I'm so helpful.
Here's a look at how the network pilot season is shaping up for Fall 2011, with a side of judgment, of course.
NBC
The Cool: The David E. Kelley helmed Wonder Woman project could be awesome, provided Adrienne Palicki can pull it off. Of course, if The Cape is any indicator of NBC's ability to do superheroes, it could also fail spectacularly. Maria Bello has snagged the lead role in the remake of the excellent BBC miniseries Prime Suspect, and while there are several more traditional comedy pilots in the works, I'm most intrigued by the return of Debra Messing in the musical-theater themed Smashed, which hopes to be the next Glee.
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| Creators of Wonder Woman: Consider yourself warned. |
The Crazy: Playboy, a drama set in the 60's that follows the lives of the famous bunnies could be Mad Men or could be Swingtown; Grimm, a cop drama set in a world where fairy tale characters exist (dying to see how they pull that off); and Brave New World, a workplace comedy set in a Colonial Williamsburg type theme park. See, I told you they were bringing the crazy this year.
ABC
The Cool: Tim Allen will be back in macho form in the sitcom The Last Days of Man, a potentially funny/potentially cliche comedy about a man's man surrounded by women. Grace is an ensemble family drama set in the world of professional dance and Sex and the City creator Darren Starr is back to soaps with Good Christian Bitches, about a former mean girl who returns to her Dallas roots. I'm also kinda pumped about Once Upon a Time from LOST writers Ed Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, about a little boy who moves to a magical town. Like Eerie, Indiana but less Twin Peaks-y. (Wow, I reached back for that one.)
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| This show scared the crap out of me. |
The Crazy: Pan Am, another soap set in the swinging 60's, but with stewardesses. Hallelujah from Marc Cherry, starring Jesse L. Martin (The Dancing Detective!) as a man who shows up to help a Tennessee town being torn apart by the forces of good and evil (featuring a gospel choir used as a Greek Chorus). And last, but certainly not least, Poe, which imagines Edgar Allan Poe as a charming crime fighter. Quoth the raven, WTF?
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| Sexy, sexy crime fighting. |
CBS
The Cool: Some of my favorite people are looking to find a home on CBS this fall: Sarah Michelle Gellar stars in Ringer, about a woman on the run from the mob and Minnie Driver is back with Hail Mary, about a mom who teams up with a con man to fight crime. JJ Abrams has one of his two pilots here, Person of Interest, starring Michael Emerson as a billionaire who teams up with a retired CIA agent to; you guessed it, fight crime. CBS knows where its bread is buttered.
The Crazy: There is no crazy. It's CBS.
FOX
The Crazy Cool: FOX is bringing it big this season, from JJ Abrams' second pilot, the much-buzzed-about Alcatraz with LOST alum Jorge Garcia, to Exit Strategy, starring Ethan Hawke and helmed by his Training Day director Antoine Fuqua. Keifer Sutherland will be back on TV with Touch, the new supernatural show from Heroes creator Tim Kring and the adaptation of graphic novel Locke and Key will tell the story of a family with portals to magical worlds in their home. Oh, FOX. You so crazy!
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| Not Crazy: Keeping this man on my TV. |
Of course, all this being said, probably the only shows any of the networks will actually put on will be medical dramas and sitcoms with loglines like "A couple faces the ups and downs of marriage while dealing with their crazy family/friends/neighbors/dog."
Seriously, you wouldn't believe how many of those shows they are making.
Oh, wait. You watch TV. Yes, you would.
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