2012-2013 Pilots

[DRW50]

The title alone deserves cancelation.

[Toups]

ABC: Gilded Lillys

ABC has given the pilot green light to Gilded Lillys, a period drama written/executive produced by The Nine co-creator KJ Steinberg and executive produced by Shonda Rhimes. Set in 1895 New York City, Gilded Lillys is described as an epic love story that follows the opening of the first luxury hotel in the city and the intermingling of love, treachery and disdain between the classes.

[DRW50]

Kind of surprised they're getting a show - most of Shonda's shows have flopped, as did The Nine.

I guess these period pieces are starting because of Downton Abbey. I always want more period shows on TV (I wish we'd get more from the 40's) so I hope it's a success.

[Toups]

NBC: The Frontier

NBC just gave the green light to the Sony TV-produced period Western The Frontier, from writer Shaun Cassidy and Prospect Park. Thomas Schlamme is attached to direct and executive produce the pilot, which chronicles the journey of a group of disparate travelers from Missouri to the West Coast in 1840. As they struggle to survive, these strangers will be forced to band together and form a family, while they boldly press forward into the great unknown that is the Frontier. The Frontier is one of 3 Western drama scripts commissioned by NBC this season.

[Toups]

NBC: Midnight Sun

Midnight Sun, based on the Israeli series Timrot Ashan, aka Pillars of Smoke, is a thriller following the mysterious disappearance of a group living on a commune in Alaska. The Alaska setting is appropriate given that the original series is being described as described as Twin Peaks meets Northern Exposure meets Lost. Midnight Sun centers on a female FBI cult specialist starts an investigation that uncovers a larger conspiracy. Lisa Zwerling wrote the adaptation and is executive producing the pilot with Peter Traugott, his executive Rachel Kaplan and Alon Aranya.

[Toups]

NBC: Do No Harm

Do No Harm is a medical drama about a brilliant neurosurgeon who wrestles with his dangerous alter-ego that threatens to wreak havoc on his personal and professional life. David Schulner wrote the script and is executive producing with Traugott and Kaplan.

[Toups]

CW: Arrow

The CW is finalizing a deal for a pilot order to Arrow, an hourlong superhero drama based on DC Comics’ Green Arrow. It is written and executive produced by The Green Lantern co-writers Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim and Fringe and Vampire Diaries alum Andrew Kreisberg. I hear that David Nutter will likely direct the project, which takes the comic book character created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp and sets him in a new world with an original story that is not based on the comics, which are published by DC Entertainment. Arrow, produced by Warner Bros TV and Berlanti’s studio-based Berlanti Television, was developed by Berlanti and Guggenheim, who came up with the idea and wrote the storyline and then brought in Kreisberg to write the script. Kreisberg, who has comics experience having written DC Comics’ Green Arrow and Black Canary among other books, previously worked with Berlanti and Guggenheim on their ABC drama Eli Stone.

[Toups]

NBC: Save Me

NBC has closed the deal for a cast-contingent, off-cycle pilot order to comedy Save Me. The single-camera project hails from writer John Scott Shepherd, Sony Pictures TV and Neal Moritz’s studio-based Original Films. Save Me centers on a woman who, after an accident, starts to believe that she is channeling God.

[Toups]

FOX: Untitled Karyn Usher drama

Fox has given a pilot order to a spy drama written by Karyn Usher (The Playboy Club). The procedural thriller centers on the orphaned 17-year-old daughter of a CIA operative who is recruited to become an operative herself. She encounters a mysterious rogue agent/assassin who serves as both her surrogate father and professional mentor in the spy world. The project hails from 20th Century Fox TV and Mary Adelstein and Shawn Levy’s studio-based 21 Laps/Adelstein Prods. Usher, Adelstein, Becky Clements and Levy are executive producing.

[Toups]

FOX: The Asset

Fox has given a pilot order to The Asset, Josh Freidman’s female-centered action drama, which had a put pilot commitment at the network. The project, from 20th Century Fox TV, is described as a character-driven drama set in the New York office of the CIA, which centers on a female agent.

[Toups]

CBS: Trooper

CBS has greenlighted to pilot Trooper, a character-based procedural drama from Jerry Bruckheimer Television and Warner Bros. The project, written by Aron Eli Coleite (NBC’s Heroes), centers on a common-sense mother-turned-New York state trooper. Coleite, Bruckheimer and Jonathan Littman are executive producing, with Bruckheimer TV’s KristieAnne Reed co-executive producing.

[Toups]

NBC: The New Normal

It’s officially a go for NBC’s comedy project from the Glee duo of Ryan Murphy and Allison Adler. The network has given a pilot order to The New Normal, a single-camera project co-written by Glee co-creator Murphy and Adler and to be directed by Murphy, which might be the last half-hour to snag a pickup at NBC this season. The Book Of Mormon star Andrew Rannells is set for one of 3 leads in the project, a heartwarming comedy about a blended family of a gay couple and the woman who becomes a surrogate to help them start a family.

[Toups]

CBS: Untitled Nick Stoller comedy

CBS has given the pilot green light to a comedy from feature writer-director Nick Stoller (The Muppets), Chernin Entertainment and 20th Century Fox TV. Stoller wrote and will direct the untitled project loosely based on his real-life experiences. It is a twenty-something ensemble comedy about a guy who gets his heart broken by his girlfriend and now has to work one cubicle away from her at an ad agency. Stoller, Katherine Pope and Peter Chernin are executive producing. This is a rare venturing into single-camera comedy for CBS, which has built its comedy success on multi-camera sitcoms.

[Toups]

CBS: Made In Jersey (previously Baby Big Shot)

Baby Big Shot, from Sony TV, Jamie Tarses’ studio-based Fanfare and CBS TV Studios, centers on a working-class woman who uses her street smarts to compete with her more polished colleagues at a tony Manhattan law firm. Falls, Tarses and her Fanfare partner Julia Franz are executive producing, with Calvo serving as co-executive producer. This marks the first network drama pilot for comedy-centric Fanfare, which ventured into the hourlong format with TNT dramedy Franklin & Bash.

[Toups]

CBS: Elementary

Elementary, from CBS TV Studios and studio-based Timberman/ Beverly Prods., is described as a modern take on the cases of the pipe-smoking private eye created by Arthur Conan Doyle, with Sherlock now living in New York City. Veteran Medium writer-producer Doherty wrote the script and is executive producing the project with Sarah Timberman & Carl Beverly.