Drama series Avalon will not proceed at ABC

ABC has passed on David E. Kelley’s crime drama series Avalon, starring Neve Campbell, after it was handed a straight-to-series order in February. The Disney-owned network is not moving forward with the project, which is based on a Michael Connelly short story, after it saw the pilot episode.

While unusual for a straight-to-series order, ABC does have an option not to take such shows forward after receiving the first cut, and obviously Disney is a part owner in A+E Studios, which was producing with 20th Television. The move echoes ABC’s pass on the Alec Baldwin/Kelsey Grammer-fronted multi-cam comedy last year.

A+E Networks will explore its options and attempt to sell it to another network or streamer. A+E Networks was successful in shopping one of its other Kelley projects, The Lincoln Lawyer, to Netflix after CBS passed, though that one ended in a lawsuit.



Avalon, which received a straight-to-series order from ABC in February, takes place in the city of Avalon on Catalina Island, where L.A. Sheriff’s Department Detective Nicole “Nic” Searcy (Campbell, photo) heads up a small office. Catalina has a local population that serves more than 1 million tourists a year, and each day when the ferries arrive, hundreds of potential new stories enter the island. Detective Searcy is pulled into a career-defining mystery that will challenge everything she knows about herself and the island.

Campbell’s Nic is the lone detective assigned to the Catalina Island substation. Somewhat inscrutable, Nic isn’t easily intimidated and holds firm to her morals. Ironically, her strong moral compass is what got her banished to Catalina’s biggest city, Avalon. It’s a gig no career-driven L.A. cop wants, but Nic soon discovers her valuable detective skills are needed more on Avalon than she could have imagined.

Next to Neve Campbell (The Lincoln Lawyer), the series also stars Demetrius Grosse (Frontier (2016)), Alexa Mansour (The Walking Dead: World Beyond), Steven Pasquale (Doubt), and Roslyn Ruff (Blue Bloods).

Avalon is created and executive produced by Kelley, who wrote the pilot episode, and Connelly. Dana Calvo was tapped as showrunner and executive produces with Ross Fineman of Fineman Entertainment and Barry Jossen and Tana Jamieson for A+E Studios.