Hey guys! Badass contributor Meredith here to remind you that pilot season is upon us! This time last year, the upcoming network fall lineup resembled a bleak landscape of dudes piled on top of bros, a wasteland for the badass babes among us, with tons of shows about how it's tough to be a man surrounded by women (Man Up, Last Man Standing) and a few shows about how women in the 60s were hot (Pan Am, Playboy Club). Slim pickin's. And what few woman-centric shows seemed promising, turned out to be either racist (2 Broke Girls) or twee-city (The New Girl), so I know better than to hold my breath that the shows I'm about to list for you will live up to their premise. Still, this week, three new network pilots were picked up, and all three have got me more than a little excited about the Fall 2012 ladies lineup.
SUPER FUN NIGHT, CBS
I absolutely love the sound of this! CBS has ordered a pilot called Super Fun Night, a sitcom starring the fully hilarious and original Rebel Wilson (Bridesmaids, Ghost Rider, tons of great stand-up, random Australian television) and two other as-yet uncast ladies who will embark on a "funcomfortable" quest to have a "super fun night" every Friday. That is an absolutely delightful concept! Presumably, every episode will take place on a Friday night, in a sort of serialized, stand-alone format, featuring the three ladies getting into ill-advised hijinks every week. I rather imagine, although this is conjecture, that the consequences of one week's caper will rarely affect the following week's episode, except during sweeps. At least, that's how I'd write it.
Off the top of my head dream casting, I'd love if her two friends were played by Heather Matarazzo (Welcome to the Dollhouse) and Alison Pill (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World). Ooh, or maybe Suzy Nakamura (10 Things I Hate About You show)! Possibly Tina Majorino (Veronica Mars), or Dana Davis (also 10 Things I Hate About You show) could be great, too. Oh, I can't decide! Who else would be good?
Two concerns: it will be multi-cam, and I have some serious concerns about multi-cam, laugh-tracked shows. Also, it's on CBS, so I fear a glut of racist/sexist/homophobic/weightist jokes. I really kind of wish this winning premise would air on any other network, but hey, maybe CBS is trying to improve? Just please don't let the showrunner be Michael Patrick King.
FIRST CUT, CW
The CW has ordered a pilot from Dan Jinks, the producer behind Pushing Daisies and American Beauty, and Jennie Snyder Urman, a writer on Gilmore Girls, called First Cut. It's a dram-com (is that a thing? Do people say that? I'm saying it.) about a new doctor who's happily leaving behind the world of school in which she was a total nerd, only to learn that being a nerdy adult in a hospital feels an awful lot like being a nerdy kid in high school. It's a cute premise, and I really do love Pushing Daisies and Gilmore Girls. Both shows had a wonderfully quirky Northern Exposure vibe, with endearingly oddball townies existing in a heightened reality, speaking impossibly quick and clever dialogue. Both shows also boasted an absolutely lovely aesthetic, very playful and theatrical, and I've always sort of lumped the two shows together in my mind (possibly because my friend Mandy hooked me on both). So I'm definitely interested in a new show springing from the braintrusts behind Pushing Daisies and Gilmore Girls.
That is--as long as the Powers That Be avoid any "adorkable" traps. Make this lead character legitimately nerdy. I don't want her to be a hot chick in glasses, you hear me? Heed my words!
Untitled Hilary Winston Project, NBC
Community writer Hilary Winston has written some of the best episodes ("Politics of Human Sexuality," "Beginner Pottery"), and she was also a writer on the super cute for some time My Name Is Earl. She's currently writing on Happy Endings, which I haven't seen, but people keep telling me to watch it. And I love this summary of her new pilot: "a shy woman seeks revenge on a fiancé that dumped her, with a little help from co-workers and friends." Uhm, that sounds GREAT, like a cross between Legally Blonde, Sabrina and Community, which I think we can all agree sounds pretty fab.
You can read about the other fall pilot pick-ups here. Which ones float your boat, ring your bell, or tickle your yawn reflex?
About the Author: Meredith is the managing editor of Badass Digest and the Alamo Drafthouse. She’s into writing, making stuff, starting dance parties, dressing in costume for the flimsiest of reasons, drinking beer and eating brunch.
