The circle of life that is television continues, and as some programs take their last breath after a fantastic run, others are just barely being conceived. Several pilots were ordered by networks over the weekend, and they span a slew of settings and genres, including a classic British franchise revived, a murder mystery on an island, and a comedy about a woman, her dog, and her car.
First up is This Might Hurt, a medical comedy picked up by ABC, according to Variety. The show was originally slated for Fox, but was let go during the strike and picked up by ABC late Friday. The comedy centers on a doc with old-fashioned methods, his internist son, and an OB/GYN doctor with a mistrust of men.
Headed over to CBS will be Tower and Harper's Island, a pair of very different dramas. Tower follows a crew of Chicago reporters who not only cover stories for local news outlets, but also work together to solve them. Cold Case writer Meredith Stiehm will head up the show.
Harper's Island starts off on a high note--a group of friends convene on an island in the Pacific Northwest for a wedding--but quickly heads south when attendees are murdered one by one throughout the season. Jericho executive producer and National Treasure director John Turtletaub will oversee the project.
HBO is going with a pair of pilots that feature women at the center. The cable channel will be bringing a small-screen adaptation of Alexander McCall Smith's The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, a popular series of novels. R&B; singer Jill Scott will star as the show's protagonist, a female investigator in Botswana, Africa who runs her own detective agency. Noted British filmmaker Anthony Minghella (The English Patient, Cold Mountain) is behind the show.
Also coming to HBO is Driving Around with Joni from former Will & Grace executive producer Jhoni Marchinko, says The Hollywood Reporter. The comedy follows a wealthy 40-year-old widow who drives around Los Angeles with her French bulldog, pondering her husband's sudden death and her new life.
Finally, the Reporter also says the classic British show The Saint is being resurrected by show-biz veteran Barry Levinson, Roger Moore, and others, with James Purefoy (Rome) the frontrunner to play the lead. Like the show's mysterious lead character, the remake is going about its business somewhat unorthodoxly. The two-hour pilot is being handled independently by Nehst Studios and will be shopped to networks upon completion.
The Saint, adapted from stories by Leslie Charteris, originally aired in the 1960s in the United Kingdom and eventually made its way over to American television in the mid '60s. A pre-Bond Roger Moore starred as Simon Templar, a Robin Hood-type figure who burgled less-than-upstanding citizens and gave to the less fortunate. Val Kilmer played Templar in the 1997 big-screen adaptation.
slim pickings...
new shows don't sound too promising...
i love roger moore its my favorite
i miss him for movies he
win this series i want watch this series
I'm with you guys on Haper's Island.The rest sound blah... except for The Saint... could be good too.
"LOST" Season 4 is probably the best television I have ever seen to date. Ironically, "Harper's Island" not only sounds interesting, but it's also on an island!!! :D
Harper's Island looks like the only one I will watch
some of these sound good
i'll check out the island one it seems good!
Love the sound of James Purefoy as <i>The Saint</i> loved the original. The other one that interests me is HBO's <i>The #1 Ladies' Detective Agency</i> which makes me wonder if <i>Women's Murder Club</i> is coming back. :(
Harper's Island seems interesting, others are just boring, ABC disappoints me for the first time in about 5 years, but then again, this probably won't be all they are picking up.....
pitty and disappointment! ever since the world news strike us tv is boring. the new show sounds like new boring. I want bones, comedy good detective work and above all 24.
Now that is good tv
I love and then there were none, so i will definitely check out Harper's Island
HBO shows are usually very slow-paced, and I expect nothing exciting from The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (especially with Anthony Minghella on board, who has made some of the slowest movies I've ever seen), and Driving Around with Joni... I don't like the name.Then The Saint, which had a dull big screen adaptation in '97. I hope someone can find a nice new angle to it. Maybe something like 'Catch me if you can', in the way that it's light, but entertaining. Not a show we'll remember in 2 years from now, but okay. I never caught the train Cold Case was on, so I'll probably not check out Tower either. It seems Harper's Island is the best of the rest. Although I'm afraid it's gonna be a I Know What You Did Last Summer-tv series, with young characterlacking babes & pretty boys running around on an island. I do hope it won't be anything like that.moreless
Harpers island sounds more like a thriller movie than a show and honestly the rest doesn't seem worth watching. We need some originality people!
Sorry, but to me this all sounds like dirivative crap.
finally, some shows seem promising!
The Saint being made by the old ***cide/Oz team and starring James Purefoy? How can this go wrong.
I like the sound of Harpers Island.
all i want for christmas is some sci fi pilots.
I'm afraid Harper's Island becomes another Lost. Hope not!
<i>The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency</i>, and <i>Harper's Island</i>, sound good.
So i take it this means that ABC probably wont want to get scrubs anymore now that they picked up a different medical comedy instead from a different network....
OMG.. i'm hearing music... "Oh when the Saint goes marching in..." :))))!!! It's really cool they're remaking The Saint. I really look forward to this show. Woohoo!!
Unfortunately, I usually enjoy everything (except truly mediocre material) and Harper's Island, Tower and The #1 Ladies' Detective Agency look good. I remember buying the latter (the book) for my grandma a couple years ago...Tower is created by the same person who created Cold Case!...Harper's Island looks like Lost, but as someone mentioned, it sounds also like "And Then There Were None."
Harper's Island sounds good.
As long as Harpers Island doesnt drag on too long like Lost then I will be okay, Lost shouldve been ended after the first 10 minutes, lawls!
Harper's Island sounds interesting.
How are they going to make Harper's Island last more than one season if they are going to kill people off one by one? studio producers must not care if shows only last 1-2 seasons anymore, because there is no way they can drag an idea that broad out of that for 4-5 seasons
Harper's Island does sound pretty interesting. I'll be sure to tune in.
some of these shows sound pretty good
So they're bringing back The Saint, eh?
If they change the logo I riot.
Harper's Island of course inspired by Agatha Christie's marvelous novel 'And then there where none'. Also known from '10 little sailor boys'...
so harpers island is lost mixed with a horror movie? sounds lame...but the least lame of the pilots listed above. Writers really seem to be running out of those "surething" ideas that used to appear every pilot season (lost, desperate housewives, heroes, etc).
I want to see Harper's Island! I hope this get's picked up
<i>Harper's Island</i> sounds like something I could really get into if casted well.
<i>Driving Around With Joni</i> also sounds like something i'd be willing to give a shot, but i'm not crazy about.
The other stuff, like <i>This Might Hurt</i>, sounds useless.
"Harper's Island" is the only one sounding interesting, and something I might watch. Sounds scary and more of a movie idea, but hey? :?