One year after its temporary demise, pilot season continues to be alive and well at FOX, as the network ordered pilots for several of its highest profile scripts, including “Frankenstein” and the Americanized “Luther.”
The announcements came a little over one week after FOX ordered “Minority Report” report to pilot and days after FOX execs told reporters that “Shameless” and “Entourage” veteran Mark Mylod will direct that pilot.
FOX's Tuesday (January 20) pilot orders were for the comedy “48 Hours 'Til Monday,” plus dramas “Frankenstein,” “Rosewood” and “Luther.”
The “Luther” pilot order is cast contingent, which means that it won't go to pilot until FOX can find somebody capable of being the American Idris Elba, presumably somebody other than Idris Elba with an American accent, though Idris Elba is attached to the “Luther” pilot as an executive producer along with Peter Chernin, Katherine Pope, Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner.
Also serving as executive producer on the FOX “Luther” is original BBC creator Neil Cross, who will write the pilot, which continues to focus on John Luther, a brilliant detective with occasionally questionable ethics and an unrelenting passion for justice.
FOX had very little success with its most recent attempt to Americanize an English-language crime drama, though “Luther” might be positioned as a series, rather than an event series, which might help.
“Frankenstein” comes from “Life” creator Rand Ravich and the ubiquitous Howard Gordon. While it takes its name from the novel by Mary Shelley, the logline sounds not especially literal, translation-wise: “Ray Pritchard, a morally corrupt retired cop, is given a second chance at life when he is brought back from the dead. Now younger and stronger, Pritchard will have to choose between his old temptations and his new sense of purpose.”
Word of advice for high school students: If “Frankenstein” goes to series, you may not want to watch this instead of reading the book.
Taking a different approach to death is “Rosewood,” a one-hour drama created by Todd Harthan and focusing on Dr. Beaumont Rosewood, Jr., the top private pathologist in all of Miami. This pathologist is actually obsessed with life and his optimism gets on the nerves of the female detective he often partners with. [No. He's not immortal. I don't want “Forever” fans getting antsy.]
And, finally, hailing from “The Daily Show” and “SNL” veteran Charlie Grandy (son of Gopher from “The Love Boat”), “48 Hours 'Til Monday” focuses on a husband trying to protect his weekends from chaos or something. Grandy last created “Guys with Kids” for NBC.
Yay? Boo? Meh?