Rueben's Ramblings

Here are the The CW pilots up for consideration for the 2019-2020 TV season:

Batwoman – Armed with a passion for social justice and a flair for speaking her mind, Kate Kane soars onto the streets of Gotham as Batwoman, an out lesbian and highly trained street fighter primed to snuff out the failing city’s criminal resurgence. But don’t call her a hero yet. In a city desperate for a savior, Kate must overcome her own demons before embracing the call to be Gotham’s symbol of hope.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES:  Caroline Dries, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter and Geoff Johns

CAST: Ruby Rose (Orange Is the New Black), Dougray Scott (Snatch, Hemlock Grove), Rachel Skarsten (Reign and Lost Girl), Meagan Tandy (Teen Wolf), Camrus Johnson (Marvel’s Luke Cage), Nicole Kang (YOU) and Elizabeth Anweis (9-1-1, NCIS: LA)

Glamorous – A gender non-conforming recent high school graduate lands the gig of a lifetime interning at a cosmetics company whose products he panned on YouTube.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES:  Jordon Nardino, Damon Wayans Jr. and Kameron Tarlow

CAST: Ben J. Pierce (Fuller House), Brooke Shields (Jane the Virgin, Suddenly Susan), Jade Payton (iZombie), Pierson Fodé (The Bold and the Beautiful), Peyton List (Bunk’d, Jessie), Susan Santiago (Longmire, How to Get Away With Murder), Chester Lockhart (Todrick) and newcomer Brady Dalton Richards

Jane the Novela – A telenovela anthology series in the tradition of Jane the Virgin, where each season is based on a different fictional novel “written by” Jane Villanueva and narrated by the author herself. The first installment takes place at a Napa Valley Vineyard, where family secrets (and family members) don’t stay buried for long.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES:  Valentina Garza, Gina Rodriguez, Jennie Snyder Urman, Ben Silverman, Joanna Klein, Emily Gipson, Jorge Granier and Gary Pearl

CAST: Jacqueline Grace Lopez (East Los High), Marcia Cross (Desperate Housewives), Hunter Parrish (Weeds), Ivonne Coll (Jane the Virgin), Remy Hii (Marco Polo), Holland Roden (Teen Wolf) and Benito Martinez (13 Reasons Why, American Crime)

Katy Keene – The Riverdale spinoff follows the lives and loves of four iconic Archie Comics characters — including fashion legend-to-be Katy Keene and singer/songwriter Josie McCoy — as they chase their twenty-something dreams in New York City. This musical dramedy chronicles the origins and struggles of four aspiring artists trying to make it on Broadway, on the runway and in the recording studio.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES:  Robert Aguirre-Sacasa, Michael Grassi, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter and Jon Goldwater

CAST: Lucy Hale (Pretty Little Liars), Ashleigh Murray (Riverdale), Jonny Beauchamp (Penny Dreadful), Julia Chan (Saving Hope), Camille Hyde (American Vandal), Lucien Laviscount (Scream Queens), Zane Holtz (From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series, Make It or Break It) and Katherine LaNasa (Imposters, Satisfaction)

The Lost Boys – Welcome to sunny seaside Santa Carla, home to a beautiful boardwalk, all the cotton candy you can eat…and a secret underworld of vampires. After the sudden death of their father, two brothers move to Santa Carla with their mother, who hopes to start anew in the town where she grew up. But the brothers find themselves drawn deeper and deeper into the seductive world of Santa Carla’s eternally beautiful and youthful undead.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES:  Heather Mitchell, Rob Thomas, Dan Etheridge, Mike Karz, Bill Bindley and Rebecca Franko

CAST: Tyler Posey (Teen Wolf), Kiele Sanchez (Kingdom), Medalion Rahimi (NCIS: Los Angeles, Still Star-Crossed), Dakota Shapiro (Valley of the Boom), Sarah Hay (Flesh and Bone), Cheyenne Haynes (Camping), Haley Tju (Bella and the Bulldogs), Rio Mangini (Everything Sucks) and Del Zamora (Sneaky Pete)

Untitled Nancy Drew Project – Set in the summer after her high school graduation,18-year-old Nancy Drew thought she’d be leaving her hometown for college, but when a family tragedy holds her back another year, she finds herself embroiled in a ghostly murder investigation — and along the way, uncovers secrets that run deeper than she ever imagined.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES:  Noga Landau, Josh Schwartz, Stephanie Savage and Lis Rowinski

CAST: Newcomer Kennedy McMann, Freddie Prinze, Jr. (24, She’s All That), Leah Lewis (Charmed, The Good Doctor), Tunji Kasim (Nearly Famous), Maddison Jaizani (Into the Badlands), Alex Saxon (The Fosters), Alvina August (Siren, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) and special guest star Pamela Sue Martin (original Nancy Drew from 1970’s TV series)

MOST LIKELY TO BE PICKED-UP: Batwoman and Jane the Novela

WOULD BE INTERESTING TO SEE: The Lost Boys

LONG SHOT: Glamorous

Read Full Post »

Here are the NBC pilots up for consideration for the 2019-2020 TV season:

Bluff City Law – A character-driven legal drama that follows the lawyers of an elite Memphis law firm that specializes in the most controversial landmark civil rights cases. Led by legendary lawyer Elijah Strait and his brilliant daughter, Sydney Keller, they take on the toughest David-and-Goliath cases while navigating their complicated relationship.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES:  Dean Georgaris, David Janollari and Michael Aguliar

CAST: Jimmy Smits (NYPD Blue), Caitlin McGee (Grey’s Anatomy, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Barry Sloane (Six, Revenge), Michael Luwoye (The Gifted), Stony Blyden (Edge of Seventeen), Jayne Atkinson (House of Cards) and MaameYaa Boafo (Thru 25)

Council of Dads – Scott Perry’s life is thrown into upheaval when he gets a potentially terminal diagnosis. Facing mortality, he and his wife, Robin, assemble a unique group of carefully chosen friends to support his family and guide them through the ups and downs of life’s many challenges. Inspired by the bestselling memoir by Bruce Feiler.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES:  Tony Phelan, Joan Rater, Jerry Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman, KristieAnne Reed, James Oh and Bruce Feiler

CAST: Clive Standen (Taken), Sarah Wayne Callies (Colony, The Walking Dead), J. August Richards (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Michele Weaver (Love Is___), Michael O’Neill (Scandal, Rectify), Steven Silver (13 Reasons Why), Emjay Anthony (Rake), Thalia Tran (the upcoming movie Little) and newcomer Blue Chapman

Emergence – A character-driven genre thriller about a sheriff who takes in a young child that she finds near the site of a mysterious accident and who has no memory of what has happened. The investigation draws the sheriff into a conspiracy larger than she ever imagined, and the child’s identity is at the center of it all.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES:  Michele Fazekas, Tara Butters, Paul McGuigan and Robert Atwood

CAST: Allison Tolman (Fargo), Alexa Skye Swinton (Billions), Owain Yeoman (The Mentalist), Donald Faison (Scrubs), Robert Bailey Jr. (The Night Shift), Clancy Brown (Billions, Sleepy Hollow), Ashley Aufderheide (The Slap) and Zabryna Guevara (New Amsterdam)

Lincoln – Based on the bestselling book series about Lincoln Rhyme, a legendary forensic criminologist who was seriously injured during his hunt for the diabolic serial killer known as the Bone Collector. Called back into action when the killer re-emerges, Lincoln forms a unique partnership with Amelia Sachs, a young beat cop who helps him hunt the deadly mastermind while also taking on the most high-profile cases in the NYPD.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES:  VJ Boyd, Mark Bianculli, Avi Nir, Alon Shtruzman, Peter Traugott and Rachel Kaplan

CAST: Russell Hornsby (Proven Innocent, Grimm), Arielle Kebbel (Midnight, Texas), Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos), Tate Ellington (The Brave, Quantico), Courtney Grosbeck (Homeland, The Bold and the Beautiful), Ramses Jimenez (Fear the Walking Dead), Brooke Lyons (Life Sentence, iZombie) and Roslyn Ruff (Divorce)

Prism – A provocative exploration of a murder trial in which every episode is told through the perspective of a different key person involved. Each new version of the facts ratchets up the mystery and the suspense, calling into question everything we have seen so far and asking: Is the right person on trial? Driven by an ensemble of complicated characters, the show lets the audience ask if truth matters less than who can tell the most compelling story.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES:  Daniel Barnz, Carol Mendelsohn, Julie Weitz and Ben Barnz

CAST: Malin Akerman (Billions), Ramon Rodriguez (The Affair), Sara Rue (Bones, Less Than Perfect), Mykelti Williamson (Chicago P.D.), Chloe Wepper (Good Trouble), David Alpay (The Vampire Diaries), Brooke Smith (Grey’s Anatomy), Joe Tippett (Rise) and Alex Neustaedter (Colony)

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist – An innovative musical dramedy about a whip-smart but socially awkward girl in her late 20’s who is suddenly able to hear the innermost thoughts of people around her as songs and even big musical numbers that they perform just for her. With this new ability at her disposal, she is able to use her “gift” to not only help herself understand people in her life, but also to help others around her.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES:  Austin Winsberg, Paul Feig, Jessie Henderson, Kim Tannenbaum, Eric Tannenbaum and Jason Wang

CAST: Jane Levy (Suburgatory), Skylar Astin (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Ground Floor), Alex Newell (Glee), Mary Steenburgen (The Last Man on Earth), Peter Gallagher (The O.C., Covert Affairs), John Clarence Stewart (Marvel’s Luke Cage) and Carmen Cusack (Sorry for Your Loss)

MOST LIKELY TO BE PICKED-UP: Bluff City Law and Lincoln

WOULD BE INTERESTING TO SEE: Prism and Council of Dads

LONG SHOT: Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist

Read Full Post »

Here are the FOX pilots up for consideration for the 2019-2020 TV season:

Deputy – Deputy Bill Hollister is a career lawman who’s very comfortable kicking down doors and utterly lost in a staff meeting. But when the LA County Sheriff drops dead, Bill becomes acting sheriff of Los Angeles County, in charge of 10,000 sworn deputies policing a modern Wild West.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES:  Will Beall, Chris Long and Cedar Park

CAST: Stephen Dorff (True Detective), Yara Martinez (Jane the Virgin), Brian Van Holt (Cougar Town), Bex Taylor-Klaus (Arrow), Siena Goines (Grey’s Anatomy, Jericho), Mark Moses (Desperate Housewives) and Shane Paul McGhie (Sacred Lies)

Filthy Rich – A larger-than-life Southern Gothic dramedy about two strong, sharp women who will go to any length to protect their loved ones and get their due. When the wealthy CEO of the world’s largest Christian network dies in a plane crash, his wife and adult children are stunned to discover he has grown, illegitimate kids who are also in his will. When the matriarch of the family tries to pay them to go away, these newly legitimized heirs have very different ideas and insist on not only staying in town, but becoming part of the family empire. (Based on the New Zealand series of the same name.)

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES:  Tate Taylor, John Norris, Brian Grazer and Francie Calfo

CAST: Kim Cattrall (Sex and the City), Gerald McRaney (This Is Us), Steve Harris (The Practice), Melia Kreiling (Salvation, Tyrant), Aubrey Dollar (Battle Creek, Women’s Murder Club), Corey Cott (The Good Fight), Mark L. Young (Ten Days in the Valley), David Denman (The Office), Olivia Macklin (LA to Vegas) and newcomer Benjamin Levy Aguilar

Lovestruck – A structurally inventive dramedy, in which the entire first season takes place over the course of single night at a wedding. As we get to know the wedding party, we’ll learn surprising reveals about both their present and past. We’ll see that things aren’t always what they seem and explore the complicated bonds of love, friendship and family at different stages of life.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES:  Tom Kapinos, Sanaa Hamri, Sharon Levy, Francois-Xavier Demaison and Nicolas Coppermann

CAST: Rachel Bilson (Hart of Dixie), Steve Kazee (Nashville, Shameless), Andie MacDowell (Cedar Cove), Kathleen Turner (Californication), Richard Roxburgh (Rake), Usman Ally (A Series of Unfortunate Events), Beth Riesgraf (Leverage), Jeffery Self (Search Party), Linda Park (Bosch) and Madeline Wise (Crashing)

Next – A propulsive, fact-based thriller grounded in the latest A.I. research features a brilliant but paranoid former tech CEO who joins a Homeland Cybersecurity Agent and her team to stop the world’s first artificial intelligence crisis: the emergence of a rogue AI with the ability to continuously improve itself. Marrying pulse-pounding action with a layered examination of how technology is invading our lives and transforming us in ways we don’t yet understand, the series also presents us with a villain like we’ve never seen before, one whose greatest weapon against us is ourselves.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES:  Manny Coto and Charlie Gogolak

CAST: John Slattery (Mad Men), Eve Harlow (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Michael Mosley (Sirens), Jason Butler Harner (Ozark) and Elizabeth Cappuccino (Jessica Jones)

Prodigal Son – Malcolm Bright has a gift. He knows how killers think, how their minds work. Why? His father was one of the worst — a notorious serial killer called “The Surgeon.” That’s why Bright is the best criminal psychologist around; murder is the family business. He will use his twisted genius to help the NYPD solve crimes and stop killers, all while dealing with a manipulative mother, annoyingly normal sister, a homicidal father still looking to bond with his prodigal son, and his own constantly evolving neuroses.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES:  Chris Fedak, Sam Sklaver, Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter

CAST: Tom Payne (The Walking Dead), Michael Sheen (Masters of Sex), Bellamy Young (Scandal), Lou Diamond Phillips (Longmire), Halston Sage (The Orville), Keiko Agena (Gilmore Girls), Aurora Perrineau (Chasing Life) and Frank Harts (The Path, Billions)

Untitled Annie Weisman/Jason Katims Project – Only child Julia Beckley has her life turned upside down when it’s revealed that her father, a pioneering Nobel Prize-winning fertility doctor, used his own sperm to conceive dozens of children over the course of his career. Reeling from this explosive revelation, Julia discovers two new sisters — her former best friend and an ex-Olympic athlete. Against all odds, the women attempt to form an untraditional family and lean on each other as they grapple with their own identity crises. Based on the Australian series Sisters.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES:  In addition to Weisman and Katims, Jeni Mulein, Imogen Banks and Sharon Levy

CAST: Timothy Hutton (The Haunting of Hill House, How to Get Away With Murder), Brittany Snow (American Dreams), Emily Osment (Young & Hungry) Megalyn Echikunwoke (Damien, Arrow), Mo McRae (Empire, Pitch) and Victoria Cartagena (Manifest, Gotham)

MOST LIKELY TO BE PICKED-UP: Prodigal Son

WOULD BE INTERESTING TO SEE: Lovestruck and Untitled Weisman/Katims Project

LONG SHOT: Deputy and Next

Read Full Post »

Here are the CBS pilots up for consideration for the 2019-2020 TV season:

Alive – A San Francisco homicide detective is mysteriously brought back to life after being killed in the line of duty, but as he resumes his old life and he and his wife realize he isn’t the same person he used to be, they zero in on the strange man behind his resurrection — Dr. Victor Frankenstein.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Jason Tracey and Rob Doherty

CAST: Ryan Phillippe (Shooter), Katrina Law (Arrow), Aaron Staton (Mad Men) and Saidah Arrika Ekulona (Bull, Impastor)

Courthouse – A show that pulls back the curtain on the court system and follows the dedicated, chaotic, hopeful, and sometimes absurd lives of the judges, assistant district attorneys, and public defenders as they work with bailiffs, clerks, cops and jurors to bring justice to the people of Los Angeles.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Greg Spottiswood, Leonard Goldstein and Mike Robin

CAST: Marg Helgenberger (CSI), Jessica Camacho (Taken, The Flash), Wilson Bethel (Marvel’s Daredevil, Hart of Dixie), J. Alex Brinson (Travelers), Simone Missick (Luke Cage), Lindsay Mendez (Broadway’s Carousel) and Ruthie Ann Miles (Broadway’s The King & I)

Evil – A skeptical female clinical psychologist joins a priest-in-training and a blue-collar contractor as they investigate supposed miracles, demonic possessions and other extraordinary occurrences, to see if there’s a scientific explanation or if something truly supernatural is at work.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Robert King, Michelle King and Liz Glotzer

CAST: Mike Colter (Marvel’s Luke Cage, The Good Wife), Michael Emerson (Person of Interest), Katja Herbers (Westworld) and Aasif Mandvi (Younger, The Brink)

FBI: Most Wanted – The potential spinoff centers on the division of the FBI tasked with tracking and capturing the notorious criminals on the FBI’s Most Wanted list.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES:  Dick Wolf, Rene Balcer, Arthur W. Forney and Peter Jankowski

CAST: Julian McMahon (Nip/Tuck), Alana de la Garza (Law & Order), Keisha Castle-Hughes (Game of Thrones) and Kellan Lutz (Twilight)

Tommy – When a former high-ranking NYPD officer becomes the first female Chief of Police for Los Angeles, she uses her unflinching honesty and hardball tactics to navigate the social, political, and national security issues that converge with enforcing the law.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES:  Paul Attanasio, Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey

CAST: Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie, The Sopranos), Michael Chernus (Patriot, Orange Is the New Black), Adelaide Clemens (Rectify), Russell G. Jones (The Americans), Joseph Lyle Taylor (Sneaky Pete), David Fierro (The Knick) and newcomer Olivia Lucy Phillip

The Republic of Sarah – A small New Hampshire town is thrust onto the world stage when the discovery of a valuable resource within its borders compels the residents to declare themselves an independent nation, setting the unlikely young mayor and her cabinet of inexperienced locals on the path of running a brand new country.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES:  Jeff King, Leo Pearlman, Jeff Grosvenor and Marc Webb

CAST: Sarah Drew (Grey’s Anatomy), Carlos Leal (The Last Ship), Jonathan Slavin (Speechless), Kirsten Nelson (Psych), James Lesure (Las Vegas), Kimberly Guerrero (Longmire), Daniel Ings (Instinct) and Annie Funke (Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders)

Surveillance – This spy thriller follows Maddy, the head of communications for the NSA, who is torn between protecting the government’s secrets and her own.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES:  David C. White and Matt Reeves

CAST: Sophia Bush (Chicago P.D.), Matthew Modine (Stranger Things), Dennis Haysbert (24), Allen Leech (Downton Abbey), Catalina Sandino Moreno (The Affair) and Raphael Acloque (24: Legacy)

Under the Bridge – When a scandal rocks the medical practice she runs with her husband and their friends, a surgeon rises to the occasion and takes the lead in trying to mend both the practice and her own marriage.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES:  Rina Mimoun, Jerry Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman and KristieAnne Reed

CAST: Jennifer Morrison (Once Upon a Time), Justin Kirk (Weeds), David Ajala (Supergirl), Sarayu Blue (I Feel Bad) and Reggie Lee (Grimm)

MOST LIKELY TO BE PICKED-UP: FBI: Most Wanted

WOULD BE INTERESTING TO SEE: Under the Bridge and The Republic of Sarah

LONG SHOT: Alive and Evil

Read Full Post »

Here are the ABC pilots up for consideration for the 2019-2020 TV season:

The Baker and the Beauty – Tells the story of the unlikely romance between a blue-collar baker and an international superstar. Theirs is a relationship that not only upends their own lives, but the lives of their two very different families. Based on the original Israeli series.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Dean Georgaris, David Frankel, Avi Nir, Alon Shtruzman, Rachel Kaplan and Peter Traugott

CAST: Nathalie Kelley (Dynasty), Victor Rasuk (Stalker, How to Make It in America), Carlos Gomez (Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders), Lisa Vidal (Being Mary Jane), Dan Bucatinsky (Scandal), Michelle Veintimilla (Gotham), David Del Rio (Grease Live!) and newcomer Belissa Escobedo

Heart of Life – Inspired by John Mayer’s hit song, the show follows two sets of adult siblings from wildly different worlds who discover they’re related and must reassess everything they thought they knew about their shared father. As they explore the mystery of their separate childhoods, they’ll experience the difficulty in overcoming the sins of the past, and learn the joys of reuniting with long-lost family.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Ben Queen, John Mayer, Melvin Mar, Jake Kasdan and Paul Weitz

CAST: Dave Annable (Brothers & Sisters), Harry Shum Jr. (Glee), Katie Findlay (How to Get Away With Murder), Jessica Stroup (Marvel’s Iron Fist, 90210) and Nick Thune (Burning Love)

The Hypnotist’s Love Story – After a string of failed romances, hypnotherapist Ellen is optimistic about her current boyfriend. But then he reveals a disturbing truth: a stalker ex-girlfriend has been following him for years. Ellen finds herself intrigued — and oddly thrilled — by the stalker, entirely unaware that they’ve already met. Based on the bestselling book by Liane Moriarty.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Katie Wech, David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman, Laurie Zaks and Liane Moriarty

CAST: Heather Graham (Emily’s Reasons Why Not), Juliet Rylance (The Knick), Adan Canto (Designated Survivor), Liza Lapira (9KJL), Jane Seymour (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman) and Nathaniel Buescher (APB)

New York Undercover – Picking up 20 years after the end of the ’90s Fox cop drama, the revival will follow detectives Nat Gilmore and Melissa Ortiz as they investigate the city’s most dangerous criminals from Harlem to Battery Park. Some cast members from the original series are expected to reprise their roles.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Dick Wolf, Ben Watkins, Arthur Forney and Peter Jankowski

CAST: Original series stars Malik Yoba and Luna Lauren Velez as well as MC Lyte (Power), Otmara Marrero (StartUp), Toby Sandeman (She’s Gotta Have It), Anna Enger (Chicago Med) and Octavio Pizano (If Loving You Is Wrong)

NYPD Blue – The revival will focus on Theo, the son of Andy Sipowicz, who is trying to earn his detective shield and work in the 15th squad while investigating his father’s murder.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Matt Olmstead, Nick Wootton and Dayna Bochco

CAST: Newcomer Fabien Frankel, Alona Tal (Supernatural), Rick Gomez (Justified), Ashley Thomas (24: Legacy), Sofia Barclay (Defending the Guilty) and original series stars Kim Delaney and Bill Brochtrup

Stumptown – Inspired by the graphic novels, the project follows Dex Parios, a strong, assertive, and unapologetically sharp-witted army veteran working as a P.I. in Portland, Oregon. With a complicated personal history and only herself to rely on, she solves other people’s messes with a blind eye toward her own.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Jason Richman, Ruben Fleischer, Dave Bernad, Greg Rucka, Matthew Southworth and Justin Greenwood

CAST: Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother), Michael Ealy (Secrets and Lies, Almost Human), Camryn Manheim (The Practice), Adrian Martinez (No Activity), Mark Webber (SMILF), newcomer Cole Sibus and Tantoo Cardinal (Legends of the Fall and Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman)

Triangle – What if the Bermuda Triangle was not a watery grave in the middle of the ocean, but a land lost in time that has trapped travelers over the course of human history? When a family is shipwrecked in this strange land, they must band together with a group of like-minded inhabitants — from throughout history — to survive and somehow find a way home.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Jon Feldman, Sonny Postiglione and Jen Gwartz

CAST: Mike Vogel (The Brave, Under the Dome), Edwin Hodge (Mayans M.C., Chicago Fire), Mallory Jansen (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Matt Passmore (Satisfaction, The Glades) Lorenzo Richelmy (Marco Polo), Amit Shah (the UK’s Crashing), Diana Bermudez (the upcoming movie Yesterday), newcomer Sarah Catherine Hook and Pallavi Sharda (Pulse)

Until the Wedding – The story of how one couple’s decision to get married can affect everyone in their lives. The show will explore the intimate relationships of a group of friends/family as they are forced to reckon with their own romantic lives and come to terms with the realities of love and marriage. Based on the Israeli format.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES:  Becky Mode, Sarah Timberman, Carl Beverly, Alon Aranya, Nelly Feld, Avi Zvi and Ami Amir

CAST: Olivia Thirlby (Goliath), E.J. Bonilla (Bull, Unforgettable), Christian Borle (Smash), Britt Lower (High Maintenance, Man Seeking Woman), Michael Stahl-David (The Deuce, Narcos), Trent Garrett (Andi Mack, Here and Now), Liza Colon-Zayas (David Makes Man, Titans), Juani Feliz (Shades of Blue, Blue Bloods), Vered Blonstein (The Good Doctor), Michael Benjamin Washington (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, 30 Rock) and Christian Coulson (Nashville)

Untitled Hank Steinberg and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson Project – A serialized legal and family drama about a prisoner who becomes a lawyer, litigating cases for other inmates while fighting to overturn his own life sentence for a crime he didn’t commit. His quest for freedom is driven by his desperate desire to get back to the family he loves and reclaim the life that was stolen from him. The show will also, through the window of his ferocious struggle and his complicated relationship with a progressive female prison warden, examine the flaws and challenges in our penal and legal systems.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES:  In addition to Steinberg and Jackson, Isaac Wright, Jr., Doug Robinson and Alison Greenspan

CAST: Nicholas Pinnock (Counterpart), Indira Varma (Game of Thrones), Joy Bryant (Parenthood), Mary Stuart Masterson (Blindspot), Dorian Missick (Tell Me a Story, Luke Cage), Boris McGiver (House of Cards) and Tyla Harris (Fear the Walking Dead)

MOST LIKELY TO BE PICKED-UP: NYPD Blue (nostalgia seems to be the norm anymore)

WOULD BE INTERESTING TO SEE: Stumptown and Triangle

LONG SHOT: The Baker and the Beauty

Read Full Post »

Here are the The CW pilots up for consideration for the 2017-2018 TV season:

Black Lightning: The pilot is about Jefferson Pierce. He made his choice: he hung up the suit and his secret identity years ago, but with a daughter hell-bent on justice and a star student being recruited by a local gang, he’ll be pulled back into the fight as the wanted vigilante and DC legend, Black Lightning.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Salim Akil, Mara Brock Akil, Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter.

CAST: Cress Williams (Veronica Mars and Hart of Dixie), Nafessa Williams (Code Black), China Anne McClain (A.N.T. Farm), Christine Adams (Pushing Daisies and The Mentalist),

NOTE: If Black Lightning is picked-up, the network could stagger the superhero shows throughout the year, rather than scheduling five separate nights of superhero programming.

Dynasty: The modernized remake will follow two of America’s wealthiest families, the Carringtons and the Colbys, as they feud for control over their fortune and their children. The primetime soap will be told primarily through the perspectives of two women at odds: Fallon Carrington, daughter of billionaire Blake Carrington and her soon-to-be stepmother, Cristal, a Hispanic woman marrying into this WASP family and America’s most powerful class.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Creators Josh Schwartz, Stephanie Savage, Sallie Patrick and Esther and Richard Shapiro.

CAST: Nathalie Kelley (The Vampire Diaries, Revenge), Elizabeth Gillies (Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll), Sam Adegoke (Murder in the First), Robert Christopher Riley (Hit the Floor), Grant Show (Melrose Place), Alan Dale (The O.C., 24 and Lost) and Rafael de la Fuente (When We Rise).

Insatiable: The pilot follows a disgraced, dissatisfied civil lawyer-turned-beauty pageant coach who takes on a vengeful, bullied teenager as his client, and has no idea what he’s about to unleash upon the world.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Lauren Gussis (Once Upon A Time), Ryan Seacrest, Nina Wass, Todd Hoffman and Dennis Kim.

CAST: Debby Ryan (former Disney star), Erinn Westbrook (Awkward), Michael Provost (Six), Dallas Roberts (The Good Wife), Sarah Colonna (Chelsey Lately), Kimmy Shields (Big Little Lies), Christopher Gorham (Ugly Betty and Popular), Alyssa Milano (Charmed and Mistresses),

Life Sentence: The pilot is about a young women diagnosed with terminal cancer who finds out that she’s not dying after all and has to learn to live with the choices she made when she decided to “live like she was dying.”

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Erin Cardillo, Richard Keith, Bill Lawrence and Jeff Ingold.

CAST: Dylan Walsh (Nip/Tuck and Unforgettable), Lucy Hale (Pretty Little Liars), Gillian Vigman (The Hangover), Elliot Knight (American Gothic), Carlos PenaVega (Grease: Live), Jayson Blair (Young & Hungry and The New Normal) and Brooke Lyons (2 Broke Girls).

Searchers: Searchers is about a group of unlikely heroes who find themselves on the journey of a lifetime. Ten years after the death of their parents, a pragmatic brother and free spirited sister are forced to team up when they learn that their mother’s terrifying and bizarre stories may be a road map to discovering the great legends, myths, and unexplainable mysteries of the world.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Jason Rothenberg, Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter.

CAST: William Miller (Ruta Madre and Cinco de Mayo), Jeanine Mason (Of Kings and Prophets), Zane Holtz (From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series), Alex McGregor (Of Kings and Prophets), newcomer Josh Kidd and Marc Blucas (Underground and Buffy, the Vampire Slayer).

Valor: The boundaries between military discipline and human desire are tested on a US Army base that houses an elite unit of helicopter pilots trained to perform clandestine international and domestic missions. The drama unfolds in the present as well as in flashbacks to a failed mission involving one of the first female pilots in the unit, ultimately uncovering layers of personal and government/military secrets, and leading to a season-long plan to rescue a group of MIA soldiers.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Kyle Jarrow and Bill Habor.

CAST: Matt Barr (Sleepy Hollow and Hellcats), Charlie Barnett (Chicago Fire and Secrets and Lies), newcomer W. Tre Davis, Melissa Roxburgh (Arrow, Supernatural and Star Trek Beyond), Christina Ochoa (Matador and Animal Kingdom), Nigel Thatch (American Dreams and Selma), Corbin Reid (How to Get Away With Murder),

MOST LIKELY TO BE PICKED-UP: Black Lightning

WOULD BE INTERESTING TO SEE: Life Sentence

LONG SHOT: Insatiable

UNNECESSARY REBOOT: Dynasty

Read Full Post »

Here are the NBC pilots up for consideration for the 2017-2018 TV season:

For God and Country: This pilot is a heart-pounding look into the complex world of the country’s bravest military heroes who make personal sacrifices while executing the most challenging and dangerous missions behind enemy lines.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Dean Georgaris, Peter Traugott and Rachel Kaplan.

CAST: Anne Heche (Men in Trees and Aftermath), Demetrius Grosse (Justified and Game of Silence), Noah Mills (2 Broke Girls), Sofia Pernas (Jane the Virgin), Mike Vogel (Under the Dome) and Tate Ellington (Quantico).

Good Girls: Explores what happens when three “good girl” suburban wives and mothers suddenly find themselves in desperate circumstances — they decide to stop playing it safe, and risk everything to take their power back.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Jenna Bans.

CAST: Manny Montana (Graceland and Conviction), Reno Wilson (Mike & Molly), Kathleen Rose Perkins (Colony), Matthew Lillard (The Bridge), Retta (Parks and Recreation), Mae Whitman (Parenthood), young actress Lidya Jewett (Hidden Figures),

Redliners: Based on a series of short stories by author Charlaine Harris (True Blood), this high-octane series mixes humor, romance and espionage centering on a pair of former their undercover lives.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Kelly Sue DeConnick and Shaun Cassidy.

CAST: Jason Ensler (Red Band Society), Hannah Ware (Hitman: Agent 47 and Betrayal), newcomer Alan Powell, Greg Germann (Ally McBeal and Once Upon a Time), Jerod Haynes (Southside With You), Jenny Wade (Wedding Band), Tommy Flanagan (Sons of Anarchy) and Quinn Shephard (Hostages).

Reverie: A grounded and dramatic thriller about a former detective specializing in human behavior who is brought in when the launch of an advanced virtual reality program has dangerous and unintended consequences.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Mickey Fisher (Extant), Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey and Brooklyn Weaver.

CAST: Sarah Shahi (Person of Interest and Fairly Legal), Sendhil Ramamurthy (Heroes and Covert Affairs), Jessica Lu (Awkward), Kathryn Morris (Cold Case) and Dennis Haysbert (24 and Incorporated).

Rise (formerly Drama High): Based on the book by Michael Sokolove, the pilot is inspired by the true story of high school drama teacher Lou Volpe, centering around the incredible students who come alive under a passionate teacher and family man whose dedication to the program galvanizes the entire town.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Jason Katims.

CAST: Auli’i Cravalho (the voice of Moana), Amy Forsyth (Defiance and The Path), Rosie Perez, newcomer Rarmian Newton, Josh Radnor (How I Met Your Mother), Shirley Rumierk (Collateral Beauty), relative newcomers Damon J. Gillespie, Joe Tippett, Ted Sutherland and Taylor Richardson; Shannon Purser (Stranger Things) and Marley Shelton (The Lottery).

Shelter (formerly called Salvation): A “real-time extreme event” medical series that follows the nurses and doctors of an understaffed Brooklyn hospital that becomes the borough’s last viable trauma center after a catastrophic hurricane wreaks havoc on the city. On a holiday weekend with few doctors on call, the medical staff will be pushed to make the most difficult life-and-death choices as they work to save their patients and themselves.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Warren Leight, Paul Haggis and Charles McDougall.

CAST: Newcomer Paola Lazaro, Matthew James Thomas, Rachel Griffiths (Brothers & Sisters and Six Feet Under), Nikki M. James (The Book of Mormon, Braindead and The Good Wife), JJ Feild (Turn), Latarsha Rose (The Hunger Games), Jamie McShane (Bloodline and The Fosters) and Nadia Gan (Mr. Robot).

MOST LIKELY TO BE PICKED-UP: Rise

WOULD BE INTERESTING TO SEE: Reverie and For God and Country

LONG SHOT: Good Girls

Read Full Post »

Here are the FOX pilots up for consideration for the 2017-2018 TV season:

Behind Enemy Lines: A military soap thriller where a group of U.S. soldiers find themselves trapped behind enemy lines. The “distinctly patriotic series” is a multi-perspective narrative that closely follows our soldiers on the ground, and the officers and service men and women on a nearby aircraft carrier, along with intelligence officers in D.C., as they attempt to bring our heroes home safely and under the radar.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Nikki Toscano, McG, Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey, John Davis and John Fox.

CAST: B.J. Britt (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Marg Helgenberger (CSI), Gabriel Chavarria (East Los High), Melia Kreiling (Tyrant), Nestor Carbonell (Bates Motel), Colm Feore (The Amazing Spider-Man 2), Willa Fitzgerald (Scream and Royal Pains), Dylan Bruno (Numb3rs), Benito Martinez (American Crime and Supernatural) and Gabriel Chavarria (East Los High).

The Resident: The pilot centers on an idealistic young doctor who begins his first day under the supervision of a tough, brilliant senior resident who pulls the curtain back on all of the good and evil in modern-day medicine. Lives may be saved or lost, but expectations will always be shattered.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Amy Holden Jones, Hayley Schore, Roshan Sethi, Antoine Fuqua and Oly Obst.

CAST: Manish Dayal (The Hundred-Foot Journey), Bruce Greenwood (Star Trek), Matt Czuchry (The Good Wife and Gilmore Girls), Shaunette Renee Wilson (Billions), Emily Van Camp (Revenge) and Valerie Cruz (The Following).

Untitled Marvel Action-Adventure Pilot(also known as Gifted): The pilot revolves around two ordinary parents who discover their children possess mutant powers. Forced to go on the run from a hostile government, the family joins up with an underground network of mutants and must fight to survive.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Matt Nix, Lauren Shuler Donner, Simon Kinberg, Jeph Loeb, Jim Chory and Bryan Singer.

CAST: Blair Redford (Switched at Birth and Satisfaction), Natalie Alyn Lind (The Goldbergs), Jamie Chung (Once Upon a Time), Sean Teale (Incorporated), Stephen Moyer (True Blood), Amy Acker (Angel and Person of Interest), Coby Bell (Burn Notice), Emma Dumont (Bunheads and Aquarius)

Untitled University Project (formerly titled Controversy): The pilot follows the Junior Counsel of a prestigious Illinois university who must deal with an out-of-control scandal when a young co-ed accuses several star football players of sexual assault. From the football coaches and boosters who wield outsize influence to a university administration under siege, the project explores the type of high-profile controversy all too familiar on today’s college campuses, as well as the corrosive, dangerous nature of institutional power.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Judy Smith, Jennifer Klein, Charlie Gogolak, Sheldon Turner (Up in the Air), John Requa and Glenn Ficarra.

CAST: Austin Stowell (Whiplash), Christine Lahti, Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife and Blindspot), Erin Moriarty (Jessica Jones), Saycon Sengbloh (Scandal), Griffin Freeman (Paper Towns), Anthony Edwards (ER), Robbie Jones (Bosch and 90210) and Vince Nappo (Reign and NCIS).

MOST LIKELY TO BE PICKED-UP: Untitled Marvel’s Pilot

WOULD BE INTERESTING TO SEE: Behind Enemy Lines

LONG SHOT: The Resident (seems a bit too much like House, to an extent)

Read Full Post »

Here are the CBS pilots up for consideration for the 2017-2018 TV season:

Instinct: Based on the upcoming James Patterson novel, a former CIA operative who has since built a “normal” life as a gifted professor and writer is pulled back into his old life when the NYPD needs his help to stop a serial killer on the loose.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Michael Rauch (Royal Pains), Alex Kurtzman, Heather Kadin, Alan Cumming, James Patterson, Bill Robinson and Leopoldo Gout.

CAST: Alan Cumming (The Good Wife), Bojana Novakoic (Shameless and Rake), Daniel Ings (The Crown), Naveen Andrews (Lost) and Khandi Alexander (CSI: Miami).

Mission Control: The next generation of NASA astronauts and scientists juggle both their personal and professional lives during a critical mission with no margin for error.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Andy Weir (The Martian), Courtney Conte, Quan Phung, Simon Kinberg (The Martian), Aditya Sood and Charles Eglee (Dexter).

CAST: Levi Fiehler (The Fosters), David Giuntoli (Grimm), Poppy Montgomery (Without a Trace and Unforgettable), Ricardo Chavira (Desperate Housewives and Jane the Virgin), Peyton List (Frequency) and Wunmi Mosaku (Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice).

Perfect Citizen: Revolves around the former General Counsel for the NSA who, after his involvement as a whistleblower in an international scandal, embarks on a new career at a storied law firm in Boston. There, he faces the reality that while half the country thinks he’s our greatest patriot, the other half thinks he’s a traitor.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Craig Turk (The Good Wife)

CAST: Lenny Platt (Quantico and How to Get Away With Murder), Noah Wyle (ER and The Librarians), Shanley Caswell (The Conjuring), newcomer Adrienne Warren, Stephanie Szostak (Satisfaction), Kristin Chenoweth (Pushing Daisies and Glee) and Brian Stokes Mitchell (The Path and Mr. Robot).

S.W.A.T.: Inspired by the 1975 TV series of the same name, the series follows a locally born and bred S.W.A.T. lieutenant who is torn between loyalty to the streets and duty to his fellow officers when he’s tasked to run a highly-trained unit that is the last stop for solving crimes in Los Angeles.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Aaron Thomas Shawn Ryan, Marney Hochman, Neal Moritz, Pavun Shetty, Danielle Woodrow and Justin Lin.

CAST: Stephanie Sigman (Spectre), Shemar Moore (Criminal Minds), Lina Esco (Kingdom), Kenny Johnson (Bates Motel and Secrets and Lies), Jay Harrington (Better Off Ted and Code Black), Peter Onorati (Murder in the First) and Australia actor Alex Russell.

The Get: This workplace drama centers on a team of tireless internet journalists who pursue and expose the stories of injustice using their unconventional investigative techniques in today’s anything-goes world of reporting.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Bridget Carpenter.

CAST: Emayatzy Corinealdi (Hand of God), Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond), Jeananne Goossen (The Night Shift), newcomer Alex Fitzalan, Michael Rady (UnReal and Jane the Virgin) and Amy Brenneman (Judging Amy and Private Practice).

Untitled Jenny Lumet Project (formerly known as Higher Ground): The pilot focuses on an elite team of investigators for the Northeast Regional U.S. Hate Crimes Unit, who solve a myriad of crimes against humanity as they confront their own biases.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Jenny Lumet and Katie Couric.

CAST: Brad William Henke (Orange Is the New Black), Zach Appleman (Sleepy Hollow), Grace Rex (The Good Wife), Kevin Daniels (Sirens), Sharon Leal (Supergirl) and Omar Metwally (The Affair).

Untitled Navy SEALs Pilot: The pilot follows the lives of the elite Navy SEALs as they train, plan and execute the most dangerous, high stakes missions the country can ask.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Ben Cavell (Justified), Sarah Timberman and Carl Beverly.

CAST: Neil Brown, Jr. (Straight Outta Compton), Max Theriot (Bates Motel), Toni Trucks (Franklin & Bash), A.J. Buckley (Supernatural and CSI: NY), David Boreanaz (Bones and Angel) and Jessica Pare (Mad Men).

Wisdom of the Crowd: Based on the Israeli television series of the same name, the pilot tells the story of a tech innovator who, inspired by the notion that a million minds are better than one, creates a cutting edge crowdsourcing hub to solve his own daughter’s murder, as well as revolutionizing crime solving in San Francisco.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Ted Humphrey.

CAST: Jeremy Piven (Entourage and Mr. Selfridge), Richard T. Jones (Judging Amy), Blake Lee (Mixology), Monica Potter (Parenthood), Natalia Tena (Game of Thrones) and Jake Matthews (Bosch).

MOST LIKELY TO BE PICKED-UP: Instinct and Mission Control

WOULD BE INTERESTING TO SEE: S.W.A.T. and Untitled Navy SEALs Pilot

LONG SHOT: Wisdom of the Crowd

Read Full Post »

Here are the ABC pilots up for consideration for the 2017-2018 TV season:

Deception: When his career is ruined by scandal, superstar magician Cameron Black has only one place to turn to practice his art of deception, illusion and influence — the FBI. He’ll become the world’s first consulting illusionist, helping the government solve crimes that defy explanation and trap criminals and spies by using deception.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Chris Fedak (Chuck and Forever); Greg Berlanti, Martin Gero, Sarah Schechter and David Kwong (Blindspot, Now You See Me).

CAST: Jack Cutmore-Scott (Cooper Barrett and Kingsman: The Secret Service), Amaury Nolasco (Prison Break), Lenora Crichlow (Being Human), Ilfenesh Hadera (Billions), Justin Chon (Twilight movie franchise), Vinnie Jones (Arrow) and Laila Robins (Murder in the First and Homeland).

Doomsday: The series is set in the aftermath of Sept. 11, when the U.S. government instituted a secret think-tank comprised of the most creative minds in science and entertainment who were tasked solely with dreaming up man-made disaster scenarios and their possible solutions. The ideas they invented were so dangerous that the list was sealed and the program shut down. But when a catastrophe occurs ripped from the pages of the missing doomsday book, the team is brought back years later to prevent the disasters of their own making.

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

CAST: Dan Boyd (Cougar Town), Jack Davenport (Smash), Rachelle Lefevre (Under the Dome), Taye Diggs (Murder in the First), Claire Holt (The Originals), Rochelle Aytes (Mistresses) and Justin Chatwin (Shameless).

Las Reinas: Revolves around Detective Sonya De La Reina, who is forced to confront her past when a case compels her to reconnect with her estranged family — the most powerful criminal outfit in Miami. Thrust back into the world she thought she had left behind, Sonya must walk the murky line between the law and her family, and question her true destiny as a De La Reina.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Dean Georgaris, Mark Gordon, Nicholas Pepper and Chris Brancato.

CAST: Sonia Braga (Royal Pains and Luke Cage), John Corbett (Northern Exposure and Sex and the City), Daniella Alonso (Revolution), Matt Davis (The Vampire Diaries), Eric Winter (Witches of East End), Shalim Ortiz (Heroes) and Amanda Warren (The Leftovers).

Salamander: The pilot follows a brilliant but misanthropic engineer who recruits a skeptical Homeland Security agent to help him track a mysterious bank robber whose theft of 66 specific safety deposit boxes, belonging to the elite and powerful, sets in motion a series of blackmails that may be linked to a greater conspiracy.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Jeff Pinkner, Andre Nemec, Josh Applebaum and Scott Rosenberg.

CAST: Alison Miller (Incorporated), John Leguizamo, Larenz Tate (Game of Silence and House of Lies), Elaine Tan (Hand of God), Karine Vanasse (Revenge), Treat Williams (Everwood), Elizabeth Mastrantonio (Grimm and Robin Hood movie) and Eric Bogosian,

The Crossing: Refugees from a war-torn country start showing up to seek asylum in an American town. Only the country these people are from is America and the war they are fleeing is 250 years in the future. The local sheriff with a past, a federal agent and a mother in search of her missing refugee daughter drive this allegory with a surprising conspiracy at the center.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Dan Dworkin, Jay Beattie (Criminal Minds) and Jason Reed

CAST: Sandrine Holt (House of Cards and MacGyver), Steve Zahn (Dallas Buyers Club), Jay Karnes (Burn Notice and The Shield), Simone Kessell (Terra Nova), Grant Harvey (The Secret Life of the American Teenager), Marcius Harris (Vice Principals), Kelley Missal (One Life to Live), Tommy Bastow (EastEnders), John D’Leo (the box office movie The Family), Natalie Martinez (Under the Dome and APB) and Rick Gomez (Justified).

The Good Doctor: Based on a South Korean format, the drama centers on a young surgeon with Savant syndrome who is recruited into the pediatric surgical unit of a prestigious hospital. The question will arise: Can a person who doesn’t have the ability to relate to people actually save their lives?

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: David Shore (House) and actor Daniel Dae Kim (Hawaii Five-0).

CAST: Antonia Thomas (Misfits), Freddie Highmore (Bates Motel), Nicholas Gonzalez (Pretty Little Liars and Jane the Virgin), Chuku Modu (Game of Thrones), Hill Harper (CSI: NY), Irene Keng (Grey’s Anatomy and Harry’s Law), Richard Schiff (The West Wing) and Beau Garrett (Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce).

The Gospel of Kevin: A light one hour about Kevin, a down-on-his-luck man who is tasked by God with a mission to save the world.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters (Marvel’s Agent Carter)

CAST: Newcomer Natacha Karam, Mike Vogel (Under the Dome), Jason Ritter (Parenthood and Joan of Arcadia), Cristela Alonzo (Cristela), India de Beaufort (Jane By Design, Younger and NCIS: Los Angeles), Dustin Ybarra (We Bought a Zoo), Chloe East (Liv and Maddie), J. August Richards (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Angel) and JoAnna Garcia Swisher (Reba, Once Upon a Time and Privileged).

The Trustee: The hour-long comedic pilot revolves around a driven but stubborn detective finds who unlikely help from her precinct’s trustee, a larger than life ex-con finishing out her prison sentence doing menial tasks for the police department. Although these two have completely opposing views on crime and punishment, a highly entertaining and successful partnership is born.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Jay Scherick, David Ronn (Spin City), Elizabeth Banks and Max Handelman.

CAST: Meaghan Rath (Being Human), Michael Cudltiz (The Walking Dead), Laverne Cox (Orange Is the New Black), Tim Kang (The Mentalist), David Warshofsky (Scandal and Captain Philllips), L. Scott Caldwell (Lost), Berto Colon (Orange Is the New Black) and Lance Gross (Sleepy Hollow).

Untitled Marc Cherry Pilot (formerly known as Bluegrass or Blood Red): Ruby Adair, the sheriff of colorful small town Oxblood, Kentucky, finds her red state outlook challenged when a young FBI agent of Middle Eastern descent is sent to help her solve a horrific crime. Together they form an uneasy alliance as Ruby takes the agent behind the lace curtains of this southern gothic community to meet an assortment of bizarre characters, each with a secret of their own.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Marc Cherry, Reba McEntire, Sabrina Wind, Mindy Schultheis, Michael Hanel and Michael Offer

CAST: Singer-actress Reba McEntire, Ben Esler (Hell on Wheels), Natalie Hall (Pretty Little Liars and Star Crossed), Ryan McPartlin (Chuck), Jack Coleman (Heroes), Saidah Ekulona (Kevin Can Wait), Emily Rose (Haven), Saamer Usmani (Reign and Nikita), W. Earl Brown (Deadwood), Roslyn Ruff (Madam Secretary) and Amanda Detmer (Necessary Roughness).

Untitled Paul William Davies Pilot: Set in the Southern District of New York (SDNY) Federal Court, aka “The Mother Court,” this legal drama follows brand-new lawyers working on opposite sides — for both the defense and the prosecution as they handle the most high-profile and high-stakes cases in the country, all as their personal lives intersect.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Paul William Davies (Scandal), Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers.

CAST: Ben Rappaport (The Good Wife), Britne Oldford (Hunters and Ravenswood), Anna Deavere Smith (Nurse Jackie), Susannah Flood (Chicago Fire), Hope Davis (Wayward Pines), Vondie Curtis-Hall (Daredevil and Soul Food), Rege-Jean Page (Roots), Lyndon Smith (Parenthood), Ben Shenkman (Royal Pains) and Wesam Keesh (Awkward.).

Unit Zero: The pilot follows Jackie Fink, a brilliant but unassuming CIA engineer and single mom, as she leads a team of desk jockeys into the field as secret agents. Overlooked in the workplace, their invisibility makes them perfect for the CIA’s most covert missions.

THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Lindsey Shockley and Kenya Barris.

CAST: Toni Collette (United States of Tara), Kimberly Hebert Gregory (Vice Principals), Rob Huebel (Blunt Talk), Dana Powell (Modern Family), Peter Cambor (NCIS: Los Angeles and Suits), Jamey Sheridan (Sully), Parvesh Cheena (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) and Ayden Mayeri (New Girl).

MOST LIKELY TO BE PICKED-UP: Unit Zero and Untitled Marc Cherry Pilot

WOULD BE INTERESTING TO SEE: The Gospel of Kevin

LONG SHOT: Deception and Doomsday

Read Full Post »