Pilot season is warming up again and so it is time for Star Trek director/producer JJ Abrams to pitch new shows to add to his growing TV portfolio. And today the CW announced they ordered a pilot called Shelter from Abrams Bad Robot production company. More details below.
Abrams and Burk sell ‘Shelter’ Pilot To CW
Today the CW announced they ordered pilots for three hour-long dramas, including one from executive producers (and Star Trek producers) JJ Abrams and Bryan Burk. The new show is called Shelter and it is set in a "historic New England summer resort where the new and returning staff attend to the practical, emotional and often comical needs of the guests while navigating friendships, rivalries and romances of their own." One Tree Hill executive producer Mark Schwahn is writing the pilot and will also be an executive producer.
If Shelter is picked up, it will be Abrams’ first show on the CW, although his first series Felicity was on the CW’s predecessor, the WB. This project continues the latest for Abrams and Bad Robot’s collaboration with Warner Brothers Television. While Bad Robot has a production deal for films with Paramount (including the Star Trek films), since 2006 he has also had a deal with WBTV to create new TV series. Bad Robot currently has 3 TV shows on the air: Person of Interest on CBS along with Fringe and the recently premiered Alcatraz on Fox.
JJ Abrams with "Alcatraz" star Jorge Garcia – at Television Critics Association event in January, 2012 – producer just sold new "Shelter" pilot to CW
Dang why dont they just change the name of Broadcast TV to Bad Robot TV. ;)
Fringe, Person of Interest and Alcatraz (in that order) are my favorite shows. Bad Robot seems to know what I like.
Sounds interesting. Could be adult fare? Love Fringe, smart science fiction and features one great actor in John Noble. Now what about returning the franchise Star Trek to TV? :-)
“The new show is called Shelter and it is set in a “historic New England summer resort where the new and returning staff attend to the practical, emotional and often comical needs of the guests while navigating friendships, rivalries and romances of their own.”
Gosh, Abrams is rebooting “Newhart.” ??? WTF?
How do they find time to relax with all the stuff Bad Robot does? :)
“Newhart was a television situation comedy starring comedian Bob Newhart and actress Mary Frann as an author and wife who owned and operated an inn located in a small, rural Vermont town that was home to many eccentric characters.”
@6
Um Ok MJ, thanks for clearing that up.
Here is a great Idea for a new T.V series.
Star Trek. What does everyone else think.
So I watched Alcatraz and sadly I’m not getting into it. It feels like a very by the numbers show and if every episode follows the same “we know who the criminal is and we have to find him before his next crime” formula then it’ll get old really fast, and the moments that aren’t formulaic are more like knock-offs of Lost (flashbacks, etc.) and not that interesting. I hope Terra Nova gets renewed over Alcatraz because at least Terra Nova is 1) a sci-fi idea that isn’t some sort of procedural and 2) a family friendly show. I don’t think you can say that about Alcatraz, and with Chuck ending (and Eureka this summer) we need more of those.
Wow. Who’d have thought to put “Love Boat” on land. These guys are genius.
9) Actually sounds more like Dirty Dancing, without the dancing.
And yeah… Trek? I sincerely hope that someone at CBS looks at the sales of TNG on BluRay and goes, “Hang on… don’t WE have the TV rights to this thing?”
I don’t remember, has JJ ever commented on whether Bad Robot MIGHT be interested in working with CBS on a TREK TV show?
#11 I think Bad Robot would be great at making a live action or animated Trek TV show. They already have the new Trek universe set up for it. They could set it in Kirks time say on the Enterprise’s sister ship or post a TNG series.
Remember CBS owns Star Trek and so they would be the ones to make any new TV show. As JJ Abrams has a deal with Warner Brothers, there would be complications with Bad Robot doing a possible Star Trek TV series. That complication could also be an issue with Lindelof who has a deal with Disney. Kurtzman and Orci’s company had a deal with FOX, but I think they are now with Skydance so they may be able to be involved with a CBS TV project. But in the end it would have to be a CBS owned show for sure.
#14
So then CBS would have to go with a different creative team? Okay. Fine. There are plenty of others out there who have expressed interest in bringing Trek back to TV.
Now if only the suits were interested….
Hey Anthony. I have an idea. Why don’t we get an online petition done here at Trekmovie and send it on over to C.B.S to let them know we all want a new Trek series. What do you think.
Anthony do you know if they wont do a new Trek TV series until after the Trek movies are done?
17. Craiger – February 1, 2012
“Anthony do you know if they wont do a new Trek TV series until after the Trek movies are done?”
Are you referring to JJ or CBS, Craiger? It’s a good question. I’d imagine that CBS could do a series any time they wish with someone else. That is, unless, there is some sort of arrangement with Paramount not to do a series within a certain amount of time. I wonder if anyone can provide a definitive answer that would clarify it for us. I for one would welcome a new series any time!
#18 I guess all of them.
#18 Also I wonder if CBS is looking at the Trek movies to see if it can be viable again on TV? However Paramount may not want to oversaturate Trek like they did the last time.
As much as I’d like to see a new series, I think in all likelihood it will be several more years before we see anything. Hopefully though, it will not have been a 15-year rest period (or more) since “Enterprise” left the air when Trek does make its return. But it is a possibility.
Way to JJ!! :) He was a category on Jeopardy tonight!! ‘JJ Abrams,A Very Busy Man’ it was called. I got them all right;the first one was about Trek.
Bring back Firefly!
I actually think it is wise of CBS to hold off on producing a new “Star Trek” series. The current television market has not been kind to sci-fi for the past several years, and the majority of the audience are more interested in dumb reality and talent shows like “Jersey Shore” and “The Voice”.
Plus, I think right now, CBS, by remastering both TOS and TNG and releasing them on Blu Ray, is measuring the amount of interest in a new series. I realize that the remastering process costs money, but it is a heck of lot cheaper than producing a brand new, cgi visual effects-laden sci-fi series that might last only a few episodes in an era of fragmented viewership. So I have to think, within the next few years, assuming that TNG Remastered is a smash success, and coupled with how well the sequel does, then CBS could very well give the green light on a new Trek series.
Our hope for a new Star Trek TV show is with Bob and Alex. Heres hoping it happens!
RDR – You may be right on CBS testing the sales of TOS and TNG on BluRay to justify interest in an all new Trek series. If that’s the case we wont see a new Trek series until 2015 when the TNG Bluray series is done.
@21
It’s interesting with your thought about the 15 year hiatus. Ironically this is exactly what happened with Doctor Who when the BBC cancelled the show in 1989 and it wouldn’t be for another 15 years before it was brought back to tv in 2004. By sheer luck they found the right person to produce and make the show viable again. In the case of Star Trek, who knows if there is that right person out there in Hollywood who can resurrect and make the franchise viable again on the small screen. If that person exists, I hope CBS comes across that person as a new career will be made or an existing one will be enhanced enormously. If not, certainly CBS is not going to lose any sleep over it.
Ehh, Shelter doesn’t sound like my bag. I’ll watch the pilot ep and give it a chance like I always do, but sounds kind of…lame. I guess I’m not in the target demographic.
@boborci – Any new thoughts on a Trek Animated project?
@#2
Person of Interest = YES!
I just LOVE Jim Caviezel. :-)
I love JJ too. :-)
Person of Interest is a very good show. Michael Emerson, Jim Caviezel: ALL STAR cast. Period.
=A=
I wouldn’t hold my breath for a CBS made Star Trek – they don’t mind real-world-based scifi/fantasy, but space based stuff like Trek hasn’t been on CBS since, I dunno, Lost In Space? Anyone else recall a CBS space series? I don’t know how CBS feels about syndication or if they produce series for other networks either, but I can’t recall any.
9. tman – February 1, 2012
Wow. Who’d have thought to put “Love Boat” on land…
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That’s the exact vibe I got.
…”new and returning staff attend to the practical, emotional and often comical needs of the guests while navigating friendships, rivalries and romances of their own.”
Sounds alot like the premise for Love Boat. If a certain exotic blonde woman who says “coochie coochie” guest stars, I guess we’ll know. :-)
@9 & 10: They already put Loveboat on land. It was called Fantasy Island, starring none other than Khan himself.
OH NO!!
The Americans are going to ruin “Fawlty Towers”!!
:-)
Of course, I’ll check it out.
Maybe some day I should try a Bad Robot show
I read this as””Shatner” pilot” at first.
Is any of Abrams programmes a unique idea rather than a lame spin on something else?
I was interested in giving Alcatraz a try because Sam Neill is in it.
@39. “Is any of Abrams programmes a unique idea rather than a lame spin on something else?”
Well, I here he’s got this other idea where there is this guy who retires from the military and spends tons of the time on the internet criticizing genre sf and fantasy movie creators.