Start clearing those DVRs now, people, because so many new shows are coming your way.
The 2017 Upfronts are upon us, which means ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and The CW will all be making their final decisions about which pilots they will be picking up to series for the 2017-18 TV season, aka it’s basically the small screen’s version of The Hunger Games. It’s exciting. It’s exhausting. It’s exhilarating. Yes, we’re nerds, and we don’t care who knows it!
As the networks announce their pick-ups, we’ll be giving you the rundown on what the shows are about and who’s starring in them.
So keep checking back with us throughout the week as we update this post with the latest pick-ups…
The CW
Black Lightning, The CW: It’s official, Greg Berlanti owns this network. Black Lightning, based on the DC Comics character, stars Cress Williams as Jefferson Pierce/Black Lightning, a former vigilante whose pulled back into the fight. Nefessa Williams, China Anne McClain and Christine Adams also star.
Life Sentence, The CW: No need to miss Lucy Hale after Pretty Little Liars ends as she stars in this dramedy about a woman who was diagnosed with terminal cancer finding out she’s not dying after all, who then has to learn to live with the choices she made when she decided to “live like she was dying.” The cast includes Dylan Walsh, Jayson Blair, Carlos PenaVega, Elliot Knight and Brooke Lyons.
Dynasty, The CW: The Carringtons and the Colbys are back to feud for control over their fortune and their children in the CW’s revival of the classic primetime soap. Melrose Place vet Grant Show stars as Blake Carrington in a cast that also includes Elizabeth Gillies, Nathalie Kelley, James Mackay, Alan Dale, Sam Adegoke, Robert Christopher Riley and Rafael de la Fuente.
Valor, The CW: The boundaries between military discipline and human desire are tested on a US Army base that houses an elite unit of helicopter pilots trained to perform clandestine international and domestic missions. The drama unfolds in the present as well as in flashbacks to a failed mission involving one of the first female pilots in the unit, ultimately uncovering layers of personal and government/military secrets, and leading to a season-long plan to rescue a group of MIA soldiers. Matt Barr (Sleepy Hollow), Charlie Barnett, W. Tre Davis, Christina Ochoa, Nighel Thatch, Corbin Reid and Melissa Roxburgh star.
The Resident, Fox: Gilmore Girls‘ Matt Czuchry and Emily VanCamp team up for this medical drama about a tough, brilliant senior resident that guides an idealistic young doctor through his first day, pulling back the curtain on what really happens, both good and bad, in modern-day medicine. Bruce Greenwood, Manish Dayal and Shaunette Wilson also star.
Ghosted, Fox: Starring The Office‘s Craig Robinson and Parks and Recreation‘s Adam Scott, the sitcom centers on a cynical skeptic (Robinson) and a genius “true believer” in the paranormal (Scott) after they are recruited by a secret government agency to look into “unexplained” activity in Los Angeles.
LA to Vegas, Fox: This workplace comedy focused on an airline crew and the eccentric passenger, who, every weekend, take the roundtrip flight from Burbank to Las Vegas together. Dylan McDermott, Kim Matula and Ed Weeks star in the comedy from Will Ferrell and Adam McKay.
The Gifted, Fox: It’s the X-Men TV show…just don’t call it the X-Men TV Show, OK? From Bryan Singer, this Marvel drama centers on a suburban couple whose ordinary lives are rocked by the sudden discovery that their children possess mutant powers. Forced to go on the run from a hostile government, the family joins up with an underground network of mutants and must fight to survive. Stephen Moyer, Amy Acker, Sean Teale and Jamie Chung star.
Rise, NBC: Ted Mosby + Moana + Jason Katims = sold! How I Met Your Mother star Josh Radnor plays in the Friday Night Lights and Parenthood showrunner’s latest drama offering, about a dedicated teacher who takes over his high school’s lackluster theater department. Moana‘s breakout star Auli’i Cravalho plays one of his students, with Rosie Perez and Marley Shelton also set to star.
For God & Country, NBC: This military drama comes from the production team behind Homeland that looks into the complex world of America’s elite undercover military heroes. While D.I.A. Deputy Director Patricia Campbell (Anne Heche) and her team of analysts wield the world’s most advanced surveillance technology from Washington, D.C., Adam Dalton (Mike Vogel) and his heroic Special Ops squad of highly trained undercover specialists use their unbreakable bond and commitment to freedom to save lives of innocent people and execute missions in some of the most dangerous places in the world.
Inhumans, ABC: Ordered straight to series, the latest Marvel outing at ABC will explore the never-before-told adventure of Black Bolt and the royal family. Set to star are Anson Mount, Game of Thrones‘ Iwan Rheon, Serinda Swan and Ken Leung, with Dexter’s Scott Buck acting as showrunner.
10 Days in the Valley, ABC: Kyra Sedgwick stars as an overworked television producer and single mother, already dealing with a fractious separation when her daughter goes missing. Her entire life, and controversial TV series, will implode as she learns no one can be trusted. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Malcolm-Jamal Warner and The Walking Dead‘s Emily Kinney all star.
Young Sheldon, CBS: It’s The Big Bang Theory spinoff! Centering on a young Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons), who will be played by Big Little Lies‘ Iain Armitage, the show will focus on his life in East Texas with his family. Chuck Lorre and Steve Molaro serve as EPs.
Orville, NBC: Seth MacFarlane‘s hourlong dramedy follows the adventures of the Orville, a a ship in Eather’s interstellar fleet 300 years in the future. Facing cosmic challenges, the ragtag team will “boldly go where no comedic drama has gone before.” Joining MacFarlane on the cast are Adrianne Palicki, Chad Coleman, Halston Sage and Scott Grimes.
Will and Grace, NBC: The gang is back! Debra Messing, Eric McCormack, Megan Mullally and Sean Hayes are all reprising their iconic roles for the 10-episode revival of the beloved series.
A.P. Bio, NBC: Glenn Howerton stars as a cynical Ivy League professor who goes to work as a high school biology teacher after missing out on his dream job. He then uses his students to exact revenge on those who wronged him. Patton Oswalt also stars, with Seth Meyers and Lorne Michaels serving as EPs.
Keep checking back with us for the latest pilot pick-ups…
(Originally published Wednesday, May 10, at 2017, 11:20 am PT)