With the writer’s strike avoided, the new TV pilot season looks all set to make a mark. Though most pilots won’t survive past the one or two episode mark, some have the potential to survive given the number of high profile names attached to these productions.
Though ABC Studios is backing over 20 new shows, the one that has our attention is by Shonda Rhimes, the executive producer of Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder and The Catch. The series is an untitled legal drama with actors Hope Davis, Vondie Curtis-Hall and Rege-Jean Page cast in primary roles.
The Hollywood Reporter describing the synopsis noted in a story: “Set in the Southern District of New York Federal Court, aka ‘The Mother Court,’ the legal drama follows brand-new lawyers working on opposite sides — both for the defense and the prosecution — as they handle the most high-profile and high-stakes cases in the country, all as their personal lives intersect.”
Another new TV series that has us excited is a medical drama by David Shore (who created the Hugh Laurie-led medical drama, House) and Daniel Dae Kim (Hawaii Five-O). Titled The Good Doctor, it tells the story of Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore), a young surgeon with Savant syndrome “who is recruited into the pediatric surgical unit of a prestigious hospital. Richard Schiff (The West Wing) will play Dr. Ira Glassman, President of the San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital. Glassman, a good man who wasn’t always a good man, is advocating for Murphy’s hire. He has mentored the young doctor since he was 16 and admits that Shaun is like a son to him, so Shaun’s appointment is very personal.”
Scheduled to release this year, the show is directed by Seth Gordon and based on a South Korean format.