Rueben's Ramblings

So far this week, I have provided a list of pilots that are being considered for the 2011-2012 TV season for CBS and ABC. Today’s list will be the most talked about pilots for FOX:

J.J. Abrams, the man behind Felicity, Alias and Lost, is bringing the pilot Alcatraz to FOX with the help of two of his Lost counterparts Bryan Burk and Liz Sarnoff. The story follows a cop and a team of FBI agents trying to track down a group of missing Alcatraz prisoners and guards who reappear in the present day after disappearing thirty years earlier. Among the cast are Santiago Cabrera (Heroes), Jorge Garcia (Lost), Sam Neill (Jurassic Park), Parminder Nagra (ER) and Paul McGillion (Stargate Atlantis).

The Bones spin-off, now being called The Finder, is based on The Locator books by Richard Greener and follows the story of a former military policeman who can find anything. The cast includes Geoff Stults (October Road), Michael Clarke Duncan and Saffron Burrows (Law & Order: Criminal Intent).

The men behind Hawaii Five-0 and the reimagined Star Trek – Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci – are bringing the Joe Hill graphic novel called Locke & Key to the air. Miranda Otto (Cashmere Mafia) will play the mother of three children (Skylar Gaertner, Sarah Bolger and Jesse McCartney), who moves to late husband’s family mansion in Massachusetts where supernatural activities reign. Nick Stahl (Carnivale) plays the kids’ uncle and Ksenia Solo (Life Unexpected and Lost Girl) also co-stars.

Kiefer Sutherland (24) will star in the pilot Touch from Tim Kring, the creator of the NBC series Heroes. While there aren’t a lot of details available on the storyline for this pilot except that it follows a father whose mute, autistic son develops the ability to tell the future, the big talk, of course, is that Sutherland will play the father.

Box office actor Ethan Hawke (Training Day) is set to star in Exit Strategy, which is about a team of experts who help the CIA with extractions. Megan Dodds from Detroit 1-8-7 also stars. This pilot is also from Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci.

FOX has at least four other dramas up for consideration for the 2011-2012 season in addition to those listed above. But, as I’ve stated all week, please keep in mind that very few will actually make it to series. Again, the final decision will be made by the powers that be at the network in late spring and announced in May at the New York upfront presentations.