Fall TV Pilot Trends: Tough Working Women

BuzzSugar — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 04:55:08 -0700

It's TV pilot season, when hopeful writers, directors, and actors give the networks glimpses of what could be their next big hits. Few pilots will ever make it to air, and the odds might be especially long over on ABC, which has already renewed many of its current shows. Still, there are some gems, and over the next few weeks, I'll be looking at the pilots and trying to spot the trends that could be coming soon to a TV near you. First up, the Tough Working Women shows.

Back at the Golden Globes, I mused that there were few dramas led by strong female characters. It's interesting, then, to see how many of the network pilots focus on women in powerful roles. Here's a sampling:

"Lipstick Jungle": This NBC pilot is already one of the most buzzed-about of the year. Based on a novel by "Sex and the City" writer Candace Bushnell, the show centers on three powerful, unapologetic women in cutthroat New York City. The show stars Brooke Shields as a movie executive desperate for an Oscar and Kim Raver (formerly of "24") as a tough magazine editor who wants to make CEO; Lindsay Price is set to play their third friend, a designer hoping to find Mr. Right. NBC has already invested a lot of resources in the show, so I wouldn't be surprised to see it on the fall schedule.

"Cashmere Mafia": Starring Lucy Liu, Frances O'Connor, and Miranda Otto, this ABC pilot has been called the next-generation "Sex and the City." The plot revolves around four executives who have been friends since college and rely on each other as they juggle their careers, families, and personal lives in - where else? - New York City.

Four more, so read more

"Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office": While "Cashmere Mafia" is billed as a drama, "Nice Girls" is ABC's comedic spin on a similar premise. Based on an instruction manual of sorts for women who want to get ahead, the pilot follows Angela, a sunny real estate executive (Jayma Mays, whom I loved recently on "Ugly Betty") who realizes she needs to change her crowd-pleasing ways if she wants to make VP. I love the casting of Jane Curtin as the secretary who helps Angela embrace her dark side, but I'm curious to see if ABC will have to choose between this and "Cashmere Mafia." Especially because the network is also developing ...

"See Jayne Run": Another ABC comedy, "Jayne" follows an investment banker (Heather Locklear) who returns to her male-dominated Wall Street firm after having a baby. Life as an executive and a single mom doesn't go as smoothly as she expected, of course, with challenges including working with a former love interest and firing her nanny.

"Canterbury's Law": This pilot from part of the team behind "Rescue Me" (including executive producers Denis Leary) tells the story of Elizabeth Canterbury (Juliana Margulies), a defense attorney who takes on risky cases, often at the expense of her home life. She's surrounded by a "House"-style crew of junior attorneys who serve as her conscience and her adversaries. As if her career weren't enough, Elizabeth is also haunted by the mysterious disappearance of her son. This show sounds like it's right on the edge of melodrama, but with such a good pedigree, it could work.

"I'm Paige Armstrong": The CW joins the tough-women trend with this show, which focuses on a young congressional aide who gets so fed up with her boss' questionable political maneuvers that she decides to run against him in the next election. Jaime Ray Newman (most recently of "Veronica Mars") stars as Paige, and "Commander in Chief" alum Will Lyman has been tapped to play her boss.

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ABC's Fall Schedule: My Take

BuzzSugar — Tue, 15 May 2007 13:30:08 -0700

Now that I've had a while to think through ABC's announcement of its fall schedule this morning, I have some thoughts on which news is good, which is bad and which is still a little baffling. Take a spin through my list, then let me know what you think.

ABC is taking a big risk by putting three new shows - "Pushing Daisies," "Private Practice" and "Dirty Sexy Money" - on Wednesdays, but they're three of the shows I'm most looking forward to this season. "Pushing Daisies" is getting amazing buzz already, "Dirty Sexy Money" has my man Krause, and ... well, you know how I felt about the first episode of "Private Practice," but it can grow.
Poor "Men in Trees"! Granted, it's not a show I got into this season, but I know a lot of you love it, and I think ABC's treatment of it is seriously bizarre. First it launches on Fridays, then moves to the post-"Grey's" spot and builds an audience, only to get bumped off the schedule for tryouts of new shows. Now it's back on Fridays. Seriously, way to toy with your fans.
However ... I'm getting the sneaking suspicion that Friday TV might actually be good this year. (Is that a sign of the apocalypse?) Between "Friday Night Lights," "Men in Trees" and the new "Women's Murder Club" - which at least doesn't sound awful - I might actually have a reason to stay in.

Lots more musings, so read more

"Big Shots," about four male CEO buddies, sounds like a decidedly dude-focused show, which makes it kind of an odd fit after "Ugly Betty" and "Grey's." Is it a gift to the guys who have sat through the other two shows with their girlfriends/wives, or what?
Sure, ABC doesn't have a comedy hit, but kudos to them for trying again this year. Really, though, "Cavemen"? I still can't believe that show exists.
Ashton Kutcher is making his scripted show debut by producing "Miss/Guided." Let's see if it lasts longer than "The Real Wedding Crashers."
"Cashmere Mafia" and NBC's "Lipstick Jungle" sound suspiciously similar, huh?
I was really hoping "Private Practice" and "Dirty Sexy Money" would get a name change. Somehow, "Gotta go - 'Dirty Sexy Money''s on" just doesn't have that ring to it.
I'm surprised there's no "Marlowe" on the schedule! Other once-buzzworthy pilots not making the cut: "Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office," "The Thick of It" (sob), "Football Wives," "Mr. & Mrs. Smith"