This is January, which is the start of the broadcast pilot season when networks start picking up their harvest pilots for next season. Not this year. By January 2021, most broadcast networks are still getting ready to film some of their 2020 pilots, and the country is going through a deadly Covid-19 boom, with California at the center.
The coronavirus pandemic blew up the 2020 pilot season by letting almost all the pilots land just as they were on their way. The upheaval has led networks to accept straight-to-series orders in a larger way, relying on extra backups to make their decisions. Fox, which has already embarked on a year-long development transition, has adapted its approach to development and will incorporate a mix of traditional pilots, cheaper deals, writers’ rooms as well as live direct orders. forward. ABC has also sharpened its plans to move development to an outside cycle (or ‘second cycle’).
While the broadcasting networks are moving in the direction of the stream development model, they have not yet officially written off the traditional pilot model and have bought a significant number of stands this season, given the supported development of last season. And although the situation is very fluid, some pilots are expected to get this cycle green. The orders are likely to be late as scripts arrive late, and I hear there is no urgency at the networks to rush them. (I hear some networks have received just over half of their scripts.) Networks’ decisions to hire pilots will be difficult to take this year, with most of the new 2020-21 broadcast series not yet in premiere is not and a number of 2020 pilots who have not yet shot are delayed by the current surge of coronavirus infections. In the case of Fox and the CW, their entire 2020-21 series is only just beginning, so there is currently little information on how new and recurring series will perform.
Here’s how I hear things are going on at each of the networks regarding existing and new pilots.
ABC gave three of its 2020 pilots live orders and dramas Big sky, which had a solid debut in late fall, and Rebel, and comedy Call your mom. It also adopted the comedy series Home economics off of a presentation.
Of the remaining pilots, high profile drama Harlem’s Kitchen with Delroy Lindo in the lead role, not going forward; I learned that it would be filmed this month. ABC Signature tried to buy the project from streamers, but I could not find a new home.
Harlem’s Kitchen was one of five 2020 pilots that ABC joined in June Rebel, which eventually went straight to series and comedies Boss, Home economics, en Workwoman. I hear there is no decision yet Workwoman, who was shot while Boss has yet to be filmed due to the current Covid boom.
For the 2020 pilot season, ABC has a second-cycle drama pilot Triage, which was recently completed. I hear it’s probably going to be put together by Kevin Costner’s National Park Service drama (aka ISB), originally bought last season as a pit pilot, and Sam Esmail’s Crimes, to which ABC has given a trial production commitment as part of the current development cycle. Both are raised for pilot orders.
Triage, National Park Service and Crimes are all procedures, so I hear that there are additional drama pilot orders, as few as two, possibly appearing in series / major idea projects. On the comedy side, ABC has already commissioned a series for a project that was presented last summer, a multi-cam comedy starring Kelsey Grammer and Alec Baldwin. The network is expected to continue to pick up a few half-hour pilots, with the multi-cam starring Sarah Hyland.
In addition to the slow integration of the dissertation and the focus on the outstanding 2020 pilots, ABC’s 2021 pilot orders may also be delayed by the recent top executive change, with Craig Erwich, Hulu, overseeing ABC Entertainment as Karey Burke, who bought the current purchase. development, took over the 20th television.
CBS has given direct orders to 2020 pilots The equalizer, with Queen Latifah and Silence of the lambs prosecute Clarice, and drafted the only completed pilot of the Pilot Season 2020 comedy B Positive, as well as another comedy pilot produced by Chuck Lorre, which was filmed during the pandemic, United States of Al. Of the other 2020 CBS pilots, comedies Spoke, Wild Things (also known as Big Bad Wolfes) en The Three Of Us was shot and remains in contention. Of the rest, drama Ways and means, starring Patrick Dempsey, filmed this month in New York; drama Good Sam, headed by Sophia Bush, is expected to shoot in Canada in February; a multi-cam comedy Welcome to Georgia (fk Unt. Kingsbury / Daley / Goldstein) will be recorded in Los Angeles in March. Comedy Jurisprudence, whose cast was released last year, disputes for a pilot pickup. (CBS also rolled drama last year Out the door.)
With Ways and means and Good Sam probably underway for next season, and CBS also expected to start production CSI in the coming months for next season, the network will likely only order a few drama pilots in this cycle. Same on the comedy side.
Fox gave a direct order to comedy in May Call me Cat, which has just begun. It also recently performed for series comedy This country, which filmed part of its launch before the production closure in March 2020.
Fox has several 2020 pilots set up to begin production as soon as it is safe The cleaning lady, Blood relative and The ‘Goonies’ re-enactment project; comedy Swivel will be filmed in February. Ballet drama Big leap shot in December, but interrupted the show due to positive Covid-19 cases. It is expected to resume in February, and the project is already providing a strong buzz.
According to the straight-series model regarding the opening of writers’ rooms, the network has two projects that view series orders, Our kind of people, which is heated, and Country Music Dynasty drama.
In addition, Fox recently launched a Fantasy Island reloaded with a live series and featured an animated comedy by Dan Harmon.
Some of NBC’s 2020 pilots recorded the network’s series dramas Debris, who filmed a partial pilot before the close of March. Co-drama La Brea, which was also placed in a straight series in the summer with an order of six scripts, believes a series of green lights with comedy pilots American car and Grand Crew, due to the delays associated with the pandemic, the network and studios are repeating the presentations of the cast.
NBC has completed comedies for all the 2020 pilots he pledged to film in June American car, Grand Crew as well as Night school, not moving forward, and dramas Ordinary Joe and Langdon, based on Dan Brown’s novel The lost symbol. The two dramas are reportedly strongly in conflict, with Ordinary Joe, whose text was an NBC copper favorite last spring was apparently a pickup truck.
NBC’s Rolling Drama Pilots At that age and Echo and comedies crazy about you, Jefferies and Someone out there remain eligible for a pilot order this season. Of the five only At that age kept its cast among options.
With the Summer Olympics on deck and a new series of series yet to premiere, NBC is likely to make some pilots this pilot season. As with ABC, there’s an additional factor that contributes to delaying pilot orders – the pending major retrenchments in the entire Entertainment Content division run by Susan Rovner.
The CW gave direct orders to series Superman & Lois, Walker, Kung Fu, whose pilot made footage last March, and The Republic of Sarah.
Of the other pilots of 2020, the Arrow spinoff Green Arrow and the Canaries does not go forward. The 100 prequel remains controversial, possibly for a joint broadcast on the CW and HBO Max, although the options for the actors who appeared in the backdoor pilot episode have expired. The rolled 2020 pilots, Maverick and The lost boys, it is believed to be taken into account for this cycle.
Like last year, I hear that the network can once again go directly to series on as many as four projects. Some of the most popular projects that could come on the scene could include the production of Greg Berlanti Wonder Girl and another DC drama by Ava DuVernay Naomi.