NBC to go from E.R. to L.A.P.D ?
By fred | June 16, 2008
It’s been for quite some time now that NBC could count on E.R. on Thursday nights. But the show isn’t the number one drama on the air anymore, not by a long shot, and it is (finally) heading into its 15th and final season. Which leaves NBC with the million dollar question : what now ?
Apparently NBC is eager to remain in the John Wells business, and they have ordered a pilot episode for Wells’ latest project, for now called LAPD, which will - big surprise - center on police in the city of Los Angeles. The show is aimed to be the successor of E.R. in the Thursday at 10.00 slot, and the pilot, which has begun casting, will be written by Ann Biderman, who’s not new to the genre as he worked on NYPD Blue and won an Emmy for his work. The pilot will be directed by Chris Chulack, who’s used to work with Wells, and will also serve as executive producer on the show, as will Ann Biderman.
That’s a lot of good names involved in this new show, so that’s a definite plus. On the other hand, putting talented people together to create a hit is a good way to miss, especially if there’s not an actual idea for a show behind it. So I hope they have one here, although to be completely fair, another cop-drama… ? Really ? Plus, it’s not like NBC wasn’t used to go for projects with nothing but a blank page…
And, what happened to NBC’s pledge not to go for pilot episodes anymore, but chose quality scripts they really believed in and order right away about 13 episodes ?
