ABC Sitcom Pilots for 2004-2005 Season

[Pavan]

It's that time of the year again! Last year we provided in-depth coverage of all the sitcom pilots on ABC: hhttp://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards...threadid=66324

This year, we'll do the same. This thread will be updated constantly, so keep checking back for title updates, cast updates, photos, which make it and more. There are 14 sitcom pilots in development. Which do you think will make it? Only about three or four will make it, if not less.


FALL 2004 SITCOM PILOTS:
"Rodney"
Half Hour

Cast:
Rodney Carrington: Rodney
Jennifer Aspen: Trina
Matthew Josten: Bo
Oliver Davis: Jack
Nick Searcy: Barry
Amy Pietz: Charlie

Credits:
Production Company: Touchstone Television
Executive Producer/Writer: Ric Swartzlander
Executive Producer: David Himelfarb
Director: Bob Berlinger

Stand-up comedian Rodney Carrington would like to take you to the middle of real, everyday America. In the tradition of Home Improvement and Roseanne comes a down-to-earth guy's guy who, with his own heartland intelligence, speaks the truth.

Rodney is getting fired from jobs he hates while doing stand-up in dive bars at night. He may not have much money, but he still finds excitement. He's not afraid to walk into Wal-Mart naked on a dare. Not afraid to take credit for flowers someone else sent his wife. Not afraid to get between his fighting boys. Not afraid to tell his wife he wants to make stand-up his career. He's going to figure out how to find happiness while being the best damn husband, dad and son he knows how to be.

A working stiff with a dream, Rodney speaks for the blue-collar crowd. His devoted following is bound to grow faster than his family's pile of dirty laundry.



"The Untitled Earthquake Project"
Half Hour

Cast:
Quake: Earthquake
Holly Robinson-Peete: Heaven
Charles Duckworth: Calvin
Christopher Pinnick: Erwin
Rhyon Nicole Brown: Sharisse
Tami Anderson: Debbie
Steven Walsh: Junior
Johnny Sneed:

Credits:
Production Companies: Touchstone Television, Tollin-Robbins Productions
Executive Producer/Writer: Les Firestein
Executive Producers: David Himelfarb, Mike Tollin, Brian Robbins,
David Goldman
Director: Gil Junger

Feel the tremors as political correctness shatters around you. Earthquake's loud aggressive stand-up comedy has audiences rolling in the aisles and stomping their feet.

Beat cop Earthquake is not the luckiest man in DC. If there's a one percent chance of disaster, it's 100 percent certain it will happen to him. Three out of his four kids were accidents. What are the odds that his tall son wouldn't like sports? What are the odds his daughter would only excel at expensive things? What are the odds that he can never get any down time? 100%. He's got a great wife, Heaven, who married for love. But his sister married for money, and SHE got the son the NBA wants.

From the creator of Wanda at Large and the producers of Smallville and I'm With Her comes a comedy in the tradition of Bernie Mac. This is one very real family that's really very funny.



"Educating Lewis"
Half Hour

Cast:
Lewis Black: Lewis Tanner
Anne Dudek: Jackie
Brad Raider: Peter
Michael Boatman: Joe

Credits:
Production Company: Paramount Network Television
Executive Producer/Writer: Victor Fresco
Director: Ted Wass

High School principal is a tough job. And though the candidates say all the right clichés, the school board can't find one worth hiring. Maybe they need someone who cares about teaching. Someone with practical ideas. Someone who actually likes students.

That someone would be Lewis Tanner, an outspoken history teacher who just wants his students to crack a book. Now he's responsible for the future of 1,200 students – all because he opened his big mouth. He tries to rise to the occasion and fill his new post with the kind of leadership he's always advocated. Unfortunately, he's stepping into a minefield. One of his best teachers is about to be dismissed for hugging a student, his Spanish teacher is crying in class, and the science teacher is his ex. Biology. Maybe if he knew more about the subject, they'd still be together.

Starring The Daily Show's celebrated correspondent Lewis Black, and written by an executive producer of Andy Richter Controls the Universe, this comedy takes a decidedly skewed look at education while putting the fun back in fundamentals.



"Furst Family"
Half Hour

Cast:
Marissa Jaret Winokur: Denise Furst
French Stewart: Rusty
Lauri Metcalf: Barbara
Brenda Vaccaro: Sugar
John Francis Daley: James III

Credits:
Production Company: Touchstone Television
Executive Producer/Writer: Alan Zweibel
Executive Producers: Anne Johnson, Antony Root
Director: Ted Wass

Not since Roseanne and Grace Under Fire has the American working class had a more authentic voice. Loud, loving, and sure in their convictions. They work hard, watch TV, and talk about celebrities as if they know them, and politicians, as if they know them better.

James Furst has worked hard at his baggage handling job to buy their castle at the end of JFK's main runway. His wife Barbara knows that life moves faster than he wants it to. So she keeps him supplied with day-old desserts from the Starbucks where she works and lets him believe he's king. The kids aren't the brightest bulbs in the shed, and old enough to know it. They also know that as long as they live here, they've got a permanent spot in the house pecking order. But they all still come together every night for their daily dose of network television.

Alan Zweibel, writer of The Story of Us and producer of Curb Your Enthusiasm, has genuine affection for the characters he creates that burns through the cutting humor. Starring Tony Awards®-winner Marissa Winokur of Hairspray, this comedy rings true because it is the family most of us go home to at the end of the day.



"In the Game"
Half Hour

Cast:
Jennifer Love Hewitt: Riley Reid
Josie Davis: Brandee
James Patrick Stuart:s T.J.
Mel Rodriguez: Jason
Anthony Tavera: Michael
Ed O'Neill: Buzz
Paula Cate: Wendy

Credits:
Production Company: Touchstone Television
Executive Producers/Writers: Gabe Sachs & Jeff Judah
Director: Jamie Widdoes

The only girls on the NFL sidelines should be cheerleaders. At least that's what some men think. The pretty airheads most networks hire aren't doing much to prove them wrong. Until now.

Yesterday Riley Reid was behind the scenes, today she's on camera. Having grown up with a football coach Dad, she's the voice of the fan, asking the tough questions everyone wants asked. She'll be great once she figures out what to do with her hands. Most guys would call her the perfect girlfriend. But dating is tough because her fan club includes her 6-year-old son, Michael.

Jennifer Love Hewitt and two producers of the critically-acclaimed Freaks & Geeks and Undeclared channel their love of the game into a high energy comedy about a single mother getting a shot at doing something she loves. No matter who wins, it's her championship season.






"Hot Mama"
Half Hour

Cast:
Gina Gershon: Holly
Amy Hill: Ruth
Nick Lachey: Cooper
Lindsay Price: Dana
Craig Ferguson: Ted Moore

Credits:
Production Company: Warner Bros. Television

Executive Producer/Writer: Suzanne Martin
Executive Producer/Director: Andy Ackerman

The Ryans are anything but your typical family. Mom's a hottie. Dad's MIA. Daughter's a straight-A student. The cute live-in handyman wants to be an actor. And the aunt wonders if it's not too late to put her sister's teenage daughter up for adoption.

Honestly, it's Freaky Friday every day. Mom Holly is sexy, confident and flirtatious; her teenage daughter Ashley is pretty, conservative and shy. But the grown-up Girl and immature Mom are best friends even if it is often totally embarrassing. Mom may come to parent-teacher night in a totally inappropriate dress with a date in tow. But when it comes to mastering the art of IM-ing when a cute boy logs on, a cool mom is great to have.

Producers of Cheers, Seinfeld and Frasier partner on a comedy that rides the ups and downs, the quirks, the digs, the gaffs, and the triumphs of the whole mother-daughter thing.



"Plan B
Half Hour

Cast:
Caroline Rhea: Caroline
Rocky Carroll: Steve
Kali Rocha: Amy
Sarah Shahi: Bronwyn
Willie Garson: Kenny
Steven Eckholdt: Matt
Millicent Martin: Lydia

Credits:
Production Company: Universal Television
Executive Producers/Writers: Joshua Sternin, Jeffrey Ventimilia
Director: Gil Junger

What happens when you reach a certain age, and you're nowhere near where you wanted to be? Time for plan B.

With no happily-ever-after on the horizon, 30-something Caroline shakes up her life and leaves her fiancée of five years. Divine inspiration or supremely idiotic? Only time will tell. She has no man, no kids, no will power against carbs, and no time to prepare for a fat new promotion. Too bad her new employees are all too familiar with the old Caroline and don't hesitate to remind her. She gets plenty of advice from her often-married, audacious mother, and her ever-pregnant kid sister. But this is her life. And it's too late for second guessing, so Caroline must learn to stand her ground – even if that means raiding the emergency donut supply.

Caroline Rhea turns her own personal demons and insanity into a comedy for every woman who wakes up and realizes she wants more out of life, love and snack food.



"I Married Sofia"
Half Hour

Cast:
Sofia Vergara: Sofia
Joseph Lawrence: Tony
Lil Maxso: Carlos

Credits:
Production Company: Touchstone Television
Executive Producers/Directors/Writers: Don Reo & Damon Wayans
Executive Producer: Jeff Sagansky

America was built by dreamers. That's why Colombia's biggest female soap opera star has come to conquer the acting world of New York City. Just what the big apple needed, another out-of-work actor.

Bursting with ambition and excitement Sofia moved to America. But with her visa expiring and no acting jobs in sight, she's getting pretty desperate. Or pretty and desperate. Enter Tony Wilson, an ex-stock broker with Martha Stewart's legal problems. He needs five grand fast, which is exactly what a green card marriage pays upfront. Talk about coincidence! So Sofia and Tony are married, for better or worse and for the next three years. Now after the ceremony, the truth comes out. She forgot to tell him about her 7-year-old son and her foul-mouthed parrot; he forgot to tell her about his girlfriend. You'd think someone would have told them about the surprise visits from the INS.

From Executive Producers Damon Wayans and Don Reo comes a family comedy about dreams, reality, love, and redemption. Starring Hispanic sensation Sofia Vergara, this makeshift family is totally unique yet completely relatable.


"Savages"
Half Hour

Cast:
Keith Carradine: Tom
Evan Ellingson: Reed
Jason Dolley: T.J.
Shaun Sipos: Jack
Erik von Detten: Chris
Andrew Eiden: Sam
Vincent Ventresca: Jimmy

Credits:
Production Companies: Universal Television & Icon Productions
Executive Producers/Writers: Mike Scully, Julie Thacker-Scully
Executive Producer/Director: Mel Gibson
Executive Producer: Bruce Davey

Snips and snails and puppy dog tails don't begin to cover these young boys. They smell. They're slobs. And they love it that way. Executive producer and director Mel Gibson's real life experiences of raising a brood of boys, provides the basis for a take-no-prisoners comedy.

Raised by their single dad, the Savage boys have had a succession of housekeepers – over 40 at last count – to pick up after them. Well today that comes to an end. Dad Tom wants his boys to learn the skills women don't seem to take so much joy in anymore – you know, cooking, cleaning, laundry. Somehow this dad is going to turn his loutish boys into independent men, the kind any girl could take home to her mother. This is going to be some battle, because Tom, just like his sons, is still a boy at heart.

Producers Mike Scully and Julie Thacker Scully, writers for The Simpsons, add their own family experience into the mix for a funny, honest take on raising kids. It reminds us that each child comes with their own personalities and problems, and that none of them come with instructions.



"Jessica"
Half Hour

Cast

Jessica Simpson: Jessica Sampson
Ali Hillis: Holly
Jonathan McClain: Joe
Brad Rowe: Mike
Aimee Garcia: Amanda
Bryan Callen: Dan
Gregory Harrison: Brett

Credits:
Production Company: Touchstone Television
Executive Producer/Writer: Gayle Abrams
Executive Producers: Ted Harbert & Joe Simpson
Director: Gil Junger

In a celebrity-mad culture, no one has had more exposure than singer and reality-show star Jessica Simpson. When she sings, her powerhouse voice stops folks in their tracks. But it's her unique take on life that has made her a pop culture icon. So what's an ambitious Texas girl to do if she wants to be taken seriously? Poke fun at her own public image, while proving she's as funny as she is beautiful.

So Jessica Simpson becomes Jessica Sampson. Blonde. Beautiful. Buxom. Her fans love her and men want to be near her. But most people don't believe she has an intelligent thought in her head. So when she's offhandedly offered a job on a TV newsmagazine, Jessica jumps at the chance to prove she's more than just a pretty face. And wouldn't you know it, she's a natural. Now her producer, a driven perfectionist who has worked for this job, has to get beyond her resentment and teach Jessica the ropes. Yin and Yang. Beauty and brains. Cats and dogs.


"Full Circle"
Half Hour

Cast:
Tom Everett Scott: Tom
Annie Potts: Linda Hubbard
Nicole Sullivan: Jenny
Missi Pyle: Misti
William Devane: Klip

Credits:
Production Company: Touchstone Television
Executive Producers/Writers: Dan Staley, Rob Long
Co-Executive Producer/Writer: Tim Fall
Director: Ted Wass

One look tells you Professor Tom Nash is a new dad. Despite his compulsion to baby-proof the world, he's also obsessed with giving his newborn son, Dexter, a normal childhood. But his chances aren't looking too good.

For starters, he didn't have a normal childhood himself. His dad left when Tom was a baby to "find himself" and his mother's a therapist – all theory, no practice. Secondly, Dad Kip just popped back up at the hospital. Tom's first guess is that he's trying to make amends, but no, he and his girlfriend Misti have just had a son, too.

No stranger to strange, Tom deals… until his wife Linda decides to go back to work. While day care doesn't fit Tom's "perfect childhood" model, an infant doesn't go over well in his lecture hall. Tom caves and looks for a babysitter, but what he finds is Kip, who's dying for a second chance. Grandpa/babysitter? It's worth a shot. Where's that nanny-cam?

Two of the producers of Cheers have created the ultimate scenario for exploring father issues and exploit it with great comic zeal. Starring Nicole Sullivan (The King of Queens) and Tom Everett Scott (That Thing You Do). Two generations of fathers. Two generations of sons. Two generations of women who just want to stay out of the way.


"The Untitled John Stamos Project"
Half Hour

Cast:
John Stamos: Jake
Madchen Amick: Kylie Clarke
Rick Hoffman: Patrick
Bess Meyer: Val
Ian Gomez: Adrien

Credits:
Production Companies: Brad Grey Television Productions
in association with 20th Century Fox Television
Executive Producers: Brad Grey, Peter Traugott, Tim Doyle
Writer: Austin Winsberg
Director: Michael Spiller

Blind dates. Not always fun for the daters. But a lot of fun to watch. Lucky for us, this date is going to last all season long. One long date played out over 22 episodes.

Jake Taylor is a publicist to the stars. Sharply dressed, smart talking, smooth, and he's on call 24/7 to meet the needs of his A-list clients. He goes through women like tissues. But when he makes the mistake of claiming to want a real woman who will challenge him, his boss sets him up – with her sister. Enter Kylie Clarke. Beautiful, smart, able to detect b.s. at 100 yards. Kylie's dating history is more than a little spotty. Her last ex is outside her apartment in a plexiglass box a la David Blaine hoping to win her back. When Jake and Kylie meet it's tragic, not magic, because they've actually had a one-night stand before and he doesn't remember. None of this would make any difference if they weren't perfect for each other. It's going to be a long night.

Life in the fast lane has never been so much fun. Starring John Stamos as Jake, the man all men wish they could be, and Madchen Amick as the girl too smart to fall for his charm. This tale of love under a microscope proves everyone has to avert a few dozen disasters to make it to date two.


"News to Me"
Cast:
Colin Hanks: Joel Stein
Andrea Anders: Emma Leeds
Sharon Lawrence: J.D. Connor
David Hasselhoff: Stryker Langley
Sheryl Lee Ralph: Cicely Dupree
Roger Rees: Marshall Cahill

Credits:
Production Companies: Warner Bros. Television, ACME Productions, Marsh McCall Productions, Inc.
Executive Producer/Writer: Marsh McCall
Executive Producers: Michael Hanel, Mindy Schultheis
Co-Executive Producer/Writer: Joel Stein
Director: Pam Fryman

He's young. He's literate. He's cocky. But he doesn't have a clue what he's doing at America's largest, weekly newsmagazine. After all, they write in the third person, and they think stories should be researched.

Taking a page or nine from the real-life experiences of TIME Magazine's Joel Stein, this is the ultimate fish out of water story. Joel can't swim in the news pool very well, but what he does do is write from a unique point of view. Though he's sure he's about to be fired, he'll breathe some life into the stuffy old rag. Of course, all of his colleagues at American Weekly think he represents the dumbing down of their esteemed institution – and they're never going to let him forget it!

Starring Colin Hanks (Orange County, Roswell), it's my generation vs. theirs as only Joel Stein's razor-sharp wit can present it.


"No Place Like Work"
Half Hour

Cast:
Ed Ker: Wes
Ever Carradine: Alison
Louis Lombardi: Rocky
Tamara Taylor: Trish
Matthew Morrison: Chris

Credits:
Production Company: Touchstone Television
Executive Producer/Writer: Warren Bell
Director: Andy Cadiff

You don't appreciate what you have until it's gone. Most men discover this as soon as their first child is born because from that moment on, it's all about the baby.

Did you see the play where… Nope. Do you wanna go play some… Can't. How 'bout we grab some… My wife'll kill me. The three salesmen at the Modern Brass Showroom bond over the realization that their wives and children have taken over their lives. They relish the "free time" they have at work – time when they can talk sports, girls, and other important stuff. However, most of the Monday morning quarterbacking revolves around how they could better play their family time.

The co-executive producer of According to Jim takes three real guys and lays them out as they really are. Caring yet conflicted, testosterone-feuled, yet teddy bears, and more than a little heroic. Just like most men.


My picks on which will be added to the fall line-up:
"Jennifer Love Hewitt" -- Probably will air on TGIF, after George Lopez.
"Jessica Simpson" -- I think this will air on Fridays as well, maybe ABC will move Hope & Faith to Tuesdays, and let this show air on Fridays at 9.
"News to Me" -- Colin Hanks and David Hasselhoff star, should be interesting. They'll probably air this one after My Wife & Kids or ...
"Hot Mama" -- ... this one. With Gina Gershon and Nick Lachey.

I think about three will make it, but I added a fourth just in case. Others that sound good: John Stamos, Mel Gibson's Savages, and Plan B with Caroline Rhea.

Please remember most of these pilots will not make it, so it will be kind of cool having a photo of a cast of a show that does not make it. So out of these fourteen sitcoms, probably about three or four will make it on the air actually this fall. The rest will go in what is called pilot hell, where tons of pilots each year go.

Please post your thoughts on which you think will make it.

[Sitcomwriter]

I actually agree with you Pav. I say the same 4 although I'd also like to see John Stamos' show make it although I thought that was for NBC and not ABC but I guess I'm wrong. I think The Furst Family will be picked up for mid-season.

[TJL]

The Lewis Black project looks pretty good.

Why do they have to make Jennifer Love Hewitt a single Mom?
The last thing we need is another cute kid in a sitcom.

[Sitcomwriter]

Can I just ask why you only do ABC? I'm just curious....

[barwars]

The 4 Shows I think ABC will pick up:

"Furst Family"
"Plan B"
"The Untitled Jessica Simpson Project"
"The Untitled John Stamos Project"



Of those 4, what I think will last....
"Furst Family"

[David]

oooo i hope that Untitled John Stamos Project goes well

[Pavan]

Originally posted by Sitcomwriter
Can I just ask why you only do ABC? I'm just curious....

I don't get this kind of info (all pilots, photos, videos, etc) from CBS, NBC, or FOX. Frankly, I'm glad, NBC and FOX are producing bad sitcoms anyway now and CBS focuses more on dramas.

[dawsongirl]

Originally posted by pavanbadal
FALL 2004 SITCOM PILOTS:
"The Untitled Rodney Carrington Project"
Half Hour

First off, who the hell is Rodney Carrington? And second...been there, done that with the plotline. Oy.

"The Untitled Earthquake Project"
Half Hour

The guy's name is Earthquake?

"Furst Family"
Half Hour

Cast:
Marissa Jaret Winokur: Denise Furst
French Stewart: Rusty
Lauri Metcalf: Barbara
Brenda Vaccaro: Sugar
John Francis Daley: James III

Run away! It's French Stewart!

"The Untitled Jennifer Love Hewitt Project"
Half Hour

Cast:
Jennifer Love Hewitt: Riley Reid
Josie Davis: Brandee
James Patrick Stuart: T.J.
Mel Rodriguez: Jason
Anthony Tavera: Michael
Ed O'Neill: Buzz

Run faster!! It's Jennifer Love Hewitt. Poor Ed O'Neill.

"The Untitled Suzanne Martin Project"

Nick Lachey: Cooper

Oh good god no. At least his wife isn't there.

"Savages"
They smell. They're slobs.

Well that sure sells it.

"The Untitled Jessica Simpson Project"
Half Hour

Cast

Jessica Simpson: Jessica Sampson

She's so dumb she can't even change the name of her character that much.

"The Untitled John Stamos Project"
Half Hour

As dumb as I think this sounds, I'll try it anyway to see John.

[vashti1999]

One thing I noticed from the cast lists is that both Aimee Garcia and Holly Robinson-Peete are on sitcoms that (if I'm not mistaken) have yet to be cancelled by the WB, All About The Andersons and Like Family respectively. Guess we can assume those WB shows won't be coming back, or at least go through some changes, if they're already getting involved with new shows. As for these pilots, I haven't read all the sypnopses, but I bet the Nick Lachey show gets picked up.

[*GoodMorningCalgary*]

Yuck, allota crap this year, the only one that sounds decent is the Rodney Carrington one. but I gott agree with dawsongirl with the been there done that thing.

I would pick the top 3, but theres only one I like.......I guess maybe the Jessica Simpson one too if I HAD to pick.

[BowWowsBreezy]

still nothing about Khleo Thomas' supposed ABC pilot

[Sitcomwriter]

Originally posted by dawsongirl
Who the hell is Rodney Carrington?

He sings The Man Song and The Woman Song and, odds are, the former will be the theme song.

[Sitcomwriter]

Pav, maybe you should sticky this....

[Pavan]

First photo for a sitcom pilot this season, goes to That's My Rodney:

[Pavan]

Originally posted by barwars88
which guy is Rodney??

The guy in the middle, sitting.

Originally posted by barwars88
I disagree -- some of NBC's upcoming comedies sound interesting, especially "Beverly Hills SUV" with Henry Winkler.

And CBS has some good ones coming -- 2 that I think will DEFINATELY get picked up -- "Center of the Universe" (with John Goodman) and "Shut Up and Listen"

Yes, Beverly Hills SUV is the only interesting one, but I hear that is a low chance for pick-up, but hopefully it does. NBC hasn't developed any sitcoms with good ratings in years (Scrubs is probably the last one), that's what I meant.

Last I heard CBS at most wanted two new sitcoms only, but it could be just one. The only way it'll be two is if they have more sitcoms on Wednesdays.