Pilots Land on Net Runways

[staypuftman2004]

Three pilots have been given network greenlights.

ABC on Friday picked up Jason Winer's single-camera comedy "This Might Hurt," while CBS has handed out presentation orders to two dramas: "Tower," from "Cold Case" creator/executive producer Meredith Stiehm, and "Harper's Island," to be directed by "National Treasure" helmer Jon Turteltaub.

"Hurt," from 20th Century Fox TV and Guy Walks Into a Bar, originally was set up at Fox, which picked it up to pilot in August but walked out before it went into production. "Hurt" was shopped to other networks after the WGA strike.


Written and to be directed by Winer, "Hurt" is set at a private medical practice and revolves around the owner, a fiftysomething pediatrician with a great bedside manner but woefully old-fashioned methods; his brainy internist son, with whom he's in constant conflict; and an OB/GYN who has an inherent distrust of all men.

Casting on the pilot, which is executive produced by Winer, Matthew Weinberg and Todd Komarnicki, is set to begin immediately for a mid-April shooting start.

This is the second pilot ABC has greenlighed since the end of the writers strike, following the pickup last month of a multicamera comedy spec by Max Mutchnick and David Kohan (HR 2/16).

"Tower," from CBS Paramount, revolves around a group of Chicago reporters who treat breaking news as cases to be both investigated and solved.

Stiehm is the writer/executive producer.

"Island," also from CBS Par, is a horror story that unfolds during the course of a season as a group of friends meet on an island off the Seattle coast for a destination wedding.

Ari Schlossberg penned the script and will serve as a co-executive producer along with Karim Zriek and Dan Shotz. Turteltaub, who also directed and executive produced the pilot for the CBS/CBS Par drama "Jericho," will direct and executive produce.

"Tower" and "Island" join another drama, "Can Openers," which CBS recently picked up with a presentation order. The network is doing more presentations in lieu of full-blown pilots this year as the pilot season has been truncated by the strike (HR 2/7).