Idiot Box: Nets Float Potential New Shows

Nets Float Potential New Shows

\ Mar 15, 2018

3 min read

Spring is fast approaching, which means summer will be here before you know it, which means fall is practically upon us. Naturally, television networks are preparing for the new fall TV season by assembling scripts, casts and showrunners—and then throwing them all against the wall to see what sticks. So what crazy ideas do the networks have in the pipeline for potential fall TV series? Let’s take a look at some of the most interesting.

“Skinny Dip” is based on the novel by famed Florida crime writer Carl Hiaasen. Sarah Wright Olsen (“Marry Me,” “7th Heaven”) just signed on to the lead role of Joey Perrone, a trust fund baby whose charming yet shallow husband throws her overboard during an allegedly romantic anniversary cruise. Joey miraculously survives the ordeal, fortuitously washing up on a desert island inhabited by a former detective (Matt Barr, “Valor”), who helps her plot her revenge. The comic crime show is in development at the CW.

The CW has also lined up its remake of “Charmed” and its reboot of “Roswell.” The former supernatural saga stars Madeleine Mantock (“Into the Badlands”), Melonie Diaz (Fruitvale Station) and Sarah Jeffrey (Descendants) as the witchy sisters. The latter sci-fi soap stars Jeanine Mason (“Grey’s Anatomy”) as a young woman who returns to her hometown, only to find that her high school crush is a space alien.

“Blood & Treasure” is a potential CBS action drama starring Katia Winter (“Sleepy Hollow”), Michael James Shaw (“Limitless”) and James Callis (“Battlestar Galactica”). It centers on a “brilliant antiques expert” and a “cunning art thief” who team up to catch a “ruthless terrorist” who funds his attacks through stolen treasure.

“Central Park” comes from the creators of “Bob’s Burgers.” It’s an “animated musical comedy” starring Broadway baby Josh Gad (Frozen) which “tells the story of how a family of caretakers who live and work in Central Park, end up saving the park, and basically the world.” The show has already received a 2-season, 26-episode order over at Apple TV.

“Man of the House” sounds like the ne plus ultra in sitcoms—from its generic title to its “wacky” premise. Seems a teenage star quarterback finds himself suddenly the only male in a house full of females when his recently divorced mother moves in with her recently divorced sister and her daughters. Leslie Bibb (“Popular,” “American Housewife”) and Alyson Hannigan (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “How I Met Your Mother”) are tied to this ABC pilot.

“Steps” is an American remake of the Swedish sitcom “Bonus Family,” about four adults in three houses teaming up to raise three kids after two divorces. Kyle Bornheimer (“Casual”) and Ginnifer Goodwin (“Big Love,” “Once Upon a Time”) are tapped to headline the cast.

Dermot O’Leary (host of Britain’s “The X Factor”) has been announced as the host of “Man vs. Robot.” This potential competition series allows viewers to watch as “four teams take on the robots in a battle for supremacy.” Of course, this is in development at reality-competition-loving FOX.