Pilot Orders: Fox (2008-09)

Other network pilots: CBS, NBC, ABC, CW


(w) = writer (d) = director

DRAMA

TITLE: Courtroom K
STUDIO: 20th Century Fox TV
TEAM: Paul Attanasio (w), Anthony and Joe Russo (d)
SYNOPSIS: Darkly comedic courtroom drama in the vein of "House," which is set in a Milwaukee Superior Court and revolves around a judge, a prosecutor and a public defender.
CAST: Diana Maria Riva

TITLE: Dollhouse (seven-episode order)
STUDIO: 20th Century Fox TV
TEAM: Joss Whedon (w), David Solomon (d)
SYNOPSIS: A group of men and women who are imprinted with different personalities for different assignments
CAST: Eliza Dushku, Olivia Williams, Tahmoh Penikett, Fran Kranz, Dichen Lachman, Enver Gjokaj, Harry Lennix

TITLE: Fringe (series commitment)
STUDIO: Warner Bros. TV/Bad Robot
TEAM: J.J. Abrams, Roberto Orci (w), Alex Kurtzman (w), Alex Graves (d), Jeff Pinkler
SYNOPSIS: Young, tough FBI agent is forced to confront the spread of unexplained phenomena and work with a XX scientist and his son
CAST: Anna Torv, John Noble, Joshua Jackson

TITLE: Inseparable
STUDIO: ABC Television Studios
TEAM: Shaun Cassidy (w)
SYNOPSIS: A modern-day Jekyll and Hyde tale about a partially paralyzed forensic psychiatrist (Toby Stephens) with a split personality whose alter ego is a charismatic criminal.
CAST: Toby Stephens

TITLE: Lie to Me
STUDIO: Imagine Television/20th Century Fox TV
TEAM: Brian Grazer, David Nevins, Samuel Baum (w)
SYNOPSIS: A man adept at reading facial expressions and body language to determine whether someone is telling the truth pairs up with a female clinical psychologist and together, they help solve mysteries for the police as well as their private clients.

TITLE: Night Life
STUDIO: ABC Studios
TEAM: Adam Braff (w), Zach Braff (d), Emile Levisetti
SYNOPSIS: Centers on Wayne (David Denman), a man going through a midlife crisis who quits his dead-end office job to be a paramedic on the night shift
CAST: David Denman, Bruno Campos

TITLE: The Oaks (series commitment)
STUDIO: 20th Century Fox TV
TEAM: David Schulner (w) , Shawn Ryan, Gina Matthews, Grant Scharbo, Michael Cuesta (w)
SYNOPSIS: Follows the lives of three families, in different time periods, who all occupy the same house haunted by a restless spirit.
CAST: Sienna Guillory, Matt Lanter, Shannon Lucio, Romy Rosemont, Michael Rispoli 

TITLE: Queen B (series commitment)
STUDIO: 20th Century Fox TV
TEAM: Ryan Murphy (w), Richard Levine (w), Lyn Greene (w)
SYNOPSIS: Female workplace drama

TITLE: Virtuality (two-hour backdoor pilot)
STUDIO: Universal Media Studios/BermanBraun
TEAM: Ronald D. Moore (w), Michael Taylor (w), Gail Berman, Lloyd Braun, Martin Campbell (d)
SYNOPSIS: The human condition is tested during a long range NASA mission.

COMEDY

TITLE: Boldly Going Nowhere (pilot +five scripts; to be shot in November)
STUDIO: 20th Century Fox TV, RCG, 3 Arts Entertainment
PRODUCTION TEAM: Rob McElhenney (w), Charlie Day (w), Glenn Howerton (w), Adam Stein (w), Michael Rotenberg, Nick Frenkel
SYNOPSIS: A high-concept comedy about what happens day to day on an intergalactic spaceship helmed by a rogue captain.

TITLE: Cleveland
STUDIO: 20th Century Fox TV
PRODUCTION TEAM: Seth MacFarlane (w), Rich Appel (w), Mike Henry (w)
SYNOPSIS: "Family Guy" spinoff centered on Cleveland Brown.
CAST: Mike Henry

TITLE: The Inn
STUDIO: 20th Century Fox TV/Reveille/Principato-Young
PRODUCTION TEAM: Abraham Higginbotham (w), Peter Principato, Paul Young, Brian Dobbins, Carolyn Bernstein, Howard Owens, Jason Bateman (d)
SYNOPSIS: "Upstairs/Downstairs" set at a hip New York hotel
CAST: Niecy Nash

TITLE: Outnumbered
STUDIO: MRC/Hat Trick Prods.
TEAM: Larry Levin (w), Bryan Gordon (d)
SYNOPSIS: Parents struggle to raise three intelligent and curious children -- based on a British series.

TITLE: The Pitts (table read)
STUDIO: 20th Century Fox TV
TEAM: Mike Scully (w), Julie Thacker-Scully (w)
SYNOPSIS: Animated comedy based on Fox’s 2003 live-action comedy series about the unluckiest family in the world.
CAST: Allison Janney, Dylan Baker, Lizzy Caplan, Andy Milonakis

TITLE: Sit Down, Shut Up (table read)
STUDIO: Tantamount/Sony Pictures TV/Granada USA
PRODUCTION TEAM: Mitch Hurwitz (w), Eric Tannenbaum, Kim Tannenbaum, Bill Oakley, Josh Weinstein
SYNOPSIS: Animated comedy about the lives of seven staff members at a high school in a small northeastern fishing town who are preoccupied with their own needs and agendas, which means the students always come second -- based on the live-action Australian series.

TITLE: Spaced
STUDIO: Warner Bros. TV/Wonderland Sound and Vision/Granada America
TEAM: Adam Barr (w), McG, Peter Johnson, Robert Green, Charles Stone (d)
SYNOPSIS: Revolves around two strangers (Sara Rue, Josh Lawson) who pose as a married couple in order to rent an apartment and become intimately involved with the other misfits in the building -- based on a British series.
CAST: Sara Rue, Josh Lawson, Will Sasso, Federico Dordei, Yara Martinez

TITLE: Starting Under (series commitment)
STUDIO: Warner Bros. TV
TEAM: Bruce Helford (w) , Andy Ackerman (d) , Deborah Oppenheimer, Bernie Mac, Steven Greener
SYNOPSIS: Multi-camera comedy focusing on a larger-than-life and opinionated man (Bernie Mac) who, after a divorce, finds himself living with and working for his introverted twenty-something son (Bert Belasco).
CAST: Bernie Mac, Bert Belasco, Andrea Parker, Silvana Arias

**Don't Bring Frank is no longer set at Fox

Comments

[THR Helper]

Aren't you missing Brian Grazer's "The FBI," Zack Braff's "Saint of Circumstance" and the animated version of "The Pitts?"

[Lisa]

Who did Shaun Cassidy (the Hardy Boy?) do to get "Inseparable" the green light? Push "New Amsterdam" with a little more sex & sci-fi because you have a good show on your hands Fox!!!

[Scherzo]

I am urging Fox to pick up Inseparable as a pilot and then turn it into a series. British actor Toby Stephens is sensational, both in talent and in looks. Hurry, Mr. Cassidy, with your script and give it a go!

[Opermark]

Toby Stephens! Sign me up right now! I do believe the man could read the dictionary and it would be worth watching. I expect that if this is as good as Shaun Cassidy's other projects it will really provide a story and characters that we can all get involved with.

[Catwoman]

I'll watch Toby Stephens any time and any day of the week. As a Jekyll and Hyde, I'll get twice the entertainment in one time slot. What could be better? I urge Fox to pick this drama up for the coming TV season.

[Debs]

Wow, so hope Fox pick up 'Inseparable', especially now they've announced Toby Stephens is on board. That guy can act!! I'd watch him in anything, anywhere. Good move...

[RB]

Your Mar 21/08 item, "CW picks up Fuller pilot" has Austin Golden Hour at CW. Which is it?

[LDH]

FOX, please don't let New Amsterdam go! This show is just too good and given a fair shot, with a full season order, would, I think, be rewarding for everyone concerned.

[Sam]

Boldly Going Nowhere will be awesome. Inseparable, Dollhouse, and Fringe sound awesome. Oaks will either be good or terrible. Same with Courtroom K but I'll give it a chance since it's supposed to be like House. They'll need to cast a great actor though. Hugh Laurie really makes House work.

[Ellen]

I'm hoping Matthew Perry will be cast in Courtroom K.

[Jack Rance]

PLEASE -renew New Amsterdam -it adds CLASS to the Fox line up. I'm also becoming a raving fan of the show -it's my favorite new series .

[Tori]

The plotline for "Boldly Going Nowhere" sounds just so much like "Firefly," so I'd be interested to see how long it lasts on Fox.

[Sam]

@Tori: Description there isn't very good. It's actually completely different. It's a comedy by the Always Sunny in Philadelphia guys.

[Catwoman]

What is the updated status on Inseparable?

[Sam]

@Catwoman: We won't find out about any FOX, ABC, CW, or CBS series (well, only a few at best) until regular upfronts which is May 12-16 I believe. With FOX either on the 15th or 16th.

[Onthereal]

OUTNUMBERED is hilarious and should definitely get a series order. If you like the original British version you'll love the American version. The kids are the stars of this true comedy!

[Catwoman]

Toby Stephens is no longer associated with Inseparable. His option expired before the script was okayed. Now the pilot is set as a midseason 2009 possible, cast-contingent.