In a true blast from the past, NBC has ordered eight pilots, up from three each last year and the year before. |
It’s quite the turnaround from past years, as we’ve seen an industrywide downturn in orders of pilots — that first episode of a prospective TV show that allows networks to evaluate its merits and make any necessary tweaks before committing to a full season. |
Pilots used to be big business — particularly in Los Angeles, which was the center of pilot production and reaped the economic benefits of so much filming happening in the region. |
But as streaming services entered the picture, their drive to add content to their platforms led to more straight-to-series orders. Faced with fiercer competition, executives started to order shows out of season to try to lock down projects from big-name actors, writers or producers — before they could be snapped up by a streamer. |
And then, of course, came the pandemic and the strikes by writers and actors in 2023, which upended the TV business (and film industry) all together. |
Several years later, with most of those repercussions in the rearview mirror and the need for a new generation of hits, the time was right for NBC to give pilots a second look. |
On Monday, NBC will kick off the television industry’s upfront week by showcasing its upcoming entertainment, sports and news programming for advertisers at the famed Radio City Music Hall in New York. |
I spoke with Lisa Katz, president of scripted content for NBC and Peacock, and Erin Underhill, president of Universal Television, about NBC’s return to pilots. This year, the network ordered five dramas and three comedies, all of which have finished production and were filmed in the U.S. in L.A., New York and Atlanta, which created 4,000 jobs across the three sites. All were produced by Universal Television. |
This year was the first time the network had “all of the external factors working in our favor,” Katz told me, citing labor stability among other favorable conditions, including good scripts. |
“We always have believed in pilots as being a really valuable step in the development process to continue to see how stories work, to see how casts come together,” she said. “And as we were looking at the holes and looking at the schedule, we felt like these were the right number of shots to take. It’s a way to really pressure test development and to make sure that we have the strongest options available.” |
Ordering pilots can also help save money, she added. |
“Ultimately it can just make you more prepared for the future in a way where you’re not having to go back and reshoot things, or you’re able to just spend some more time working things out,” Katz said. |
The drama pilots range from a reboot of “The Rockford Files” to “What the Dead Know,” about a death investigator, and “Key Witness,” which follows a psychologist who consults with the FBI and focuses on victims. |
“The broadcast audience tends to really respond when they have a story that they can start and finish during the course of an episode,” Katz said. “And I think the procedurals lend themselves more to that.” |
The three comedies — “Sunset P.I.”; “Newlyweds,” about a free-spirited woman and upright professor who marry after a whirlwind courtship; and “Jill & Ginger,” starring Jane Lynch and Katey Sagal — were all filmed in L.A. on the Universal lot, with some work also out in the city. (“Sunset P.I.” received a tax credit through the state’s production incentive program.) |
Two of the pilots are multi-camera shows, which are shot in front of a live audience and can benefit from the plethora of comedy writers who live in the area and serve as punch-up writers. |
“The ecosystem of L.A. really thrives with those creative voices and that creative comedy talent in particular,” Underhill told me. “This was really the hub for everyone that we wanted to be a part of making these pilots hopefully as great as they could be.” |
‘Narnia’ in theaters |
Last week, Netflix announced that director Greta Gerwig’s “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew” is getting a wide theatrical release for more than a month. The film will be released Feb. 12 and will hit the streaming platform April 2. |
The move is a departure from the streamer’s typical course of business. Usually, Netflix will launch films on its streaming platform, though it has done brief theatrical runs for dozens of films, usually those that are awards contenders or for marketing purposes. |
Over the years, Netflix raised the ire of theater owners for its distribution strategy, as well as previous comments from co-Chief Executive Ted Sarandos, in which he called the theatrical business “outdated.” But since Netflix made its ultimately unsuccessful bid for Warner Bros. last year, the company’s executives have gone on a charm offensive, talking to theater owners about its theatrical ambitions. |
Sarandos pledged in February to maintain a 45-day theatrical window for Warner Bros.’ films, if the streamer had prevailed in its quest for the storied studio. And ahead of this year’s CinemaCon trade convention in Las Vegas, he met with a group of theater operators, a discussion AMC Chief Executive Adam Aron told me was “introductory in nature.” |
Does this mean Netflix is changing its tune? A Netflix spokesperson said the “Narnia” news did not signify a “change in policy.” But theatrical runs may be one way to entice filmmakers to work with the streamer. Keep in mind, Netflix also said it would never get into live events or run commercials, so we’ll have to see. |
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Number of the week |
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Twenty years after the original film premiered, “The Devil Wears Prada 2” opened to a massive $233.6 million in worldwide box office revenue. The movie made $77 million domestically. |
Women constituted the majority of the audience for “The Devil Wears Prada 2” this weekend, representing 71% of moviegoers, according to data from EntTelligence. The strong showing highlights the demand for female-focused films, which have been few and far between, even after billion-dollar hits like 2023’s “Barbie” showed how much money could be made by targeting female moviegoers. |
Recent movies targeted at women include last year’s “Wicked: For Good,” Taylor Swift’s “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl” and “The Housemaid.” |
What I’m watching |
I’m now starting Season 2 of the Netflix sports comedy “Running Point,” a fun complement to the few NBA playoff and WNBA preseason games I’ve caught in the last week. |
