ABC 2004-05 Drama Pilots

[Pavan]

Like last year, http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/...threadid=68839 , we will be giving info on all the drama pilots on ABC for consideration for the fall or midseason. Only a few will make it--so make your choices before we find out in mid-May which will make it. Empire has already been determined to air in mid-season for eight episodes.
For the sitcom pilots (which of course, we will give more in-depth info than the dramas), check the General Sitcoms board.


The one that REALLY looks good to me is Desperate Housewives, with Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, and a large ensemble cast. It's like a primetime soap, Dynasty style! Gramercy Park is said to be like Dallas and Knots Landing. Naked Hotel a mix of Hotel and Fantasy Island? And Blind Justice looks good, Stephen Bochco always has hits. David E. Kelley is back as well with The DeMarco Affairs starring Selma Blair. J.J. Abrams, Alias' creator, is developing TWO dramas, one for the fall and one for mid-season. There are also some big names in supporting roles like Wendie Malick, Scott Wolf, Kelly Osbourne, Tim Daly, and Katherine Heigl. Read all that here:



Blind Justice
1 Hour

Cast:
Ron Eldard: Detective Jim Dunbar
Reno Wilson: Selway
Frank Grillo: Kimbrough
Marisol Nichols: Karen
Michael Gaston: Lt. Pope
Rena Sofer: Christie

Credits:
Production Company: Steven Bochco Productions, Paramount Television
Executives Producers/Writers: Nicholas Wootton, Matt Olmstead
Executive Producer: Steven Bochco
Director: Gary Fleder

A heist gone wrong. A gunman with an AK-47. Three officers trapped without ammo. His partner frozen in fear. Without hesitation, Detective Jim Dunbar took action of intense bravery that killed the gunman, saved the officers, and made him a hero. He also took a bullet that blinded him forever.

Most officers injured in the line of duty opt for desk jobs or early retirement. Not Dunbar. He's rehabilitated both body and attitude and fought his way back to active duty. His fresh start at a new precinct is threatened by the simple truth is that no one really wants him to work there. His new partner Karen Battencourt sure as hell doesn't trust him to cover her back. Fortunately, they're all in for the shock of their lives because being blind makes Dunbar a better cop than he ever was.

Steven Bochco's new drama stars ER's Ron Eldard as Dunbar and tackles the issue of handicapped employees head on. Unique visual effects give us a window on what Dunbar "sees" with his remaining senses as he learns to be a better cop and a better man. He has a long ways to go to conquer his demons, but at least he's back on the streets.



Countdown
1 Hour

Cast:
Jason O'Mara: Lt. Danny Taylor
Chi McBride:Capt. John Richardson
Rick Gomez: Jaime Vargas
Salli Richardson: Karen Fitzpatrick
Louis Mandylor: Breckles
Adam Beach: Bob Horne

Credits:
Production Company: Touchstone Television
Executive Producers: Graham Yost, Marla Ginsburg
Director: David Frankel
Writers: Graham Yost, Christopher Yost

Against the most desperate and dangerous of armed criminals there's only one team you can trust. Special Weapons And Tactics. These heroes of urban combat rescue hostages, arrest violent suspects, take down terrorists, and defuse explosive situations. All while racing against the clock.

But when the job gets too hot for S.W.A.T., they call upon the unorthodox genius of Danny Taylor, a former member of the bomb squad. Stress and pressure bring out the best in him. He is what bad guys fear: a man with nothing to lose.

Graham Yost brings the same ticking clock approach he used in Speed to create a nail-biting pulse-pounding thrill ride with the world's premiere police tactical unit. Each week we enter a high-stakes crisis in its final hour and see.



The DeMarco Affairs
1 Hour

Cast:
Selma Blair: Kate
Sabrina Lloyd: Jessica
Lindsay Sloane: Sammy
Lara Cox: Erika
Chris Diamantopolous: Ernesto
Chris William Martin: Copland
Jonathan Silverman: Eddie Rosen

Credits:
Production Companies: David E. Kelley Productions, 20th Century Fox Television
Executive Producers: David E. Kelley, Jonathan Pontell
Executive Producer/Writer: Jason Katims
Director: Michael Dinner

A wedding is the most important day of a woman's life. Unless you're a wedding planner doing three a day. Then it's an endless opportunity for disaster – professional, personal and financial.

Equal partners – though Sammy swears this is just temporary – Kate, Jessica and Samantha started running the De Marco Wedding Palace when their bitterly-divorced parents retired. With speed and courtesy, the sisters turn fainting brides and roaming grooms into married couples 365 days a year. If only they could handle their private lives with equal ease. Sammy's a college drop out who falls for grooms. Kate is planning a dream wedding for her ex-boyfriend – to an actual princess. And Jessica is having scheduled sex with her husband, their business manager, while secretly pining for the Palace's sexy chef. Love makes fools of us all.

From executive producer David E. Kelley and Jason Katims comes a skewed look at romance through the eyes of three women who service it professionally. Sometimes funny, sometimes messy, always tasteful. Just like life.



Desperate Housewives
1 Hour

Cast:
Sheryl Lee: Mary Alice
Mark Moses: Paul Young
Cody Kasch: Zack Young
Teri Hatcher: Susan Mayer
Andrea Bowen: Jenna Mayer
Marcia Cross: Bree Van De Kamp
Michael Reilly Burke: Rex Van De Kamp
Felicity Huffman: Lynette Scavo
Eva Longoria: Gabrielle
Ricardo Chavira: Carlos Solis
James Denton: Mike Delfino
Kyle Searles: John

Credits:
Production Company: Touchstone Television
Executive Producer/Writer: Marc Cherry
Executive Producers: Charles Pratt Jr., Michael Edelstein
Director: Charles McDougall

Looking down on her friends and family isn't a way of life for Mary Alice Scott. It's a way of death. One day, in her perfect house, in the loveliest of suburbs, Mary Alice ended it all. Now she's taking us into the lives of her family friends and neighbors, commenting from her elevated POV. Her husband's acting suspicious, the neighbors are talking, and her girlfriends are wondering why one of their own would do something so rash… and so messy.

There's Susan, the divorcée who goes to extraordinary lengths for love. Lynette, the ex-career woman who traded the boardroom for boredom mixed with moments of sheer panic. Bree, the Martha Stewart on steroids, whose family is about to mutiny. And Gabrielle, the ex-model with everything she always wanted – a rich husband, a big house – so why is she shagging the 17-year-old gardener? As for Mary Alice's husband, Paul, there must be a good reason why he's digging up the pool in the middle of the night.

From her unique vantage point, Mary Alice sees more now than she ever did alive and she's planning to share all the delicious secrets that hide behind every neighbor's closed door in this seemingly perfect American suburb. The writer of Melrose Place and General Hospital (Executive Producer Charles Pratt Jr.) has helped create a primetime soap with a truly contemporary take on happily ever after.



Doing It
1 Hour

Cast:
Sean Faris: Dino Whitman
Jon Foster: Ben Conner
Chris Lowell: Jonathan Fields
Missy Peregrym: Jackie
Kelly Osbourne: Deborah
D.B. Sweeney: Michael Whitman
Lisa Darr: Annie Whitman
Marguerite Moreau: Ms. Monica Young
Jessica Lucas: Sue

Credits:
Production Company: Touchstone Television
Executive Producers/Writers: Gabe Sachs, Jeff Judah
Executive Producers: Stu Bloomberg, Francie Calfo
Director: Michael Engler

They say teenage boys think about sex every 15 seconds. That's 240 times an hour. And in between they cram everything else: Cheating moms. Interfering dads. Sex. Secret crushes. Pop quizzes. Sex. Clueless teachers. School cliques. Sex. It's enough to make a kid's head explode.

Melvin Burgess' breakthrough novel is the basis for this series about three hormone-charged teenage boys who are trying to do something even harder than losing their virginity, and that's to grow up without totally freaking out. There's Dino, the handsome jock with the secret sensitive side; Jonathan, the artist who sees life through a camera lens; and Ben, the straight-A student who still can't make his parents happy. You know them. You grew up with them. Maybe you were them.
This coming of age drama in the tradition of Stand By Me and The Outsiders comes to ABC from the writer Freaks & Geeks and Just Shoot Me.



Empire
Mid-season Drama
8-Hour Series

Cast:
Jonathan Cake: Tyrannus
Santiago Cabrera: Octavius
Vincent Regan: Marc Antony
Emily Blunt: Camane
Chris Egan: Agrippa

Credits:
Production Companies: Taranus, Ltd. in association with
Storyline Entertainment
Executive Producers: Neil Meron, Craig Zadan, Chip Johannessen,
Thomas Wheeler
Showrunner/Writer: Chip Johannessen
Writers: Thomas Wheeler, Sara B. Cooper, William Wheeler
Directors: Greg Yaitanes, Kim Manners, John Gray

Government that serves big business. Entertainment that shocks and delights. Absent parents. Cynical youth. Greed. Power. Corruption. Sex. No, it's not Orange County. It's Caesar's Rome in March 44 B.C. Betrayal and murder are only days away.

With his dying breath Caesar names his nephew Octavius as his sole successor. The job of protecting him falls to Tyrannus – warrior, gladiator, the greatest fighter Rome has ever known. Freed from slavery and promoted to Caesar's bodyguard, he feels partially responsible for his leader's assassination. Now he must watch out for Octavius and turn this frightened, untested young man into a leader of men.

From Neil Meron and Craig Zadan, the producers of Chicago (winner–2002 Oscar® for Best Picture), Life with Judy Garland: Me & My Shadows and The Music Man, comes a sprawling epic of gut-wrenching passion, jaw-dropping excitement, and awe-inspiring adventure. Filmed on location in Rome.



Eyes
1 Hour

Cast:
Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon: Nora
Tim Daly: Harlan
Reg Rogers: Danny
Natalie Zea: Trish
A.J. Langer: Meg
Rick Worthy: Chris
Laura Leighton: Leslie
Eric Mabius: Jack

Credits:
Production Companies: McNamara Paper Products in association with Warner Bros. Television
Executive Producer/Writer: John McNamara
Director: John Amiel

When you're in trouble or faced with an insurmountable problem… When you can't risk adverse publicity or turn to the cops... When you've got everything to lose, but can still afford their fees... You turn to Judd Risk Management, a 21st century P.I. firm whose job is to make their clients' problems go away, quickly and quietly.

With each case able to destroy a company, topple a personal fortune, or change the face of governments, this isn't just a business; it's a deadly game with real victims. Founder Harlan Judd has recruited a team whose personal dramas are as colorful as some of their targets. But he is an honest man in a world that demands unorthodox methods and a willingness to bend the law.

The producer of Fastlane and the director of Entrapment collaborate on this drama full of bluffs, blackmails, and intrigue.




Gramercy Park
1 Hour

Cast:
Paul Blackthorne: Jack Quinn
Elizabeth Mitchell: Taylor Elliot Quinn
Milo Ventimiglia: Billy Hanover
Megan Dodds: Alison Warner
Max Martini: Michael Warner
Samaire Armstrong: Jillene
Izabella Miko: Sophie Mansour
Camille Guaty: Maddy Kelly
Travis Schuldt: Nick Smythe

Credits:
Production Companies: Tannenbaum Co. in association with
Warner Bros Television
Executive Producer/Writer: Sally Robinson
Executive Producers: Eric Tannenbaum & Kim Tannenbaum
Director: Jeff Bleckner

There are the wealthy. The very wealthy. And then the obscenely wealthy. They would be the residents of 111 Gramercy Park. Old money, new money, married into money. The only thing they care about more than money is spending it well… and naturally, having children to inherit what's left.

Now meet the overworked, underpaid staff, the nannies who are the only ones allowed to see what really goes on behind closed doors. More intimate than friends, yet still strangers. They have keys to their homes and share secrets about who's nice, who's mean, who's cheap, who cheating, who's abusive, and who's an outright criminal.

Enter a world where the normal rules just don't apply – where power and passion fuel ego. Picture the Carringtons, the Colbys, the Ewings, their nannies and help all living together in one perfect Manhattan apartment building. Upstairs and downstairs collide in a true drama of the classes.



Gray's Anatomy
1 Hour

Cast:
Ellen Pompeo: Meredith Grey
Patrick Dempsey: Derek Shepherd
James Pickens, Jr.: Richard Webber
T.R. Knight: George O'Malley
Sandra Oh: Christina Yang
Katherine Heigl: Isobel "Izzy" Stevens
Chandra Wilson: Miranda Bailey
Isaiah Washington: Dr. Preston Burke

Credits:
Production Company: Touchstone Television
Executive Producer/Writer: Shonda Rhimes
Executive Producers: Mark Gordon Jim Parriott, Betsy Beers
Director: Peter Horton

Welcome to Grace Hospital. The toughest surgical residency program west of Harvard. It's a brutal training ground for the newest medical recruits.

Meet Meredith, Izzie and Christina. Yesterday they were students. Today they are doctors. And if they can make it through seven years of the finest hell Grace has to offer, they will be surgeons. But the rest of life doesn't stop just because their residency is tough, so this trio will also have to deal with jealous boyfriends and sick parents, one night stands and housing crises, with only each other to rely on.

From Shonda Rhimes, the writer of Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, and Director Peter Horton comes a series about young women who are doctors; and doctors who are still young women.



Harry Green & Eugene
1 Hour

Cast:
Mark Valley: Harry Green
Jason Segal: Eugene
Jaime King: Anna Marie
Alex Desert: Argyle Bennett
Arlene Tur: Nadalina
Bob Stephenson: Detective Jimmie Vince

Credits:
Production Companies: Frequency Films, The Littlefield Co., Paramount Television
Executive Producer/Writer: Joel Wyman
Executive Producer/Director: Simon West
Executive Producers: Warren Littlefield, Jib Polhemus

When Harry Green moved to Los Angeles, he re-invented his life: he bought the right car, the right clothing, the right house in the hills – and found the right assignments as the private investigator for a high end law firm. But Harry was in danger of losing his soul – until the arrival of his naïve, overzealous and accident-prone brother.

Eugene arrived at Harry's doorstep to be a detective just like his big brother. Well, not quite like him. Eugene's got a Boy Scout's sense of right and wrong that conflicts with Harry's approach.

The director of Con Air and Tomb Raider crafts a partnership based on the ultimate odd couple, unique brothers whose relationship will help them solve L.A.'s toughest cases.



Kat + 1
1 Hour

Cast:
Heather Burns: Violet
Jimmie Bennett: A.J.
Michael Urie: Roger
Scott Wolf: Josh
Wendie Malick: Jackie
Marisa Coughlan: Kat

Credits:
Production Companies: Berlanti-Liddell Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television
Executive Producer/Writer: Maggie Friedman
Executive Producers: Greg Berlanti, Mickey Liddell
Director: Rodman Flender

"Public Relations" is the necessary evil of our celebrity-obsessed culture. And Kat Montgomery is damn good at it. A brazen young publicist with one of New York's top firms, Kat can spin breaking dirt into lasting gold. Between the famous clients, fast-paced days and event-filled nights, life is just as she wants it.

Then a tragic accident claims Kat's sister and brother-in-law, and this party girl finds herself the legal guardian to their 5-year-old son, A.J. She thinks she's not ready to be a parent, and her friends think she's crazy to even consider it. But A.J. has faith in her, and that's a beginning.

One part Baby Boom, one part Sex and the City, this show reinvents the family drama with a household and setting both contemporary and fresh.



Lost
1 Hour

Cast:
Evangeline Lilly: Kate
Ian Somerhalder: Boone
Dominic Monaghan: Charlie
Jorge Garcia: Hurley
Maggie Grace: Shannon
Malcolm David Kelley: Walt
Naveen Andrews: Djani
Harold Perrineau: Michael
Josh Holloway: Sawyer
Matthew Fox: Jack
Terry O'Quinn: Locke
Daniel Dae Kim: Jin
Yunjin Kim: Sun

Credits:
Production Company: Touchstone Television
Executive Producers/Writers: J. J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof
Director: J. J. Abrams

Out of the blackness the first thing Jack senses is pain. Then burning sun. A Bamboo forest. Smoke. Screams. With a rush comes the horrible awareness that the plane he was on tore apart in mid-air and crashed on a Pacific island. From there it's a blur as his doctor's instinct kicks in: people need his help.

Stripped of everything, the 48 survivors scavenge what they can from the plane for their survival. There's no time for trauma or the secrets of the outside world. Some panic. Some pin their hopes on rescue. A few find inner strength they never knew they had. Like Kate who, with no medical training, suddenly finds herself suturing the doctor's wounds. The band of friends, family, enemies and strangers must work together against the cruel weather and harsh terrain. But the intense howls of the mysterious creatures stalking the jungle fill them all with fear. Fortunately, thanks to the calm leadership of quick-thinking Jack and level-headed Kate, they have hope.

From J.J. Abrams, the creator of Alias, comes an action-packed homage to Jules Verne's Mysterious Island. Scary, thrilling, intense, dramatic, and always exciting, this adventure will bring out the very best and the very worst in the people who are lost.



Naked Hoted
1 Hour

Cast:
John Corbett: Manager
Michael Rispoli: Security Chief
Laura Jordan: Sophie
Jenny Wade: Asst. Manager
Sara Ramirez: Brazilian Maid

Credits:
Production Company: Warner Bros. TV
Executive Producer/Writer: Armyan Bernstein

The water is warm and blue. The sun is bright. The visitors are well-heeled, well-oiled, and beautiful. Welcome to the shimmering beaches of the Bahamas and the fantastic Hotel de Bleu...

Little-known outside the private-jet set, Hotel de Bleu is a hideaway for the international elite. The patient and discreet manager knows all his check-ins have two things in common: money and notoriety. His next guest could be a celebrity fleeing a scandal, a Mafioso dodging a hit-man, a hunted terrorist with a price on her head or a captain of industry refusing to go down with a shipful of investors.

For the staff of Hotel de Bleu, working and living at arm's length from the powerful and notorious creates a cosmos of temptations. Is the beautiful young pool attendant willing to trade an hour of love for the money she desperately needs? Will the video security chief erase his tapes or sell the pictures and risk revenge? Should the young housekeeper gamble with deportation and the ruin of her family to prevent a suicide? Out on the beach, the Caribbean sun may be hot, but in the air-conditioned suites of Hotel de Bleu, staffers are playing with fire.

With all the glitter of Hotel and the wish-fulfillment of Fantasy Island, Naked Hotel is a bold and surprising hour of addictive television.



The Service
1 Hour

Cast:
Sarah Wayne Callies: Laura Kelly
Shane Brolly: Ethan Kelly
Shohreh Aghdashloo: Lila Ravan
Justin Chambers: Charles Brody
Mykelti Williamson: Mike Bradford

Credits:
Production Company: Touchstone Television
Executive Producers/Writers: Alex Kurtzman-Counter, Roberto Orci
Executive Producer: Francie Calfo
Director: Clark Johnson

They don't just protect the president. They are the exclusive police force of the executive branch with clearance even the CIA doesn't have. In a job reserved for men, Agent Laura Kelly distinguished herself when she took the bullet that saved a politician's life.

In the hospital, Laura weighs her choices. She's sacrificed her relationships, her family, and put her life in jeopardy to protect complete strangers. Laura's almost ready to quit when the opportunity to take on an important role, something few women ever get a shot at, brings her back. Her first case is to investigate her own shooting.

Now Laura must prove her promotion was based on merit while balancing her personal and professional life. But everything has changed because, for the first time, she and her husband know fear.

The director of SWAT and the executive producer of Alias introduce you to the women and men who protect the corridors of power. For Laura and The Service, every day presents a new danger and every case has national, even global, implications.







Info coming soon on the Untitled The Practice spin-off and J.J. Abrams' The Catch set to premiere in mid-season starring Don Rickles and Orlando Jones...

Here is the photo of the cast of Desperate Housewives:

[Sitcomwriter]

This is hard. These dramas actually look better than the sitcoms. I'll pick 5 dramas. Here we go....

Doing It
Gramercy Park
The DeMarco Affairs
Harry Green and Eugene
Desperate Housewives

There we go.

[Pavan]

I think ABC is trying to develop much better dramas this year since they have had no hits recently in the drama department.

I think they will pick up 2 or 3, counting the Untitled Practice Spin-off.
So, I'll choose two: Desperate Housewives and The DeMarco Affairs.

These look good too though: Bochco's Blind Justice (could fill in NYPD Blue's void in 05-06), Doing It (yes, refers to sex!), Gramercy Park, and J.J. Abrams' Lost.

[JT]

The two I want to be picked up are Desperate Housewives and Grammercy Park.

If they are picked up, next season is going to be primetime soapilicious for me! WB's Dark Shadows seems excellent as does Fox's Point Pleasant.

[TVJunkie101]

Wow.

I'd have to say most of the dramas do sound pretty good.

I have to go with Desperate Housewives, Grammercy Park, (not a choice I really want) Untitled Practice Spin-off.

I also like Blind Justice, Lost and Naked Hotel. They all honestly sound good with the exception of one or two.

[Chelsea]

Maybe, if Desperate Housewives does well in the ratings, they'll hire Michele Lee, move the show to a coastal LA suburb, and just rename the show Knots Landing.

I hope this one does well, because

1)ABC NEEDS something besides Super Millionaire to do well. They REALLY do.

2)If the show DOES well, it sets the stage for shows like Dallas and Knots Landing to come back. And as long as their all not Dynasty clones, that's a good thing, IMO.

There's one small gripe. PLEASE Ditch the "dead" gimmick. Stick to the story. It's SO much better that way. Trust me. Two of my favorite shows ran for 10+ years (One for Almost Fifteen) EACH using a VERY similar format, one of which being virtually identical to this one (In fact, I've mentioned said show six times already when referring to this one)

[Pavan]

Since only one ABC sitcom has released a cast photo so far, I'll give you some drama cast photos of some shows.

Doing It, is now called "Loyal Heights" Here is the photo for that:

[Pavan]

The cast of "Countdown"

[Pavan]

The cast of "Eyes"

[Pavan]

The cast of Gramercy Park:

[Pavan]

The cast of Grey's Anatomy:

[Pavan]

The cast of "The Service"

[Pavan]

And finally, for now, the cast of Naked Hotel (very interesting...)

[Pavan]

Since many people (like JT) will probably be very interested in Desperate Housewives, I have a huge video clip of the pilot for everyone! It's over 30mb, so if you have a slow connection, be patient. It's in quicktime format, with lots of stars like Teri Hatcher, Nicolette Sheridan and Eva Longoria. Everyone probably have seen the promos on ABC with Eva (her character's name is Gabrielle) stripping down to her bra, now look at the huge clip with even more:

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/videocl...sPilotClip.mov (try right clicking on the link and clicking Save Target As...)

[isiahthomas]

It's good to see Chi Mcbride will be workin again this fall on the show Countdown since Boston Public went off the air. I see Salli Richardson's fine ass is on Countdown too. I'm gonna have to check that out. I don't think Gray's Anatomy show will last long. Black actor Isaiah Washington is a very good actor who i see will be on that show. I see Garcelle Beauvais is on the fall show Eyes. She looks good in that picture. I wonder what made her leave NYPD Blue.