2011-12 pilot buzz thread
- Thread starter Temis the Vorta
- Start date
Wow, that looks great! 
So, they highlighted Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead instead of Mad Men in the ad because they're after the male audience. Interesting...
I wish AMC would do a space series. Something "down to Earth" without funny forehead aliens would be right up their alley - Mars colony?
So, they highlighted Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead instead of Mad Men in the ad because they're after the male audience. Interesting...
I wish AMC would do a space series. Something "down to Earth" without funny forehead aliens would be right up their alley - Mars colony?
TV by the Numbers reports that on an earnings conference call the head honcho of Comcast said they'll spend $200 million more on NBC's primetime lineup this year than GE did last year and they'll spend $100 million more on NBC Universal's cable properties (which include USA and Syfy).
This was from an earnings conference call with verifiable information - and it's not the sort of information that would draw site traffic like mention of a specific show in any event.
Edit to add: Deadline Hollywood has a story up about the conference call, too, and confirms the information.
Last edited:
Makes sense. Comcast wants to make a splash with NBC and sees it as more central to their corporate identity than GE ever did. Comcast is in the entertainment biz, not the light bulb biz. 
Another factor is that the TV ad market has rebounded big time this year. Advertisers are shopping for good shows to spend their money on. Other than CBS, though, who can deliver the product? Comcast at least is going to make a valiant effort. My guess is that advertisers will be going a bit hungry because the audience is harder for broadcast to deliver nowadays and throwing money at the problem won't solve it.
Here's the Deadline article: $300M more (including cable properties)!
Another factor is that the TV ad market has rebounded big time this year. Advertisers are shopping for good shows to spend their money on. Other than CBS, though, who can deliver the product? Comcast at least is going to make a valiant effort. My guess is that advertisers will be going a bit hungry because the audience is harder for broadcast to deliver nowadays and throwing money at the problem won't solve it.
Here's the Deadline article: $300M more (including cable properties)!
Comcast can throw as much money as it wants onto the fire, it will still crash and burn. 
Money isn't the issue, story / writing is. The Event premiered very well, it didn't need more money. It needed a storyline that made sense, with likable, relatable charcters and better writing.
Money isn't the issue, story / writing is. The Event premiered very well, it didn't need more money. It needed a storyline that made sense, with likable, relatable charcters and better writing.
Someone at the zap2it is claiming Scott Collins at LA Times is reporting "Wonder Woman is cooling, unlikely for series pickup." That would be dandy, making it more likely that other, better-sounding NBC pilots will be greenlit, but I can't figure out where the frakking article is...
All I can find is this article on current shows renewal prospects. Nothing on pilots.
However it might make sense that Bob Greenblatt, who after all is from Showtime, is trying to steer NBC in a more upscale direction and away from the cheeseball type of show that really hasn't been good for NBC anyway - The Cape, Knight Rider, etc.
All I can find is this article on current shows renewal prospects. Nothing on pilots.
However it might make sense that Bob Greenblatt, who after all is from Showtime, is trying to steer NBC in a more upscale direction and away from the cheeseball type of show that really hasn't been good for NBC anyway - The Cape, Knight Rider, etc.
There are always well written shows that viewers ignore. There's no solid link between quality and ratings (though we'd all wish there was). The problem with broadcast is a business problem, not a creative problem.
NBC has lost their audience to cable more heavily than CBS has. (ABC's had the same problem.) I don't think NBC or ABC's lineup has been any worse than CBS, which has held onto its audience. I watch far more shows on NBC or ABC than CBS, which is just boring to me.
But CBS has a consistent brand identity - cop shows for old people - and that kind of focus on a well-defined market has saved their asses in a very turbulent business. CW is also benefitting from focusing on their young female market, USA is doing well adhering strictly to their quirky-fluffy-cute style of shows that usually have some law enforcement angle, and SyFy is doing well combining quirky-fluffy-cute sf/f shows with silly "reality" TV with sf/f elements (plus wrestling).
I don't watch anything on any of those channels (not even SyFy anymore and I'm sure I'm not the only sci fi fan to have completely given up on them), but I can't criticize them for making shows for well-defined, profitable markets, even if I'm not in that market.
I'm hoping that Greenblatt may be trying to focus NBC on being a "cable network for broadcast" - doing better quality shows to appeal to a smart, upscale audience. Passing on the cheesy but otherwise buzz-worthy Wonder Woman might be a sign of that strategy emerging. NBC needs some strategy, that's for sure.
My point is Comcast is throwing more money and probably not really addressing the issues at hand. NBC shows are bland. Sadly all the shows I watch are on Fox, then ABC just copies Fox shows. NBC needs money spent on ads on other stations besides NBC (Because no one sees those). However that won't make a difference if the shows suck. The Event was supposed to be the next big thing for NBC, and people tuned in and watched one of the worst pilots ever made. if they had a story, plot, characters, writing, anything the show might have gotten a second season.
The Voice is the biggest hit NBC has had in 10 years, so people know the network is still around, they need something, and I'm not sure that something can be bought for $200 million.
The Voice is the biggest hit NBC has had in 10 years, so people know the network is still around, they need something, and I'm not sure that something can be bought for $200 million.
There may be hope for Locke & Key yet. Apparently there's a hefty penalty if FOX doesn't pick it up. And with Fringe renewed, FOX doesn't have to pick up Alcatraz to keep JJ happy.
I was actually kind of looking forward to Alcatraz.
I'd like to see it too but the premise seems gimmicky, hinging entirely on the mystery of why the people from the 30s (or whenever) came back. That's the kind of gimmick that can quickly wear out. Whereas Locke & Key has a comic book behind it, so there's a plotline that's already proved itself worth reading. I'd have more confidence that it wouldn't run into the ground quickly.
Hell on Wheels looks great. I second what Temis said, Lets see AMC do a space show! 
Well, Alcatraz is an Abrams show. It'll start out with one mystery...and then gain a TON more as the show continues. lol. I'm sure there is more than meets the eye to Alcatraz. I hope FOX picks it up.
As for Locke & Key, I don't know much about the comic. Joe Hill is a good writer though, so I'm sure it'll be interesting. I'd like to see FOX pick up both shows...lol.
I'm looking forward to the Up Fronts...even though I know a few shows I like are going to get canceled (The Event, No Ordinary Family, Detroit). Here's hoping for some new, cool shows to watch.
Well, Alcatraz is an Abrams show. It'll start out with one mystery...and then gain a TON more as the show continues. lol. I'm sure there is more than meets the eye to Alcatraz. I hope FOX picks it up.
As for Locke & Key, I don't know much about the comic. Joe Hill is a good writer though, so I'm sure it'll be interesting. I'd like to see FOX pick up both shows...lol.
I'm looking forward to the Up Fronts...even though I know a few shows I like are going to get canceled (The Event, No Ordinary Family, Detroit). Here's hoping for some new, cool shows to watch.
The Civil War drama series (as yet untitled) developed by Carlton Cuse for ABC didn't progress beyond the script stage. That's the end of it unless it's redeveloped for the 2012/2013 season.
There's another post-Civil War western that did get ordered to pilot, namely NBC's Reconstruction.
Ah, gotcha... So there was a chance for a little while of having 3 shows set in the 1860s? Weird.
Wonder why that era is suddenly 'hot'? There was the recent movie from Robert Redford about the Mary Surratt trial for being involved in the Lincoln assassination... There's a Lincoln movie in the works which Spielberg is about to start filming and you also have the Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter movie.
Reports from network screenings.
Of the shows I want to see, Identity and Persons of Interest are sounding hopeful. People don't like Alcatraz' sci fi content (not sure if that's because it's sci fi, or the sci fi element isn't working - why greenlight a sci fi series if that isn't what you want!!!) Poe is "1840s Castle with a supernatural twist" - ergh, that's what I was worrying about, ABC taking a cool concept and shoehorning it into a tired template.
NBC screenings start tomorrow. That should be interesting...
Of the shows I want to see, Identity and Persons of Interest are sounding hopeful. People don't like Alcatraz' sci fi content (not sure if that's because it's sci fi, or the sci fi element isn't working - why greenlight a sci fi series if that isn't what you want!!!) Poe is "1840s Castle with a supernatural twist" - ergh, that's what I was worrying about, ABC taking a cool concept and shoehorning it into a tired template.
NBC screenings start tomorrow. That should be interesting...
I just don't get why audiences eat up procedurals these days--there is no surprise--you introduce guest stars, there's a crime usually a murder and the investigation leads to a group of suspects before the person you think behind it turns out to be behind it. Plus you have a limited number of crimes to cycle over and over. Then there is the usual male/female sexual tension that drags on until it finally happens in the final waning years of a series.
At least serialization allows to break up formula, add some unpredictability and force the writers to carve out their own unique storyline for their show. It did wonders for ENT, DS9, Fringe, LOST.
I'm so-so on Alcatraz--it is the type of show that sounds intriguing but I've been burnt so often with these big mystery serials over the last several years that I just don't have much faith in them--LOST, Heroes, V, Flash Forward, The Event, Persons Unknown, Harper's Island, Happy Town, Life on Mars. Is it suppose to be a LoSt wannabe with lots of unanswered questions that drag on or is it set up with season long storylines that payoff before the year is over?
At least serialization allows to break up formula, add some unpredictability and force the writers to carve out their own unique storyline for their show. It did wonders for ENT, DS9, Fringe, LOST.
I'm so-so on Alcatraz--it is the type of show that sounds intriguing but I've been burnt so often with these big mystery serials over the last several years that I just don't have much faith in them--LOST, Heroes, V, Flash Forward, The Event, Persons Unknown, Harper's Island, Happy Town, Life on Mars. Is it suppose to be a LoSt wannabe with lots of unanswered questions that drag on or is it set up with season long storylines that payoff before the year is over?
Not everyone wants to commit the time and focus that following a serialized show requires. Episodic shows are easy viewing and viewers can dip in and out of watching them on a weekly basis as the mood suits or other engagements allow.
