The 2013-2014 Pilots That I’d Love to See Make It to Series

It’s that time of year again – the major networks are quickly getting their new pilot orders made, making casting announcements left and right and creating as much buzz about their new projects as they can.

But each year there are so few pilots that are actually picked up to series by the major networks that a lot of good potential news shows get overlooked. This pilot season there are nearly 50 pilots under consideration at the major networks: ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and The CW.

I’m sure that anyone who has been paying even a little bit attention to the pilots at ABC are well aware that Joss Whedon – the man himself – is working on a pilot called S.H.I.E.L.D., which of course is based on the fictional and secret law enforcement agency set in the Marvel Universe. Needless to say, I can whole-heartedly endorse this pilot especially with Joss at the helm (he did a pretty good job, after all, with The Avengers film besides all of his other credits) and the fact that the cast includes Ming Na (of Stargate Universe and ER fame) and Clark Gregg, reprising his role from The Avengers film (as well as his roles in Thor and Iron Man) doesn’t hurt.

Besides S.H.I.E.L.D., I want to focus on some of the other pilots under consideration that I would really like to see make it to series. They appear below in no specific order:

Ironside – This NBC pilot is a remake of the 1960s classic drama about Robert T. Ironside, an acerbic police detective relegated to a wheelchair after a shooting, who is hardly limited by his disability as he pushes and prods his hand-picked team to solve the most difficult cases in the city. The cast of this pilot includes hunky Blair Underwood in the lead role as well as Brent Sexton (from The Killing).

Hostages – CBS offers up this pilot about a surgeon named Ellen Sanders (to be played by Toni Collette), who is selected to operate on the President of the United States. But, of course, this isn’t going to be an easy surgeon – no sir! This “assignment” propels her family into a grand political conspiracy, as her family is taken hostage and the ransom to return them is that she has to kill the President. [Dun, dun, dun]. Besides Collette in the lead role, actors Dylan McDermott (American Horror Story and The Practice) and Tate Donovan (Damages and Deception) will be part of the cast. James Naughton will play the President, making this quite a cast of characters to say the least.

Intelligence – Also on CBS is this pilot with Josh Holloway (of Lost fame) in the title role of Gabriel Black, who gets to have a special government unit created for him because of his very special gift: a microchip that has been implanted in his brain, allowing him to access the entire electromagnetic spectrum. [Chuck fans, does this sound at all familiar?!] Besides Holloway, actor Michael Rady (from The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and the short lived Emily Owens, M.D.) as well as actress Marg Helgenberger (CSI) and Meghan Ory (who plays Red/Ruby on Once Upon a Time) will all have lead roles.

Sleepy Hollow – Over on FOX, this pilot will follow Ichabod Crane as he is transported from the Revolutionary War to present day Sleepy Hollow to be partnered with Detective Abbie Archer to solve the mysteries of a town ravaged by the battle between good and evil. This show will be filled with primarily new faces, but it sure sounds a good possible replacement for Fringe, right? Right?

The Originals – Then over on The CW, this is the spin-off to The Vampire Diaries that will focus on the “Original” Family – that would be Klaus (Joseph Morgan), Elijah (Daniel Gilles) and sister Rebekah (Clarie Holt) as well as female werewolf Hayley (Phoebe Tonkin) will be transplanted to New Orleans. The fact that The Vampire Diaries is still going strong and the “Original” family has a pretty strong presence in the show should almost assure it will be picked up – at least I think so.

The Selection – Lastly, this is another pilot from The CW that was held over from last pilot season and is very much like The Hunger Games with a slight twist. This pilot will follow a working-class young woman chosen by lottery to participate in a competition with 25 other women to become the nation’s next queen [No, this is not your neighbor’s Bachelor; hopefully it’s BETTER!]. This is based on the Kiera Cass book of the same name. A lot of new faces will appear in this show (much like Sleepy Hollow), but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

If you have been reading up on any of the pilots under consideration at the major networks, please share in our comments section below which pilots you would like to see make it to series. We here at NiceGirlsTV love to hear what our readers have to say.