DWIGHT FINALLY GETS TO BE A COP: So, production on The Office wrapped yesterday, and despite the mess that was the reworked backdoor pilot for The Farm (which suffered largely from trying to make Dwight, a character who's become little more than a cartoon villain in recent years into a sympathetic protagonist, as well as a "back at the Office" subplot that featured Packer at his most cartoonish), Rainn Wilson has already booked a new gig--playing the lead in what sounds an awful lot like Policeman Gregory House for CBS.
CBS has a fascinating problem this year--they've got a bunch of starry and big pilots--in addition to this one, they have pilots with Robin Williams/Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jim Gaffigan/Mira Sorvino, Anna Faris/Allison Janney, Rupert Grint/Stephen Fry, Will Arnett/Margo Martindale, Toni Collette/Dylan McDermott, Josh Holloway/Marg Helgenberger, Jorge Garcia/Audra McDonald/Sam Neill, Jason Isaacs, and a third NCIS show. The problem? CBS has only 2 clear holes at this point (8:30 Monday and 9 PM Friday), and even if they can shows that are on the bubble by CBS standards, that only frees up another couple of slots (Undercover Boss, Vegas, Golden Boy), they don't have room to pick up much. My bet? They order a drama or two for short runs to serve as filler between Survivor cycles, and wind up splitting Good Wife's timeslot--giving it 22 episodes in 2 rerun-free blocks of 11, with another drama (The Ordained seems the logical choice) running uninterrupted in the middle. I wouldn't be shocked to see them expand to two hours of comedy on Thursday as well, potentially with Big Bang and Two and A Half Men serving as 8 and 9 PM anchors.
On one hand, no, I could not buy a show revolved around Dwight as a "sympathetic protagonist." On the other hand, I would watch a show involving members of Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros singing Decemberists songs. Every single week.
ReplyDeleteAnna Faris/Allison Janney? I know nothing else about this show, but I already know that I will watch this. Or at least give it a try.
ReplyDeleteOn the downside, it's a Chuck Lorre show. Faris plays a single mom who's finally gotten sober, and Janney plays her mom. Given the Lorre pedigree, I'd say it's almost a sure thing for a pickup, either out of HIMYM or out of Big Bang.
ReplyDeleteThe Ordained is the best pilot I've read this season, and a TOTAL CBS show. I can't wait to add it to my Tivo. If it doesn't get picked up I'll eat my hat.
ReplyDeleteThe cast is spectacular, too. The one problem is that it sounds an AWFUL lot like Good Wife, which much as I love, has not set ratings on fire.
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