UPDATED: The network upfronts are once again front-and-center for the television industry as major players gather in New York May 15-17 for the springtime ritual of presenting programming plans for the upcoming TV season.
Upfronts are always a hectic time, but this year it’s even more so because of the writers strike that began May 2. Writers and many actors are sitting out the upfront presentations in solidarity with the Writers Guild of America. The promise of WGA pickets surrounding all major events spurred Netflix to make a hasty decision to switch to a virtual presentation rather than an in-person event at the company’s Paris Theater.
As content chiefs outline their plans for the 2022-2023 television season, here is a running list of new drama and comedy series orders handed out by ABC, Disney, CBS, Warner Bros. Discovery, NBC, Fox, the CW and other major players in the upfront. This post will be updated throughout upfront week.
NBC COMEDY
Extended Family (Lionsgate TV, Universal TV)
Logline: Jim and Julia, after an amicable divorce, decide to continue to raise their kids at the family home while taking turns on who gets to stay with them — a process that becomes more complicated when Julia begins dating the owner of Jim’s favorite sports team.
Exec producers: Mike O’Malley (writer), Tom Werner, Wyc Grousbeck, Emilia Fazzalari and George Geyer
Cast: Jon Cryer, Donald Faison, Abigail Spencer, Sofia Capanna and Finn Sweeney
NBC DRAMA
Found (Universal Television, Warner Bros. Television)
Loglinee: A crisis management PR specialist works with a team to help find missing persons but this everyday hero is hiding a chilling secret of her own.
Exec producers: Nkechi Okoro Carroll (writer), Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Sonay Hoffman, Lindsay Dunn and Leigh Redman
Cast: Shanola Hampton, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Kelli Williams, Brett Dalton, Gabrielle Walsh, Arlen Escarpeta and Karan Oberoi.
The Irrational (Universal Television)
Logline: Alec Mercer is a world-renowned leader in behavioral science who lends his expertise to an array of high-stakes cases involving governments, law enforcement and corporations with his unique and unexpected approach to understanding human behavior.
Exec producers: Arika Lisanne Mittman (writer), Mark Goffman, Samuel Baum and David Frankel
Cast: Jesse L. Martin, Maahra Hill, Travina Springer, Molly Kunz and Arash DeMaxi
NBC UNSCRIPTED
The Americas (BBC Studios Natural History Unit, Universal Television Alternative Studio)
Logline: Narrated by Tom Hanks, this 10-part documentary series will employ revolutionary filmmaking technology to showcase the wonders, secrets and fragilities of the Americas and reveal extraordinary, untold wildlife stories that deeply connect with millions around the world.
Exec producer: Mike Gunton
Unititled America’s Got Talent Series (Fremantle, Syco Entertainment)
Logline: A special edition of the global talent competition franchise
Exec producers: Simon Cowell, Sam Donnelly and Jason Raff
Deal or No Deal Island (Endemol Shine North America)
Logline: Teams compete for the biggest prize in “Deal or No Deal” history
Exec producers: Sharon Levy, DJ Nurre and Howie Mandel
FOX COMEDY
Krapopolis (Fox Entertaiment, Bento Box Entertainment)
Logline: Set in mythical Ancient Greece, the animated series centers on a flawed family of humans, gods and monsters that tries to run one of the world’s first cities without killing each other.
Exec producers: Dan Harmon, Jordan Young, Alex Rubens
Cast: Hannah Waddingham, Richard Ayoade, Matt Berry, Pam Murphy and Duncan Trussell
Grimsburg (Fox Entertainment, Bento Box Entertainment)
Logline: Marvin Flute is a brilliant detective with opinions as eccentric as his taste, who can’t help but prioritize his own personal problems over the cases he’s supposed to be solving.
Exec producers: Gail Berman, Hend Baghdady, Chadd Gindin (showrunner), Connie Tavel and Jon Hamm
Cast: Jon Hamm
FOX DRAMA
Doc (Sony Pictures TV, Fox Entertainment)
Logline: A brilliant doctor has to navigate a new world after a brain injury erases eight years of her memory.
Exec producers: Barbie Kligman (showrunner), Hank Steinberg and Erwin Stoff
Cast: TBD
Rescue: HI Surf (Warner Bros. TV, Fox Entertainment)
Logline: Follows the personal and professional lives of the heavy-water lifeguards who patrol and protect the North Shore of O’ahu, the most famous and dangerous stretch of coastline in the world.
Exec producers: Matt Kester (writer, co-showrunner), John Wells (director, co-showrunner) and Daniele Nathanson (co-showrunner) and Erin Jontow
Cast: TBD
FOX UNSCRIPTED
Snake Oil (Fox Alternative Entertainment, Electric Avenue)
Logline: Contestans pitch unique products to entrepreneurs who have to determine which ones fare fake.
Exec producers: Will Arnett, Marc Forman and Neal Konstantini (showrunner)
Cast: David Spade
We Are Family (Apploff Entertainment, Fox Alternative Entertainment)
Logline: A music-guessing game show revolving around relatives of celebrities who perform duets with their famous family members
Exec producers: Jeff Apploff, Jamie Foxx, Matilda Zoltowski (showrunner)
Cast: Jamie Foxx, Corinne Foxx
CBS COMEDY
Poppa’s House (CBS Studios)
Logline: Legendary talk radio host has his point of view challenged at work when a new female co-host is hired, and at home where he finds himself still parenting his adult son
Exec producers: Kevin Hench (writer), Damon Wayans (writer), Andy Ackerman (director), Damon Wayans Jr.
Cast: Damon Wayans, Damon Wayans Jr., Essence Atkins and Tetona Jackson
CBS DRAMA
Elsbeth (CBS Studios)
Logline: The unconventional attorney character Elsbeth Tascioni, known from “The Good Wife” and “The Good Fight,” uses her singular point of view to make unique observations and corner brilliant criminals alongside the NYPD.
Exec producers: Robert King (writer, director), Michelle King (writer), Jonathan Tolins (showrunner), Liz Glotzer
Cast: Carrie Preston, Wendell Pierce and Carra Patterson
Matlock (CBS Studios)
Logline: Inspired by the original NBC series, brilliant septuagenarian attorney Madeline Matlock rejoins the work force at a prestigious law firm
Exec producers: Jennie Snyder Urman (writer), Joanna Klein, Eric Christian Olson, John Will and Kathy Bates
Cast: Kathy Bates, Skye P. Marshall, Jason Ritter, David Del Rio and Leah Lewis
ABC DRAMA
High Potential (ABC Signature)
Logline: A single mom with an exceptional mind, whose unconventional knack for solving crimes leads to an unusual and unstoppable partnership with a by-the-book seasoned detective.
Exec producers: Drew Goddard, Sarah Esberg, Rob Thomas (showrunner), Alethea Jones (director), Dan Etheridge, Pierre Laugier, Anthony Lancret and Jean Nainchrik
Cast: Kaitlin Olson, Daniel Sunjata, Javicia Leslie Deniz Akdeniz, Amirah J, Matthew Lamb and Judy Reyes
THE CW DRAMA
Joan (All3Media International, The CW Network)
Logline: Joan, a fiery and uncompromising woman in her twenties who is deeply scarred and vulnerable. She is a devoted mother to her six-year-old daughter, Kelly, but is trapped in a disastrous marriage with a violent criminal named Gary. When Gary goes on the run, Joan seizes the opportunity to create a new life for herself and her daughter. Adopting new identities and making new acquaintances along the way, Joan becomes a masterful jewel thief. She embarks on a thrilling, high-stakes journey that challenges her every limit, driven by her desire to care for her daughter and create a secure home for them both. Through her sharp intelligence, charm and talent for impersonation and performance, we follow the twists and turns in Joan’s life, the ups and downs, the heartache and the joy that makes this story so compelling to follow.
Exec producers: Ruth Kenley-Letts, Jenny Van Der Lande, Neil Blair and Richard Laxton.
Cast: Sophie Turner, Frank Dillane, Kirsty J. Curtis, Gershwyn Eustache Jr., Laura Aikman
The Librarians: The Next Chapter (Electric Entertainment, The CW Network)
Logline: A spinoff of the original TV series “The Librarians,” the new series centers on a Librarian from the past, who time traveled to the present and now finds himself stuck here. When he returns to his castle, which is now a museum, he inadvertently releases magic across the continent. He is given a new team to help him clean up the mess he made, forming a new team of Librarians.
Exec producers: Dean Devlin (showrunner), Rachel Olschan-Wilson, Marc Roskin, Jonathan English.
Cast: TBD
The Swarm
Logline: Around the world, strange happenings, borne out of the oceans: Whales destroy boats, deep sea crabs attack beaches, mussels block container ships. An unknown ice worm destabilizes continental slopes and triggers tsunamis. A deadly pathogen spreads into the drinking water. Across the globe, lives are increasingly imperiled, the situation worsening by the day—and yet, nobody can draw a connection between the seemingly random attacks. Except for a group of scientists who come together through their shared sense that something bigger is at play: an intelligent life force, dwelling in the deep—capable of manipulating the ocean, and everything that resides in it. A being which has borne witness to our destruction of the seas and has decided to drive us to extinction. But hardly anyone believes their findings. And so, the group are forced to undertake a life-threatening mission, tracking the intelligent life force within the Arctic Ocean. It is a mission they know may claim their lives.
Exec producers: Frank Doelger, Eric Welbers, Marc Huffam, and Ute Leonhardt
THE CW UNSCRIPTED
Patti Stanger: Millionaire Matchmaking (working title)
Logline: In this self-contained dating format, best-selling author and popular reality personality Patti Stanger helps singles find their perfect match.
Exec producers: Eli Holzman, Aaron Saidman, Patti Stanger, and Rob Lee
The Force (working title)
Logline: This action-packed, adrenaline-pumping series delivers raw, unfiltered action and heroism but with a layer of character and storytelling only found in scripted police procedurals…until now! “The Force” carefully crafts stories and builds characters following members of law enforcement that viewers will know, love and root for over each season.
Exec producers: SallyAnne Salsano
The Great American Bakeover (working title)
Logline: Struggling bakeries all over the country are having a tough time keeping their doors open. Decorated baker and business expert Nancy Birtwhistle is traveling to each small-town storefront to give them a much-needed bakeover to save them from bakeruptcy.
Exec producers: Jen O’Connell, Rebecca Quinn
(Pictured: NBC’s “Found”)
