In what the TV networks must think of as the good old days, viewers used to learn about new series only when the networks started promoting them. Hollywood insiders might follow the development process in the trade papers, but you and I were unlikely to hear about shows until they made it into TV Guide.
Today, everyone’s a Hollywood insider, thanks to websites that compile every morsel of pilot-season news and bloggers who breathlessly report each twist and turn in the long pipeline from the pitch (“these two guys go into a bar”) to the pickup (“Cheers,” anyone?).
The problem is that even in these tough economic times, networks order far more scripts than will ever become pilot episodes and many more pilots than will be picked up as series. So we hear a lot about who’s who and what’s what with pilots that will never see the light of prime time.
So maybe you’re wondering, “Whatever happened to that show about …?” Before we move on to thinking about fall TV, here’s a look at some pilots that got a lot of buzz but didn’t make the cut:
• NBC turned down David E. Kelley’s “Legally Mad,” about a law firm populated by eccentric personalities including Kristin Chenoweth.
• Fox said no to “Ab Fab,” based on the wild and crazy BBC comedy, with Jennifer Saunders (Edwina) as a producer and stars Kathryn Hahn and Kristen Johnston.
• ABC denied “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Private Practice” creator Shonda Rhimes a chance to expand her empire with “Inside the Box,” an ABC drama about network news; Kim Raver starred.
• NBC lost ground with “Battlestar Galactica” fans when it didn’t pick up Dick Wolf’s “Lost & Found,” with Katee Sackhoff as a Los Angeles cop working John Doe cases.
• The CW disappointed all who’d previewed it by turning down “Body Politic,” a Capitol Hill drama with Minka Kelly (“Friday Night Lights”) as a young congressional staffer.
Big names, either in front of the cameras or behind the scenes, couldn’t save some pilots:
• ABC passed up Lauren Graham’s TV return in a comedy (never officially titled) about a self-help guru who couldn’t help herself.
• Cedric the Entertainer was both star and executive producer of ABC’s “The Law,” a comedy about reserve officers for the LAPD.
• Paul Scheuring of “Prison Break” offered the new conspiracy thriller “Masterwork” but found no taker at Fox.
• Jimmy Kimmel was a producer of CBS’s “Ace in the Hole,” with Adam Carolla as a driving instructor.
• Donald Sutherland, late of “Dirty Sexy Money,” played the head of a dysfunctional family of doctors in CBS’s “Eastmans.”
