World Courant
EXCLUSIVE: Again in Could, two weeks into the WGA strike, ABC picked up one new scripted collection for the 2023-34 season: Drew Goddard’s Excessive Potential starring Kaitlin Olson. In late September, two days after the tip of the WGA strike, the high-profile collection was pushed to a fall 2024 launch. Primetime-Panic
Your Full Information to Pilots and Straight-to-Collection orders
Because the anticipated restart of Hollywood manufacturing will get delayed additional and additional by the continued SAG-AFTRA strike, most different new scripted broadcast collection picked up final spring for the 2023-24 season are additionally trying to debut subsequent season.
I hear NBC and Fox are every anticipated to push each of their upcoming new scripted collection, initially focused for this coming midseason, to 2023-24. That features NBC’s office comedy St. Denis Medical, starring Wendi McLendon-Covey, and medical drama Dr. Wolf, headlined by Zachary Quinto, in addition to Fox’s medical drama Doc and lifeguard drama Rescue: Hello-Surf.
Moreover, two of CBS’ new collection, drama Matlock, headlined by Kathy Bates, and comedy Poppa’s Home, starring Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr., are headed to subsequent season, I hear.
In keeping with sources, The Good Spouse spinoff Elsbeth, starring Carrie Preston, and Tracker, toplined by Justin Hartley, stay on observe for midseason.
Reps for CBS, NBC and Fox declined remark.
As Deadline reported final week, returning collection will want between 3-6 weeks of prep and pre-production after the tip of the strike earlier than they will begin filming new episodes. For the brand new collection, that timeframe is longer as a result of elements like casting, set constructing and relocation.
With the tip of the SAG-AFTRA strike close to however not right here but, and the Thanksgiving and Christmas vacation breaks developing, new collection are going through extraordinarily tight manufacturing schedules to have the ability to ship episodes for a premiere in February or early March, a launch window that will permit for a significant freshman run throughout the broadcast season.
Given the stakes concerned, the networks are opting to delay some launches as an alternative of speeding new collection right into a crowded midseason subject the place they could fizzle or have too few episodes able to make an influence and develop a following.
The problem is the largest for Fox, which three years in the past shifted from a pilot to a straight-to-series mannequin on the drama aspect. In contrast to all different newly ordered broadcast scripted collection this season, Doc and Rescue: Hello-Surf didn’t produce pilots, so casting has to begin from scratch when the SAG-AFTRA strike is over.
Fox brass have been excessive on each initiatives, touting the franchise potential of the John Wells-produced Rescue: Hello-Surf, which was one of many first collection to open a writers room instantly after the tip of the WGA strike.
So, whereas back-and-forth with lead studios Sony TV (Doc) and Warner Bros. TV (Rescue: Hello-Surf) continues about this midseason, underneath the circumstances, a fall 2024 launch when the exhibits might be promoted throughout NFL and baseball protection, is taken into account extremely seemingly. The choice could be an April-Could premiere with no potent promotional platform obtainable.
CBS initially had Matlock, a reboot of the traditional collection, and Elsbeth on the autumn 2023 schedule, with Tracker and Poppa’s Home on faucet for midseason. As an alternative, NCIS: Sydney and repeats of Yellowstone and SEAL Crew have been filling the scripted void on the CBS schedule this fall left by the strikes-related manufacturing shutdown. Because of this, the community is confronted with the prospect of launching 4 new scripted collection inside a brief window midseason when viewers’ consideration would seemingly be drawn to the delayed return of all the favored returning broadcast collection.
The restricted shelf area in spring 2024 explains the choice to maneuver two of the 4 new exhibits to subsequent season.
For Matlock, which has began a writers room, there’s a further motive for the scheduling transfer that I hear the producers are absolutely on board with. The Matlock pilot, among the best obtained pilots internally in years, was filmed in Toronto whereas the collection manufacturing is relocating to Los Angeles and wishes further time to ramp up manufacturing, together with constructing units.
For Tracker, the aim is to maintain its extremely profitable post-Tremendous Bowl launch slot, with lead producing studio twentieth Tv making it a precedence to get manufacturing going as shortly as potential post-strike to make the high-profile supply date. Tracker was piloted in summer season 2022 and ordered to collection final December, so a delay to subsequent fall would make the hole between pilot and collection launch to greater than two years. (The opposite three new CBS collection are all produced by CBS Studios.)
ABC has guess on actuality programming, led by The Golden Bachelor, and NFL soccer this fall. Together with Fox, which had authentic scripted fare within the fall via its Sunday animated block, the 2 networks aren’t anticipated to launch any new live-action scripted collection this season. (Fox has new animated exhibits Krapopolis and Grimsburg.) That may be a main precedent in a decimated broadcast season that networks are attempting to salvage with partial seasons of their returning scripted collection.
Whereas NBC additionally seemingly will not air any of the brand new scripted collection it picked up via the 2023 pilot season as St. Denis Medical and Dr. Wolf transfer to fall, the community has two new scripted collection on the schedule in dramas Discovered and The Irrational, held from final season.
Each have accomplished properly, which ought to give hope to all the brand new exhibits earmarked for this season than at the moment are being pushed to the subsequent.
