Despite being in serious contention at CBS, the network has ultimately decided to pass on the drama pilot Surveillance starring Sophia Bush. The network passed on a lot of its remaining pilots after their pickups a couple of months ago but kept Surveillance in the running before making this final recent decision.
The pilot, an off-cycle pickup by CBS last summer, had solid testing and had supporters at the network despite its genre being a departure for CBS. The network’s brass looked for ways to take it to series, focusing on non-conventional models, including a possible summer run. CBS does have a pressing need for next summer as its new summer drama series, Blood & Treasure has done well and was recently renewed for a second season. CBS was considered the only viable home for the project but the prospects completely died when leading studio 20th Century Fox TV faced the expiration of the cast’s options over the weekend.
Surveillance is described as a complex and timely spy thriller centered around the head of communications for the NSA (Bush), a charming operative who finds her loyalties torn between protecting the government’s secrets and her own. The series was actually considered at Fox last season with Katie Holmes in the lead role but the network passed on it, despite being high on the concept. The series drew strong comparisons to Showtime’s Homeland but some felt the idea was a bit too cable for network TV.
