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Here is Deadline’s annual list of The Overachievers Of Pilot Season. For anyone, landing a pilot is a major accomplishment. These selected few took that achievement to the next level.
Related: PILOT SEASON: The Overachievers 2012
Aaron Kaplan. Proving that his fast start as a producer was not just beginner’s luck, the former WMA agent has become a force to be reckoned with during pilot season. This year he landed five pilot orders, one more than last year and a new personal best. All five are comedies — ABC’s Pulling, Bad Management and the untitled Cullen brothers project, CBS’ Friends With Better Lives and NBC’s The Gates — as are Kaplan’s on-air series, ABC’s The Neighbors and Nick at Nite’s Wendell & Vinnie, as well as another Nick pilot, Instant Mom. On the drama side, he has pilots Terminals, which is nearing a series pickup at ABC Family, and HR at Lifetime, which is casting. In a world of vertical integration, Kaplan operates as an independent one-man shop.
Another independent, management/production company 3 Arts, has four pilots, also all comedies: NBC’s untitled Greg Daniels/Robert Padnick, untitled Owen Ellickson & Craig Robinson and untitled John Mulaney/Lorne Michaels projects, as well as Fox’s untitled Dan Goor/Mike Schur project.
Writers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky are having a banner year. The Office alums and writers of the 2011 feature Bad Teacher are behind three broadcast comedy pilots — ABC’s Pulling, which they wrote and executive produce, as well as ABC’s Trophy Wife and CBS’ Bad Teacher adaptation, which they executive produce. Additionally, their HBO comedy pilot with Stephen Merchant, Hello Ladies, was picked up to series.
Peter Tolan. The Rescue Me co-creator/showrunner also has three pilots — he co-wrote/executive produces CBS’ Jim Gaffigan comedy; supervises/executive produces Fox’s drama Rake starring Greg Kinnear, and executive produces NBC comedy Brenda Forever.
Three other showrunners are on double pilot duty. Greg Garcia is the sole creator/executive producer of two comedy pilots at CBS, single-camera Super Clyde and an untitled multi-camera project. That is in addition to him running his current series, Fox’s Raising Hope. Julie Plec is writing/executive producing the planted Vampire Diaries spinoff The Originals, executive producing the CW pilot The Tomorrow People in addition to running TVD. Rules Of Engagement‘s Mike Sikowitz is the writer/executive producer of NBC’s single-camera comedy pilot Welcome To The Family and co-writer/executive producer of ABC’s multi-camera Divorce: A Love Story. Ditto for David Zabel, writer/exec producer on ABC drama pilot Betrayal and co-writer/exec producer on another hourlong ABC pilot, Lucky 7. Additionally, in his first pilot season, feature writer Chris Morgan also landed two pilots — he is writing/executive producing Fox drama Gang Related and executive producing ABC’s Big Thunder.
Sharon Horgan, co-creator/star of British comedy Pulling, is the writer, exec producer and star of the ABC comedy pilot Bad Management and also executive produces the network’s Pulling adaptation.
Two of two busiest men in showbuziness, Chuck Lorre and Seth MacFarlane, are back on pilot duty. Lorre is the co-writer/executive producer of CBS’ multi-camera comedy Mom, which he is shepherding along with his his three CBS series, The Big Bang Theory, Two And A Half Men and Mike & Molly. MacFarlane executive produces Fox’s multi-camera comedy project Dads, which received a straight-to-series six-epsiode order, while also juggling his two Fox animated series in production, Family Guy and American Dad, as well as hosting the Oscars and working on feature projects.
James Burrows is once again the undisputed multi-camera directing king of pilot season. He is helming four pilots, NBC’s Sean Hayes comedy and CBS’ Friends With Better Lives and untitled Greg Garcia and Tad Quill comedies. Three other directors are helming two pilots each. On the multi-camera side, Pam Fryman is directing CBS’ Mom and ABC’s Divorce: A Love Story in addition to directing/exec producing How I Met Your Mother, and Mark Cendrowski is helming the pilot episode of Fox’s series Dads and NBC’s comedy pilot Joe, Joe & Jane, while single-camera director Jason Winer is directing Fox’s The Gabriels and CBS’ The Crazy Ones. Fred Savage is directing one of each, multi-camera Jacked Up and single-camera The McCarthys.
Steven Spielberg’s Amblin TV has two pilots at ABC, drama Lucky 7 and comedy Middle Age Rage, in addition to the summer CBS series Under The Dome. Brillstein Entertainment is behind ABC drama pilot The Returned and NBC’s Wonderland and is also attached to CBS’ untitled Jim Gaffigan comedy pilot.
Will Gluck’s Olive Bridge landed the biggest order this season, NBC’s 22-episode pickup of the new Michael J Fox comedy. The company also produces the CBS comedy pilot The McCarthys.
The production companies of two top comedy creators, Greg Daniels (The Office) and Bill Lawrence (Scrubs) are behind two pilots each. Daniels’ Deedle Dee Prods. has the untitled Robert Padnick and the untitled Owen Ellickson/Craig Robinson comedies at NBC; Lawrence’s Doozer has two pilots — Fox’s I Suck At Girls and NBC’s Undateable. Other pods with two pilots each this season include Jerry Bruckheimer TV, which has CBS drama pilot Hostages in addition to the off-cycle NBC drama pilot The Secret Lives Of Husbands And Wives and John Davis’ Davis Entertainment (NBC’s The Blacklist and Ironside). Additionally, Alon Aranya (Red Widow) executive produces two drama pilots, CBS’ Hostages and ABC’s Betrayal, the latter through Scripted World, his company with Rob Golenberg.
Like Sharon Horgan, two other actors are doing double or triple duty this pilot season. Jim Gaffigan co-wrote, exec produces and toplines an untitled CBS comedy project, while Ben & Kate‘s Echo Kellum is co-starring in two pilots — the NBC Sean Hayes one as a regular and the network’s The Gates as a guest star.
TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.
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Props to Kaplan.
Whenever I hear a great one-liner for a show, he’s ALWAYS producing it. Good ear for a pitch.
You’re obviously an agent or a network executive, i.e. someone who doesn’t care about content. Yeah you are correct, Aaron Kaplan has “Catchy” “One-Liners”, the problem is he doesn’t have any television shows. Not all ideas that are pitched as “This meets this, set in this” are viable shows. This guy is a seasonal pitch man, who green lights 1 season wonders at best. That’s because he is truly an agent and not someone who cares, lives and breathes television.
True. Story.
so true. so sadly true.
Completely agree. Give Kaplan the pilot scripts of Sopranos and Saved By The Bell, not sure he could tell the difference. I would imagine he styles himself a rainmaker, making stuff happen, putting writers, studios, and networks together. But these tend to be bankable writers who would easily be able to develop on their own, so you have to wonder how they’re gonna feel as showrunners in season two and three and four, seeing Kaplan’s percentage come off the top of their tight budget every episode for his contribution of….well, what exactly? But as your post indicates, maybe that question is moot–Kaplan’s shows don’t get that far.
Wow, there are 2 women on this list? I’m shocked that Hollywood would allow 2 women to do ANYthing other than fetch them coffee and strut around naked.
Damn, ain’t that the truth.
You know how I know you don’t work in TV? Because you haven’t sat in on a network pitch meeting where it’s all women. Creative executive ranks are dominated by women. Instead of playing victim, why not play your hand like the women in this article did. No one gave them anything – they took it for themselves.
How many of these Women in Creative Ranks have the power to say YES?!?!
did you not see how many network comedies were created by women in the past two years…more than men…so what are you saying?
To You’re A Moron – what I am saying is quite simple. THE INDUSTRY DISCRIMINATES AGAINST WOMEN AND DIVERSITY TALENT. Clear enough?
Regarding your ignorant “past two years” comment… women have made a name for themselves recently, but that’s “two years” in comparison to the white-male-dominated industry since the beginning of TV/film.
Or are they just being the assistants of the men who own the network?
Women in executive producing, showrunning and writing are rare.
I can give you 1 example that is not named above:
Bad Robot: JJ Abrams may have women who oversee the TV side, but he calls the shots,
and there are 2 women in his huge team of writers and exec prod, team, Schapker and Breen,
and he does not hire female directors at all to direct his tv shows.
White men dominate TV and Film, that is why TV and Film are overkilling the Fathers and sons (child) storylines,
USA should look at Europe , where there is a balance , and women and minorities get a role to play, in front and behind the camera.
Respect.
Bad example. The two respective heads of film and television at Bad Robot are women, and very talented ones at that. It’s exactly 50/50 there in terms of male:female executives.
A majority of these “overachievers” are white and male. Clearly, a majority of diversity writers DID NOT get the opportunities that networks gave white male writers.
Words on a page have no skin color or gender.
And if no one is willing to read those words… what are they? Wasted ink?
Your comment is ignorant. There is discrimination in Hollywood. Writers of color (any talent of color) DO NOT get the same opportunities as white male writers. Period.
Define opportunity – are you talking about writers who have worked for twenty years and get pilots? or baby writers who get staffed? the number you should be paying attention to is the number of non-white male staff writers, not pilot writers.
on any show, they have one minority writer at best, and when that one so called “diverse writer spot” is filled, they don’t even consider you. Prove me wrong by telling me what shows had more than one diverse writer? And don’t tell me it’s about hard work and experience…i would say there are numerous diverse writers at the best film schools, and have agents, etc…
Define “Opportunity”… that thing diversity writers DO NOT get.
A majority of Diversity Writers DO NOT get the “opportunity” to work, much less work for twenty years.
In the current TV age where the very best way to break as a new TV writer is to come out of a diversity program, this comment seems dated.
Dated?! You seem discriminatory (even racist) with your comment. Your point (as well as the Industry’s point) is that if there were no diversity writers programs, then no diversity writers would be working.
From a diversity stand point, a diversity program IS the only way to break in and that is a still long shot at best because the showrunners (a majority of which are white and male) still have the final say.
Actually, the “diversity” programs are a red herring. Many of the people in them have already worked. So it’s just recycling the same people for the same “diversity hire” staff position they had before; IF they can get hired again. And now that diversity programs have included gay writers, many of them turn out to be white males.
And coming through a diversity program is no great shakes. Many of those writers aren’t looked on favorably because many, erroneously, assume those writers can’t truly write. It also allows the production to pay them less than a true staff writer position.
The whole machinery – agents, showrunners, studios, networks – is not consciously exclusionary based on race, or even gender. It’s the class divide that is far more insidious. These folks all basically have one job: they are tasked with identifying that next big thing that captures the attention of every person in every town in every country across the globe, and because the business is so fickle and crazy unpredicatble, these folks have only their experience to guide their decision-making. And what is that experience? Expensive luxury cars, multiple investment accounts, lovely, yoga-practicing, vegan-observing stay-at-home partners nestled in lush, landscaped homes filled with happy children plugged into every Apple device ever conceived – all flawlessly and seemingly effortlessly maintained by the Latino staff. You could be white, black, purple, yellow, male, female, homo, bisexual, transgendered, young, old, impaired, special, alien – you walk into these rooms and pitch a show with a minority or deeply disadvanted individual at the center and you have no chance. It’s a complete disconnect. You walk in knowing YOU are actually the everyman or woman in every sense of that word, because you’re the one who’s hurting at the gas gauge or struggling to pay for your education or living off food these people wouldn’t even feed their pets, along with everyone you know. But your world, your references, your observations are so entirely at odds with their reality they think you’re the one who lives in the bubble. Few are the showrunners and networks who actually care to connect with what is outside their reality. Most are immune. There is a sense though as broadcast ratings continue to dive and thus prove, that American television, again with a few notable and noble exceptions, is largely fading into oblivion because most people in this country do not look at a TV screen anymore and recognize any of the people, the conflicts, the problems portrayed on these shows, as their own. That’s what makes You Tube the new mass media…not the out of touch, out of time corporate media that is practically the only game in this town.
Elia,
You live in 1960, hon. The reverse racism going on now is rampant. BET network is racist.
To Fight The Power — go ahead and bury your head in the sand of ignorance. Follow the herd.
BET exists cuz there were no outlets for stories about African-Americans! Only recently has there been a move to create network shows with African-American leads. And stayed on. Tyler Perry and other African-American show creators has prove than there exist an audience for Diversity shows. So, please, HON… take your “reverse racism” BS and stick in the sand with your head.
GO AARON
Aaron also has an amazing sweater collection!
And just like his tv shows, his sweaters only last for one season.
I love the diversity police always bitching up a storm on an entertainment blog. Yeah, you’re really changing the world.
Great job, Kappy.
Who’s this Jimmy Burrows character?
So sad, so sad that those of you that comment about Kaplan are total haters that didn’t get a pilot order. What an amazing industry that can only wish for those around you to fail. Redeeming, really. Kaplan is on fire. Just think, if you actually acknowledged is success- maybe you’d have some yourself. Whining losers,
Andrew Miller also has three as writer/producer. All dramas – two at fox and one at ABC…
What I would like to know is Jimmy Burrows the oldest person working on pilots these days?
Ageism for writers and Directors and Producers
Find out who james Burrows is then enter into show business but not before. That is like asking
Someone in politics who is this Biden guy! Don’t be a fool!
Alternatively, you could find out what sarcasm is.
I always thought of diversity as something having less to do with race and more to do with inclusion of all types of people; handicap, tall, short, skinny, young, fat, old, women, and men. Unfortunately there is little of such diversity on TV and film. If a woman is participating in either medium she is rarely old or fat and she darn sure won’t be handicapped in any way. Without diversity TV and Film have become painfully mediocre.
The mediocrity is hurting the box office. Without major properties like “Transformers,” “Harry Potter,” and “Toy Story” the box office receipts would be woefully low. Something has to change and it’s clear that something is the lack of diversity. This needs to happen before the film industry finds itself in the same position as the music industry.
Respect 2U.
Tolan is certainly an overachiever when it comes to pilots that don’t go.
On the bright side, he’s white and male… so that’s 3 spots that didn’t go to 3 black females who wrote crappy scripts.