FOX is adding to its early pickup reveals ahead of its upfront presentation next week. The network has picked up a comedy pilot and another drama pilot to series.
The first pickup is for the comedy The Cool Kids, from the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia team. On the show, three guy friends in a retirement community are the top dogs until they’re blown out of the water by the newest member of the community, a female rebel whose ready to challenge their place – it’s high school with 70 somethings.
The series was always well received by the network but it had very little momentum until FOX stepped in to revive Last Man Standing after it was canceled by ABC last season. The deals are still being finalized for the revival but the network began searching for comedies to complement the revival if it came to fruition and that’s what made The Cool Kids make a last minute impression and earn the series pickup. the show stars Vicki Lawrence, Martin Mull, David Alan Grier, and Leslie Jordan.
The network has also picked up the drama Proven Innocent, from Empire co-creator Danny Strong. The show is a legal drama set in a wrongful conviction firm. Led by a fierce and fearless female lawyer with a hunger for justice, the team reopens investigations, putting their own lives in danger to exonerate the innocent that were ‘proven’ guilty. Our lead’s motivation comes from her infamous past; as a young adult she was found guilty and later exonerated in a high-profile case in which she became a tabloid sensation, household name, and national celebrity. While a hero and a victim to some, her bold and bullish tactics garner her some enemies— one of whom will do anything to see her go down for a crime we know she did not commit. We will watch her defend others as she fights to maintain her own innocence.
The appeal of these series is that it has franchise potential and that’s something FOX, like many networks, is looking to because they sell well into syndication. Proven Innocent was one of two Fox drama pilots that were in a race for the network’s second drama slot, along with an Ilene Chaiken/Melissa Scrivner Love project starring Katie Holmes. With Holmes’ flawed FBI agent at the center, that drama has drawn parallels to Homeland. While pretty edgy for broadcast, the pilot remains in contention, also possibly for midseason because the network thinks it’s strong as well. The series stars Rachelle Lefevre, Russell Hornsby, Nikki M. James, Vincent Kartheiser, Riley Smith & Clare O’Connor.
