Fall TV Pilot Trends: Tough Working Women

BuzzSugar — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 04:55:08 PDT

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

"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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You're Fired! 20 Signs That a Pink Slip Is Coming

Wise Bread — Thu, 10 May 2012 10:54:53 PDT

If something feels off at the office, you may want to brace yourself for the worst. Wise Bread shares signs to look for when a pink slip is coming.

There are two types of employees. One has a good idea of what they do, who they are, and what position they play in the company. They are savvy. They know the score. They are under no delusions, and will no doubt leave for another job long before they are ever considered as cannon-fodder.

And then there's the other kind. The guy who could get Gandhi to hate him. The woman who spends most of her day chatting on the phone to friends or doing online shopping. Or the nice chap in sales who is completely oblivious that the recent merger means his job is now obsolete. They all have Ostrich Syndrome. They couldn't see a pink slip coming if it was 8ft tall and glowing in the dark, screaming "you're fired!"

You want to avoid being in that second category at all costs. So I've compiled a handy list. If you can answer yes to THREE or more of these questions, you may want to think about sprucing up your résumé and dry-cleaning your best interview attire.

1. Are you no longer in the loop about, well, anything?

This is a huge telltale sign. Suddenly you're finding out about company news from the cleaning lady or the new girl in accounting. If you were formally in the know about all things business related, but now suffer from "the company's doing what??!" disease, the writing is probably on the wall.

2. Did you recently screw up big-time?

We're not talking a minor faux pas here. Did you lose money on an account that was previously bulletproof? Oh dear. Were you caught having sex on the boss's desk with the boss's spouse? That's probably not a career-enhancing move. Unless you're a real dope, you know if you have screwed up. And if you know, HR knows. It may not be the final nail in your coffin, but it's a nail in the coffin nonetheless.

3. Are people avoiding you at all costs?

Eye contact is difficult to make with someone if you know his or her head's on the chopping block. Small talk is just as tough. It's best just to avoid that person altogether. So if people are no longer doing that fun "stop 'n' chat" in the hall, or the coffee room empties when you arrive, then guess what . . . you may be a marked man or woman.

Read on for more.