2011-12 pilot buzz thread

[wamdue]

This is the first year I can remember where I want the networks to cancel EVERYTHING. There is literally nothing I'd miss. Clean slate, roll the dice. Random chance seems to be the only way they stumble across the good stuff.

its certainly intersting that some of the best shows, have taken years to get on air, and networks have passed on them, CSI & Desperate Housewives being two examples. Those two shows have been BIG.

Also from the UK, Life on Mars was around for 10+ years (if I recall correctly) before it got comissioned.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

This will be the first wipe out for freshman SF&F shows on the broadcast networks since the 2002/2003 season. It also breaks the run of six seasons in a row that each yielded at least one new SF&F show on broadcast television that went on to run for at least 65-70 episodes.

I think The Secret Circle is the SF&F show most likely to be a success next season.

 

[startrekwatcher]

I think The Secret Circle is the SF&F show most likely to be a success next season.

If it as consistently entertaining as The Vampire Diaries I'll be very happy. Kevin Williamson has shown he can do a pretty good job with sff shows. I'm definitelty looking forward to it--I'm fascinated by the witch angle, the premise and I loved Britt Robertson in LUX.

 

[Witterquick]

I wonder why 17th Precinct came in so badly, to be one of the few pilots being written off almost immediately. I know the cast was strong (putting it mildly, it has the best cast of any pilot this year!!!) and the writing must have been at least interesting. It sounded like it was a fascinating, fully-fledged universe with loads of detail. Maybe RDM is just too used to cable, where you have a bit more leeway and don't have to grab people by the scruff immediately with the usual hooks. If anyone ever finds an explanation or even hints, I'd like to know.

I'm actually not surprised. Traditionally, series set in a fantasy world with their own rules don't do well. Add to that RDM's style. He might have spent too much time developing this world and did not give the pilot a strong hook. I could see non-scifi/fantasy fans not being very interested in the creative elements of his universe. Cop show fans would be like, "Who cares. It's all fake." SF fans would be like, "Somebody killed? Who cares."

The cast, for nBSG fans, might seem solid, but they're definitely not very strong when it comes to mainstream. They're good actors but they're not instantly likeable.

I wasn't very interested in this series myself. It sounded to me like a cop show set in a fantasy world. Tricia Helfer talking to the dead to solve crimes also seemed boring.

 

[bigdaddy]

PERSON OF INTEREST and POE have my early attention due to Michael Emerson in PoI and just the idea of Poe sounds solid. However ABC has only one 10pm slot open and you can't tell me Poe will fit the comedy block night, that needs a comedy drama like Brother & Sisters so where the hell will it go ???

Brothers and Sisters will only get 6-17 episodes (NO clue on those numbers either). Then there is Castle, then Private Practice and then what? Nothing. ABC has nothing but room.

And Fringe got a full season pick up last month, that's 22 episodes, not 13.

 

[Roland19]

Man, I was really hoping that NBC would pick up 17th Precinct. Should have known better I guess...

And Wow...no Fringe fans here? I think the show is really good! I'm glad FOX picked it back up (I was thinking for awhile they might cancel it...). I do hope the ratings pick up next season because I want the show to go for, at least, FIVE seasons. I hope they get to tell their story.

Oh and after reading the Free Comic Book Day issue of Locke & Key, I hope FOX picks the show up (the Free comic was very interesting). Of course, it would probably have more chance on F/X or AMC or something like that though. I think even if FOX picks up, we all should be ready for a short lived show...

I also hopeAlcatraz gets picked up too. I think if its one or the other though, Locke & Key or Alcatraz, that Alcatraz stands a better chance since its Abrams. Plus you don't see too many horror shows on network tv.

To the person who said the Event will be back next season. I doubt it. The ratings have been awful. I'd like to see the show back because I've been enjoying the Event, but I very much doubt it will be. Ditto for V. I just can't see NBC and ABC renewing those shows. I'd be very suprised.

Oh and I hope Persons of Interest gets picked up. It sounds good.

Not sure what else I'm rooting for. Maybe REM. That sounded good. Might be too different for network TV though. There are some others I'm interested in, but they all seem like long shots.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

And Fringe got a full season pick up last month, that's 22 episodes, not 13.

Orders aren't set in stone. Networks often expand or contract them depending on the ratings.

 

[bigdaddy]

I think the least we will see is 20 Fringe episodes. The WB wants the DVD money and will pay Fox to show a full season.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

^^^
Hopefully it'll come back strong enough in the fall to see the full season order to fruition.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Traditionally, series set in a fantasy world with their own rules don't do well.

I think it's even simpler: Hollywood is in one of it's me-too phases, this time with fairy tales. It started with movies and now it's moving to TV. Once Upon a Time and Grimm fit the fairy-tale template, but 17th Precinct is more general magic-based fantasy.

If you've ever wondered where pilot-testing takes place, it's in that crossroads of America: Las Vegas.

And, as always, Las Vegas plays a vital role in determining what gets on the air at CBS and The CW, thanks to pilot testing and audience research conducted at CBS Television City at the MGM Grand. (Even though the facility operates year-round, you have only a couple of days left to help craft the fall lineups.)

I don't know if all the testing happens there, but I do remember stumbling into one of those pilot screenings at the Luxor. My brother-in-law and me helped keep a particularly horrible sitcom off the air. The tester looked at the scores and blanched - that was funnier than anything in the show.

 

[Jax]

Orders aren't set in stone. Networks often expand or contract them depending on the ratings.

WB and FOX have done a deal that means barring it drops to SyFy cable numbers, it will air 22 episodes but I would love to go though their deal with a fine comb . 22 would leave Fringe on 87 so a short 5th season could end on 100 but I doubt Fringe will get a 5th season even if I do think the fall ratings will be stronger than the recent spring results.

Brothers and Sisters will only get 6-17 episodes (NO clue on those numbers either). Then there is Castle, then Private Practice and then what? Nothing. ABC has nothing but room.

B&S is already pass 100 episodes so I don't know why ABC look set to give it a short 6th season. ABC should of aired the 5th season on the ABC comedy night because its a perfect fit for the night's theme and I could see its 10-13 final season actually going there come spring 2012 for its short run.

ABC 10pm are...

Castle
Body of Proof
N/A
Private Practice
20/20
Brothers & Sisters

Poe sounds like a 10pm show but I just cant see it doing well on the comedy block night especially if Coguar Town is the lead in. Sunday 10pm could work but again it feels like a mis match for the Housewives audience and would face NFL football + CSI: Miami thus killing it early IMO.

ABC's lineup is has holes but are seemingly earmarked already for specfic genres. This is what I have with the only pilot pickup stuck in being Charlie Angels since it looks 100% for a fall debut and ABC want a 2nd comedy block it seems on Tuesday...

Dancing With The Stars - Castle

*Comedy* - *Comedy* - Dancing With The Stars Result Show - Body of Proof

The Middle - *Comedy* - Modern Family - Coguar Town - *Drama*

Greys Anatomy - Charlie's Angels - Private Practice

N/A - Primetime: What Would You Do? - 20/20

Funniest Home Videos - Extreme Makeover: Home Edition - Desperate Housewives - *Drama*

-----------------------------------------------------------

Now it might be a semi risk but Castle is a light drama and has a built in fanbase so it could air at 10pm Wednesday and Poe could take the post DWTS slot on Mondays?

 

[Temis the Vorta]

NY Mag starts in with Upfront Week coverage.

Starting off with an analysis of NBC:

...the best reason to believe NBC may have finally turned the corner: After a decade of Jeff Zucker, the network is now in the capable hands of Bob Greenblatt and Ted Harbert, two Hollywood pros who value good programming over gimmicks.

Also, REM may get a re-titling (yay) to Awake (err - not sure they should bother). Here's my title: Morpheus in the Otherworld. Well it got your attention, didn't it?

Overall, no mention of any need for NBC to program attention-getting genre shows. Cop shows and sitcoms are the ticket. Are the new honchos really so risk-taking?

As much as I'd like to root for any genre show, REM/Awake doesn't seem like a premise that has legs. How long can they go back and forth whether the lead character is dreaming, which reality is real, etc, before we all get sick and tired of it? What worked for two hours with Inception is going to pall after two years. Grimm by comparison sounds like it could generate years of material.

TVGuide

But both ABC and NBC have new entertainment chiefs, and "my guess is they're going to be anxious to make their mark with really interesting programming," one rival executive says.

So it all depends on what "risky" means to these guys. The most groundbreaking pilots are largely also the ones in trouble, and the front-runners are largely the usual types of shows we've seen before.

NY Times article on the shift to scripted shows on cable.

 

[Professor Zoom]

NY Mag starts in with Upfront Week coverage.

Starting off with an analysis of NBC:

...the best reason to believe NBC may have finally turned the corner: After a decade of Jeff Zucker, the network is now in the capable hands of Bob Greenblatt and Ted Harbert, two Hollywood pros who value good programming over gimmicks.

Also, REM may get a re-titling (yay) to Awake (err - not sure they should bother). Here's my title: Morpheus in the Otherworld. Well it got your attention, didn't it?

Yeah, but it doesn't make me want to watch it...

Overall, no mention of any need for NBC to program attention-getting genre shows. Cop shows and sitcoms are the ticket. Are the new honchos really so risk-taking?

As much as I'd like to root for any genre show, REM/Awake doesn't seem like a premise that has legs. How long can they go back and forth whether the lead character is dreaming, which reality is real, etc, before we all get sick and tired of it? What worked for two hours with Inception is going to pall after two years.

AND, the two worlds somehow feed information to each other. It's premise is VERY Life on Mars, where the central question is a Which is Real? which has limitations unlike Will They Or Won't They?

It would be a good mini, but, I don't know about forever.

Grimm by comparison sounds like it could generate years of material.

Agreed.

The thing is with porceedurals--each episode has a unique story so there is PLENTY of potential future in a show. But if a show is hinging on a very specific question (is this world real or am I dreaming) people want the ANSWER, hard to push that off for 7-8 years. (Lost being an exception.)

TVGuide

But both ABC and NBC have new entertainment chiefs, and "my guess is they're going to be anxious to make their mark with really interesting programming," one rival executive says.

So it all depends on what "risky" means to these guys. The most groundbreaking pilots are largely also the ones in trouble, and the front-runners are largely the usual types of shows we've seen before.

That doesn't surprise me. Even genre fans only want SO much innovation.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

But if a show is hinging on a very specific question (is this world real or am I dreaming) people want the ANSWER, hard to push that off for 7-8 years. (Lost being an exception.)

Lost had a big cast of interesting characters to divert the viewers' frustrations, but REM/Awake will be focused on just the main character.

Of all the genre shows NBC could pick up, I hope that's not the one because I don't see how it can last. The sf/f has gotten a bad rap as not worth investing in because most shows don't last more than a year and the ones that do, putter along with dismal ratings. It's vital for the future of the genre on broadcast (if it has a future on broadcast) that there be at least one multi-season hit show like Lost soon.

Time for a touch of class: PBS' fall plans. Another Ken Burns' documentary - Prohibition - sounds fun!

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

The schedule for the upfront presentations next week:

May 16th - NBC and Fox
May 17th - ABC
May 18th - CBS
May 19th - The CW

 

[Professor Zoom]

But if a show is hinging on a very specific question (is this world real or am I dreaming) people want the ANSWER, hard to push that off for 7-8 years. (Lost being an exception.)

Lost had a big cast of interesting characters to divert the viewers' frustrations, but REM/Awake will be focused on just the main character.

Of all the genre shows NBC could pick up, I hope that's not the one because I don't see how it can last. The sf/f has gotten a bad rap as not worth investing in because most shows don't last more than a year and the ones that do, putter along with dismal ratings. It's vital for the future of the genre on broadcast (if it has a future on broadcast) that there be at least one multi-season hit show like Lost soon.

Time for a touch of class: PBS' fall plans. Another Ken Burns' documentary - Prohibition - sounds fun!

In a lot of ways sf/f hinges on the Big Idea, which is GREAT for movies. But sometimes can be challenging to repeat. What was great about Star Trek: the big idea was to be able to go to different planets. Lost In Space... well, they're lost... how long can that go before it gets boring?

 

[startrekwatcher]

If sff hopes to have a chance on network tv it is going to have quit being so unnecessarily convoluted and overly dense. LOST worked for the most part but every show that has tried to be like it has crashed and burned.

If they do season long arcs no frustration since viewers know answers will be coming not in years but in 20 episodes. And they need to do a better job balancing characters and plot. Writers would be wise to not let the plot turn into some behemoth that overshadows the characters and turns them into plot devices.

Also it might be a good idea to to start off by focusing on the characters in a few standalones so that when they launch into arcs you'll already be invested in the characters and they don't get lost in the mix. A lot of shows just plunge full speed ahead an the characters get lost.

 

[bigdaddy]

The talk of using The Finder as a Bones fill in is a really bad idea. I think I rather just have Bones pregant.

 

[Professor Zoom]

If sff hopes to have a chance on network tv it is going to have quit being so unnecessarily convoluted and overly dense. LOST worked for the most part but every show that has tried to be like it has crashed and burned.

The ONLY chance SFF has on network is if they don't expect 7 million people to watch. If they aimed at 3 million then it just MIGHT stay on the air longer.

But no network wants those sorts of numbers for a genre that is generally expensive to produce.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Various news sources are repeating a lot of the same stuff. Either the sources are all accurate and consistent, or everyone is just cribbing off Deadline.

Analysis of ABC.

ABC Entertainment Group topper Paul Lee is grappling with a high-class problem: a wealth of strong drama pilots to chose from as he sets his first primetime sked for the Alphabet.

It's understood that the ABC topper and his team are looking to get creative in the way shows are scheduled in order to allow the network to pick up a bumper crop of hourlongs (perhaps as many as half of its 12 pilots). The net unveils its sked May 18.

...

The fantasy-mystery vehicles "Once Upon a Time," "The River" and "Poe" are all said to have been well received by ABC brass, but there's concern about the costs and whether the shows have the potential to cross over beyond genre fans. Same goes for period drama "Pan Am."

...

Marc Cherry's "Hallelujah" has drawn mixed reviews but has gained steam in the last few days as some insiders argue that the show's blend of soap and spirituality will play well in flyover country (plus stars Jesse L. Martin and Terry O'Quinn are said to impress).

There's growing buzz about two projects that had been low on the radar: procedural "Identity" and family drama "Grace." Both may benefit if ABC is cautious about fielding too many sudsers or too many fantasy-based projects.

Fox.

They might renew Human Target? Snore.

Overall analysis.

Not too much surprising, except a tidbit from Fox offering hope for Locke & Key, which has friends in high places:

Still, industry insiders expect the network to make room for a couple of new procedural dramas in the vein of the aging House and the dearly departed 24; the Ethan Hawke spy caper Exit Strategy and medical procedural Weekends at Bellevue are mentioned a lot by agents. The trades are hinting that two big sci-fi shows — Alcatraz and Locke and Key — might be in trouble, perhaps because Fox feels it doesn't need another Comic-Con-friendly hour with so-so ratings (see: Fringe). Perhaps, but Locke and Key has long been one of Fox chief Kevin Reilly's pet projects.

Isn't Reilly the guy who greenlighted Lost despite opposition? His name seems familiar.

CW: This might offer hope for Awakenings:

Over the weekend, a usually reliable Vulture source told us there's a good shot that the C-Dub could order four new drama projects for next season, doubling last year's green-light of just two dramas

.