JJ Abrams Sells Thriller Pilot To NBC + Orci & Kurtzman Sell Drama Pilot To CBS

The Star Trek team are still at work getting ready to make the Star Trek sequel, but they have also been making some news in TV Land. Writer/producers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci have sold a pilot script to CBS, while producer/director JJ Abrams has sold a pilot to NBC. Details below.

 

Abrams and Orci/Kurtzman already selling new TV shows for 2012/13

Star Trek writer/producers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman have cut their first TV deal for the 2012/2013 season. Deadline is reporting they have a script commitment deal with CBS for a new "female-centered, character-driven drama." Deadline offers these details for the untitled project:

Written by Anna Fricke, the untitled project is based on Robyn O’Brien, an author, researcher and mother of four who has become an unlikely advocate for cleaning up the food supply. It centers on a congresswoman, wife and mother who fights for the underdog.

Kurtzman and Orci would be executive producing through their K/O Paper Products production company, which has a TV development deal with 20th Century Fox.

And while JJ Abrams has turned his feature film focus at Paramount to the Star Trek sequel, he still has a deal with Warner Brothers to produce TV shows and this week he sold his first pilot for next season to NBC. According to The Hollywood Reporter

Abrams and NBC are developing Revolution, which is described by Deadline as "an epic adventure thriller." The series comes from Supernatural creator Eric Kripke, who is writing the pilot. Abrams and fellow Star Trek producer Bryan Burk join Kripke as executive producers on Revolution. The show would be produced by Abrams Bad Robot production company. The commitment from NBC shows they are still interested in working with Abrams, even though he admits he "f–ked up" with the ill-fated Undercovers in 2010 on NBC.

Star Trek team’s 2011 TV shows premiere ratings

The fall season has started and the ratings are in for the various TV shows from the Star Trek team. The mysterious Person of Interest from Abrams, Burk and Jonathan Nolan premiered last Thursday on CBS to mostly positive reviews and good ratings, coming in first in total views (13.2m) and second in the key 25-44 demo. And the second season of Hawaii Five-0 on CBS, developed by Orci and Kurtzman, is doing well, with two episodes so far, both winning their time slots. As for Fringe, created by Orci, Kurtzman and Abrams, the fourth season kicked off last Friday with mixed ratings which were down 21% from last year’s premiere but 25% up from the season finale. It looks like Fringe is destined to always be "on the bubble."

  

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OK… but I’m still waiting fo the announcement for Trek Sequel…

I hope I’m not being inconvenient… but I have been very patient lately, you know…LOL

Hellooo Mr. Bob Orci!!!… :-) :-)

“Written by Anna Fricke, the untitled project is based on Robyn O’Brien, an author, researcher and mother of four who has become an unlikely advocate for cleaning up the food supply. It centers on a congresswoman, wife and mother who fights for the underdog.”

BAM! Now THAT’S the kind of thing I’m talking about. Good luck with that, Bob!

Ok,this is great for them. Now,I wanta hear some Trek 12 news guys!! I’m beggin’ here!! Mr.Orci,if your out there some where and read this,I’d love to know how your doing with Trek,please!

Man if they are really indemand! If they are going to have to many projects going on the Trek sequels will get interrupted.

Bloody hell.

Has Trek died or something?

Wheres the Trek news TrekMovie?

Just askin’.

Still Trekkin’.

I forgot to add I do like them working on Hawaii 5-0. I hope they don’t get rid of Kono. I hope she can be cleared and get back to 5-0.

Maybe the sequel will be called “Scrap Trek.” Seems like these guys have a lot of other stuff going on. I’m thinking 2016 now.

Bob, I am sure you are very aware that you have there the perfect “in” to talk about so much, and that’s exciting news. Please, please, please don’t do the Aaron Sorkin West Wing thing. Make it real. You have the perfect vehicle to point out the left/right fallacy rather than to perpetuate it.

Yeah, this is cool and all, but when are we going to get moving on Star Trek?

Kudos to the Court on all their projects. Keep meaning to check out the series they’re involved in, but I’m out of the habit of watching TV; since Law and Order ended and we got dish, sate lite, whatever. One has to be a regular user to recall which button on which controller to use when, must follow changing schedules for programs, and endure the commercials. Given all the options online, I’m surprised anyone watches TV any longer. However, I’ll quickly reconvert and master the controllers should Trek return to the tube.

3. Steady as she goes…

Great, the same old crap about OTHER projects. A metaphorical “cha-ching” for their bank accounts, but a corresponding “toilet flushing sound” for us Trek fans.

why doesn’t he just make the star trek movie instead of selling thriller pilots

#11. boborci …

Hmmmm…. all right then…. :-) :-)

I, for one, limit my TV to cable news, Stewart/Colbert, and, my guilty pleasure, “Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares.”

Let’s get the new flick front and center, if this isn’t just that: selling all new projects right now to focus on Star Trek.

Looking ahead to the third “Star Trek” film, it’d be nice to have an up-and-coming approved second team who can take it over, and get work started on it more efficiently.

Sure, absence makes the heart grow fonder, but the time horizon for the average movie-goer/non-fan who saw ST09 has been exceeded, and brand-equity is steadily leaking from JJ’s take on the franchise.

“Steady as she goes” probably means summer 2013. I was hoping for a modest “Warp 2,” aka Christmas 2012.

Korr and kang have been looking for their moment to take revenge on the Romulans for the destruction of the 20 Klingon warships. It takes time to plot revenge properly.

@15 “Looking ahead to the third “Star Trek” film, it’d be nice to have an up-and-coming approved second team who can take it over, and get work started on it more efficiently.”

Well put!

Bob Orci saying, “Steady as she goes” is a subtle hint that there will be a space pirate sex scene where a character named British Naval Dude will yell, “Thar she blows!”

Although I believe the current Trek Team ooze quality and passion for the franchise, it does seem evident they simply have way too much going on in their own seperate professional lives to continue any sort of momentum. It must be some effort for them to even come together and get things rolling properly, as we saw this Spring/Summer as JJ was busy with Super 8 while the writing team were busy…writing. Some kind of momentum surely needs to be maintained, at least more than the 4 years were are potentially looking at?

As a fan yourself Bob, surely you must understand the frustration we all feel? Saying that Im sure all here appreciate the passion you put into the 2009 movie, it was evident on screen…thank you.

19:

Harry, let’s hope so. “Steady as she blows…”

“…is based on Robyn O’Brien, an author, researcher and mother of four who has become an unlikely advocate for cleaning up the food supply. It centers on a congresswoman, wife and mother who fights for the underdog. ”

Oh good – Hollywod is SO good at environmental science. Remember Alar, the fake poison apple scare? How about DDT and all the blood now on the hands of it’s foes due to malaria outbreaks? Are they going to regurgitate the scary lies about GMO “frankenfoods”?

When are they going to tackle the deadly menace of dihydrogen monoxide – the chemical responsible for more deaths than any other, that is present in ALL our food (www.dhmo.org)?

Oh, and Robyn O’Brien? Just another liberal HuffPost scaremongering fraud.

When will Hollywood EVER glamorize people who stand UP for America instead if ruining it?

22.

AJ, I’d say that’s a low blow, but then again, is there any other kind?

#23

Dihydrogen monoxide is dangerous. It’s in all our oceans and lakes. Even in our homes. Next thing you know it’ll be falling from the skies!

@21 “As a fan yourself Bob, surely you must understand the frustration we all feel? Saying that Im sure all here appreciate the passion you put into the 2009 movie, it was evident on screen…thank you.”

As critical as I have been (and justifiable so in my opinion) of Orci and the Supreme Court regarding their “can’t get their shit together” planning regime for the sequel, let me state unequivocally that I still LOVE Trek 09 and the great job that they did on it, and I still do have confidence that CREATIVELY the sequel is going to be awesome. I just want to see the see the damn thing sometime before 2015.

The love is their from me Bob, but seriously dude, you guys need to get rolling here, and the communication from you guys on the Supreme Court on what is going on with the sequel needs to start here at some point in an organized and non-confused manner.

23: “When are they going to tackle the deadly menace of dihydrogen monoxide”

Well who says that they won’t? The show is a VEHICLE to do exactly what you suggest. Or at least it CAN be. And you can make suggestions right here and now about it. This is the time and place to do so.

But what “scary lies” about GMO foods are you referring to? They are still controversial and should be. So GMO foods should be labeled as such so that people can make informed choices, and not be treated like cattle eating out of a public trough and just never-you-mind what’s in it because that information is on a need to know basis and you, Mr. Average American, do not need to know.

Seems to me that if you lobby politicians to keep foods unlabeled, then you are awfully concerned that people will be patriotic Americans and vote with their dollars by buying something else, and you don’t want them to have that choice. Why is giving people fewer choices standing up for America?

What’s so patriotic about being treated and acting like a cow? What’s so patriotic about blindly trusting that a multinational conglomerate like Monsanto has your best interests in mind? Do tobacco companies have your best interests in mind?

“When will Hollywood EVER glamorize people who stand UP for America instead if ruining it?”

Actually, that’s what they did when they made movies about Erin Brockovich and Homer Hickham. I don’t know what “America” you are talking about, but I have a hard time believing it’s the one in which Bush-Obama order the accidental deaths of innocent children by drone strike in countries we are not even at war with.

Those are occasions I just can’t seem to rise for.

Bob Orci

I have a bone to pick with you. This season on Hawaii Five O, you have a new character played by Lauren German.

Why does Hollywood always cast a skinny, gorgeous model type to portray a supposed federal agent?

Wouldn’t it be far more credible if the woman playing the part looked reasonably attractive, but still came across as REALISTIC for the part they’re playing?

Lauren may be competent as an actor, but she DOESN’T LOOK LIKE A FEDERAL AGENT!!!!!

Is Hollywood so friggin’ shallow that they feel compelled to cast a bimbo EVERY TIME to attract ratings?

Honestly, Bob, I’d really like to hear your take on this……

#28

Agreed! It seems more and more TV shows are pulling their cast members from J. Crew catalogs. Federal agents don’t have to be ugly-ugly but Hollywood ugly would be refreshing.

“I’ve been called ugly, pug ugly, fugly, pug fugly, but never ugly ugly.”
—Moe Szyslak

@27 dmduncan

Yes, they definitely need to address the dangers of DHMO (www.dhmo.org). Like #25 said, it’s in all our oceans and lakes, and is present in the bodies of every cancer sufferer! In one test, it was shown to be powerful enough to corrode metal. Thousands die every year – even babies – from just INHALING this deadly substance! (www.dhmo.org).

I sure hope this new TV show tackles the urgent DHMO problem in a rational knowledgeable way instead of their usual liberal anti-business anti-job way!

@28. Harry, have you seen “Person of Interest” yet? Just watched episode 2 tonight. It is a pretty strong show. Jonathon Nolan (Chris Nolan’s younger brother) is at the helm (creator and writer, and Michael Emerson and Jim Cavezial are outstanding in it.

@31.

Not yet, MJ, but I will check it out.

28. We have wonderful producers and casting directors who do their job of finding the best person available for the jobs we have and i rarely second guess their judgement.

33.

Bob, I sincerely appreciate the fact that you took the time to answer my query. Kudos!

Tell me, have you had the time to read THE GRASSY KNOLL?

“Female-centered, character-driven drama” = music to Executives ears these days. Too bad I’ve got y chromosomes really. I see a real imbalance in programming these days.

just listened to coast to coast george neary–scary stuff in japan with the radiation levels–apparently japans govt takes readings from skyscrapers instead of the ground n only measure one type–a scientist living in japan said readings are ten times higher n that as a society japan would not report this–they are in denial–its going to be in everything from fruits n veggies to livesrock–other countries are not going to want products-i might need to get a geiger counter for my nintendo games-he says this sounds like a near death knoll for japan–n many who can will be radiation orphans n leave japan if they have the money to protect their kids etc–we should somehow help them–instead of spending our money killing others in afghan etc–do something positive for world-wish thee was an enterprise that could easily remove radiation from lg area-

I think I’m more offended of Orci taking time away from Trek to respond to Harry Ballz…

Uh, sure, we’re working on the new Trek… …But look over here, at this other stuff that’s has nothing to do with it! LOOK!!! LOOOOOOK!!!!!

@33 (bob)

Not second guessing is part of the problem. You should question it all… If it doesn’t seem logical, then why…

No one questioned or second guessed George Lucas with the star wars prequels….. Look what happened there ;)

Erica Durance would make a great federal agent.

Wow these guys are prolific!

There all over the place. Keep up the good work.

And not that your busy or anything but get that new Star Trek series up and running to, when you have the time. ;]

Their*

In related news (related to “LOST”) Carlton Cuse also has a new show:

http://www.deadline.com/2011/09/abc-buys-spiritual-drama-from-lost-exec-producer-carlton-cuse-and-pastor-rob-bell/

Money aside why would talented and in demand writers like Bob Orci and the other Star Trek guys even be interested in doing semi cheesy tv programs when they could be doing films?

Its the end of the month, I wouldn’t mind hearing about the progress of the movie and not their TV shows which have nothing to do with star trek.

Ever get the feeling they are just waiting for certain TOS cast members to fall off the radar? Busy or no, they are definitely on hold over something.

#28 Harry said:

“Is Hollywood so friggin’ shallow that they feel compelled to cast a bimbo EVERY TIME to attract ratings?”

Huh, you just noticed that? Does 7 of 9 remind you of anything? Hollywood isn’t shallow, it’s the viewers who are (and shallow is putting it mildly). The demand is there so they up the supply. What else do you expect them to do?

Silvereyes, I know what you mean, BUT for playing a federal agent, why not cast a woman who looks more like Maria Bello in Prime Suspect? It would be more logical and make the show that much more real. Nah, I guess that makes too much sense.

Harry I agree with you 100%. It’s not about sense, it’s about $$ and the ever dwindling IQ of the television viewer.

I’m reminded of that Enterprise episode where T’Pol and Tucker are smearing each other with decontamination gel… Come-freakin’-on! Can you at least be subtle about it? The only reason Blalock was casted as T’Pol was for ratings and nothing else, but did they really have to throw it in our face constantly?