Posted: Mon., Jan. 29, 2007, 6:22pm PT

ABC pickups

By Variety Staff

Vartan

Otto

Krause

Rhames

Union

Chenoweth

Locklear

COMEDY | DRAMA | ALTERNATIVE

DRAMA

Big Shots (Warner Bros TV) PICKED UP
Exec Producer: Jon Harmon Feldman (writer)
Director: Charles McDougall
Cast:Michael Vartan, Dylan McDermott, Christopher Titus, Joshua Malina, Nia Long, Paige Turco, Peyton List, Wendy Moniz, Jessica Collins, Amy Sloan
Logline: Competitive, but dysfunctional, CEOs find the lines between the boardroom and the bedroom blurred.

Cashmere Mafia (Sony Pictures TV) PICKED UP
Exec Producers: Darren Star, Gail Katz, Kevin Wade (writer), Peyton Reed (director)
Cast:Lucy Liu, Frances O’Connor, Miranda Otto, Bonnie Somerville, Peter Hermann, Julian Ovenden
Logline: Four successful female executives juggle career, family and high ambitions in New York City.

Dirty Sexy Money (ABC TV Studio) PICKED UP
Exec Producers: Craig Wright (writer), Greg Berlanti, Peter Horton (director), Matt Gross, Bryan Singer
Cast:Blair Underwood; Tamara Feldman, Peter Krause, Donald Sutherland, William Baldwin, Natalie Zea, Glenn Fitzgerald, Samaire Armstrong, Seth Gabel, Zoe McLellan, Laz Alonso, Jill Clayburgh
Logline: An idealistic lawyer tends to the legal (and sometimes illegal) needs of one of New York’s wealthiest, most colorful families.

Eli Stone (ABC TV Studio) PICKED UP FOR MIDSEASON
Exec Producers: Greg Berlanti (writer), Marc Guggenheim (writer), Ken Olin (director
Cast: Jonny Lee Miller, Victor Garber, Julie Gonzalo, Natasha Henstridge, Lorett Devine, Sam Jaeger, Laura Benanti, James Saito
Logline: Attorney has hallucinations that lead him to believe he is a prophet.

Football Wives (ABC TV Studio) NOT ORDERED
Exec Producers: Chris Brancato, Bert Salke, Bryan Singer, Marco Pennette (writer)
Cast: Gabrielle Union, Brian White, Lucy Lawless, James Van Der Beek, Kiele Sanchez, Ving Rhames, Eddie Cibrian, Arielle Kebbel, Holly Robinson Peete
Logline: U.S. version of the popular British series that will focus on wives of professional football players.

Judy's Got a Gun (ABC TV Studio) NOT ORDERED
Exec Producers: Michelle King, Robert King, Stu Bloomberg
Cast: Michael Michele, Steve Sandvoss, Colm Feore, Louise Lombard, Matt Lanter, Bailee Madison, Johnny Messner
Logline: Suburban woman balances being a single mother with being a detective investigating bizarre suburban crimes

Life on Mars (20th Century Fox TV) PICKED UP
Exec Producers: David E. Kelley, Stephen Garrett, Jane Featherstone
Director: Thomas Schlamme
Cast:Colm Meaney, Lenny Clarke, Rachelle Lefevre; Jason O'Mara
Logline: Detective whose girlfriend has just been kidnapped finds himself transported back to the 1970s. Based on the BBC series.
*Pushed to midseason

Marlowe (ABC TV Studio) NOT ORDERED
Exec Producers: Sean Bailey, Greg Pruss (writer), Carol Wolper (writer), Daniel Pipski and Dan Blatt
Cast: Jason O'Mara, Amanda Righetti, Adam Goldberg
Logline: Based on the film and literary character "Philip Marlowe"

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Regency TV) NOT ORDERED
Exec Producers: Simon Kinberg, Doug Liman, Dave Bartis
Cast: Jordana Brewster, Martin Henderson, Bridgette Wilson Sampras, Rebecca Mader
Logline: Based on the hit feature about a married couple who are both spies.

Private Practice (ABC TV Studio) PICKED UP
Exec producers: Shonda Rhimes (writer), Betsy Beers, Marti Noxon, Mark Gordon
Director:Michael Grossman
Cast: Kate Walsh, Tim Daly, Taye Diggs, Paul Adelstein, Merrin Dungey, Chris Lowell, Amy Brenneman
Logline: "Grey’s Anatomy" spinoff sees Dr. Montgomery Shepherd move from Seattle to Santa Monica to start over.

Pushing Daisies (Warner Bros. TV) PICKED UP
Exec Producers: Dan Jinks, Bruce Cohen, Barry Sonnenfeld (director), Bryan Fuller (writer)
Cast: Lee Pace, Anna Friel, Chi McBride, Swoosie Kurtz, Kristin Chenoweth, Jim Dale
Logline: Forensic fairytale about a man who has the ability to touch dead things and people and bring them back to life.

Suspect (Sony Pictures TV) NOT ORDERED
Exec Producers: Ed Zuckerman (writer), Guy Ritchie, Sarah Timberman, Carl Beverly
Director:Guy Ritchie
Cast: Michael Ealy, Kathleen Monroe, Charles S. Dutton, Carrie-Anne Moss
Logline: Stylish, fast-paced procedural drama uncovering the perpetrator by tracing the suspects.

Untitled Rina Mimoun (Warner Bros. TV) NOT ORDERED
Exec Producers: Rina Mimoun, Lawrence Trilling
Director: Lawrence Trilling
Cast:Mary Steenburgen, Alyssa Milano, James Brolin, Anna Camp, Ian Kahn
Logline: Revolves around a family of seven lawyers

Women's Murder Club (20th Century Fox TV) PICKED UP
Exec Producers: Joe Simpson, James Patterson, Elizabeth Craft (writer), Sarah Fain (writer)
Director: Scott Winant
Cast:Ever Carradine, Kyle Secor, Rob Estes, Paula Newsome, Aubrey Dollar, Tyrees Allen, Angie Harmon, Laura Harris, Linda Park, Rob Benedict
Logline: Four girlfriends solve tough murder cases. Based on James Patterson’s series of mystery books.

COMEDY

American Family (Sony Pictures TV) NOT ORDERED
Exec producers: Jay Scherick & David Ronn (writers)
Director: John Fortenberry
Cast: Charles Esten, Stephanie Childers
Logline: A modern family does what it takes to maintain appearances for the neighbors despite their chaotic life.

The Call (20th Century Fox TV) NOT ORDERED
Exec producers: Dave Hemingson (writer), Joel Surnow, Bob Cochran, Howard Gordon
Director: Michael Spiller
Cast: Jodi Lyn O’Keefe, Danny Comden, Kal Penn
Logline: Action-packed comedy about a team of gifted yet unconventional L.A. paramedics who save people's lives while screwing up each other's - all in real time.

Carpoolers (ABC TV Studio) PICKED UP
Exec producers: Bruce McCulloch (writer), Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, David Miner, Anthony Russo and Joe Russo (directors)
Writer/co-exec producer: Joe Lawson
Cast: Fred Goss, Faith Ford, Jerry O’Connell, Jerry Minor, Allison Munn, Tim Peper, T.J. Miller
Logline: The lives of four very different men who carpool to work together.

Cavemen (ABC TV Studio) PICKED UP
Exec producers: Daniel Rappaport, Guymon Cassady, Will Speck and Josh Gordon (directors), Bill Martin, Mike Schiff
Writer: Joe Lawson
Directors: Will Speck and Josh Gordon
Cast: Bill English, Nick Kroll, Sam Huntington, Kaitlin Doubleday, John Heard, Stephanie Lemelin
Logline: Three prehistoric men who battle prejudice as they attempt to live normal lives Atlanta. Based on the Geico commercials.

Family of the Year (20th Century Fox TV) NOT ORDERED
Exec Producers: Erica Rivinoja and Pam Brady (writers)
Director: Michael Lehmann
Cast: Jennifer Coolidge, Alan Ruck, Dina Waters, Robert Vaughn
Logline: Family that has won the title family of the year 10 times.

The Middle (Warner Bros. TV) NOT ORDERED
Exec producers: Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline (writers)
Director: Chris Koch
Cast: Ricki Lake, Lex Medlin
Logline: A middle class Midwestern family show told through the eyes of the mother.

Miss/Guided (20th Century Fox TV) PICKED UP FOR MIDSEASON
Exec producers: Ashton Kutcher, Jason Goldberg, Mark Hudis, Karey Burke, Caroline Williams (writer), Gaby Allan (writer)
Director: Todd Holland
Cast: Judy Greer, Brooke Burns, Earl Billings, Kristoffer Polaha, Jonathan Sadowski.
Logline: Former ugly duckling returns to her alma-mater as a guidance counselor only to have her high school nemesis join her as a teacher.

The News (ABC TV Studio) NOT ORDERED
Exec producer: Ric Swartzlander (writer)
Director: Marc Buckland
Cast: Jay Harrington, Rachel Boston, Amy Yasbeck, Barry Bostwick, Kristy Wu, Andre Holland
Logline: Workplace laffer set in a Phoenix newsroom

Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office (20th Century Fox TV) NOT ORDERED
Exec Producers: Josh Sternin & Jeff Ventimilia (writers), David Nevins
Director: Gail Mancuso
Cast: Jayma Mays, Kathryn Hahn, Caroline Chikezie, Flex Alexander, Matthew Morrison, Gregory Itzin, Jane Curtin
Logline: Inspired by Dr. Lois Frankel’s book of the same name, about the struggles of a "nice girl" to make it in the cutthroat corporate world.

Samantha Who? (ABC TV Studio) PICKED UP
Executive producers: Donald Todd (teleplay); Peter Traugott
Director: Robert Duncan McNeill
Story by: Cecelia Ahern, Donald Todd
Cast: Christina Applegate, Jennifer Esposito, Kevin Dunn, Melissa McCarthy, Tim Russ, Jean Smart
Logline: A woman wakes up from a coma with amnesia, realizing that she was an awful person.

See Jayne Run (ABC TV Studio) NOT ORDERED
Exec producers: Alana Sanko (writer), Peter Traugott, Becky Clements
Director:Will MacKenzie
Cast:Heather Locklear, Ava Gaudet, Stephan Rannazzisi, Kurt Fuller, Jarrad Paul, Jean Smart, Tim Russ, Anna Hopkins
Logline: A woman struggles with career and motherhood while navigating the male-dominated business world.

The Thick of It (Sony Pictures TV) NOT ORDERED
Exec producers: Mitchell Hurwitz and Richard Day (writers), Paul Telegdy, Armando Iannucci
Cast: Christopher Guest, Rhea Deehorn, Oliver Platt, Michael McKean, John Michael Higgins, Alex Borstein, Wayne Wilderson
Logline: Office workers for a low-level congressman, based on a BBC format.

Traveling in Packs (Warner Bros. TV) NOT ORDERED
Exec producer: Jhoni Marchinko (writer)
Director: James Burrows
Cast: Virginia Williams, Shawnee Smith
Logline: Three single women in their 30s who find living together has a lot more benefits

Untitled Sachs & Judah (ABC TV Studio) NOT ORDERED
Exec Producers: Gabe Sachs and Jeff Judah (writers)
Director: Gary Halvorson
Cast: Ashley Williams, Ayda Field, Kym Whitley, Scott Wolf, Scott Wolf, Ben Savage
Logline: Co-workers and friends in a top tier law firm who are also competing with each other to make partner.

Untitled D.C. project (Warner Bros. TV) NOT ORDERED
Exec producer: Shana Goldberg Meehan (writer)
Cast: Eric Christian Olsen, Wendie Malick, Michelle Trachtenberg, Mark Moses, Smith Cho
Logline: Comedy-infused sudser set in Washington, D.C.

Untitled Victoria Pile project (CBS Par TV/ABC TV Studio) NOT ORDERED
Exec producers: Victoria Pile (writer), Chris Godsick
Director: Andy Ackerman
Cast:Orlando Jones, Kathleen Rose Perkins, Jason Alexander, Sarah Lafleur, Jillian Armenante
Logline: A workplace comedy about the eccentric characters in a police precinct.

ALTERNATIVE

Oprah's Big Give (Harpo Prods.)PICKED UP FOR MIDSEASON
Executive producers: Oprah Winfrey, Ellen Rakieten, Harriet Seitler, Jonathan Sinclair, Bertram van Munster, Elise Doganieri
Logline: Contestants are given cash and are challenged to use it to help others.

NOTE: All titles tentative.