>See A Word About Busted Pilots On paper, EXIT STRATEGY looked like one of the hot FOX pilots this past season, a high-profile (Ethan Hawke’s first TV project) espionage thriller in the vein of 24 that could inherit that show’s Monday night slot and its House lead-in. It didn’t happen: the network chose Terra Nova […]
THE LIBRARIANS: Sunday 8PM on TNT – If Nothing Else Is On… TNT’s THE LIBRARIANS is a reboot, of a sort. It’s based on a trio of Indiana Jones-ian original movies the network aired starting in 2004 (when it was more currently a knock-off of the National Treasure franchise), toplining Noah Wyle as a […]
HAPPY! – Wednesday 10PM on Syfy – In the Queue HAPPY! counts as one of Syfy’s infrequent big swings, although its ultra-violent grunge aesthetic gives it a look and feel that isn’t all that different from the network’s usual diet of micro-budgeted co-productions. This one, though, has a name star in Christopher Meloni, and […]
MANHATTAN LOVE STORY: Tuesday 8:30PM on ABC starting September 30 – Change the Channel PLAYERS: Series creator Jeff Lowell, who’s been a writer/producer on sitcoms going back to Cybill two decades ago, but who’s creating a series himself for the first time. Stars Jake McDorman and Analeigh Tipton. Pilot director Michael Fresco. Brillstein Entertainment […]
STAR TREK: DISCOVERY – Episodes available each Sunday at CBS All Access – In the Quene There are quite a few perils to reaching a judgment about the new STAR TREK: DISCOVERY based on its opening hour, the only episode that will air on the CBS broadcast network before the series begins streaming (1 […]
ABBY’S: Thursday 9:30PM on NBC Unless the general public cares about a multi-camera sitcom being shot outdoors, NBC’s new ABBY’S may face a tough road. Aside from that technological distinction (handled with seeming effortlessness by director Pamela Fryman), Abby’s feels like the kind of sitcom that might have tried to coast off the vibe […]
THE ARRANGEMENT: Sunday 10PM on E! – If Nothing Else Is On… E! stays on-brand with its second scripted series THE ARRANGEMENT, which plays off the rumors that surrounded Tom Cruise’s marriage to Katie Holmes. It’s got celebrity and the heat of a scandal roman a clef, but it completely lacks the saucy, junky […]
> Disclaimer: Network pilots now in circulation are not necessarily in the form that will air in the Fall. Pilots are often reedited and rescored, and in some cases even recast or reshot. So these critiques shouldn’t be taken as full TV pilot reviews, but rather as a guide to the general style and content […]