Skip to main content

Dancing with the Upfronts: ABC Picks Up Ten (Yes, Ten) Pilots to Series

Is it just me or are the networks releasing a lot of series orders way in advance of next week's upfront presentations?

ABC managed to steal NBC's thunder by ordering no less than ten pilots to series. What made the list? Well, it was a diverse group of seven dramas, including a few that made my list of the best pilot scripts, and three comedies (with only one fave in the bunch).

On the drama front, ABC granted series orders to my favorite drama script this season, Bryan Fuller's beautifully whimsical drama Pushing Daisies (look for a review of the completed pilot on Monday), which had me jumping for joy when I heard the news. Whether the American viewing public will warm up to this charming and imaginative series, reminiscent of a brighter version of Wonderfalls--starring that series' Lee Pace, Anna Friel, Chi McBride, Swoozie Kurtz, and Kristen Chenoweth--remains to be seen. I'm just praying they don't dump it, like Fuller's Wonderfalls, on Friday nights. Fingers crossed that it gets a real shot.

Not unsurprisingly, the Grey's Anatomy spin-off Private Practice, which was a shoe-in for an order, received just that, as it will steam up the windows on ABC's fall schedule. I think they'll use it to launch a new night of drama and, with its cachet, it could help anchor the net's struggling Wednesday night (which will be Lost-free now until February).

I was surprised with the orders for Eli Stone, a painfully average script about a lawyer (Jonny Lee Miller) who might just be a prophet, and Cashmere Mafia, about another group of powerful NYC women who dine, dish, and shop together (not to be confused with NBC's far superior Lipstick Jungle), from executive producer Darren Star. Women's Murder Club was fairly ho-hum (other than Angie Harmon it lacks any star power) but it's a decent female-friendly crime entree, so I can see why ABC would order it now (maybe for mid-season?).

I loved the script for Dirty Sexy Money but wasn't blown away by the lackluster completed pilot which lost the script's wry, soapy humor. Still, with a cast that includes the likes of Peter Krause, Donald Sutherland, Jill Clayburgh, William Baldwin, and Samaire Armstrong, even the sub-par direction of Peter Horton couldn't deter the programmers from ordering this to series.

I'm intrigued by Big Shots (f.k.a. Perfect Gentlemen, f.k.a. Firmwood...), which has the potential to become a male-driven Desperate Housewives if programmed and promoted properly. I'm not crazy about Dylan McDermott, but I'll reserve judgement until I see the pilot next week.

On the comedy front, ABC ordered Sam I Am, one of my comedy picks, to series. I can't wait to see how this turned out on screen and it's got a fantastic female quartet in Christina Applegate, Jennifer Esposito, Jean Smart, and Melissa McCarthy. But the network also ordered the flimsy Carpoolers and, in a mind-boggling turn, the absolutely dreadful Cavemen. (Shudder.)

ABC announces its official fall schedule on Tuesday, May 15th. Stay tuned.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I don't watch "Grey's" so the news about "Private Practice" does nothing for me but I am really intrigued by what you keep saying about "Pushing Daisies." How are you seeing these pilots already? Damn, dude, I wish I worked in LA.
Anonymous said…
Ugh. I can't believe Cavemen got picked up to series. Actually, I can. But my response is still "ugh."

On a brighter note, I am very happy about Pushing Daisies. I loved Wonderfalls and have heard really good things about this. Plus, amazing cast! I am really looking forward to your review!
Scott Warheit said…
I'm really looking forward to Big Shots, the cast is great, and I think it has a chance to be a real good show. It'll be interesting to see where on the schedule it lands. ABC seems to have a lot of very promising pilots this year, could make for a very strong schedule in the fall.
The CineManiac said…
I'm super excited about Pushing Daisies and as an avid fan of Wonderfalls can't wait to see what Fuller has up his sleeves with this one.
As far as Cavemen, all I can say is "Really?"
Anonymous said…
Cavemen is possibly the worst pilot I have ever seen. I was actually uncomfortable while watching it.

Popular posts from this blog

What's Done is Done: The Eternal Struggle Between Good and Evil on the Season Finale of "Lost"

Every story begins with thread. It's up to the storyteller to determine just how much they need to parcel out, what pattern they're making, and when to cut it short and tie it off. With last night's penultimate season finale of Lost ("The Incident, Parts One and Two"), written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, we began to see the pattern that Lindelof and Cuse have been designing towards the last five seasons of this serpentine series. And it was only fitting that the two-hour finale, which pushes us on the road to the final season of Lost , should begin with thread, a loom, and a tapestry. Would Jack follow through on his plan to detonate the island and therefore reset their lives aboard Oceanic Flight 815 ? Why did Locke want to kill Jacob? What caused The Incident? What was in the box and just what lies in the shadow of the statue? We got the answers to these in a two-hour season finale that didn't quite pack the same emotional wallop of previous season

Pilot Inspektor: CBS' "Smith"

I may just have to change my original "What I'll Be Watching This Fall" post, as I sat down and finally watched CBS' new crime drama Smith this weekend. (What? It's taken me a long time to make my way through the stack of pilot DVDs.) While it's on following Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars on Tuesday nights (10 pm ET/PT, to be exact), I'm going to be sure to leave enough room on my TiVo to make sure that I catch this compelling, amoral drama. While one can't help but be impressed by what might just be the most marquee-friendly cast in primetime--Ray Liotta, Virginia Madsen, Jonny Lee Miller, Amy Smart, Simon Baker, and Franky G all star and Shohreh Aghdashloo has a recurring role--the pilot's premise alone earned major points in my book: it's a crime drama from the point of view of the criminals, who engage in high-stakes heists. But don't be alarmed; it's nothing like NBC's short-lived Heist . Instead, think of it as The Italian

The Daily Beast: "How The Killing Went Wrong"

While the uproar over the U.S. version of The Killing has quieted, the show is still a pale imitation of the Danish series on which it is based. Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, "How The Killing Went Wrong," in which I look at how The Killing has handled itself during its second season, and compare it to the stunning and electrifying original Danish series, Forbrydelsen , on which it is based. (I recently watched all 20 episodes of Forbrydelsen over a few evenings.) The original is a mind-blowing and gut-wrenching work of genius. It’s not necessary to rehash the anger that followed in the wake of the conclusion last June of the first season of AMC’s mystery drama The Killing, based on Søren Sveistrup’s landmark Danish show Forbrydelsen, which follows the murder of a schoolgirl and its impact on the people whose lives the investigation touches upon. What followed were irate reviews, burnished with the “burning intensity of 10,000 white-hot suns