Pilot Season 2010-2011

[BillBrasky]

According to the Hollywood Reporter , "ABC is said to be struggling with its comedy pilots and is considering ordering more". It doesn't go into specifics, but that doesn't sound good for Dana Gould's show. The two exceptions it mentions are "Wright Vs. Wrong," starring Debra Messing as a Republican pundit, and Matthew Perry's "Mr. Sunshine".

Also, NBC is going to be adding reruns of "Parks and Recreation" and "The Office" at 10 PM on Thursdays in the summer. Although these are just reruns, the article says that that it's a sign that NBC may expand comedies -- or maybe "Love Bites," a new comedy anthology series -- into the 10 PM hour next fall.

[Neon]

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62L0WE20100322
Trevor Moore stars with Christian Slater in Adam Goldberg FOX comedy pilot

Does this mean no more WKUK?

While it would be cool to see Moore on a network show, that would be horrible if it meant the end of WKUK.

[BillBrasky]

Some additions:

TAXMAN: I hear Martin Short is very good in it. Feedback on the pilot overall has not been strong, though several characters tested well on Friday night. Fox brass hasn’t seen it yet.

THE STATION: Doesn’t look good.

UNTITLED DANA GOULD: Not a perfect pilot but has potential. May not be given a chance though.

Nothing about "The Strip" yet, that was the one I was most interested in really.

[BillBrasky]

Over at Deadline Hollywood, people are posting about "The Strip" pilot; reaction seems to be mixed:

saw THE STRIP. it’s about as good as Kelsey Grammer’s BACK TO YOU. watchable, but not must see TV. feel like those RENO guys might have had their sensibility noted to death.

Comment by comedy fan — Sunday April 18, 2010 @ 11:36pm PDT

Heard from a friend who saw a rough cut that The Strip is really funny…Cheers + Reno 911. What happened to Matthew perry’s show???

Comment by Meghan — Friday April 16, 2010 @ 4:49pm PDT

At least 2 other people say the show is a "favorite" now at NBC, so who knows.

One thing's for sure from reading these comments: "The Station" appears to be dead. I know they had a lot of issues with reshoots; too bad, David Wain was directing this one.

This comment is also interesting, and I don't know how seriously to take it:

I’m SHOCKED that there’s no mention of MR. SUNSHINE. I got a copy of it sneaked to me by a friend at Sony and it’s easily ONE OF THE FUNNIEST PILOTS I’VE EVER SEEN. Reminded me of how I felt when I saw the 30 Rock or Modern Family pilot. Allison Janney and Matthew Perry together are almost too much to handle. I wouldn’t be surprised if they gave them an early pickup so they could get to hiring a staff… hey but what do I know, I’ve only been writing for two decades.

Comment by Semi Big TV Writer... — Friday April 16, 2010 @ 9:06pm PDT

[Gern Blanston]

I really hope The Strip gets picked up. Cheers + Reno sounds like a great combination. I remember Tom Lennon (or was it Dave Holmes?) who threw in a Newhart comparison as well. I would love to have a really great multi-camera sitcom on the air again (Beach Lane is also multi-cam. Possible block?)

[futurepilgrim]

I saw the Strip at the Tom & Ben's Secret Show and thought it was really funny. Granted it's broader than Reno 911 but it's network. I think to be broadly appealing was their assignment. The characters are well drawn and will be great to come back to again and again. It's exactly what NBC needs to anchor some of their more niche comedies. Tom plays a restaurant owner with 1st class taste stuck in a middle American purgatory - come on, that's fun. Then you have all the sexy ladies, Ben in the peanut gallery and some hilarious neighbors. I think it's a winner.

[BillBrasky]

I think they should pair "Beach Lane" and "The Strip" together on another night of the week, maybe Wednesday night. I don't think they should try to put them on Thursdays, because they won't be stylistically similar to all the single-camera shows on Thursdays and I don't think they'll fit in well. Maybe they can pair them up with "Parenthood" which is a dramedy-ish show that would be well suited to 9 PM.

If they program a comedy night on Wednesday nights, it would be good competition with ABC's Wednesday night comedy lineup as well.

[Trikywu]

I've been secretly rooting for The Station. With Stiller and Wain working on this, plus a pretty decent cast, I hoped it would have at least seen the light of day for a few episodes. Now, I'm dieing to see it. Reshoots too.

[Gern Blanston]

Yeah, they definitely need their own night. Two more half-hour comedies at 10 PM would be really dumb, and overkill.

Wednesday at 8 PM does sound like a good time, since ABC is weaker that hour than at 9 PM. I just hope they pick up both of those, and not one of the many Friends clones it seems that NBC (and the other networks, for that matter) is considering. An hour of smart, actually funny multi-camera comedies would be something i'd be really excited for.

[BillBrasky]

Yeah, NBC's other comedy pilots sound universally (pun not intended) terrible:

.Friends with Benefits- comedy described as a comedic dissection of the mating habits of today's young adults
Straight up ripoff, like you said

.Next- a semi-autobiographical look at a former television star and family man dealing with life's day-to-day conundrums, starring Paul Reiser. It's bad enough Jerry Seinfeld is clogging up the airwaves with "The Marriage Ref"; we don't need Reiser back too.

.Outsourced- A single-camera comedy about a customer service manager in Kansas City who's sent to India to train his replacement when his department is outsourced.
I feel like this is an idea that's been done.

.Perfect Couples- comedy about three couples at various stages of their relationships.
Another snooze, plus it stars my favorite person in the world, Olivia Munn

.The Pink House- comedy about the friendship between two guys who take a risk and move out to Los Angeles to begin the next chapter of their post-college lives.
Katherine McPhee is in this; from what I've read, it's already bombed and isn't likely to get picked up

.This Little Piggy- comedy about two adult siblings who move in with their eldest brother after he inherits his parents' large, rambling portland, oregon house.
Zzzzz...

The only one that sounds like it might be OK is "Nathan Vs. Nurture" (comedy about a successful 35-year-old heart surgeon, who decides to search for his biological parents only to find they had three more kids and kept them)- but only because it stars Jay Harrington from "Better Off Ted", and the pilot was directed by James Burrows. It sounds like a "Frasier"-type show.
I agree though, I think the way to go is to embrace the audience that likes intelligent shows like "Community", "Parks & Rec", and "30 Rock", not to bland things up as much as possible.

[BillBrasky]

Another comment from Deadline Hollywood:

Saw the taping of NBC’s “Beach Lane” last night. I was very impressed with the quality of the script, funny and with some interesting, quirky characters. Broderick was top notch, as was Nick Thune, the newcomer. I think this one will be picked up for fall and based on the pilot, has a good chance to attract an audience. The formula of a likeable proven star like Broderick and a funny, young, handsome actor like Thune, plus the power of Michaels/Klein production could prove to be a hit.

Comment by MJ — Saturday April 24, 2010 @ 10:55am

[Dave Holmes]

I hear "The Strip" is great and everyone loves it and when you watch it you could win a wonderful prize.

(I'm using new media to build buzz, you guys!)

[BillBrasky]

I hear "The Strip" is great and everyone loves it and when you watch it you could win a wonderful prize.

(I'm using new media to build buzz, you guys!)

I heard there's one cast member in it who's a real a-hole and who's not working out.

J/k, thanks for contributing to this thread, Dave

[Dave Holmes]

Seriously, thanks for your support, everyone! We had a ball working on it, and I'm confident the best is yet to come.

[CarolineEAnd]

I feel like at least once a day I'm telling SOMEONE about The Strip. I know a lot of people who enjoyed Reno, but didn't stay current with it, so I want to be sure that doesn't happen with The Strip. I'm super pumped.

[mueXog]

Bob Odenkirk to be replaced by Kurtwood Smith on "Team Spitz" after "not testing well", this article mentions they rewrote the character but Bob was unavailable for any reshoots

[smellyhipster]

.Outsourced- A single-camera comedy about a customer service manager in Kansas City who's sent to India to train his replacement when his department is outsourced.
I feel like this is an idea that's been done.

That's because it was done about 4 years ago in the form of a movie.

When the call center he manages in Seattle is outsourced to India, Todd travels there to train his replacement. Housed in a new building that looks like an above-ground bunker, the call center is staffed by willing novices whom Todd trains to sound American. One star on the staff is Asha, who teaches Todd that he should learn about India, and proceeds to do just that.

Meh...

[MrDys]

Meh...

Actually, not that bad of a flick. Caught it on Netflix expecting crap, but it was not terrible and in the end it made me feel like everything was right in the world.

[BillBrasky]

Bob Odenkirk to be replaced by Kurtwood Smith on "Team Spitz" after "not testing well", this article mentions they rewrote the character but Bob was unavailable for any reshoots

This stinks I was really looking forward to seeing Bob on a network sitcom.

[Gern Blanston]

Yeah, that kinda sucks. At least this means that Bob has more time on the potential FX series he has been talking about (would be a perfect companion with Louis C.K.'s show) and/or his movie Annie Jenkins.