBC entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt is putting his stamp on the network's development with a pilot order for a project he originally developed while at Showtime. NBC just greenlighted Smash, an ambitious one-hour musical about the mounting of a Broadway musical based on an idea by Steven Spielberg. The pilot, which will be produced by DreamWorks TV and Universal Media Studios, follows a cross section of characters who come together to put on a Broadway musical. TV writer/playwright Theresa Rebeck wrote the script and is executive producing with Spielberg, Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey of DreamWorks TV, Hairspray producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron and Grammy and Tony-winning songwriters Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman who will pen original songs for the show. Negotiations are underway for Michael Mayer (American Idiot) to direct. Smash joins an expansive slate at DreamWorks TV, which includes 4 series, including the upcoming The Borgias on Showtime and Terra Nova on Fox. Musicals have been a hot genre on the broadcast networks this development season with in light of the success of Fox's Glee, but Smash is the first such project to reach a pilot stage.

**Toups** · January 22, 2011

NBC: I Hate That I Love You

Also greenlighted to pilot at NBC under Greenblatt is the comedy spec I Hate That I Love You, from Will & Grace alumna Jhoni Marchinko and 20th Century Fox TV. It is described as a twisty single-camera romantic comedy in which a straight couple introduces two of its lesbian friends to one another and what results is both instant attraction and a pregnancy.

**Toups** · January 22, 2011

NBC: The Playboy Club

NBC has made its first drama pilot order this development season and it has gone to Playboy, a period drama about Playboy bunnies in the Chicago club in the 1960s. The project, set against the background of the political and moral changes in the 1960s, was written by Chad Hodge. 20th Century Fox TV and Imagine TV, which first took a stab at the concept last season with a different writer, are producing. Hodge is executive producing Playboy with Imagine's Brian Grazer and and the company's new TV chief Francie Calfo. This is the first pilot order this month as the New Year marks the beginning of the traditional pilot pickup season. The green light for Playboy comes before NBC's new top programmer Bob Greenblatt has officially joined the network, something expected to happen later this month when the Comcast-NBCU gets government approval.

**Toups** · January 22, 2011

NBC: 17th Precinct

NBC has given a pilot order to 17th Precinct, an ensemble cop drama with supernatural elements from Battlestar Galactica developer/executive producer Ron Moore. The project, from Sony Pictures TV where Moore is under an overall deal, has been described as an adult Harry Potter. It is set in the fictional town of Excelsior where magic and supernatural elements rule over science. The pitch for the drama landed at NBC in September with a big commitment that reportedly included pilot and series penalties totaling close to $2 million.

**Toups** · January 22, 2011

CBS: Two Broke Girls

In what may be the last bidding war this development season, I hear CBS has landed Two Broke Girls, a multi-camera comedy co-written by former Sex and the City showrunner Michael Patrick King and comedian Whitney Cummings. The project, which the two wrote on spec at Warner Bros. TV where King is under a rich overall deal, was taken out this week and, after heated bidding, landed at CBS with a pilot production commitment. Like Sex and the City, Two Broke Girls is set in New York and features female protagonists. But the similarities end there. As the title suggests, the CBS/Warner Bros. TV project centers on two 22-year-old girls who tackle life in New York: two broke girls, one expensive city. (It is safe to assume that the two won't be wearing Manolo Blahniks.) King is executive producing the pilot, while Cummings is co-executive producing. This is the second spec sale for King, who is returning to TV this development season after taking a break to write and direct the two Sex and the City movies. A drama he wrote about a 50-something Beverly Hills hairdresser landed at NBC with a pilot commitment last month. 28-year-old Cummings also has a second project set up at NBC. She is writing and is attached to star in a comedy about a woman who's afraid of marriage. Cummings, a frequent guest on Chelsea Lately and a celebrity roaster on Comedy Central, is part of a group of sexy foul-mouthed comedians that includes Chelsea Handler and Sarah Silverman whose act often tackles relationships and sex. She is set to host MTV New Year's Bash. King and Cummings are with CAA.

**Toups** · January 22, 2011

CW: Ringer

Sarah Michelle Gellar is returning to broadcast series TV with a pilot at CBS. In its first drama pilot pickup this season, CBS has greenlighted Ringer, which is toplined by the former Buffy the Vampire Slayer star. The project hails from ABC Studios, CBS TV Studios and Brillstein Entertainment Partners. Ringer, written on spec by Supernatural writer-producers Eric Charmelo & Nicole Snyder, centers on a troubled young woman (Gellar) who, while on the run from the mob, hides out by inhabiting the life of her wealthy twin sister, until she learns that her twin’s life has a bounty on it as well. Brillstein's Peter Traugott is executive producing, with Gellar, Charmelo and Snyder co-executive producing. Geller, repped by ICM and Brillstein's Joanne Colonna, has been heavily pursued by the broadcast networks since the end of Buffy in 2003. Her only TV gig since then had been the HBO pilot The Wonderful Maladys. Charmelo and Snyder, who are story editors on Supernatural, are with UTA and the Shuman Co.

[Originally for CBS]

**Toups** · January 22, 2011

CBS: A Gifted Man

The pickup of Ringer was followed by another drama pilot order by CBS to an untitled supernatural medical drama from writer Susannah Grant. The untitled Susannah Grant project, from CBS TV Studios and studio-based Timberman/Beverly Prods., centers on an ultra-competitive surgeon whose life is changed forever when his ex-wife dies and begins teaching him what life is all about from the here-after. Grant is executive producing with Timberman and Beverly who are in their first development season at their new studio home, CBS Studios.

**Toups** · January 22, 2011

CBS: The 2-2

CBS has made another drama pilot pickup, giving the green light to [The 2-2], an ensemble cop show from The Color of Money writer Richard Price. The project, about six NYPD rookies who balance their personal lives with learning the beat on the streets of Manhattan, is executive produced by Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal through their Tribeca production banner as well as Price. CBS TV Studios, where Tribeca has a TV deal, is producing. This would mark a second NY-based cop drama series for CBS, which also has freshman Blue Bloods, in addition to forensic procedural CSI: NY. Feature writer Price ventured into series TV with a writing gig on the HBO drama The Wire

**Toups** · January 22, 2011

CBS: Vince Uncensored

There has been a flurry of activity on the pilot pickup front today. CBS just greenlighted comedy pilot Vince Uncensored, written by veteran sitcom writer Phoef Sutton and executive produced by Conan O'Brien. The project, produced by O'Brien's Conaco Prods. and Warner Bros. TV, is the first pilot to come out Conaco Prods.'s overall deal with WBTV signed last spring following O'Brien's exit from NBC and the announcement of his new latenight talk show at TBS. Vince Uncensored centers on a man who, after a life-changing experience, decides to take a more honest approach to his life, work and family. Sutton wrote the script and is executive producing with O’Brien and David Kissinger. Conaco most recently co-produced the short-lived NBC legal drama Outlaw.

All My Shadows · January 22, 2011

All of these are executive produced by Mr. and Mrs. Beau Wring.

**Toups** · January 23, 2011

ABC: Don't Trust the Bitch in Apt. 23

On the heels of ABC renewing its flagship comedy series Modern Family for a third season, the network is finalizing a deal to pick up a single-camera comedy pilot directed by the Modern Family pilot director Jason Winer. The 20th TV-produced project, tentatively titled Don't Trust the Bitch in Apt. 23, was written/executive produced by American Dad executive producer Nahnatchka Khan and executive produced/supervised by former American Dad! writer-producer David Hemingson. It centers on an an earnest, honest, optimistic girl from the heartland who, due to circumstances beyond her control, is forced to move in with a sexy, unstable New York City party girl who has the morals of a pirate. Khan and Hemingson originally developed the project for Fox 2 seasons ago. Now, it is finding a second life at ABC with a pilot order and Winer as director. Bitch marks the first pilot directing gig for Winer since Modern Family, also for ABC/20th TV, which earned him an Emmy and an DGA nomination. Winer, who also served as director/co-executive producer on the first season of Family, is bring along Family producer Jeff Morton who will serve as a producer on Bitch. For Khan, the project is in second position to Connected, a single-camera comedy she has in contention at Fox. Additionally, she has comedy Dealbreaker under consideration at ABC.

**Toups** · January 23, 2011

ABC: Last Man Standing

ABC is really manning up this pilot season. After greenlighting Chris Moynihan's comedy pilot Man Up earlier this month, the network has just picked up another project by that name, this one from writer-producer Jack Burditt (30 Rock), which has Tim Allen circling the lead. The multicamera Jack Burditt project, which has now being renamed to [Last Man Standing], originally landed at ABC in November with a put pilot commitment after a bidding war with CBS. The project, from 20th TV and 21 Laps/Adelstein Prod., centers on a guy fighting for his manhood in a world of women. Burditt is executive producing with Marty Adelstein, Shawn Levy and Becky Clements.

2011-2012 Pilots

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