It’s pilot season in TV land, which means every day we hear news of some new project that could be the next breakout series. In the midst of all the noise and press releases and people sneaking on set to take photos of shows that may or may not end up on the schedule next season, a trend is appearing: series with strong female protagonists are in demand. EW has a thorough roundup of what the broadcast nets are considering, but we’ve put together a rundown of female-centric pilots that make it look like the 2011-2012 season could be particularly strong for women.

Women Get the (re)Boot

Adrianne Palicki suits up as WONDER WOMAN for NBC.

Leading the pack of female-centric pilots are two high-profile reboots: Charlie’s Angels and Wonder Woman. ABC is working with Drew Barrymore’s production company to bring the Angels back to TV in this updated version of the ’70s cult classic. Set in Miami, the Angels are Minka Kelly, Annie Ilonzeh and Rachael Taylor with Ramon Rodriguez taking on the role of Bosley. Over at NBC, the beleagured network is hoping a high-profile reboot of Wonder Woman will draw viewers. After much speculation and armchair casting, Adrianne Palicki landed the role of Diana Prince, as reimagined by David E. Kelley of legal dramedy fame. Both of these series have the potential to showcase strong women in fun, action-packed roles, but I hope they provide opportunity for real emotion and character development as well. It’s also gratifying to see Friday Night Lights alumni Palicki and Kelly landing such splashy roles.

Caution: Women At Work

Rachel Bilson heads to the HART OF DIXIE for the CW.

The Good Wife proved that, in the hands of capable showrunners and an excellent cast, there is room in the TV landscape for yet another show about lawyers. The difference here is that the show is lead by a strong yet vulnerable female and blends humor and drama with perfect pitch. Hoping to catch lightning in a bottle, CBS has ordered The Doctor, a drama about a mother who reconnects with her adult children when she joins the family medical practice. Christine Lahti has been cast in the lead role. The CW has their own medical drama in the works: Hart of Dixie, starring Rachel Bilson, is the story of a young New York City doctor who inherits a medical practice in a small Southern town inhabited by an eclectic and eccentric group of characters.

On the cop beat, NBC is hoping a remake of the British series Prime Suspect, starring Maria Bello, will be more than just another detective show. The original, starring Helen Mirren, was a critical success and obviously NBC is looking for similar acclaim. Over at ABC, Partners provides another twist on the genre. The series centers on two female police detectives who are fiercely loyal to one another since they’re also secretly sisters. Annie Wersching and Scottie Thompson have been cast as the leads. The CW has a similar pilot in the works, called Cooper and Stone, about two smart young female detectives on Chicago’s North Side who are best friends, equally adept at discussing fashion, music, and pop culture as they are solving homicides. I think the surprise success of TNT’s Rizzoli & Isles last summer showed execs that audiences will watch two female leads solving crimes just as avidly as a male/female duo.

ABC is looking for their next nighttime soap with Pan-Am, a series about pilots and stewardesses and their “sexy adventures” set in the 1960s. Margot Robbie has signed on for the female lead. Another nostalgic “workplace” series is in production for NBC who ordered a pilot for Playboy, a drama about the skin mag’s “bunnies” starring Amber Heard, Naturi Naughton and Laura Benanti, also set in the 1960s. Ah, Mad Men, what have you wrought?

Sing It, Sister!

Katharine McPhee sings for NBC's SMASH!

Glee’s phenomenal success means music- and dance-centered shows are being greenlit all over the place. NBC is hoping that Smash! will be just that for the struggling network. (Yes, the exclamation point is part of the title.) Following several characters as they come together to put on a Broadway musical, the drama has already snagged Debra Messing and singer Katherine McPhee for major roles.

The CW meanwhile is looking at Grace, a dysfunctional family drama about a woman who takes over her father’s beleagured dance studio. The father, played by Eric Roberts, has three daughters with different mothers and a penchant for sleeping with his female pupils; none of the daughters have been cast yet, or at least they haven’t been announced. This sounds like it could be a small screen version of Center Stage, a movie I’ll watch anytime I run across it on cable. Carrie Ann Inaba is executive producing.

Mama Mia!

Amanda Peet returns to TV in BENT for FOX.

The success of family-oriented sitcoms like Modern Family and Raising Hope have spawned a legion of similar ideas for the new season. ABC has Bad Mom under consideration, a show about a young woman who goes from having the best mom in the world to being the best mom in the world. Not sure how the title works with that concept, though. The Alphabet is also taking a look at Lost and Found, a narcissistic New York City bartender and party girl has her life turned upside down when the conservative 18-year-old son she gave up for adoption shows up on her doorstep, and My Frickin’ Family, chronicling two young parents’ lives change after they have a baby and the four grandparents butt in. That’s a lot of family sitcoms for ABC; sounds like those rumors that the network wants to resurrect their once popular TGIF family night lineup are correct.

FOX continues to make a run for a comedy night of their own with I Hate My Teenage Daughter, about two women who were tormented by mean girls when they were younger, and are now appalled to realize their daughters are turning into the same type of girls they never liked, and Family Album, telling the tale of a family vacation in the style of 24‘s time-focused narrative. NBC searches for their next Must See TV sitcom by auditioning Bent, a comedy about a recently divorced Type A single mom who tries hard not to fall for the sexy surfer dude contractor she hires to re-do her kitchen starring Amanda Peet, and an untitled project from Emily Spivey about parenthood through the POV of an acerbic working mom.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Zooey Deschanel headlines NO STRINGS ATTACHED for FOX.

It’s not all about serious jobs and raising children, though. Several projects about women still in the party phase of life are also under consideration. NBC has the highest profile pilot with Are You There Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea, based on Chelsea Handler’s booze-filled memoir of the same name. Laura Prepon has been cast in the lead role with Natalie Morales, Angela Laketa Moore and Lauren Lapkus rounding out the cast. ABC has a trio of single-girl comedies going to pilot: Good Christian Bitches from Darren Star, about a reformed “mean girl” who returns home to Dallas, only to find that some of her former high school classmates have remained unforgiving; Don’t Trust the Bitch in Apartment 23, a comedy about an innocent Midwestern girl who ends up with a wild roommate from hell in New York City starring Krysten Ritter, James Van Der Beek, Michael Blaiklock and Dreama Walker; and Suburgatory, a satirical look at life in the suburbs as seen through the eyes of a quintessentially New York City girl who moves to a cookie-cutter community only to discover that life in the ‘burbs is more frightening than any horror movie that she’s ever seen. (Expect the first two titles to be changed; ABC is owned by Disney, after all.) Meanwhile FOX has No Strings Attached, a comedy about the sexual politics of men and women with Zooey Deschanel attached as a lead.

Drama Queens

Sarah Michelle Gellar plays twins in CBS' drama RINGER.

It’s not all fun and games for women this pilot season. A few dramas, not related to jobs or parenting, have also been greenlit for consideration. The CW is looking at Secret Circle, the story of a young woman (Britt Robertson) who moves to a new town and discovers that not only is she a witch and part of a secret coven, but she’s also the key that will unlock a centuries-old battle of good versus evil. The series is based on books by L.J. Smith whose books are responsible for the net’s current smash, The Vampire Diaries.

CBS is bringing out the big guns for a high-concept drama called Ringer. The series is about a troubled young woman on the run who hides out by living the life of her wealthy twin sister, until she learns her sibling’s life has a bounty on it as well. It stars Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nestor Carbonell, Ioan Gruffudd, Mike Colter and Tara Summers. Over on ABC, Ashley Judd is headlining Missing, a drama about a former CIA agent who goes overseas searching for her missing son. Originally meant for a summer run, it looks like this will get a fall launch instead.

That’s the scoop so far on the female-centric shows that the networks are looking at for the 2011-2012 season. There are several other pilots in the works that are more ensemble or male-centric, but this year’s crop of pilots has a distinctly feminine slant. Depending on what actually gets a series order, the Nice Girls could find ourselves with a lot more to watch next year!

Which of these sound most interesting to you? Who would you cast?