During pilot season last year, New York filmed no pilots; this year, following the August 2010 vote to extend and expand the state's Film Production Tax Credit Program, nine pilots were filmed in the Big Apple. Out of the nine hour-long pilots filmed in New York, eight have been picked up as series, and six of them will take up full-time residence in New York, including "Person of Interest," "The 2-2" and "Unforgettable," all set to air on CBS.
NBC's "Smash," which will make its debut mid-season on Monday nights, will star Katherine McPhee ("Americal Idol"), Megan Hilty (Wicked), Christian Borle (Legally Blonde), Brian d'Arcy James (Shrek) and Debra Messing ("Will & Grace") and include original songs written by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman (Hairspray, Catch Me If You Can). The pilot was directed by Tony Award winner Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening, American Idiot) and concerns the creation of a Broadway musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe.
Ricci will be seen in "Pan Am," set to air this fall on ABC in Sunday's 10 PM ET time slot. The series is set in the 1960s when air travel represented the height of luxury and Pan Am was the biggest name in the business. Ricci will play Maggie, a rebellious bohemian who turns into a buttoned-up professional for work so she can see the world.
Patrick Wilson will be seen in the CBS series "A Gifted Man" alongside Tony Award winner Jennifer Ehle and Tony Award nominee Margo Martindale. The drama will be seen this fall Friday nights at 8 PM ET. The series, according to CBS, is "a drama about a brilliant, charismatic surgeon whose life changes forever when his deceased ex-wife begins teaching him the meaning of life from the 'hereafter.'"
Emmy Award winner Michael Emerson, who portrayed Oscar Wilde in Off-Broadway's Gross Indecency, will star in CBS' "Person of Interest," described as "a crime drama centered on an ex-CIA agent, presumed dead, who teams up with a mysterious billionaire (Emerson) to prevent violent crimes in New York City." The series is set to air Thursday nights this fall at 9 PM ET. "Unforgettable," on CBS, stars Poppy Montgomery as Carrie Wells, "an enigmatic former police detective with a rare condition that makes her memory so flawless that every place, every conversation, every moment of joy and every heartbreak is forever embedded in her mind." The series is set in Queens and will air Tuesday nights this fall at 10 PM ET.
"The 2-2," produced by Robert De Niro (Cuba & His Teddy Bear), revolves around six NYPD rookies who learn to balance their personal lives while working the streets of Manhattan; the cast also includes Leelee Sobieski and Adam Goldberg. The series will air in the CBS' mid-season.
