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TV Studios Bring Back Pilots
It’s been a minute // Illustration by Kate Walker
TV networks, cable brands, and streamers are returning to the once tried-and-true strategy for developing shows: pilots.
The Big Picture: Prior to the streaming revolution, networks would often order over 100 pilots to work out the kinks before either committing to a season or getting out early. It was a smart, economical way to ensure shows were put through the wringer before being given a hefty investment. With Peak TV over and the market contracting, bringing back pilots could give more shows a fighting chance to air.
Behind The Scenes: According to Variety, the new (old) motto in TV seems to be “try it before you buy it”… well, the whole season, that is.
HBO Max recently ordered two pilots — Jeremy Carver’s cop drama American Blue and Greg Berlanti and Bash Doran’s family drama How To Survive Without Me.
Hulu also ordered a pilot from Berlanti and Doran — a drama called Foster Dade. Additionally, it’s developing a pilot for Ryan Coogler’s update of The X-Files.
NBC is taking the biggest swing with the strategy, ordering eight pilots, including a reboot of The Rockford Files from Mike Daniels.
Final Decision: TV studio chiefs say the desire to return to pilots stems from wanting to make shows that have more episodes and can turn around seasons quicker than the typical premium streaming show — think the multi-year waits for series like Severance and Stranger Things. Sarah Aubrey, who heads up programming for HBO Max, says there’s an eagerness to make more shows like The Pitt, which is the most broadcast-type of show HBO has had in recent memory (and still wins Emmys).
So far, the pilot orders are paying off. Hulu ordered two pilots (Nick Paley’s Phony and Elgin James’ reboot of Prison Break) to full seasons last year, FX did the same with Peter Gould’s Disinherited and a spinoff of Snowfall, and Netflix even joined the trend (a sequel series to A Different World).
Next Season: It wouldn’t be surprising if a streamer starts letting users vote on which pilots should go to series in an attempt to build a fan base for projects the company may not be fully sold on yet.
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Today’s email was written by David Vendrell.
Edited by Nick Comney. Polled and Copy-edited by Kait Cunniff.
Published by Darline Salazar.