A few of you more ardent followers and readers have observed that I do tend to lean more than a tad negative of late. And after a day where the leader of the free world literally stunk up the internet and airwaves with perhaps one of the most nauseating combinations of press conferences and releases as he declared war on the Supreme Court and the Constitution itself I certainly could have chosen to go deep down that rabbit sinkhole and been fully justified in doing so.
But because I’ve taken some time to assess both the quantitative and qualitative preferences of my audience, I’m choosing instead the high road of amplifying someone else who thankfully still seems to adhere to a similar playbook and ethos. Allow me to present Ms. Lisa Katz.
Katz is officially the scripted content president of NBCUniversal, which by definition probably makes her more old-school and traditional than many of her counterparts need to be. She’s charged with finding what will appeal to audiences that are spoked by franchises such as ONE CHICAGO, LAW AND ORDER and live professional sports, most notably the number one regularly scheduled program anywhere, SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL. It’s certainly an envious jumping-off point for anyone to find themselves in. But with that part of the season, which culminated in a memorable February that included a Super Bowl, Winter Olympics and rejuventated NBA All-Star Game, now about to sunset, the hard part of sustaining and maintaining that momentum is upon her. Which also includes the task of trying to find something that wasn’t created in a prior decade or century to break through to even modest levels of success.
So with that daunting a task at her doorstep, kudos to Katz for allowing THE WRAP’s Jose Alejandro Bastidas to be able to author this celebratory ode to old-school solutions which he dropped yesterday morning:
(A)t NBC, pilot season is back. NBC is going all-in on pilots in 2026, circling back to an industry-standard method of making TV in the hopes of crafting the broadcast network’s next big hit. This year, NBC bet on pilot orders for eight new projects — generating 4,000 new jobs across five dramas and three comedies — to produce pilot episodes and test the waters on cast and creative teams before committing to full seasons.
“NBC has always believed in the value of pilots, it’s another step in development and a way to really finetune what can ultimately be the next hit,”…Katz told TheWrap in an exclusive interview. “We developed very intentionally to find the next hits, and we’re so excited about the ones that we’re making.” This year, NBC bet on pilot orders for eight new projects — generating 4,000 new jobs across five dramas and three comedies — to produce pilot episodes and test the waters on cast and creative teams before committing to full seasons. The pilots include a “Rockford Files” reboot starring David Boreanaz and four other crime procedurals, a multi-cam romantic comedy starring Téa Leoni, a comedy set in a private investigator’s office and a buddy comedy with Katey Sagal and Jane Lynch. Network hitmaker Dick Wolf is an executive producer of “What the Dead Know,” centered on a female “death investigator” who teams up with the NYPD to solve cases (just yesterday ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK’s Taylor Schilling was named as its lead). At least two of those shows would film in Los Angeles.
You bet I’m biased and stoked about news like this, because it means if nothing else at least a little bit of work and enhanced responsbility for a whole bunch of folks who desperately are in need of it. Pilot season historically can be both overwhelming and exhilirating at once–as someone who participated in dozens of them, I can vividly recall the working weekends, late-night test sessions and debriefs and countless catered presentations to deliver my teams’ contributions to the process. I am acutely aware of how much more exaggerated those sacrifices have been on the creative side. But as Bastidas reminds, there was and still is a method to that madness:
Pilot season was broadcast TV’s top development workflow for decades. Networks would make a combined 40-50 pilots a year as they tested out potential new scripted shows that would entice advertisers to invest on the upcoming season’s entertainment schedule. By producing just a single episode, these networks experimented with different genres and concepts to see what did or didn’t work. Each season, a dozen shows would come out of those efforts, keeping a steady stream of new titles. NBC created some of its biggest hits through a traditional pilot season, of course. “Friends,” “Seinfeld,” “Cheers,” “Law & Order,” “ER” and “30 Rock” all began with pilots before the network picked them up to air.
The current crop of NBC shows is at least taking some advantage of their outsized and opportunistic lead-ins and adjacencies to at least get sampled. Just yesterday they were able to crow about THE BURBS breaking through on Peacock, and last month a preview episode of the new Tracy Morgan docuspoof THE FALL AND RISE OF REGGIE DINKINS produced NBC’s most-watched comedy series debut in three years since Night Court in January 2023 — though I’d be among the first to point out that’s hardly a high bar. 
Both of those performances were boosted by live post-season football adjacencies, so feel free to take this news with a few ounces of salt. And given that HAPPY’S PLACE was on that list of underperformers but was nonetheless renewed and designated by Katz to be the tentpole of their comedy strategy, there’s clearly a parochial need on Katz’ part to find something that could do better.
There are plenty of factors that brought that era to an unceremonious halt–Bastidas accurately identifies straight-to-series orders, COVID and strikes as being among the culprits. I’d also contend the pilot system was prostituted to justify the investments in giving either unproven or failed talent overall deals to create at least the illusion they were being productive and contributors to the bottom line. Far too many of those 40-50 a year had little chance to realistically see the light of day, and we all know the exorbitant odds that even those that are deserving have to become even a modest success. Eight seems to be a reasonable number that will allow NBC to aim a few targeted darts at the bullseye without overwhelming the dart board. It’s far and away the most that anyone is attempting at this time. That said, for a welcome change others seem to be slowly but surely re-dipping their respective toes in the shark-infested waters. Per Bastidas once again:
CBS has two comedy pilots under consideration for the 2026-27 season: One is “Eternally Yours,” a vampire comedy from the creative team behind hit “Ghosts,” and the 19th century-set sitcom “Regency” from “Big Bang Theory” EP Tara Hernandez. ABC has been casting a pilot for “The Rookie: North,” a spinoff of its long-running procedural that found a new audience with teen viewers in the last few years. HBO Max is crafting two pilots this year for projects that could replicate the success and cheaper production model of Emmy-winning “The Pitt,” which airs 15 episodes per season on a $4-$5 million episodic budget. The shows include police drama “American Blue,” starring Milo Ventimiglia, and family drama series “How to Survive Without Me,” with Ray Romano and Joshua Jackson attached to star so far. Even Netflix did a pilot order for its “A Different World” sequel series, and liked how it turned out since it greenlit it for a full season in November.
Again, this is a far cry from the unwieldly and financially irresponsible days I so fondly remember. And I’m reminded by those still involved that most testing is now remote and presentations are often virtual, so those catered presentations and even to some degree those sleepless nights are a thing of the past. I’d consider that a small price to pay for keeping alive and potentially reintroducing the concept of crawl before you walk to an industry that seemed hell-bent on giving into to personal whims and whimsies without at least inviting the voice of the people into their decisions to drop tens of millions of dollars chasing the holy grail of a crooked number to the left of a demographic rating decimal.
For that reason alone, I’m offering a toast to Lisa Katz for taking the lead in this renaissance. But I’m both budget-conscious and sober, and frankly she still needs to find a winner that’s capable of finding an audience without relying upon the NFL to boost it. Hence at least for now it’ll be a Celsius and not a chablis.
Until next time…