CBS UNVEILS SLATE OF PILOTS FOR FALL
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- A week after the rest of the pack held its meetings with advertisers to offer a peek at what?s in development for the fall season, CBS yesterday unveiled its roster of new shows under consideration.
| James Woods plays a cutthroat lawyer in 'Shark." |
Off the big screen
The network is evaluating several dramas that bring big screen actors to TV. In ?Smith,? Ray Liotta stars as a thief who leads a crew of career criminals as they carry out big-stake heists; in ?Shark,? Spike Lee directs James Woods as a cutthroat lawyer who leaves his practice as a defense attorney to work for the Los Angeles D.A.?s high-profile crime unit; and Stanley Tucci plays a gifted but troubled brain surgeon in a still unnamed drama.
CBS has several ensemble dramas in the works, as well. Julia Ormond, Peter Strauss, Andrew McCarthy and Jason Behr star in ?The Way,? a show about a family that has achieved its wealth and prestige through witchcraft. ?Waterfront,? starring Joe Pantoliano, Mary Stuart Masterson, William Baldwin and Larenz Tate, tells the story of a charismatic but ethically challenged mayor of Providence. David Crane, co-creator of NBC?s ?Friends,? is behind the ensemble drama ?The Class,? which follows the lives of several 20-somethings who attended grade school together but followed different paths until they were reunited many years later.
Other prospective shows explore dark themes. ?Jericho? depicts a small town in Kansas that becomes isolated from the rest of America when a baffling mushroom cloud appears on the horizon. ?Orpheus? is about a young man who falls in love with a woman, Mena Suvari, who is a member of a mysterious cult-like organization.
Set in the capital
Washington is the locale for several shows. ?Company Town,? starring Sherry Stringfield, Blair Underwood and Micheal Michele, takes place in a D.C. neighborhood that seems serene but is home to government operatives who have dangerous jobs and secrets. For those who miss ?Dawson?s Creek? there are two programs -- one comedy, one drama -- both set in Washington and both starring a ?Dawson?s Creek? alum. Joshua Jackson stars with Kevin Pollak and Alan Tudyk in a law firm drama (still unnamed) created by two of the driving forces behind the program ?CSI.? James Van Der Beek stars with Jane Krakowski and Jay Harrington in a comedy about backstabbing and infighting called ?Sex, Power, Love & Politics.?
Other comedies include: ?Play Nice,? the story of a dysfunctional family starring Fred Willard and Swoosie Kurtz; ?The Angriest Man in Suburbia,? which is about a Manhattan transplant in Southern California; and an untitled project about a man and his mother in Queens, produced by Paul Reiser and stars Mercedes Ruehl and Bobby Cannavale.
