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Pilots Part One: Ladies and Gentlemen

March 02, 2007

As the ‘07 pilots get underway, we thought we would give you a brief look at the new shows your favorite channels have in the works. Networks love to identify shows by the fact that they'll appeal to "women" or "men." And this year is no exception. With the cancellation of shows like "3 Lbs" and "Day Break," networks are starting to realize that their audiences may be skewing a little more feminine than they had considered.

There are a large number of shows designed to cater to female fans. Take a look at our favorites.

ABC is definitely trying to play to women with their new line up of female-centric comedies. A middle class mom in the Midwest stars in the aptly named “The Middle.” “Miss/Guided” features a gal who becomes a counselor at her old high school. They’ve tapped Jayma Mays, from “Heroes”, to play a good girl swimming in a pool of corporate sharks for the show “Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office.” A hit-and-run victim tries to remember who she is in “Sam I Am.” While “See Jayne Run” tracks an investment banker and mom trying to be both. They top it off with a story of three single gals who decide that living together is better than living alone in the new “Traveling in Packs.”

CBS is banking on “The Rich Inner-Life of Penelope Cloud,” a show about a famously pessimistic author who decides to turn over a new, and happier, leaf.

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Pilots (Part Two): Laugh-track No More

Thanks to the successes of shows like "30 Rock" and "Ugly Betty," there are a growing number of single-camera comedies on the slate. Though there may be a shortage of cameras in the world that we’re not aware of, we think that the quicky humor this type of show is really taking root in TV. And not a moment too soon. Is this a sign that American viewers may finally be outgrowing the laughtrack?

ABC starts its contestants off with “American Family,” the tale of a seemingly perfect family who are desperately trying to hide the fact that they’re not. “Family of the Year” focuses on another stressed-out family, this time one that worries their chance of being named their town’s “Family of the Year” again will be taken away by the new guys on the block. “Carpoolers” follows a group of guys who ride to work together. And so does “The Call.” Except instead of heading to an office “The Call” follows a team of paramedics who are better at saving other than themselves. “The News” shows the weirder side of working in a Phoenix newsroom.

CBS isn’t about to be outdone. It’s offering “1321 Clover Street” which looks at the family who lives there. A writer moves into a Hollywood apartment more famous than he is in “The Captain.” But we’re really looking forward to when Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor appear on the small screen in an as yet untitled show about a young woman who defines the phrase “multi-tasker.”

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Pilots (Part Three): Brit Imports, Musicals, and the Supernatural

Our final installment in the TV Lover PIlot report are the remainders -- the weird shows that networks take a chance on hoping to discover the next great thing.

British imports abound in this year’s line-up with many networks turning across the Atlantic for fresh ideas with proven ratings.

ABC’s “Life on Mars” focuses on a baffled detective who wakes up in the 70s. “The Thick of It” tracks the trouble a Congressman and his staff get into and was written by “Arrested Development” writer, Richard Day. Lastly, they plan to bring over an adaptation of “Football Wive$” (the American title will have an “s”), a drama of the darker side of being married to an athlete.

Here's one we're excited about. CBS is hoping all has been forgiven since 1990's "Cop Rock" and have plans to try a musical series called “Viva Laughlin,” about a family attempting to run a Las Vegas casino.

NBC’s “I’m With Stupid” follows a man so desperate for a roof over his head that he moves into a home for the disabled. While their “The IT Crowd,” lets you in on what the IT guys really do all day.

Our catalog wouldn’t be complete without the Sci-Fi section. In a world where Lord of the Rings can rake in major Oscars, studios are learning that the fantastical has become marketable and their development is following the trend.

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