Rueben's Ramblings

Here are the ABC pilots up for consideration for the 2016-2017 TV season:

Broken – A ruthless Dallas divorce attorney’s life begins to unravel when her emotionally damaged, love-addicted sister resurfaces triggering self-destructive tendencies and exposing long-hidden family secrets.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Meaghan Oppenheimer, Reese Witherspoon and Bruna Papandrea

CAST: Anna Paquin (True Blood), Enrique Murciano (Without a Trace), Blair Underwood (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), T.R. Knight (Grey’s Anatomy, 11.22.63), Charity Wakefield (The Player), Penelope Ann Miller (American Crime), Thad Luckinbill (Nikita, The Young and the Restless) and Zeb Sanders (The Messengers)

Conviction – This plot tells the story of Carter Morrison, the brilliant but ne’er-do-well daughter of a former President, who is blackmailed into taking a job as the head of Los Angeles’ newly created Conviction Integrity Unit. She, along with her team of lawyers, investigators and forensic experts, work together to examine cases where there’s credible suspicion that the wrong person may have been convicted of a crime.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Liz Friedman, Liz Friedlander, Mark Gordon and Nicholas Pepper

CAST: Hayley Atwell (Marvel’s Agent Carter), Eddie Cahill (CSI: NY), Shawn Ashmore (The Following), Emily Kinney (The Walking Dead), Manny Montana (Graceland), Merrin Dungey (Alias, Once Upon a Time) and Daniel DiTomasso (Witches of East End)

The Death of Eva Sofia Valdez – This pilot is about an immigrant who rose from rags to riches; a celebrated Miami entrepreneur and a champion for immigrant rights. But her success is fueled by an insatiable ambition that could destroy her family, a vendetta against the lover who betrayed her, and ghosts from the past who threaten to reveal the dark sacrifices she made to attain the American Dream.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Charise Castro Smith, Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters

CAST: Gina Torres (Suits), Eric Close (Nashville), Melora Hardin (The Office), Raúl Castillo (Looking), Angelica Celaya (Constantine), Debra Mooney (Everwood), Marta Milans (Killer Women), Zabryna Guevara (Gotham), Alison Fernandez (Law & Order: SVU) and Christina Pickles (Friends).

The Jury – Dubbed 12 angry Men meets Serial, the drama follows a single murder trial as seen through the eyes of the individual jurors, exploring the biases and experiences that influence the jurors’ judgment, and how their preconceptions change along the way.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: VJ Boyd, Mark Bianculli, Carol Mendelsohn and Julie Weitz

CAST: Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife), Jeremy Sisto (Wicked City, Suburgatory), Eve Harlow (Heroes Reborn), Adina Porter (The 100), Brandon Jay McLaren (Graceland), Ben Esler (Hell on Wheels), Brian Howe (Masters of Sex, Justified), Jayne Taini (Ray Donovan), Kevin Rankin (Gracepoint), Nikki DeLoach (Awkward) and JD Pardo (Revolution)

Marvel’s Most Wanted – The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. spinoff follows the characters of Bobbi Morse (aka Mockingbird) and Lance Hunter.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Paul Zbyszewski, Jeffrey Bell and Jeph Loeb

CAST: Adrianne Palicki, Nick Blood, Delroy Lindo (Blood & Oil, The Chicago Code), Oded Fehr (Covert Affairs) and Fernanda Andrade (Red Widow)

Model Woman – A fictionalized family soap inspired by the Robert Lacey’s book, set in the late 1970’s during the notorious Model Wars, the show is centered on Bertie Geiss – a tempestuous matriarch and uncompromising businesswoman at the helm of an internationally renowned modeling agency.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Helen Childress, Rosalie Swedlin and Scarlett Lacey

CAST: Andie MacDowell (Cedar Cove), Steven Weber (iZombie), Jamie Barber (NCIS and Battlestar Galactica), Dan Byrd (Cougar Town), Chris Mason (The Fades), Caitlin Carver (The Fosters), Nicole Ari Parker (Rosewood) and Kaley Ronayne (Gotham)

Notorious – This pilot is inspired by the true-life stories of famed criminal defense attorney Mark Geragos and cable news producer Wendy Walker, the series is a provocative look at the unique, sexy, and dangerous interplay of criminal law and the media.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Josh Berman, Allie Hagan, Mark Geragos, Wendy Walker, Kenny Meiselas, Jeff Kwatinetz, Josh Barry and Brian Gersh

CAST: Daniel Sunjata (Graceland), Piper Perabo (Covert Affairs), Aimee Teegarden (Friday Night Lights), J. August Richards (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Ryan Guzman (Heroes Reborn), Kevin Zegers (Gracepoint), Kate Jennings Grant (Alpha House) and Sepideh Moafi (Black Box)

Presence – This pilot follows Presence Foster, a former Army Counter Insurgency Operative who finds herself navigating a widely divergent and highly colorful cross-section of Los Angeles as she unintentionally begins a career as an unlicensed P.I.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: John Ridley and Michael McDonald

CAST: Rick Gonzalez (Rush) and Colin Woodell (The Originals)

Spark – Set in an alternate history where gas and coal fuel the world, this genre soap centers on the battle for power between two rival families and a rebellious young woman with a spark of invention that could level both their empires.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Michael Cooney, Ian Sander and Kim Moses

CAST: Antonia Thomas, Lena Olin (Alias), Tom Brittney (Outlander), Tracy Ifeachor (The Originals), Alex Lanipekun (BBC’s Spooks), Austin Hébert (Bonnie & Clyde), Rege-Jean Page (Roots) and Rachel Hurd-Wood

Still Star-Crossed – This period drama pilot picks up where Romeo & Juliet left off, charting the treachery, palace intrigue and ill-fated romances of the Montagues and Capulets in the wake of the young lovers’ tragic fate. Based on the book by Melinda Taub.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Heather Mitchell, Shonda Rhimes, Betsy Beers and Michael Goldstein

CAST: Lashana Lynch, Torrance Coombs (Reign), Zuleikha Robinson (Homeland, Lost), Wade Briggs (Home and Away), Sterling Sulieman (In Time and Pretty Little Liars), Grant Bowler (Defiance), Anthony Head (Buffy, the Vampire Slayer and Merlin) and Dan Hildebrand (Sons of Anarchy)

Time After Time – Using the 1979 novel and movie as a starting point, this pilot will chronicle the epic adventures of young H.G. Wells and his Time Machine.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Kevin Williamson

CAST: Josh Bowman (Revenge), Freddie Stroma (UnREAL), Regina Taylor (Dig, The Unit) and Genesis Rodriguez (Entourage)

MOST LIKELY TO BE PICKED-UP: Marvel’s Most Wanted and Still Star-Crossed

WOULD BE INTERESTING TO SEE: Notorious and Spark

LONG SHOT: Conviction

The drama Designated Survivor has been given a straight to series order. It centers on a lower level United States Cabinet member who is suddenly handed the presidency after a catastrophic attack during the State of the Union address kills everyone above him in the Presidential line of succession. The cast includes Kiefer Sutherland (24), Maggie Q (Nikita), Kal Penn (House), Italia Ricci (Chasing Life), Natasha McElhone (Californication), Adan Canto (The Following), LaMonica Garrett (Sons of Anarchy) and Tanner Buchanan (The Fosters).