Pilot Watch: Development News for March 14 to 18

During this time of year, a multitude of pilots are developed by all of the networks with very few of them actually making it to the air as a new series. The long list below highlights the updates on just some of the countless pilots that are being developed, cast and filmed for the major and cable networks:

Actor Scott Foley (Felicity and The Unit), Michael Boatman (The Good Wife and China Beach) and Kyle MacLachlan (Desperate Housewives and Twin Peaks) have landed roles on the CBS drama pilot Doctor that is about Emily Campbell (Christine Lahti), a mother who reconnects with her two adult children – David (Foley) and Natasha (Eva Amurri) – when she joins the family medical practice following their father’s death. Foley will play the aforementioned David, a cardiologist; with Boatman as Robert Brody, the chief-of-staff at the show’s Hartford Medical Center who was once an intern under Emily at Mt. Sinai. And MacLachlan is set as Jason Walden, the best friend of Emily’s late husband and a fellow partner at the practice.

Actress Kate Burton (Grey’s Anatomy) will appear in the drama pilot for NBC called Grimm that is about Nick Burckhardt (David Giuntoli), a police detective who discovers fairy tale creatures live among us and is tasked with defending humans from these mythical beasts. Burton will play his aunt, Marie Brannigan, who indoctrinates him into the supernatural world.

Actresses Zoey Deutch (The Suite Life on Deck) and Della Reese (Touched by an Angel) and actors Brett Cullen (The Gates) and Jonathan Scarfe (Raising the Bar) have all been added to the cast of the ABC drama pilot Hallelujah that is set in the town of Hallelujah, Tennessee where the forces of good and evil are exemplified by hardworking, moral diner owner Rye Turner (Donal Logue), a family man who has had a run of tragic luck, and his longtime nemesis, corrupt millionaire Del Roman (Terry O’Quinn), who is a law unto himself. Deutch will play Willow, the thoughtful daughter of Rye Turner, who waits tables at the family’s diner. While Reese is on board as Dulcie Prejean, a blind woman with a flair for the autoharp. Meanwhile, Cullen will play Sherriff Bob Clement, a corrupt local lawman in the pocket of Del while Scarfe will play Rye’s brother Caleb, a self-confessed miserable sinner.

Veteran character actor Raphael Sbarge will appear in the ABC drama pilot called Once Upon A Time, which is about Anna Swan (Jennifer Morrison), a woman with a troubled past who is drawn to Storybrooke, a small town in Maine where the magic and mystery of Fairy Tales just may be real. He will play Archie, an eccentric looking gentleman walking a Dalmatian and, oddly, carrying an umbrella, who’s also the Jiminy Cricket from Pinocchio lore.

Actors Michael Gaston, Kevin Rankin and Dylan Walsh have joined the CBS drama pilot The Rememberer that is about Carrie Wells (Poppy Montgomery), an ex-cop struggling with the blessing/curse of hyperthymesia – the ability to remember everything – who is drafted back into the NYPD. Gaston is expected to play Detective Mike Costello and Rankin will play Detective Second Class Roe Sanders, the junior member of the squad. While, Walsh will play her new boss, Detective First Class Al Burns, a former high school jock who’s always going forward and believes life is to be lived, not dwelled upon.

Actor Terry Kinney (The Unusuals) has joined the CBS drama pilot Rookies that is about six NYPD rookies (Adam Goldberg, Judy Marte, Leelee Sobieski, Stark Sands, Tom Reed and another yet to be cast) who balance their personal lives with learning the beat on the streets of Manhattan. He will play Larry “Yoda” Rivers, the group’s Field Training Officer.

Actress Julie Benz (No Ordinary Family and Dexter) has joined the as yet unnamed CBS supernatural medical drama from Susannah Grant, which centers on Michael (Patrick Wilson), an ultra-competitive surgeon whose life is changed forever when his ex-wife (Jennifer Ehle), a doctor running a free clinic, dies and begins teaching him what life is all about from the hereafter. Benz will play Michael’s sister, an unfocused and overwhelmed single mother with a huge heart.

Casting announcements have been made for the NBC drama pilot REM that already stars Jason Isaacs as Detective Mark Britten (Isaacs), who wakes up after an accident to find he is living in two different realities, one in which he has killed his son Rex (Dylan Minnette from Lost) and one in which he has killed his wife Hannah. The casting includes Wilmer Valderrama (That 70’s Show) as Detective Richard Vega, Britten’s gregarious new partner in one reality; Steve Harris (The Practice and Friday Night Lights) as a seasoned, cynical, wry-humored police detective who’s Britten’s partner in the other reality; BD Wong (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) as Britten’s therapist in the reality where he has killed his son and Laura Allen (Terriers) as Rex’s tennis coach, who has become Rex’s confidante in the wake of the recent loss of his mother.

Actors Noah Emmerich (White Collar and The Walking Dead) and Jimmy Smits have been added to the cast of the NBC drama pilot called S.I.L.A. that is set in the world of crime, law enforcement and politics in sprawling modern-day Los Angeles. Emmerich will play Terry Mullins, who has returned to Los Angeles to re-connect with his 15-year-old daughter Jennifer and try to get along with his ex-wife and Jennifer’s mother, high-powered attorney Mary McCarthy (Madchen Amick from Twin Peaks and Damages). While Smits will play a mayor with aspirations to run for U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s seat — but who may be undone by a reputation for womanizing and ties to a criminal overlord.

The cable network Starz is developing a supernatural crime drama pilot called The Brink that is based on the J.C. Hutchins book Personal Effects: Dark Art that chronicles art therapist Zach Taylor’s investigation into the life and madness of Martin Grace, an accused serial killer who claims to have foreseen, but not caused, his victims’ deaths.

Actress Vanessa Ferlito (CSI: NY) has joined the cast of the CW drama pilot Cooper & Stone in one of the lead roles. The show is about two pop culture savvy detectives – Jenna Cooper (Alexandra Breckenridge) and Angela Stone (Ferlito), working in Chicago’s Northside precinct.

Emmy-winner Kristin Chenoweth (Pushing Daisies and Glee) and actor David James Elliott (JAG) have been added to the cast of the ABC dramedy pilot Good Christian Bitches that is about Amanda Vaughn (Leslie Bibb), a widowed mother of two who – to get a fresh start – moves back to the affluent Dallas neighborhood where she grew up. Chenoweth will play Darlene Cockburn, a church-going housewife with a skewed sense of goodness and the alpha of the group with Elliott playing Chenoweth’s husband.

Actress Leslie Hope (24 and The Mentalist) has joined the cast of the ABC drama pilot The River that is about a state-of-the-art research vessel on a quest to find Emmet Cole (Bruce Greenwood), a missing TV explorer, in the Amazon and the crew documenting said endeavor. She will play Tess Cole, Emmet’s thoughtful and determined wife.

More casting has been announced for the ABC drama pilot Georgetown, including actor Kevin Zegers (Gossip Girl) and actresses Wendy Crewson and Tiya Sircar (The Vampire Diaries). The series is about a quartet of young staffers in Washington, D.C. – Sam (Daisy Betts), Nikki (Katie Cassidy), Peter (Joseph Mazzello) and Andrew (Jimmy Wolk) – who share a DuPont Circle townhouse together. Zegers will play Montgomery “Monty” Knox, a handsome, incredibly wealthy young stockbroker who went to college with Andrew and Sam. While Crewson is set as the GOP minority leader, Senator Caroline Wallace and Sircar as Harper Hawley, Andrew’s longtime assistant who Peter has a crush on.

Scott Porter (Friday Night Lights and The Good Wife) has landed a role in the CW drama pilot Hart of Dixie that is about Zoe Hart (Rachel Bilson), a young big-city doctor who inherits a medical practice in the oddball town of BlueBell, Alabama. He will play George Tucker, a handsome, charming attorney who’s engaged to the overly effusive Lemon Breeland (Jaime King).

Actress Lauren Cohan (Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries and Chuck) has landed the female lead in the CW drama pilot called Heavenly that is about Lily DeMarco, a San Francisco attorney who teams with Dashiell Coffee, an angel-turned-human, to save the futures – and the souls – of their clients. She will play Lily.

Actress Madeleine Stowe and actor Henry Czerny are set to co-star in the ABC drama pilot Revenge that centers on Emily Thorn/Amanda Clarke (Emily VanCamp from Everwood and Brothers & Sisters), a mysterious woman who comes to the Hamptons to exact revenge on the Graysons who destroyed her family. Stowe will play Victoria Grayson, the matriarch of the family and a social power broker. Czerny will play Victoria’s husband Conrad.

Actor Robert Knepper (Heroes and Prison Break) will have a supporting role in the NBC drama pilot Reconstruction that is set in a Missouri town during the post-Civil War Reconstruction era and centers on Jason (Martin Henderson from Off the Map), a soldier who crosses the country and settles into a complicated town where he is welcomed as its savior. He will play the town sheriff, an unhinged veteran Confederate whose bizarre behavior alternates between Southern courtliness and a hair-trigger temperament.

The Disney Channel has added 13 original series to their line-up for next season. Among those 13 (which includes children’s programming and new animated shows) is the new show called Jessie that stars Debby Ryan as a rural teen from Texas who moves to New York and becomes an au pair to a wealthy family with four teens; the new music/dance comedy Madison High that stars young actor Mark Indelicato (Ugly Betty).

Australian actress Phoebe Tonkin, and American actresses Jessica Parker Kennedy (Smallville) and Shelley Hennig (Days of Our Lives) have joined the cast of the CW drama pilot Secret Circle, which is based on the books by L.J. Smith about a California teen (Britt Robertson from Life Unexpected) who moves to her mom’s hometown of New Salem, Maine and discovers that she comes from a family of witches. Kennedy will play Melissa, one of the seven members in the show’s coven of witches. Meanwhile, Hennig will play Diana, the leader of the seven-member coven who has been dating Adam (Thomas Dekker from Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) since childhood. And Tonkin, will play Faye, part of the witches’ circle.

Veteran actor Donald Sutherland will join actress Paget Brewster (Criminal Minds) in the NBC comedy pilot My Life as an Experiment, which chronicles the adventures of gonzo magazine journalist A.J. Wilder (comedian Jon Dore) and how his unique profession impacts his family. Sutherland will play Stacie’s (Brewster) dad and A.J.’s father-in-law, a highly respected, very accomplished heart surgeon and a pompous, arrogant guy to boot.

Actor Esai Morales (Caprica) has joined the cast of the NBC drama pilot 17th Precinct from Ron Moore that currently includes former Battlestar Galactica alums Tricia Helfer, James Callis and Jamie Bamber as well as Eamonn Walker (from the short lived series Kings). Morales is set to play Lt. Liam Butterfield in the pilot that is set in a city ruled by magic and revolves around the workings of the 17th Precinct.

NOTE: Again, keep in mind very few of these pilots will make it to the air so don’t count on seeing any or all of them UNLESS the networks deem them “good enough” for public consumption come this fall.