Pilot season is officially in full swing.
The networks doled out orders like they were going out of style today, with a slew of high-profile projects including “Beverly Hills Cop” and a new Greg Kinnear dramedy series getting the greenlight. Get a full accounting below.
CBS
– “Beverly Hills Cop”: Crime procedural with “comedic elements” based on the film franchise of the same name. “Shield” creator Shawn Ryan is on board to write as well as executive-produce alongside original star Eddie Murphy, who will reprise his role in the pilot alongside Brandon T. Jackson (“Percy Jackson,” “Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son”). The plot will center on Aaron Foley (Jackson) – police officer son of Murphy’s Axel Foley – who is constantly attempting to escape the shadow of his famous father as he works the Beverly Hills crime beat. If the pilot goes to series, Murphy will continue to appear in a recurring capacity.
– “Backstrom”: Crime drama from “Bones” creator Hart Hanson based on a book series by Swedish novelist Leif G.W. Persson about an overweight, self-destructive detective.
– “Friends With Better Lives”: Multi-camera comedy about a group of thirtysomething friends who all envy each other’s lives. Dana Klein (“Friends,” “Kath & Kim”) is attached to write and executive-produce the pilot.
ABC
– “Pulling”: Screenwriters Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky (“Bad Teacher,” “The Office”) are on board to write and executive-produce this comedy based on the British series of the same name that centers on three thirtysomething women who play by their own rules. This is the network’s second try with the adaptation; a 2008-09 effort was D.O.A.
– “Betrayal”: Based on the Dutch serialized drama “Overspel” about an unhappily married woman who embarks on an affair with the lawyer of an influential family. The pilot will be written and executive-produced by David Zabel (“ER,” “Detroit 1-8-7”).
– “Venice”: A Romeo and Juliet-style drama about two rival Venice, California families who struggle for control of the posh L.A. neighborhood even as a forbidden love affair blossoms between two of their members. The script will be written by Byron Balasco (“Without a Trace,” “Detroit 1-8-7”), who is on board to executive-produce alongside Peter Johnson and McG, the latter of whom is also set to direct.
– “The Returned”: Drama created by Aaron Zelman (“Criminal Minds”) that centers on a town where the dead begin showing up on their loved ones’ doorsteps as if they had never left. Brad Pitt’s Plan B is executive-producing.
NBC
– Untitled Sean Hayes Project: A multi-camera comedy starring “Will & Grace”‘s Sean Hayes as a man who must learn how to be a parent when his 14-year-old daughter comes to live with him. Victor Fresco (“Better Off Ted”) created the series, which he will executive-produce with Hayes.
(Our previous story on the five other pilots ordered by NBC today can be found here.)
FOX
– “Rake”: Greg Kinnear’s first network drama pilot will see the Oscar-nominated actor portraying a brilliant and unfiltered criminal defense lawyer who must balance the chaotic nature of both his personal and professional lives. The show is an adaptation of the Australian series of the same name created by Peter Duncan, who will write the American version as well as executive-produce alongside “Rescue Me” creator Peter Tolan. Kinnear is also attached to co-executive produce.
– “Sleepy Hollow”: “Fringe” co-creators Alex Kurtzman and Bob Orci will write and executive-produce this “modern-day supernatural thriller” based on the Headless Horseman legend. Len Wiseman (“Underworld,” “Total Recall”) is on board to direct the pilot.
– “I Suck At Girls”: An adaptation of the book of the same name by literary genius Justin Halpern (“S#*! My Dad Says”) that will be penned by Halpern and “S#*!” co-writer Patrick Schumacker. The single-camera comedy is described as “a story about a boy becoming a man, and a man becoming a father in a time before coming of age was something you could look up on Google.” The pilot will be executive-produced by “Cougar Town” co-creator Bill Lawrence.
– “House Rules”: Single-camera comedy about a neurotic, unconventional family who must try to live in harmony with the denizens of their conservative Midwestern town. Created by Andrew Gurland (“The Last Exorcism”) and Justin Hurwitz (FX’s “The League”).
– “To My Assistant”: Single-camera comedy about the assistants at a major New York law firm who must cope with their overbearing bosses. “Friends” alums Sherry Bilsing and Ellen Plummer are on board to write and executive-produce.
– “Friends & Family”: Based on the BBC series “Gavin & Stacey,” a single-camera comedy about mismatched lovers who try to make their long-distance relationship work. David Rosen (“I Just Want My Pants Back”) is on board to write and executive-produce.
– “Delirium”: Drama based on the best-selling young adult book trilogy by Lauren Oliver that’s set in a dystopian future where love has been outlawed. The plot centers on a young woman who falls in love only weeks before she is scheduled to have a special procedure that will forever remove the emotion from her brain. Karyn Usher (“Bones”) is on board to write and executive-produce.
– “The List”: “Day Break” creator Paul Zbyszewski (“Lost,” “Hawaii Five-O”) will pen this drama about a U.S. Marshal who must hunt down the person responsible for stealing the titular list (a file containing the identities of everyone involved in the Federal Witness Protection Program) – a theft that begins to result in the murders of several of the exposed individuals. Director Ruben Fleischer (“Gangster Squad,” “Zombieland”) will executive-produce.
(Also ordered today by FOX was “Dads,” a multi-camera comedy from Seth MacFarlane and his “Ted” co-writers Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild. Get more details on the project in our full report here.)