Rueben's Ramblings

The next list of pilots being considered for pick up for the 2011-2012 fall TV season are the following at The CW:

Lucy Griffiths

Awakening is a drama about two sisters (Lucy Griffiths from the UK series Robin Hood and Meredith Hagner from short-live FX series Lights Out) who face off during a zombie uprising. The cast includes Brian Hallisay (Privileged) and Titus Welliver (Lost and The Good Wife).

Meredith Hagner

VERDICT: This is obviously an attempt by the CW to cash in on the zombie frenzy that was started by AMC when the network introduced their new series The Walking Dead last Halloween; but I have to question if this potential pilot will be done as well as that series.

Alex Breckenridge

Cooper and Stone is about two young female Chicago homicide detectives (Alex Breckenridge from Life Unexpected and Vanessa Ferlito from CSI: NY) who find a balance between catching criminals and everyday issues in their personal lives. Riley Smith (24 and Joan of Arcadia) co-stars.

Vanessa Ferlito

VERDICT: What the tagline above doesn’t state is that these detectives are best friends who are supposed to be equally adept at discussing homicide cases just as well as fashion, music and pop
culture. So, it’s Gossip Girls as cops? Maybe those kinds of skills can work on the CW, but will the general viewing audience really buy into it?

Amanda Walsh

The drama pilot Danni Lowinski is about a recent law school graduate (Amanda Walsh from the box office film Disturbia), repeatedly brushed off by big law firms, who decides to open her own practice in a shopping mall kiosk. The cast includes Carla Gallo (Bones), George Dzunda (Grey’s Anatomy), Natalia Cigliuti (Raising the Bar) and Neal Bledsoe (Ugly Betty).

VERDICT: This sounds a bit like the short-lived FOX series Wonderfalls, but I doubt it will be anywhere near as clever or fan-appeal-worthy. It will have the pre-requisite young adult in an unusual situation, which seems to be the direction for which the CW seems to be going, but will it have longevity? I doubt it.

Heavenly Cast

Heavenly is about a young female attorney (Lauren Cohan from Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries and Chuck) and a former angel-turned-human (relative newcomer Ben Aldridge) who take on cases at a legal-aid clinic. Ryan Eggold (90210) co-stars.

VERDICT: The rest of the tagline for this new drama is this: “She comes to the rescue of her clients – while he saves their souls.” Really? So, this will be Touched By An Angel mixed with The Client or Harry’s Law? Again, it’s another young lawyer that fits the age limitations of this network, but will the whole angel-turned-human really capture the imagination of a secular audience? I don’t think so.

Rachel Bilson

Hart of Dixie stars Rachel Bilson (The O.C.) as a New York City doctor, who inherits a small medical practice in the South. This pilot comes from Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage (the team behind Gossip Girl) and co-stars Jaime King (My Generation), Scott Porter (Friday Night Lights), Cress Williams (Grey’s Anatomy) and Nancy Travis (The Bill Engvall Show).

VERDICT: Schwartz and Savage know what works best on The CW. Combine their knowledge of the network, their history with TV series (Chuck and The O.C.) and this very interesting cast, this could be a combination of Everwood and Gilmore Girls IF they play their cards right and provide a solid product.

Britt Robertson

Secret Circle is based on the three-book series from L.J. Smith (the woman behind The Vampire Diaries books for which the show is modeled after). The story follows a young witch (Britt Robertson from Life Unexpected) who is the key to a battle between good and evil. The pilot co-stars Thomas Dekker (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles), Shelley Hennig (Days of our Lives), Jessica Parker Kennedy (Smallville), Natasha Henstridge (Eli Stone) and Phoebe Tonkin (the Australia series Home and Away). The pilot is to be executive producer by Kevin Williamson.

VERDICT: This is THE hot new show for The CW. It fits well into what the network is already known for: stories about teenagers with a supernatural twist. And, in the hands of Williamson, who has already had success with Dawson’s Creek and most recently with The Vampire Diaries, this will be a hit – hands down, no question.

Where does all this leave The CW? They will assuredly pick up Secret Circle and most likely Hart of Dixie. Secret Circle can be paired with The Vampire Diaries and Hart of Dixie will be the companion of whichever series survives on Tuesday nights (either Hellcats or One Tree Hill). The rest of the pilots will simply be small blips on the TV screen; actually they won’t even make it that far.

More pilot watch updates will be coming soon with a look at the FOX pilots coming up next.