A Plethora of Unaired Pilots
November 25, 2022 8:33 PM Subscribe
A Plethora of Unaired Pilots Warning: time destroyer. One YouTube user has posted over 50 unaired TV pilots.
For many, the holidays are a time for reflecting on what might have been, and what is best left to the past. Here's your chance to see a whole bunch of TV series that never saw a season.
For many, the holidays are a time for reflecting on what might have been, and what is best left to the past. Here's your chance to see a whole bunch of TV series that never saw a season.
Neat, thanks for sharing!
Lot's of murder mysteries, and shows that could just be named, "That dude" and "That dude again..." So far, I've enjoyed Wright Vs Wrong (Carrie Fisher! Debra Messing!) and part of Drew (sort of a knock-off on Psyche?)
posted by Toddles at 9:30 PM on November 25, 2022
Lot's of murder mysteries, and shows that could just be named, "That dude" and "That dude again..." So far, I've enjoyed Wright Vs Wrong (Carrie Fisher! Debra Messing!) and part of Drew (sort of a knock-off on Psyche?)
posted by Toddles at 9:30 PM on November 25, 2022
'Stella' is a show I'd watch!
posted by senor biggles at 9:31 PM on November 25, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by senor biggles at 9:31 PM on November 25, 2022 [4 favorites]
Well, the way they pick TV shows is, they make one show. That show's called a pilot. Then they show that one show to the people who pick shows, and on the strength of that one show they decide if they want to make more shows. Some get chosen and become television programs. Some don't, become nothing. She starred in one of the ones that became nothing.posted by kirkaracha at 9:42 PM on November 25, 2022 [5 favorites]
"Spark" has that guy from "Bridgerton" AND that girl from "The Good Doctor", plus alt-history-steampunk, class-divide-conflict all over the place, and a point of view on patents.
posted by amtho at 9:46 PM on November 25, 2022
posted by amtho at 9:46 PM on November 25, 2022
OK, it looks like actually only around 20 unaired pilots. I missed that there are dog videos, concert videos, etc.
If any mod wants to correct the post to say "over 20" instead of "almost a hundred", I'd be grateful.
posted by amtho at 9:50 PM on November 25, 2022
If any mod wants to correct the post to say "over 20" instead of "almost a hundred", I'd be grateful.
posted by amtho at 9:50 PM on November 25, 2022
Mod note: Changed to "over 50"; would you rather "around 60"?
posted by taz (staff) at 1:02 AM on November 26, 2022
posted by taz (staff) at 1:02 AM on November 26, 2022
Related: I do enjoy spending the occasional afternoon with MaximumFun's Dead Pilots Society
posted by MengerSponge at 3:07 AM on November 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by MengerSponge at 3:07 AM on November 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
Thanks for this great tasting menu. So far, "Drew" has the best combo of script and execution. I need to carve out some time to see all of them.
posted by joetrip at 3:39 AM on November 26, 2022
posted by joetrip at 3:39 AM on November 26, 2022
Amazing to think about all that work and money just went *poof*. Not picked up, all that for nothing. All of those pilots together, how many millions of dollars is that?
posted by zardoz at 3:52 AM on November 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by zardoz at 3:52 AM on November 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
Zardoz- my exact thought.
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 4:38 AM on November 26, 2022
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 4:38 AM on November 26, 2022
"Drew" is great!
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 4:48 AM on November 26, 2022
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 4:48 AM on November 26, 2022
DREW (2016) - An unknown woman falls from a New York City rooftop. We later learn she was Bess Marvin, artisanal pickle-shop owner and secret anti-drug crusader, and one of Nancy Drew's best friends. Fast-forward to Nancy (the spunky and engaging Sarah Shahi) picking up a Lyft client (she recently quit the NYPD).
Bess's death was an apparent suicide but - she was pregnant at the time and about to open a restaurant so there are lots of suspicious circumstances. This generated a cloud of drama which is why Nancy quit the force - turns out she used to be partners with old friend George Fayne (the sharp and always watchable Vanessa Ferlito) who's about to marry girlfriend/nurse Stephanie (the engaging Ashley Blaine Featherson-Jenkins from 'Dear White People'). Nancy and George team up under the radar to investigate Bess's death while trying to resolve their anger and interpersonal issues following their friend's tragedy. Also features the fabulous Debra Monk as Hannah, who's a housekeeper AND a paralegal recently returned to the Drew family following Nancy's adopted mother's passing. Nancy in this iteration was adopted by dad (the great Anthony Edwards) who's now with a 30-something pregnant fiancee. WHEW.
Highly recommended.
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 5:11 AM on November 26, 2022
Bess's death was an apparent suicide but - she was pregnant at the time and about to open a restaurant so there are lots of suspicious circumstances. This generated a cloud of drama which is why Nancy quit the force - turns out she used to be partners with old friend George Fayne (the sharp and always watchable Vanessa Ferlito) who's about to marry girlfriend/nurse Stephanie (the engaging Ashley Blaine Featherson-Jenkins from 'Dear White People'). Nancy and George team up under the radar to investigate Bess's death while trying to resolve their anger and interpersonal issues following their friend's tragedy. Also features the fabulous Debra Monk as Hannah, who's a housekeeper AND a paralegal recently returned to the Drew family following Nancy's adopted mother's passing. Nancy in this iteration was adopted by dad (the great Anthony Edwards) who's now with a 30-something pregnant fiancee. WHEW.
Highly recommended.
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 5:11 AM on November 26, 2022
Amazing to think about all that work and money just went *poof*. Not picked up, all that for nothing. All of those pilots together, how many millions of dollars is that?
Way back from in the day (well, my day, anyway) networks would actually air pilots occasionally. I suspect it was so they might recoup some of the costs (via adverts) as well as to get some read on whether audiences might like it (via ratings) They probably did this for pilots that they were on the fence for.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:11 AM on November 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
Way back from in the day (well, my day, anyway) networks would actually air pilots occasionally. I suspect it was so they might recoup some of the costs (via adverts) as well as to get some read on whether audiences might like it (via ratings) They probably did this for pilots that they were on the fence for.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:11 AM on November 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
Was really hoping they'd have some David Milch stuff. Alas...
posted by dobbs at 6:29 AM on November 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by dobbs at 6:29 AM on November 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
Not just money and time wasted, but all those dreams too. All those actors and writers who thought they'd got the break that might lead to something at last. Imagine investing all that hope in something and then discovering they're not even going to air the pilot.
posted by Paul Slade at 6:50 AM on November 26, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by Paul Slade at 6:50 AM on November 26, 2022 [3 favorites]
Imagine investing all that hope in something and then discovering they're not even going to air the pilot.
Reality is a bit different, though. Do all those people hope the project will succeed? Of course they do. But, keep in mind, all those people, actors, producers, writers, set hands, camera operators, etc. etc. understand a pilot possibly (probably, in fact) failing to be optioned/picked-up is part of the business.
Making a pilot is just another part of the job. Most of them will move on to the next job pretty quickly, especially given there is usually a large time gap between when a pilot is shot and when it’s shown to a network. The production crew et.al. will almost certainly have moved on to the next project. The producers/writers/directors/etc. will usually have multiple projects,in various states of completion, going at any one time. Actors, too, will have their eyes on other jobs.
No one working in television is hooking all their dreams and futures on this one idea hitting big. In a good many cases, it’s just the idea that gets pitched before any money whatsoever is burned on actually producing a pilot.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:04 AM on November 26, 2022 [6 favorites]
Reality is a bit different, though. Do all those people hope the project will succeed? Of course they do. But, keep in mind, all those people, actors, producers, writers, set hands, camera operators, etc. etc. understand a pilot possibly (probably, in fact) failing to be optioned/picked-up is part of the business.
Making a pilot is just another part of the job. Most of them will move on to the next job pretty quickly, especially given there is usually a large time gap between when a pilot is shot and when it’s shown to a network. The production crew et.al. will almost certainly have moved on to the next project. The producers/writers/directors/etc. will usually have multiple projects,in various states of completion, going at any one time. Actors, too, will have their eyes on other jobs.
No one working in television is hooking all their dreams and futures on this one idea hitting big. In a good many cases, it’s just the idea that gets pitched before any money whatsoever is burned on actually producing a pilot.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:04 AM on November 26, 2022 [6 favorites]
I remember a decade ago, they filmed a pilot here in Pittsburgh for Locke and Key with Miranda Otto and produced by Steven Spielberg. It was a big deal because it was such a big production for this area and then it never aired. The recent Netflix version of the show has nothing to do with this previous version.
posted by octothorpe at 7:53 AM on November 26, 2022
posted by octothorpe at 7:53 AM on November 26, 2022
Making a pilot is just another part of the job. Most of them will move on to the next job pretty quickly, especially given there is usually a large time gap.between when a pilot is shot and when it’s shown to a network
Patrick Stewart famously did the TNG pilot fully expecting it to not be picked up.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:12 AM on November 26, 2022 [4 favorites]
Patrick Stewart famously did the TNG pilot fully expecting it to not be picked up.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:12 AM on November 26, 2022 [4 favorites]
I work in film and tv, pilots are definately just part of the job. Most episodic of TV and streaming is shot on a 8 to 10 month schedule with a gap in between. The studios fill the gap with pilots, they are paying for the soundstage regardless because they can't strike the sets they need for the next season. Often the sets just get a quick coat of paint and a redress and bam, Miami mansion is now upstate New York mansion with a suspiciously familiar layout.
Some times after shooting they pilot move the production to a different city. Sometimes the show you've been working on gets moved and now you are shooting the run of the pilot. Either way as long as you are working it's all good.
posted by Pink Fuzzy Bunny at 8:22 AM on November 26, 2022 [7 favorites]
Some times after shooting they pilot move the production to a different city. Sometimes the show you've been working on gets moved and now you are shooting the run of the pilot. Either way as long as you are working it's all good.
posted by Pink Fuzzy Bunny at 8:22 AM on November 26, 2022 [7 favorites]
Artisanal Pickle Shop
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 9:05 AM on November 26, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 9:05 AM on November 26, 2022 [3 favorites]
taz - Thank you! That makes me feel a lot better, and it's spot on. (The word "almost" in the post could be removed if someone revisits this, though).
posted by amtho at 9:35 AM on November 26, 2022
posted by amtho at 9:35 AM on November 26, 2022
Yes, it's sad when people put a lot of effort and passion into something that ultimately doesn't work out, but it's also wonderful that people can _try_ things that are fully realized, in a way, even if they're not totally sure they will work out.
I actually love that so many of these exist. All the series that people love because they're fresh/different/explore new territory couldn't have been made if every single series was all (a whole season of episodes) or nothing (too weird, we're not sure people will like it, so we can't possibly fund a whole season).
The freedom to try and then fail is what gives artists freedom.
posted by amtho at 9:44 AM on November 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
I actually love that so many of these exist. All the series that people love because they're fresh/different/explore new territory couldn't have been made if every single series was all (a whole season of episodes) or nothing (too weird, we're not sure people will like it, so we can't possibly fund a whole season).
The freedom to try and then fail is what gives artists freedom.
posted by amtho at 9:44 AM on November 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
Very cool to get so many glimpses of shows-that-almost-were -- you could play a version of fantasy baseball/football with this sort of thing, putting together a set of alternate TV network lineups for a particular fall season and trying to play out how the Nielsen ratings and the Emmy nominations would go.
BTW for those of you who enjoy science fiction, the unaired pilot for an adaptation of Global Frequency, from 2004, made its way onto BitTorrent and caused a sensation. The adaptation was written by John Rogers, who would later go on to do Leverage, and you can see a bunch of the same themes in the Global Frequency retrospective.
posted by brainwane at 9:50 AM on November 26, 2022 [3 favorites]
BTW for those of you who enjoy science fiction, the unaired pilot for an adaptation of Global Frequency, from 2004, made its way onto BitTorrent and caused a sensation. The adaptation was written by John Rogers, who would later go on to do Leverage, and you can see a bunch of the same themes in the Global Frequency retrospective.
Also, in completely honest retrospect, what the hell was I thinking? It's a show about how the institutions around us have failed us, and we live in a world of chaos and death, held back only by borderline sociopaths. The HAPPY ending is our hero shoots an innocent man in the face. Oh yeah, slot us right in after Gilmore Girls.You can often find the pilot on video streaming sites so if the link I gave goes down, search around a bit to find another location.
posted by brainwane at 9:50 AM on November 26, 2022 [3 favorites]
Making a pilot is just another part of the job. Most of them will move on to the next job pretty quickly, especially given there is usually a large time gap.between when a pilot is shot and when it’s shown to a network
Patrick Stewart famously did the TNG pilot fully expecting it to not be picked up.
Jeffrey Hunter, the original actor for Christopher Pike, passed on the second Star Trek pilot ("Where No Man Has Gone Before") after doing "The Cage," because he decided to concentrate more on his movie career. Sadly, he died after being injured on a movie set, which makes you wonder what might have been if he hadn't changed his mind.
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:39 AM on November 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
Patrick Stewart famously did the TNG pilot fully expecting it to not be picked up.
Jeffrey Hunter, the original actor for Christopher Pike, passed on the second Star Trek pilot ("Where No Man Has Gone Before") after doing "The Cage," because he decided to concentrate more on his movie career. Sadly, he died after being injured on a movie set, which makes you wonder what might have been if he hadn't changed his mind.
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:39 AM on November 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
Thank you for the Global Frequency info—someone I knew made a great little fan vid of the pilot and I really wanted to see it but didn’t have bit torrent capabilities at the time.
There have been so many pilots I’ve seen that I was truly excited about and they never made it to series. Looking forward to sifting through these to see what might break my heart next.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 11:55 AM on November 26, 2022
There have been so many pilots I’ve seen that I was truly excited about and they never made it to series. Looking forward to sifting through these to see what might break my heart next.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 11:55 AM on November 26, 2022
Oh, I mourn the loss of Spark. Alternate history is one of my jams and they've done an excellent job of setting up the main characters and all the conflicts that will drive the (nonexistent) first season.
Didn't realize that gas and coal could produce so many pretty people, though....
posted by Mogur at 4:54 AM on November 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
Didn't realize that gas and coal could produce so many pretty people, though....
posted by Mogur at 4:54 AM on November 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
I kind of like After Party. The oh-so-shocking humor is so mild in retrospect, and it has Eric André being unusually normal.
posted by sixohsix at 12:55 AM on November 28, 2022
posted by sixohsix at 12:55 AM on November 28, 2022
I've now had a chance to watch a number of these, and I've yet to find one that makes me think, "Why didn't this get picked up? It's awesome!"
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:52 AM on December 13, 2022
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:52 AM on December 13, 2022
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