Preparing for Upfronts

Next week is an important week for the television industry. Besides the upcoming end of the 2013-2014 TV season, the annual upfront presentations by the major networks to the advertisers in New York City will happen from May 12 through May 15. With that thought in mind, let’s take a look at what each of the major networks has under consideration for the upcoming fall TV season and which dramas have a good chance at getting picked up.

May 12 – FOX and NBC Upfront Presentations

FOX has four potential dramas pilots that could make the fall schedule, including the hip-hop themed Empire that has Terrance Howard (Iron Man), Taraji P. Hanson (Person of Interest) and Malik Yoba (Alphas) among its cast; the DC Comics series Gotham, an origins story about Commissioner James Gordon with Ben McKenzie (Southland and The O.C.), Jada Pinkett Smith (The Matrix franchise) and Donal Logue (Vikings) as part of the cast; the family thriller/soap opera Home from Jerry Bruckheimer and Red Band Society, the coming-of-age medical drama that will feature Oscar winner Octavia Spencer

Given the fact that FOX is, quite frankly, in desperate need of dramas, it is more than likely that all four of these shows could be picked up especially Gotham. It should also be noted that FOX has already ordered the dramas Backstrom, the Rainn Wilson series about an irascible detective (think House as a cop) and the period piece drama Hieroglyph (set during the time of the Pharaohs) that features Max Brown (Beauty And the Beast) and veteran actor John Rhys-Davies (the Lord of the Rings franchise) to series. That means that the four new drama pilots will have a little bit of competition.

NOTE: After this article was written and set for posting, FOX announced they have ordered Gotham to series.

NBC has eight new drama pilots under consideration for this fall. Out of those new shows, the main contender is the Russian spy drama Allegiance and the Traffic-like thriller Odyssey that includes Peter Facinelli (Nurse Jackie and the Twilight franchise), Treat Williams (Everwood) and Anna Friel (Pushing Daisies) among it cast.

Two other NBC drama pilots have the possibility of being picked up, including Mysteries of Laura that stars Debra Messing (Smash and Will & Grace) as a homicide detective and State of Affairs that will star Katherine Heigl (Grey’s Anatomy) as a CIA attaché who counsels the President of the United States.

NOTE: As of the afternoon of May 6, the Katherine Heigl drama State of Affairs has been picked up to series.

May 13 – ABC Upfront Presentation

ABC has ten drama pilots up for consideration for the fall TV season with the Shonda Rhimes-produced drama How To Get Away With Murder, that will star Viola Davis, as the top contender. It is being reported that the dark drama American Crime, about a racially charged murder trial – that will star Timothy Hutton (Leverage) and Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives) – is in “very serious consideration” and could possibly get a limited run

The network also has several genre pilots from which to choose, including The Visitors, which is about the race to defeat an unseen alien enemy that will feature Barry Sloane (Revenge) and Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes) among its cast; Clementine about a habitual criminal who has supernatural abilities that could be used for good or evil that includes David Strathairn (Alphas) and Kevin Alejandro (Arrow) in its cast; Forever, about an immortal man who just happens to the star medical examiner in New York City that features Ioan Gruffudd (Ringer and Fantastic Four) as its lead; and Agent Carter based on the Marvel Universe character featured in the Captain America stories. But given there are four genre pilots and how genre dramas have not exactly performed overly well on the network (if Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is any example), it could be a hard sell for any of these dramas.

The network also has three dramas that have been given direct-to-series orders, including Secrets & Lies, a murder mystery drama that will star Ryan Phillippe (Cruel Intentions); The Astronaut Wives Club, about the women who stood beside some of the biggest heroes in American history during the height of the space age; and the soap opera-laced drama The Club.

May 14 – CBS Upfront Presentation

CBS has eight drama pilots under consideration for the fall with its prime contenders being the network’s spin-off series NCIS: New Orleans and CSI: Cyber as well as the Tea Leoni-starring vehicle Madam Secretary. It is also possible that the network could pick up Scorpion, which is inspired by a real-life Professor X who recruited and trained worldwide geniuses and the untitled Kevin Williamson pilot that is centered on LAPD detectives who handle stalking cases that could be a limited-run series.

The network also has one direct-to-series that will air at some point next season; that being Battle Creek, which is about two detectives who are teamed up to clean up the semi-mean streets of their town in Michigan.

 May 15 – The CW Upfront Presentation

The CW has six drama pilots under consideration for the fall with the spin-off series Flash, which is based on the DC Comics character that will star Grant Gustin from Glee in the title role, as the top contender. At one point in time it appeared that the Supernatural spin-off would also be a top contender, but after the introduction of the Supernatural: Bloodlines characters in a recent episode, that spin-off may not happen after all.

The other contenders are the DC adaptation iZombie (yes, yet another zombie-laced drama that will be a mix of The Walking Dead and True Calling), the sci-fi-based The Messengers about a group of strangers who have been deemed responsible for preventing an impending Apocalypse and Jane the Virgin, a U.S. adaptation of the Venezuelan telenovela about a young Latino woman who accidentally finds herself pregnant.

By the end of next week all of the major networks will have made their announcements for their proposed fall TV schedules; and let’s hope that the network heads make some good choices for this fall.