CBS is planning to continue the pilot strategy of 2020 into 2021

CBS is one of the networks that believe in a traditional pilot season. Kelly Kahl is a known fan of the system. But for the 2020-2021 season, networks were forced to change their entire strategy due to the Covid-19 pandemic. During this season, a couple of pilots received a straight-to-series order, including The Equalizer and Clarice.

And this year, the pilot season will also be affected by the corona countermeasures and thus CBS is once again considering to do the same as last year. So no more pilots, but a straight to series order.


Kelly Kahl

Thom Sherman, Senior EVP Programming, CBS Entertainment revealed the following during a virtual press tour at CBS: “We learned a lot this past year: how to adapt and look at things differently and break the whole model. We might even order some projects straight to series like we did with The Equalizer and Clarice.”

A number of new pilots are in the process of being created at CBS including the drama Antarctica by Paul Grellong (The Boys), Josh Berman and Sony Picture TV and the doo-wop college comedy that comes from the creators of Sherman's Showcase Diallo Riddle and Bashir Salahuddin. But the network will also film some new pilots and Sherman said it was “evaluating scripts as we speak” and was “deep into development on new projects.”.


Thom Sherman

Some pilots have been shot, including Ghosts, Wilde Things and The Three off Us. Production on the drama that features Patrick Dempsey will begin in New York in February. The drama Good Sam featuring Sophia Bush will also be shot in Canada in February. The multi-camera comedy Welcome to Georgia will be shot in Los Angeles in March.

Speaking alongside Sherman today, CBS Entertainment president Kahl said that he was proud of his team, cast and crew for the way they have managed this “unprecedented” and “strange” year and season. “There were enormous hurdles both internal and external that we needed to jump over to get these shows back in production and back on the air and that’s taken a lot of creativity, discipline and dedication by everyone involved,” he said.

“Despite 2020 being pretty crappy, we have learned quite a bit these last few months,” he added. “First, we, or anyone, could successfully operate a broadcast network from home. If you’d have said when this all started that we’d be out of the office for ten months and still be able to pull off something resembling a normal season, I’d have said you were nuts. But we charged ahead in virtual staff meetings, table reads, notes sessions, run-throughs and tape nights.”

Kahl said one upside of working remotely has been the opportunity to get more of its junior employees involved in the process. “We took development pitches and did casting via Zoom; while it’s not perfect, it’s kept the development machine moving forward. I feel pretty bad for people pitching comedies on Zoom, you mute to be polite and then when something’s funny you have to react by [waving your hands],” he added. “We’ve also learned to be flexible, we’ve figured out how to shoot a series without an audience or without a couple of hundred crew people tightly gathered around a set, produce shows in our talents living rooms, bedrooms and garages.”