Television Preview: 6 Pilots to Look Out for

Spring is here, and that can only mean one thing: It’s pilot season!  With May sweeps right around the corner, networks have already begun gearing up for the fall.  So, without any further delay, here’s a list of the 6 TV pilots that I’m most looking forward to, in no particular order.  (Narrowing the list down to 5 was too daunting a task.)

1. Ringer (CBS):  I was sold on this project from the moment I learned that Sarah Michelle Gellar had signed on to star.  I mean, it’s about bloody time for Buffy to make a comeback!  The premise is pretty neat, too.  SMG pulls double duty as a woman on the run from the mob hiding out as her estranged twin sister, who, as it turns out, has some secrets of her own. 

2. Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea (NBC):  That ’70’s Show’s Laura Prepon stars in this comedy based on late-night host and stand-up comedian Chelsea Handler’s best-selling book.   Need I say more?

3. 17th Precinct (NBC):  I’m really psyched for this supernatural cop drama, which is being described as “an adult Harry Potter.”  Battlestar Galactica fans are going gaga over the casting of Jamie Bamber, Tricia Helfer, and James Callis.  I myself couldn’t be more excited about the uber-talented Stockard Channing scoring a lead role in the series.

4. Two Broke Girls (CBS):  There’s a lot to like about this sitcom.  (1)  It comes to us from Sex and the City scribe Michael Patrick King and Chelsea Lately regular Whitney Cummings.  (2) It stars Kat Dennings, one of the most talented young actresses around.  (If I had a nickel for every time I’ve seen Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, then I’d have at least, like, fifty cents.)  (3)  It follows two young waitresses from very different backgrounds trying to make it in the Big Apple.

5. Secret Circle (CW):  Vampire Diaries creator Kevin Williamson is hoping to work his magic again with this supernatural drama, based on another series of books by L.J. Smith.  Starring Life Unexpected’s Britt Robertson, the show is about a California teen whose world is turned upside-down when she moves to New Salem, and discovers that she is a witch.  Williamson has struck gold with The Vampire Diaries, and I have no doubt that he’ll continue his winning streak with Secret Circle. 

6. Good Christian Bitches (ABC):  This dramedy about a recently divorced mother of two who clashes with a group of conservative women (led by Pushing Daisies’ Kristin Chenoweth) when she moves back to her hometown sounds like a lot of fun.  Iron Man’s Leslie Bibb has nabbed the leading role, and Designing Women’s Annie Potts has been tapped to play her mother.