CBS Picks Up 3 Drama Pilots To Series, Passes On Comedy Pilots In Programming Shift
deadline.comCBS has given series orders to three of its five drama pilots, Max Thieriot’s Fire Country (fka Cal Fire); East New York, headlined by Amanda Warren, Jimmy Smits, and So Help Me Todd (fka Untitled Mother & Son Legal Drama), starring Marcia Gay Harden and Skylar Astin.
CBS is not commenting beyond that but I hear Fire Country, East New York and So Help Me Todd are for fall. True Lies, from 20th Television, ordered as an off-cycle pilot, remains undecided as of yet.I hear CBS drama pilot, Early Edition, a reimagining of the Kyle Chandler series, as well as all of CBS’ comedy pilots/presentations, are not going forward.
The network this year opted for all presentation orders to comedy projects to its own studio, CBS Studios (The Hug Machine, Somber Companion, Unplanned In Akron), while the one comedy from an outside studio, Warner Bros.
TV’s Rust Bell News, was a full pilot.I hear CBS brass were very happy with their crop of drama pilots this season, believed to be one of the strongest in years, while the group of comedy pilots didn’t feature any standouts.With CBS also canceling three current comedy series, United States Of Al, B Positive and How We Roll, the network will have the fewest half-hour series on the schedule in awhile.
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