The Pilots You Won’t See on TV This Year

For over five years, we here at NiceGirlsTV have been taking a look at new fall pilots that we think would be cool ideas for the major and/or cable networks to consider for their upcoming programming. Of course, the shows that follow are remakes of previous hit shows and are not actual pilots under consideration, but it would be fun if they were.

Ed and Ryan

The Beverly Hillbillies – This revisionist idea of the 1960’s classic TV series will still focus on The Clampett family, but this time around they will be a small Texas family who inadvertently discovers oil on their centuries-old farm and then moves to Beverly Hills, California.

Mackenzie and Elaine

The patriarch of the family is J. D. “Jed” Clampett (Ed Quinn from Eureka) and his son Jethro (Ryan Guzman from Pretty Little Liars and The Boy Next Door), Jed’s sister-in-law Daisy (Elaine Hendrix from Joan of Arcadia) and her daughter Elly May (MacKenzie Mauzy from Forever and Into the Woods). [Yes, this is a twist on the family norm from the original.]

TAGLINE: “Getting out of the hicks was the easy part.”

Nicole, Erica and Samantha

CHiPs – This new pilot will reboot the 1970’s-1980’s TV series about the lives of two motorcycle police officers of the California Highway Patrol, but this time around it will be two female cops and their female Sergeant, as they deal with the difficulties of being a cop in the present day and in a new program that requires the CHiPs to have partners.

The series would star Nicole Steinwedell (The Unit) will play Officer Jessica “Jessie” Baker while Erica Cerra (Eureka) will play Francesca “Ponch” Poncherello, both the granddaughters of the original CHiPs members, who are as dedicated to their role as cops as their grand-dads. Samantha Ferris (Supernatural) will play their Sergeant Elizabeth Gerry.

TAGLINE: “Good cops are born AND made.”

Top: Scottie and Logan/Bottom: Nora and Scott

Airwolf – A high-tech military helicopter, code-named Airwolf, is stolen by the military-trained expert originally hired by Briggs Enterprises, the corporation behind creating the aircraft, in order to use it to first attempt a rescue of a missing man and then to save other in-jeopardy people all around the world.

Shoshanna “Hanna” Hawke will be played by Scottie Thompson (The Blacklist and NCIS), the expert who steals Airwolf in order to attempt the rescue of her fiancé, who went missing during a covert mission in Iraq. Dominic “Dom” Santini will be played by Logan Bartholomew (Love’s Enduring Promise and Love’s Long Journey), Hanna’s loyal mechanic and Caitlin Scott will be played by Nora Zehetner (Everwood and Grey’s Anatomy), Hanna’s IT expert; both who left Briggs with Hanna. Michael Briggs, the current CEO of Briggs Enterprises, will be played by Scott Elrod (Men in Trees and The Young and the Restless), who will stop at nothing to bring Hanna down and reclaim his prized creation.

TAGLINE: “She will stop at nothing to do what’s right.”

Johann, Devon and Richard

Northern Exposure – The remake of this 90’s classic about a fish-out-of-water doctor and the unusual inhabitants of the town of Cicely, Alaska will this time focus on new town doctor Jake Franks (Johann Urb from NCIS and Eastwick), who actually returns to his childhood home, taking over the practice left by the decades-long doctor Jake knew briefly as a kid before heading to the East Coast with his parents.

Once back in Cicely, Jake runs into his childhood best friends, brothers Chris and Henry Stevens (Devon Gummersall from My So-Called Life and Roswell and Richard Speight, Jr. from Supernatural, respectively). Chris is the owner and operator of the only radio station in town while older brother Henry runs The Brick, the only bar and restaurant in town.

He is then introduced to Mayor Clarence Franklin (Ruben Santiago-Hudson from Castle) and his daughter Clarice Franklin-Miller (Valerie Rae Miller from Dark Angel), who runs the local general store. It is in the back of the general store where Jake’s practice is located (it is a small town after all) so he will be seeing a lot of the mayor and his daughter.

Top: Ruben and Valerie/Bottom: Gretchen and Jolene

Before he is even ready to settle in, though, he meets his energetic receptionist Elaine Mills (Jolene Purdy from Benched and Under the Dome), who gives him a whirlwind tour of the town (that takes all of 15 minutes) and has an unexpected run-in with childhood sweetheart Maggie O’Connell (Gretchen Egolf from Roswell and Journeyman), who was a world-renowned aviator, but is now the town’s bush pilot

TAGLINE: “Coming back home isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”

Just like in years’ past, none of these pilots are actually being considered for the major (and even cable) networks, but some of them might be fun to see if only in my imagination, which is where they originated.

What past TV shows would you like to see rebooted? Please share your thoughts below.