News, updates, and (mostly viable) rumors relating to development of science fiction / fantasy television productions. If you have tips or more info on these or other productions, please pass them along in the comments.
Pilot season continues to blaze ahead. Below are several pilot orders from the last week and a half and expect more to hit in the coming weeks.
MacGyver
Network: CBS
Production Team: Paul Downs Colaizzo (Writer / Executive Producer), Henry Winkler (Executive Producer), James Wan (Director / Executive Producer), CBS Television Studios (Production Company)
Status: Pilot Ordered.
About: “A reimagining of the 1980’s television series of the same name, following a 20-something MacGyver as he gets recruited into a clandestine organization where he uses his knack for solving problems in unconventional ways to help prevent disasters from happening.” Source: Variety
Comments: This reboot of the 80’s television series will be considered as an entry for the CBS 2016-17 schedule and might fit well with younger skewing (for CBS) shows the network currently has airing like Scorpion and Supergirl.
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Incorporated
Network: Syfy
Production Team: David Pastor (Co-Creator, Writer, Director), Alex Pastor (Co-Creator, Writer, Director), Matt Damon (Executive Producer), Ben Affleck (Executive Producer), Pearl Street Productions (Production Company)
Status: Pilot Ordered
About: “Set in a dystopian future where companies have unlimited power, Incorporated centers on Ben Larson, an executive who is forced to change his identity in order to infiltrate a cutthroat corporate world and save the woman he loves. In the process, he will take on the entire system – with deadly consequences.” Source: Deadline Hollywood
Comments: Syfy has ordered a pilot for this series from executive producers Matt Damon and Ben Affleck which the network president claims “is an electrifying example of what science fiction does best: holding a mirror to present realities and projecting forward to a recognizable future in which we face the impact and consequences of our actions.” It will be considered for Syfy’s late 2016 / early 2017 schedule.
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Transylvania
Network: The CW
Production Team: Hugh Sterbakov (Writer / Executive Producer) Jeff Pinkner (Executive Producer), Andre Nemec (Executive Producer), Josh Applebaum (Executive Producer), Scott Rosenberg (Executive Producer)
Status: Pilot Ordered
About: “In 1880, a headstrong young woman in search of her missing father ventures from NYC to Transylvania where she teams up with a wrongfully disgraced Scotland Yard Detective, and together they witness the births of the most famous monsters and villains in history.” Source: EW
Comments: Following the recent trend of adult supernatural dramas, this one has similarities to Showtimes Penny Dreadful and will be considered for The CW’s (crowded) 2016-17 schedule.
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Frequency
Network: The CW
Production Team: Jeremy Carver (Writer / Executive Producer), Toby Emmerich (Executive Producer), John Rickard (Executive Producer)
Status: Pilot Ordered
About: “In this reimagining of the New Line Cinema film, a female police detective in 2016 discovers she is able to speak via a ham radio with her estranged father (also a detective) who died in 1996. They forge a new relationship while working together on an unresolved murder case, but unintended consequences of the ‘butterfly effect’ wreak havoc in the present day.” Source: EW
Comments: This one follows the current trend of time travel related shows and will be considered for The CW’s (crowded) 2016-17 schedule.
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Titans
Network: No Network Attached
Production Team: Geoff Johns (Executive Producer), DC Entertainment (Production Company)
Status: Early Development
About: This would be a live-action television adaptation of the Titans team-up comic book from DC.
Comments: TNT passed on this project but DC Entertainment is still trying to move forward with it at another venue. So it is still alive for the moment. Source: CBR
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Untitled Mars Project
Network: The CW
Production Team: Doris Egan (Writer / Executive Producer) Frank Marshall (Executive Producer), Robert Zotnowski (Executive Producer)
Status: Pilot Ordered
About: “A team of explorers arrive on Mars to join the first human colony on the planet, only to discover that their predecessors have vanished. Led by a woman whose husband is among the missing, the colonists are forced to change their mission from exploration and settlement to investigation and survival, while navigating the hostile planet and their own personal demons.” Source: EW
Comments: This pilot will be considered for The CW’s (crowded) 2016-17 schedule.
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Time After Time
Network: ABC
Production Team: Kevin Williamson (Creator / Executive Producer), Warner Bros. TV
Status: Pilot Order
About: “Based on the 1979 novel by Karl Alexander, chronicles the epic adventures of young H.G. Wells and his Time Machine using the book and its feature adaptation as a starting point.” Source: Deadline Hollywood
Comments: Yet another in the recent trend of time travel shows, this one will be considered for a slot on ABC’s 2016-17 schedule (Kevin Williamson also has a project currently in the works at The CW, see below).
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Untitled Paranormal Project
Network: The CW
Production Team: Kevin Williamson (Creator / Executive Producer)
Status: Pilot Ordered
About: “A young woman seeks help from a parapsychologist when she begins to experience paranormal phenomena.” Source: EW
Comments: This pilot will be considered for The CW’s (crowded) 2016-17 schedule.
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The Death Of Eva Sofia Valdez
Network: ABC
Production Team: Charise Castro Smith (Creator / Executive Producer), Michele Fazekas, (Executive Producer) Tara Butters, (Executive Producer), ABC Studios (Production Company)
Status: Pilot Ordered
About: “It centers on Eva Sofia Valdez, an immigrant who rose from rags to riches and is a celebrated Miami entrepreneur and a champion for immigrant rights. But her success is fueled by an insatiable ambition that could destroy her family, a vendetta against the lover who betrayed her, and ghosts from the past who threaten to reveal the dark sacrifices Eva Sofia made to attain the American Dream.” Source: Deadline Hollywood
Comments: This show allegedly has supernatural elements and would fit into the current trend of spooky adult dramas. ABC will consider it for the 2016-17 schedule.
