Latest in pilots

Almost two months since Hollywood’s TV studios put their broadcast pilots on hold just as most of them were about to start filming, some studios are starting to pay actors on the impacted pilots. The move comes after weeks of discussions between studio executives and SAG-AFTRA representatives over interpretations of…

Disney announced Feb. 25 that Bob Iger had resigned as CEO, with the company passing the baton to longtime Disney executive Bob Chapek. Iger was staying on until the end of his contract as executive chairman to oversee creative endeavors and ensure a smooth transition. Instead, however, he’s had to jump back in full…

SeriesFest has wrapped its fifth edition in Denver after handing out juried awards to 15 winners. Beyond the pilot competition, highlights of the June 21-26 festival, inlcuded panels featuring Netflix content chief Ted Sarandos and a team of executives and collaborators from Shondaland. NBC fall drama Bluff City Law…

The New York Television Festival, which this year has moved up to July from its traditional fall slot, has selected 59 independent TV and digital pilots for its competition slate. Over the years, the festival has yielded several network deals for show creators. The 14th annual edition of the festival will be held July…

We’ve reached the point when the fate of pilots is out of the hands of their creators and into the hands of network executives. In the next two weeks, the execs will rely on testings, internal screenings and (occasionally) their gut to pick a couple of dozen pilots that will join the schedule next season. CBS, as…

Broadcast networks and studios continue to make tweaks to their newly picked-up series, changing and recasting some of the roles. NBC’s highest-profile new drama, J.J. Abrams-Eric Kripke’s Revolution, is reconceiving one character and phasing out another. The action drama follows a group of people struggling to…

UPDATE FRIDAY AM: I’ve started hearing that drama pilot ZERO HOUR is heating up again and looks promising for a series order. PREVIOUS THURSDAY 8PM: With NBC and Fox pretty much done with their new series pickups, ABC, which presents its fall schedule right after them on Tuesday, is at bat next. Here is my last take…

NBC went on a comedy pickup spree today, ordering four new series to join previously ordered Go On. That includes 1600 Penn, The New Normal, Save Me and Animal Practice. All five are single-camera, the format that has completely dominated NBC’s comedy slots since the network’s last big multi-camera comedy series, Will…

UPDATE: I hear speculation that NBC’s FRIDAY NIGHT DINNER is unlikely to go forward, which would open up a slot for another comedy pilot. The chances of the network’s freshman Whitney to return also appear slim. PREVIOUS: Brace yourself: a wave of new series pickups and existing show renewals are coming our way this…

2ND UPDATE FRIDAY: Another NBC comedy frontrunner, 1600 PENN, has been given permission to begin making staffing offers, moving it closer to a series pickup. UPDATE THURSDAY PM: I hear Greg Daniels’ comedy pilot FRIDAY NIGHT DINNER also has been given permission to start making staffing offers. But I’ve learned that…

CBS today kicked off the next stage in the pilot season ritual — the network screenings, where a large pool of network executives weigh in on this year’s crop of pilots. The rest of the broadcast networks will follow suit next week when we will start getting a better picture of how the contenders for a spot on the…

There are two Beauty And The Beast pilots this season, one at ABC and one at the CW, with the search for actors to play the title roles among the most closely watched this season. In the end, none of the leads went to American actors. The title roles in the ABC Beauty And The Beast, which adheres closer to the classic…