1) Bad Words!One of the hot things this year is envelope-pushing pilot titles. Now, I’m sure all of these titles are subject to change (see the jumbled mess of symbols that Shit My Dad Says became), but dammit if just a little intrigued by Don’t Trust the Bitch in Apt. 23, Good Christian Bitches, and Chicks & Dicks. Don’t Trust the Bitch finally makes perpetual second bananas Krysten Ritter (Confessions of a Shopaholic, Veronica Mars, Breaking Bad) and Dreama Walker (Gossip Girl,The Good Wife) the star of their own show, and allows James Van Der Beek to continue his inexplicable ironic reign of playing himself. Meanwhile, Good Christian Bitches has already gotten grief from the Parents Television Council, so it must be doing something right, and its cast of TV alumni (Designing Women’s Annie Potts, JAG‘s David James Elliot, Pushing Daisies’ Kristin Chenoweth, Popular‘s Leslie Bibb, and Swingtown‘s Miriam Shor) certainly backs up that theory. And Fox’s Chicks & Dicks, managed to snag Zooey Deschanel, the sort of star who still seems like she’s slumming it by even coming to TV (and broadcast no less!), though I guess it helps that big sister Emily is already ensconced on the network.
2) Lovely Losties!
Some of us might not have liked the way Lost ended, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want its talented cast members back on the air ASAP. Lost’s mega-producer JJ Abrams is trying to bring us two new shows: CBS’ Person of Interest (starring Jim Caviezel, Taraji P. Henson, and Lost‘s Michael Emerson, and penned by Christopher Nolan’s brother Jonah), and a show about a different island — Fox’s Alcatraz (starring Parminder Nagra and Lost‘s Jorge Garcia). AndLost‘s Henry Ian Cusick is featured (alongside For Colored Girls‘ Kerry Washington, Mad Men‘s Darby Stanchfield, and Half Baked’s Gullermo Diaz) in the umpteenth pilot from Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes, Damage Control. And it would seem that Desperate Housewives’ Marc Cherry didn’t want to look like a slacker against Rhimes, and is launching a second ABC show of his own, this one a Touched by Angel: The Musical-esque series (Hallelujah) starring Jesse L. Martin, Terriers‘ Donal Logue, and and John Locke himself (or, at least his portrayer), Terry O’Quinn.
3) Good Showrunners!
Besides the stars fronting some of this year’s big pilots, I’m also excited to see some of the people behind the scenes of all of these potential shows. Gossip Girl co-creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage have a promising-sounding DC-set soap at ABC called Georgetown, starring Undercovers‘ Boris Kodjoe, Lone Star‘s Jimmy Wolk, nuMelrose Place‘s Katie Cassidy, Gossip Girl‘s Kevin Zegers, and Jurassic Park kid-turned-Social Network supporting player Joseph Mazzello. And the dynamic Schwartz/Savage duo still have time to produce The CW’s Hart of Dixie starring Schwartz’s OC muse Rachel Bilson, and Friday Night Lights‘ Scott Porter. NBC’s sexy flight attendant soap Pam Am, starring Christina Ricci, also has frequent Sorkin pal Thomas Schlamme (who already went Sorkin-free earlier this season producing ABC’s Mr Sunshine) helming the pilot. Lorne Michaels, who helped cultivate Tina Fey’s talents on 30 Rock, has a new NBC pilot (Alpha Mom) from his SNL writer Emily Spivey, which will star fantastic funny ladies Christina Applegate and Maya Rudolph, as well as Arrested Development/30 Rock scene-stealer Will Arnett. With 17th Precinct, Battlestar Galactica/Caprica creator Ronald D. Moore is bringing his sci-fi shtick from SyFy to its broadcast brother NBC, and has brought along many of his former cast members (Jamie Bamber, Tricia Helfer, Jamie Bamber), as well as Rizzo (Stockard Channing), Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk), and Jack from Jack & Bobby (Matt Long) along for the ride. Dawson‘s Creek/Vampire Diaries‘ Kevin Williamson is working to churn out another teen drama, this one (Secret Circle) about a family of witches starring the usual crop of young things (Life Unexpected‘s Britt Robertson, Days of Our Lives‘ Shelley Henning, and The Sarah Connor Chronicles‘ Thomas Dekker) and the thankless folks tasked with playing their parents (Queer as Folk‘s Gale Harold and Species‘ Natasha Henstridge). And, Kari Lizer, creator ofThe New Adventures of Old Christine, has another sitcom in the works, this one (Help Wanted) with Studio 60‘s Sarah Paulson, SNL‘s Tim Meadows, and Christopher Guest movie mainstay Jennifer Coolidge. And lastly, I’m glad to see that the too-soon cancelation of Lone Star hasn’t stopped its creator Kyle Killen from coming back to TV with NBC’s Fringe-esque alternative reality series REM (starring 24′s Cherry Jones, Oz’s B.D. Wong, Terriers’ Laura Allen, Friday night Lights’ Steve Harris, and — odd choice, Wilmer Valderrama).
Besides the stars fronting some of this year’s big pilots, I’m also excited to see some of the people behind the scenes of all of these potential shows. Gossip Girl co-creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage have a promising-sounding DC-set soap at ABC called Georgetown, starring Undercovers‘ Boris Kodjoe, Lone Star‘s Jimmy Wolk, nuMelrose Place‘s Katie Cassidy, Gossip Girl‘s Kevin Zegers, and Jurassic Park kid-turned-Social Network supporting player Joseph Mazzello. And the dynamic Schwartz/Savage duo still have time to produce The CW’s Hart of Dixie starring Schwartz’s OC muse Rachel Bilson, and Friday Night Lights‘ Scott Porter. NBC’s sexy flight attendant soap Pam Am, starring Christina Ricci, also has frequent Sorkin pal Thomas Schlamme (who already went Sorkin-free earlier this season producing ABC’s Mr Sunshine) helming the pilot. Lorne Michaels, who helped cultivate Tina Fey’s talents on 30 Rock, has a new NBC pilot (Alpha Mom) from his SNL writer Emily Spivey, which will star fantastic funny ladies Christina Applegate and Maya Rudolph, as well as Arrested Development/30 Rock scene-stealer Will Arnett. With 17th Precinct, Battlestar Galactica/Caprica creator Ronald D. Moore is bringing his sci-fi shtick from SyFy to its broadcast brother NBC, and has brought along many of his former cast members (Jamie Bamber, Tricia Helfer, Jamie Bamber), as well as Rizzo (Stockard Channing), Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk), and Jack from Jack & Bobby (Matt Long) along for the ride. Dawson‘s Creek/Vampire Diaries‘ Kevin Williamson is working to churn out another teen drama, this one (Secret Circle) about a family of witches starring the usual crop of young things (Life Unexpected‘s Britt Robertson, Days of Our Lives‘ Shelley Henning, and The Sarah Connor Chronicles‘ Thomas Dekker) and the thankless folks tasked with playing their parents (Queer as Folk‘s Gale Harold and Species‘ Natasha Henstridge). And, Kari Lizer, creator ofThe New Adventures of Old Christine, has another sitcom in the works, this one (Help Wanted) with Studio 60‘s Sarah Paulson, SNL‘s Tim Meadows, and Christopher Guest movie mainstay Jennifer Coolidge. And lastly, I’m glad to see that the too-soon cancelation of Lone Star hasn’t stopped its creator Kyle Killen from coming back to TV with NBC’s Fringe-esque alternative reality series REM (starring 24′s Cherry Jones, Oz’s B.D. Wong, Terriers’ Laura Allen, Friday night Lights’ Steve Harris, and — odd choice, Wilmer Valderrama).
4) Contagious Glee!
Marc Cherry’s Hallelujah isn’t the only Glee-esque one-word show possibly on the horizon. There’s also ABC’s Carrie Ann Inaba-produced, scripted dancing pilot Grace (starring Chris Carmack, Eion Bailey, Eric Roberts, Sherri Saum, and naturally, Debbie Allen). And then there’s NBC’s intriguing “let’s put on a Broadway show” drama (produced by some guy named Spielberg) called Smash, starring Debra Messing, Anjelica Huston, and Katharine McPhee. Thus, marking the first time you’ve ever heard those three ladies’ name in one sentence.
Marc Cherry’s Hallelujah isn’t the only Glee-esque one-word show possibly on the horizon. There’s also ABC’s Carrie Ann Inaba-produced, scripted dancing pilot Grace (starring Chris Carmack, Eion Bailey, Eric Roberts, Sherri Saum, and naturally, Debbie Allen). And then there’s NBC’s intriguing “let’s put on a Broadway show” drama (produced by some guy named Spielberg) called Smash, starring Debra Messing, Anjelica Huston, and Katharine McPhee. Thus, marking the first time you’ve ever heard those three ladies’ name in one sentence.
5) Old is New?
This category comes with the biggest asterisk. When networks get nostalgic or decide to play with the past, you never know what’s going to come out. There was CBS’ canceled-too-soon 70s drama Swingtown. But there was also That 80s Show. There was NBC’s well-done (and quickly, just done, as in canceled) retelling of King David, Kings. But there was also NBC’s modern Jekyll and Hyde crapsterpiece My Own Worst Enemy. And, while CBS’ Hawaii-5-0 remake is doing decently, let’s not forget NBC’s Knight Rider update. Ever. So, I’m, at least curious to see what becomes of the new Charlie’s Angels (at least it has Smallville‘s Alfred Gough as the creator, the Charlie’s movies’ star Drew Barrymore as producer, and Friday Night Lights‘ Minka Kelly and General Hospital‘s Annie Ilonzeh as angels) and David E. Kelley’s Wonder Woman (starring another Friday Night Lights alum, Adrianne Palicki, plus Cary Elwes, Elizabeth Hurley. Tracie Thoms, and star of um, that Knight Rider remake, Justin Bruening). Also, I’m sure the networks are hoping shows like the aforementioned Pan Am, and NBC’s porn period piece Playboy (another preemptive enemy of the PTC, starring Eddie Cibrian, David Krumholtz, Laura Benanti, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, and Amber Heard) are going to be more Mad Men than Swingtown. And, I’m at least kind of intrigued by the weird revisionist pilots the networks have: Edgar Allen Poe as a detective in Poe? Well OK (it does star Kings‘ Christopher Egan at the very least). And, ABC’s “fairy tales are real” drama starring Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White? Could be interesting! Or, it could just be Grimm. Heh. Grimm.
This category comes with the biggest asterisk. When networks get nostalgic or decide to play with the past, you never know what’s going to come out. There was CBS’ canceled-too-soon 70s drama Swingtown. But there was also That 80s Show. There was NBC’s well-done (and quickly, just done, as in canceled) retelling of King David, Kings. But there was also NBC’s modern Jekyll and Hyde crapsterpiece My Own Worst Enemy. And, while CBS’ Hawaii-5-0 remake is doing decently, let’s not forget NBC’s Knight Rider update. Ever. So, I’m, at least curious to see what becomes of the new Charlie’s Angels (at least it has Smallville‘s Alfred Gough as the creator, the Charlie’s movies’ star Drew Barrymore as producer, and Friday Night Lights‘ Minka Kelly and General Hospital‘s Annie Ilonzeh as angels) and David E. Kelley’s Wonder Woman (starring another Friday Night Lights alum, Adrianne Palicki, plus Cary Elwes, Elizabeth Hurley. Tracie Thoms, and star of um, that Knight Rider remake, Justin Bruening). Also, I’m sure the networks are hoping shows like the aforementioned Pan Am, and NBC’s porn period piece Playboy (another preemptive enemy of the PTC, starring Eddie Cibrian, David Krumholtz, Laura Benanti, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, and Amber Heard) are going to be more Mad Men than Swingtown. And, I’m at least kind of intrigued by the weird revisionist pilots the networks have: Edgar Allen Poe as a detective in Poe? Well OK (it does star Kings‘ Christopher Egan at the very least). And, ABC’s “fairy tales are real” drama starring Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White? Could be interesting! Or, it could just be Grimm. Heh. Grimm.
Granted, the networks could instead go with the whole crop of mindless procedurals I opted not to list above. But here’s hoping, when next season’s shows get announced soon, we get lucky, and a lot of these pilots land (Get it!? Pilot! Land!) on the fall schedules.
