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TV Writing Fellowships: The Big Six

TV Writing Fellowships: The Big Six

UPDATED FOR 2024

We all know that staffing season is right around the corner, but a great way to learn more about the TV writing industry while simultaneously get a major push in “breaking into it” is by getting selected into one of the main TV writing fellowships (AKA diversity writers program) out there (not just using TV writing contests). It’s also the number one answer when it comes to “how to get into writing for television”. Many TV studios that have writing programs in English provide aspiring writers with valuable opportunities to develop their skills and gain industry experience.

Although several lists of TV fellowships have been posted here and there, I didn’t find an exhaustive one listing both the current application requirements for 2024, as well as the correct submission period (plus other info like eligibility, number of fellows selected, etc.). So here is one.

For future reference, I have also included screenwriting fellowships whose deadlines have already past.
Note that the listed application requirements for the studio writing programs exclude the obvious signed agreements/application forms that must always be completed. In addition, I did not include the physical details of the submission process such as number of copies of scripts required, shipping address, etc. (all of it can be found on the official page of the programs).

CBS Writers Mentoring Program

NEW: Learn all about the CBS Writers Mentoring Program from its supervisor!
CBS Mentoring Program
Application Webpage
The focus of this six month program is on opening doors: providing opportunities to build relationships with network executives and show runners; to support new and emerging writers in their efforts to improve their craft; and to develop the interpersonal skills necessary to break in and succeed.
The Writers Mentoring Program (or CBS Writing Fellowship and CBS Diversity Program) is not employment and there is no monetary compensation. It is, instead, a structured program of career development, support, and personal access to executives and decision-making processes, with the goal of preparing aspiring writers for later employment opportunities in television.
Each participant will be teamed with two different mentors.
One is a show mentor who is a senior-level writer on a current CBS drama or comedy series. This relationship builds over the course of the Program and is focused on helping the participant with creative feedback on their writing as well as help and advice on career goals.
The other is a CBS network or studio executive with whom they will meet on a regular basis, to discuss their work, get creative feedback on their material and get advice and support in furthering their career.
Once a week, participants will be invited to attend a small workshop-style meeting with various CBS show runners and other industry professionals. Speakers include executive producers, agents, managers, development and current executives and others. The purpose of these gatherings is for participants to gain a better understanding of how the business works from many different perspectives as well as creating the opportunity to make critical networking connections.
It’s been found that in order to derive the greatest benefit from the Program, participants should be available to 1) attend a once a week (evening) workshop and 2) attend meetings or observe in various situations for a minimum of five full days (not necessarily in sequence) over the course of the six-month Program.
Number of applicants selected: Up to 10
Submission period: April 1, 2024 – May 1, 2024
Dates of program: October 2024 – April 2025
Eligibility: The primary focus of The CBS Diversity Institute’s Writers Mentoring Program is to provide access and opportunities for talented and motivated diverse writers with a focus on writers of color. Aspiring diverse writers with a strong desire to write for CBS television series are encouraged to apply. You must be 21 or older to be eligible.
Application requirements:
– One half-hour or hour spec script based on a primetime network, cable or online series that aired new episodes during the 2023-2024 season
– One original work of writing (original pilot, screenplay, stage play, short fiction story). The original sample should be similar in tone to the spec sample.
– Current resume or short biographical summary
– Letter of interest
Cost: Free

Walt Disney Entertainment Writing Program (FKA Disney Television Writing Program and Disney/ABC TV Writing Program)

NEW: Learn all about the Disney ABC Writing Program from its supervisor!
ABC Writing Program
Application Webpage
The Walt Disney Entertainment Writing Program (formerly known as the Disney Television Writing Program, and informally known as the Disney writing fellowship or Disney ABC TV Writing Program) is designed to expose aspiring writers to key executives, producers and literary representatives – all essential in the pursuit of a writing career. Additionally, while in the program, writers have the opportunity to work one-on-one with a current programming or development executive to create spec scripts of series from the current broadcast season. The ultimate goal of the ABC Writing Fellowship is to prepare and nurture the writers for a professional writing career.
Number of applicants selected: Up to 8
Submission period: May 1, 2024 – June 3, 2024 (11:59 PM PST deadline)
Dates of program: January 2025 – January 2026
Eligibility: Applicants must be at least 18 years old and have US employment eligibility. Prior professional work experience in the entertainment industry is recommended. Post college experience preferred. Although one completed script is required for consideration, the ideal candidates should have a body of work consisting of no less than two spec scripts and at least one original sample. If candidate advances to final stages of interview process, the review of additional scripts and referrals from working entertainment industry professionals will be required.
Application requirements:
– Two original pilot scripts that capture the writer’s unique tone, style and point of view. They must be live-action content; animation samples of any form are not accepted. The samples should also tonally translate to the type of programming broadcast on WDT.
– Current resume
– An autobiographical summary
– An essay reflecting “the applicant’s unique life experiences and personal stories which will demonstrate the writer’s ability to make distinct contributions to a writers’ room.”
– (optional) Letters of recommendation from entertainment industry professionals. The letters must be written on your behalf by working entertainment industry professionals who can discuss your potential as a professional television staff writer.
Cost: Free

FOX Writers Lab

NOTE: It is still TBD if the Fox Writers Lab will have a 2024 edition.
Fox Writers Lab
Application Webpage
Writers selected for the FOX Writers Lab (FKA FOX Diversity Writer’s Initiative) will receive feedback and guidance on their scripts through interactive “master classes” and will engage in guest speaker sessions with experienced writers, showrunners and directors. Upon successful completion of the program, participants will receive priority staffing meetings for the established Fox Writers Lab Staff Writer position on Fox entertainment productions.
Number of applicants selected: Up to 8
Submission period: Strong possibility that there isn’t a 2024 edition of the Fox Writers Lab.
Eligibility: FWL is for emerging writers and/or previously staffed, produced, or published writers who have a strong command of their craft and who are deeply committed to pursuing or sustaining a professional writing career. Writers who have had pilots produced are not eligible to apply.
Application requirements:
– One original thirty-minute or one-hour comedy or drama pilot television script
– Three original loglines for additional projects
– Two letters of recommendation
– Personal statement
– Current resume
Cost: Free

NBC TV Writers Program (FKA NBC/Universal Writers on the Verge)

NEW: Learn all about the NBC Writers on the Verge program from its director!
Writers on the Verge
Application Webpage
The NBC Launch TV Writers Program (formerly known as NBC Writers on the Verge, or informally known as NBC Writers Program, NBC Writing Fellowship, NBC Fellowship Program) is a 12-week program focused on polishing writers and readying them for a staff writer position on a television series. The program will consist of two night classes, which will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays (7-10pm), weekly at NBC in Universal City, CA. Once accepted, students must attend all classes and turn in all written assignments.
Classes concentrate on creating an exceptional spec script and understanding the dynamics of pitching oneself in the television industry. Writers are given the chance to interact with industry players ranging from network executives to showrunners to agents and receive valuable feedback on their work and pitch style. The NBC TV Writers Program is a prestigious initiative that provides aspiring writers with invaluable opportunities to learn and grow in the field.
Number of applicants selected: Up to 8
Submission period: May 1, 2024 – May 31, 2024 (11:59 PM PST deadline)
Dates of program: Late September 2024 – Mid-January 2025
Eligibility: Anybody can apply to the NBC Writers Fellowship. The program is especially looking for writers who are “almost there” but need that final bit of preparation with their writing and personal presentation skills. They particularly encourage writers of diverse backgrounds to apply.
Application requirements:
– One half-hour or hour spec script based on a primetime network, cable or online series that aired new episodes during the 2023-2024 season (on their accepted show list)
– Two short essay questions (provided when application goes live)
– Current resume
Cost: Free

Nickelodeon Writing Fellowship AKA Nickelodeon Writing Program

Nick Fellowship
Application Webpage
Operating in a three-phased structure, the Nick Fellowship provides a salaried position for up to one year and offers hands-on experience writing spec scripts and pitching story ideas in both live action and animation television.
This three-phased structure allows fellows an opportunity to nurture relationships with creators, network executives, line producers, head writers, showrunners and story editors.
As part of their script writing, each fellow will be assigned to an Executive in Charge of Production and have an opportunity to write a spec script for an on-air Nickelodeon show.
In addition, all fellows are integrated into the activities of both the development and production departments. This allows the fellows an opportunity to attend storyboard pitches, notes meetings, records, table reads, show pitches and show tapings, all while being exposed to top creators and key production crews. It’s one of the fellowships for writers with strong on-hand access to the production process (so more than just one of those TV writing workshops).
There are two creative avenues to pursue: the General Track (12-months) and the Preschool Track (6-months). The Preschool Track was created to develop writers specifically interested in writing and/or creating shows for the preschool demographic.
Number of applicants selected: Up to 4
Submission period: January 2, 2024 – January 31, 2024 (11:59PM PST deadline)
Dates of program: October 2024 – October 2025
Eligibility: Applicants must be at least 18 years old and have US employment eligibility.
Application requirements:
– One half-hour comedic spec script based on a primetime network, cable or online live-action or animation series that aired new episodes during the 2023-2024 season (the accepted show list for each track is listed on their website)
– Current resume
– Short biography (500 words or less)
– Two essay questions (each 75 words or less)
Cost: Free

WB Writers’ Workshop

NEW: Learn all about the Warner Bros. Writers’ Workshop from its director!
WB Writers Workshop
Application Webpage
The Warner Bros. Television Writers’ Workshop (or WB Writing Fellowship) consists of three components, all geared towards preparing the writer for a successful career in television writing.
Lectures: Weekly lectures feature guest speakers currently working in television and include a mix of showrunners, directors, actors and agents. Each seminar will teach a new skill essential for surviving and excelling in a writers’ room as a staff writer and beyond.
Simulated Writers’ Room: After the lectures, the Workshop participants are divided into smaller groups for an intensive writing experience. Each participant will be required to complete a new spec script under the same deadlines found on a show currently in production. How participants perform during this exercise will determine whether they will be chosen for a possible staffing position on a Warner Bros. show.
Staffing: Upon completion of the program, Studio executives will help participants, who pass the Writers’ Room, obtain a staff position on a Warner Bros. television show currently in production. We can’t guarantee you will get staffed, but we will get your material in front of the people who make the ultimate decisions – the showrunners.
Number of applicants selected: Up to 10
Submission period: May 1, 2024 – May 31, 2024 (11:59 PM PST deadline)
Dates of program: October 2024 – March 2025
Eligibility: Applicants must have US employment eligibility.
Application requirements:
– One half-hour or hour spec script based on a primetime network, cable or online series that aired new episodes during the 2023-2024 season. (The specced TV show must be listed on their official website.) Applicants may submit up to two specs.
– Current resume
– A one-page composition telling “why you want to be a television writer and how your background will add a unique perspective to television”
Cost: Free

Pilot Pick-Up Review (NBC) – 2011-2012 Season

Development season is right now, and with the scripts picked to pilot about to be shot, the next best thing besides watching the finished product is reading them. As well as reviewing them. I’ll also venture a guess as to whether I think they’ll go to series or not (all of which is announced as usual at the Upfronts). So here goes.

On we go with NBC, and a slate all over the place.
After another exec reshuffle, Greenblatt began heading last November the original programming development, and already some big changes are getting around the network. Bigger and better seems to be the drama motto while the comedies are staying in touch with classic themes (albeit a tad edgier than usual). Once again, the Peacock wants to redefine itself.

Dramas (One-hour)
17th Precinct (Ronald D. Moore)
Logline: A dramatic series set against a magical world where the ordinary laws of science don’t apply. The action takes place in a city called Excelsior, which is run by sophisticated yet elemental magic. The police solve crimes and bring the accused before judges that offer highly subjective verdicts. But there’s a threat brewing to this way of life – a group of terrorists called The Stoics, who want to eradicate magic and replace it with the tyranny of science.
With: Jamie Bamber, James Callis, Stockard Channing, Tricia Helfer, Kristin Kreuk, Matthew Long, Esai Morales, Eamonn Walker
My thoughts:
It’s no Battlestar Galactica, that’s for sure. The best way to describe it succinctly would be to say it’s CSI, with magic instead of tech.
17th Precinct wasn’t overtly bad, it was just…okay. I don’t really know why but the world felt much less dense than his previous shows. The casting is obviously amazing but that’s never the be-all end-all.
With all of that said, I honestly doubt there’s an audience for this on broadcast television, let alone NBC. It might have worked on, say, Syfy, but it’s doubtful it’ll play well on NBC.
People don’t watch procedurals for the escapism science-fiction or fantasy provides, they watch procedurals for the nitty-gritty aspect of it and realism it provides. At the end of the episode, the bad guy is caught, and that’s reassuring because he seems more real than some wizard somewhere. We know how Century City fared on CBS (in that people don’t even remember the show).
Going to series? Yes. Despite the fact that it clearly won’t work on broadcast, NBC wants a new original procedural hit badly.

A Mann’s World (Michael Patrick King)
Logline: A dramatic series with comedic elements centering on a heterosexual male hairdresser, Allan Mann, now in his fifties, who is now looking to stay au courant in Beverly Hills, where age and experience can’t hold a candle to looks and beauty. While others might take the comfortable and predictable path, he takes the ego-driven and more difficult one.
With: Ellen Barkin, JR Bourne, Mario Cantone, Chris Crocker, Caitlin Crosby, Kelly Hu, Don Johnson, Jesse Jones, Taylor Kinney, D.J. Pierce, Sandra Vergara, Amanda Mason Warren, Christian Dante White
My thoughts:
Oh God. I can’t describe how bad this pilot is.
Literally the worst script of this season.
Obviously Greenblatt picked it up because of the financial penalty attached to it. Right? Please?
Going to series? Kill me now.

Metro (Stephen Gaghan)
Logline: A dramatic series that explores Los Angeles from multiple points of view, from lawyers to law enforcement, politics to the haves and have nots. The main character is a detective working in the Mayor’s Special Investigations Unit, who has returned to Los Angeles to re-connect with his teenage daughter and try maintain a civil relationship with his ex-wife, who is a high powered attorney.
With: Daniella Alonso, Madchen Amick, Luis Chavez, Emma Dumont, Noah Emmerich, Matthew Levy, Danny Pino, Jimmy Smits
My thoughts:
It seems that every season, NBC wants another gritty LA-based show.
Will this one do?
Well, Metro is reminiscent of Traffic. And in this case it’s a good thing.
Add Smits and Emmerich and I’m in.
Going to series? Probably. It’s both a cop and legal show, NBC’s go-to genre.

Playboy (Chad Hodge)
Logline: A soapy dramatic series that looks at the social and political tumult of the 1960’s from the perspective of Playboy bunnies working at the Playboy Club in Chicago.
With: Laura Benanti, Eddie Cibrian, Jenna Dewan, Amber Heard, David Krumholtz, Naturi Naughton, Wes Ramsey, Leah Renee Cudmore, Sean Maher
My thoughts:
It’s been somewhat widely reported that people haven’t responded all that well to the pilot. Neither did I to be honest.
How can you do about sex and drugs without sex and drugs?
The challenge was accepted by Playboy and was almost immediately failed.
The (unnecessary) period aspect of the show sealed its fate.
Going to series? Very likely. Any publicity is good publicity at this point.

Prime Suspect (Alexandra Cunningham)
Logline: A dramatic series based on the UK ITV procedural series of television movies starring Helen Mirren. The U.S. version centers on a newly promoted homicide detective, Jane Timoney, who has to deal with skeptical male colleagues who erroneously believe that that she has slept her way to her present position. Constantly ostracized and undermined, she finally gets her shot at spearheading a homicide investigation. Once she has a chance to show her abilities her astute powers of observation and scrupulousness win over almost all of her prior enemies.
With: Kirk Acevedo, Maria Bello, Tim Griffin, Damon Gupton, Joe Nieves, Brian F. O’Byrne, Aidan Quinn, Toby Stephens
My thoughts:
To be blunt, it was a snoozefest.
I know everyone loves to remake “known” property but this is one foreign classic that should have been left untouched.
For one, there is no original take on the cop genre. Prime Suspect might have actually defined the genre 20 years ago, but now it’s not so groundbreaking, gritty, or even interesting.
More importantly though, the sexism is way too blatant. One of the keys to the original show’s success was how it dealt with this (at the time) rampant problem in a way that was both subtle and realistic. The American version of Prime Suspect makes Mad Men a utopia for women.
And let me say that Maria Bello is no Helen Mirren.
Going to series? Maybe. It’s been in development since forever and this season is as close as it’s going to get to getting a green-light.

Construction (Josh Brand)
Logline: A period drama centering on Jason Edding, a Union Civil War veteran who returns from the Civil War a changed and haunted man. He seeks refuge in the border state of Missouri in a town that, despite the end of the war, is being terrorized by a mysterious Southern colonel called the Grey Ghost. He extorts money from the townspeople, and his brutal henchman maim and murder anyone who doesn’t comply. When Jason rolls into town and defeats these thugs, the people in the town embrace him as their savior and beg him to be their sheriff. But Jason’s must chase away his own ghosts before he can accept that challenge.
With: Emma Bell, Billy Brown, Coburn Goss, Martin Henderson, Robert Knepper, Rachelle Lefevre, Bill Sage, Claire Wellin
My thoughts:
I can honestly say this was a surprise hit for me. I’m no western fan (heck, it’s my least favorite genre), but this one worked for me. Of course, it’s no Carnivale, but it’s getting close to that territory.
Only problem? This is clearly not an NBC show.
First, it’s a period piece set in the civil war era, and it’s a western. Second, subject-matter is more cable than anything else (would it surprise you to learn that it was originally developed at FX?). Finally, it’s gory and violent.
Going to series? Sadly doubtful.

REM (Kyle Killen)
Logline: A dramatic series described as a procedural hybrid that centers on the simultaneous and parallel lives of a detective who cannot let go of any aspect of his fractured family after a horrible car accident.
With: Laura Allen, Steve Harris, Jason Isaacs, Cherry Jones, Michaela McManus, Dylan Minnette, Wilmer Valderrama, B.D. Wong
My thoughts:
I’ve been talking about this one for over three months for one simple reason: it’s my favorite script of the season, by far.
Amazing story, amazing writing, amazing show.
The world and the characters are very compelling but I’m afraid people are not going to tune in to watch the show, regardless of how well-crafted it is.
I have to voice my worry however about Howard Gordon show-running this thing. Why isn’t Killen staying behind? I can only guess this move shows NBC being afraid of a Lone Star redux.
Going to series? Probably. There’s no doubt that this is the most talked-about and praised original show of the season.

Smash (Theresa Rebeck)
Logline: A dramatic series based on an idea by Steven Spielberg. This one-hour musical series follows a cross section of characters who come together for the exhilarating ride of putting on a Broadway musical.
With: Christian Borle, Jaime Cepero, Jack Davenport, Megan Hilty, Anjelica Huston, Raza Jaffrey, Brian d’Arcy James, Katharine McPhee, Debra Messing
My thoughts:
Another cable-like show for NBC (this one originally developed at Showtime).
People are saying the network is riding on Glee‘s coattails with this one.
Wrong.
If anything, it’s closer to HBO’s Miraculous Year than FOX’s tween show.
Smash wasn’t a mega hit for me, but it was definitely entertaining.
One thing I’m struggling with however is the longevity; it definitely seemed more like a mini-series than anything else. Once the musical is all set and done (probably in the first season finale), then what?
Going to series? Yes. Big cast, big producers, big show.

Wonder Woman (David E. Kelley)
Logline: A dramatic series based on the DC comic book series Wonder Woman, about Diana Prince, an Amazon who possesses superhuman strength, speed and stamina, flight, and super-agility. In this reinvention, Wonder Woman is a corporate executive and vigilante crime fighter in Los Angeles who works to balance all of the extraordinary parts of her life.
With: Justin Bruening, Cary Elwes, Adrianne Palicki, Pedro Pascal, Tracie Thoms, Brett Tucker, Elizabeth Hurley
My thoughts:
What more is there to add to this train-wreck? You can’t quite look away from the mess going on in front of you, although viewers won’t tune in beyond episode two.
I feel bad for Palicki who deserves better. Much better.
Going to series? Oh, my, yes.

Single-camera Comedies (Half-hour)
I Hate that I Love You (Jhoni Marchinko)
Logline: A single camera comedy series on a straight guy who lives with his best friend, who is a lesbian and a straight woman who lives with her best friend, who is a lesbian. When all four meet and the straight and gay couples get together, the ordinary issues of new relationships get a new twist. The straight guy and his gay best friend slept together in a fit of drunken despair a month before everyone met, which neither have discussed since it happened. But they all need to talk about it, because she now realizes she’s pregnant.
With: Danneel Ackles, Anna Camp, Jaime Lee Kirchner, Nick Thune
My thoughts:
Nothing new under the sun. Yet another standard dual couple comedy show, albeit with two lesbians.
Going to series? Possibly. This is another attempt at NBC trying to recapture a good “friends with benefits” comedy.

Untitled Lennon Parham & Jessica St. Clair Project
Logline: A single camera comedy series about an extremely awkward triangle – a woman and her new live-in boyfriend find themselves taking in her distraught (and pushy) best girlfriend who ends up on their doorstep after a divorce.
With: Lennon Parham, Stephen Schneider, Jessica St. Clair
My thoughts:
Not really my sensibility. I honestly don’t see the series appealing beyond the LA demographic (story isn’t really compelling). And the dialogue was too on-the-nose for me.
Going to series? I don’t see it.

Stay tuned as we conclude next time our pilot pick-up review with a cable medley.

Pilot Pick-Up Review (FOX) – 2011-2012 Season

Development season is right now, and with the scripts picked to pilot about to be shot, the next best thing besides watching the finished product is reading them. As well as reviewing them. I’ll also venture a guess as to whether I think they’ll go to series or not (all of which is announced as usual at the Upfronts). So here goes.

Let’s now switch over to FOX, the young male-skewing network.
They’re still going strong on the genre/action dramas while cashing in on the successes of some of their own, and their competition’s, series. With a newfound success in live-action comedies, they’re also trying this season to develop further more their comedy brand.

Dramas (One-hour)
Exit Strategy (David Guggenheim)
Logline: A dramatic series with action elements centering on the CIA operatives who get involved when the mission has been compromised and make sure that innocent people aren’t harmed. Episodes would take place in countries around the world.
With: Megan Dodds, Lina Esco, Elyes Gabel, Ethan Hawke, Tom Sizemore, Lily Rabe
My thoughts:
Although far from groundbreaking, Exit Strategy is still an engaging action-thriller.
The end hints at a serialized storytelling (a la Alias), which I much prefer to a “mission of the week” format. And with Ethan Hawke as the lead, you can’t complain.
Probably one of, if not the main show FOX pushes next season (with Alcatraz and Locke & Key).
Going to series? Yes. FOX is definitely trying to fill in for 24 and with the strong cast and crew behind the project, this one is a shoe-in replacement.

Locke & Key (Josh Friedman)
Logline: A dramatic series based on the graphic novel series by Joe Hill. The series tells the stories of three young people who move with their mother following their father’s murder to the family estate of Keyhouse, located in Lovecraft, Massachusetts. The mansion contains keys hidden inside its walls that offer magical powers and help protect the family from a supernatural entity that will stop at nothing to destroy them.
With: Sarah Bolger, Skylar Gaertner, Jesse McCartney, Miranda Otto, Nick Stahl, Harrison Thomas
My thoughts:
Not to insult FOX’s core viewership, but Locke & Key might be a little too high brow for the network, especially story-wise.
I’m excited about the show though, and not only because of Josh Friedman’s involvement.
Going to series? Probably. Although still a genre show, it is still a risky show to pick for FOX. Let’s not forget how The Sarah Connor Chronicles fared a couple of years ago.

Touch (Tim Kring)
Logline: A dramatic series centering on a young boy with autism whose condition gives him a unique ability to recognize patterns. These patterns allow him to predict events.
With: Kiefer Sutherland
My thoughts:
It’s bad. Really.
I don’t even know where to start.
How about one of the side stories centering on an Iraqi teenager whose family desperately needs a new oven, so he decides to become a suicide-bomber so his parents can inherit cash from the terrorist organization.
Wait, what?
The kicker being that he is brought back to reason thanks to a conversation he has with a total stranger calling him over the bomb trigger (which also doubles as cellphone).
The “everyone is connected” motto has been beaten over the head already, but Touch brings it to an all-time low (or is it all-time ridiculousness?). ‘Condescending serendipity’ doesn’t even describe half of it.
Notice how I haven’t even touched upon the kid’s storyline, supposedly the main thread of the show (but really isn’t).
Why is Kiefer remotely interested in this project, I have no idea.
Going to series? I hope not, but most likely yes (for a later than usual premiere date probably).

Weekends at Bellevue (Lisa Zwerling)
Logline: A dramatic series based on the memoir of the same name by Dr. Julie Holland. The book is about her times as a doctor on the night shift at New York City’s Bellevue hospital, a name that has become synonymous with insanity. She met a bewildering assortment of drunks, sociopaths, schizophrenics and homeless people malingering in hope of a warm place to crash. As the physician in charge of the psychiatric emergency room, she acted as gatekeeper, deciding who would be sent upstairs to the psych ward, to Central Booking or back to the streets.
With: Xzibit, David Alpay, Lauren Ambrose, Janet McTeer, Amber Stevens, Eric Winter, Aaron Yoo
My thoughts:
Yes, Xzibit is in this. No, I didn’t know it at the time I read the pilot; which is probably for the best or else I would have had a strong prejudice against the show (But Lauren Ambrose’s involvement brings me back into the fold).
I’m not a big fan of medical procedurals, although this show is at the very least interesting, if not fresh. The cuckoo house aspect is sadly not as edgy as one might have hoped, but then again this is a broadcast world.
One thing that bothered me was the total lack of conclusion in regards to two of the main cases/patients in the pilot. Are we to assume they’re recurring characters that we’ll see next episode?
Another big question-mark is the total lack of information about what the hell the main character does the rest of the week. Yes, she spends her weekends at Bellevue (thank you informative title), but what about Mon-Fri?
Going to series? Probably. The medical aspect and its atypical protagonist makes this a perfect companion to House.

Multi-camera Comedies (Half-hour)
I Hate My Teenage Daughter (Sherry Bilsing/Ellen Kreamer)
Logline:A multi-camera comedy series centering on two divorced women who are best friends and were nerds in high school. To protect their daughters from being tortured by “mean girls” in high school like they were, they gave them all of the cool clothes and gear they never had. Now, they find their teen daughters are just like their tormentors and they have created monsters.
With: Chad L Coleman, Aisha Dee, Katie Finneran, Kristi Lauren, Jaime Pressly, Kevin Rahm, Eric Sheffer Steven
My thoughts:
They might hate their teenage daughters but i hated this script.
The dynamic between the two mothers might be somewhat funny for some people, but the teenage daughters are really unlikeable. As in: ‘I want to punch them in the face repeatedly’ unlikeable.
Going to series? Please no?

Single-camera Comedies (Half-hour)
The Council of Dads (Peter Tolan)
Logline: A single camera comedy series loosely based on the memoir of the same name by Bruce Feiler. The book centers on Feiler, who has received a serious cancer diagnosis and worries about his daughters growing up without a father. He asks his six close male friends to help carry out his wishes and fill the gap that he would leave in his children’s lives.
With: Kyle Bornheimer, Patrick Breen, Diane Farr, Rick Gomez, Ken Howard, Richard T. Jones
My thoughts:
Maybe it was due to the talent involved in this, but I felt kind of letdown by the pilot.
Since each “dad” is a different section/aspect/type, categorizes them meaning two-dimensional.
I “liked” the fact that the show starts after the father’s death, which at least avoids the “will he/won’t he die” aspect that could have been dragged on for years. With that said, I did struggle with the way the show pretty much omits entirely any kind of grieving process. “Oh well he’s dead now, let’s get the new dads in.”
Going to series? Probably. Although not as edgy as Raising Hope, the family aspect from Council of Dads begs to be paired with the FOX hit.

Family Album (Joe Port/Joe Wiseman)
Logline: A single camera comedy series centering on a family with a dad who is determined that his family spends quality time together. In each episode, the family shares the highlights from the week via a video chat with an out of town relative. With this framing device, the events and memories unfold in flashback and chronicle the family’s life.
With: Isabella Cramp, Damaris Diaz, Rachael Harris, Rob Huebel, Mike O’Malley, Joy Osmanski, Ted Sutherland
My thoughts
Did someone say Modern Family copycat?
Oh, I did.
Yup, Family Album is the obligatory “let’s do our version of another network’s successful show.” Right down to the closing voice-over/moral of the story/reflections on the adventures of the episode.
I should probably also mention that the pilot felt pretty much like a 30-minute iPad ad. Bonus negative points.
Going to series? Let’s hope not.

Iceland (Andy Bobrow)
Logline: A single camera comedy series centering on a group of friends who are reunited and nurture each other after the death of one of their own.
With: Kerry Bishe, John Boyd, Zach Gilford, Krysta Rodriquez
My thoughts:
Another comedy about the aftermath of the death of a close friend/family member.
I’m sensing a want chez FOX to counter-program How I Met Your Mother. Because this is pretty much their version of the comedy, albeit with Ted being dead.
Going to series? Possibly. Might fit perfectly in a new live-action comedy night.

The New Girl (Liz Meriwether)
Logline: A single camera comedy series centering on a young woman who moves in with three male roommates after a breakup and gets a greater understanding of relationships with the opposite sex.
With: Zooey Deschanel, Max Greenfield, Jake M Johnson, Hannah Simone, Damon Wayans Jr.
My thoughts:
Let’s get this out of the way first: the concept is a reach.
The main character is an attractive woman who literally cannot get any man to sleep with her. Heck, she even has to pay a man at a bar to have a conversation with her.
Now picture Zooey Deschanel as that woman and you can see why the plot itself is just a tad, you know, preposterous.
Besides this major leap of believability, the show isn’t bad.
I guess Chicks and Dicks (original title) was too edgy for FOX?
Going to series? Yes. You can’t say no to the second (first?) Deschanel sister.

Tagged (David Guarascio/Moses Port)
Logline: A hybrid multi-and single camera dark comedy series loosely based on the book Dead Center by Shiya Ribowsky. Ribowsky worked as a medicolegal investigator in New York City’s medical examiner’s office—the largest, most sophisticated organization of its kind in the world. Utilizing his background in medicine, he led the investigations of more than eight thousand individual deaths, becoming a key figure in some of New York’s most bizarre death cases. The series centers on a young man who graduates from medical school and chooses to join his coroner father rather than take a job in a hospital.
With: B.J. Bales, Gary Cole, Tommy Dewey, Bret Ernst, Robin Givens, Lindsey Kraft, Mel Rodriguez
My thoughts:
Let’s just say I fell into a coma halfway through the first page of the script.
Going to series? Maybe. Gary Cole’s presence might be the only reason for a pick-up besides the workplace setting.

The last broadcast network, NBC, is coming next.