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PILOT PICKUPS: Rake, Gang Related, Sleepy Hollow, Almost Human

We're finally rolling now with pilot pickups which we are sure to keep seeing over the next several days. FOX made the first move by picking up four dramas: Rake, Gang Related, Sleepy Hollow, and Almost Human. These pickups show that FOX is really going to make a push for dramas this year after premiering just two the past year: the failed The Mob Doctor and hit The Following. Like The Following, these are all male-dominated as that seems to be the direction FOX is going in with both its dramas and comedies this year.

Rake stars Greg Kinnear as a criminal defense attorney with a self-destructive and chaotic personal life. The show seems to be a real star vehicle for the Academy Award nominee Kinnear and also seems to be a legal version of FOX's long-running hit House. The drama also stars John Ortiz, Miranda Otto, Bojana Novakovic, Necar Zadegan, David Harbour, and Tara Summers. It is rumored that it might be a midseason addition but no matter when it airs, it is likely going to be one of FOX's top priorities.

Gang Related stars Ramon Rodriguez and RZA as two members of Los Angeles' elite Gang Task Force. Rodriguez plays a former gang member who teams with RZA to infiltrate three of Los Angeles' most dangerous gangs. Also starring Terry O'Quinn as the Task Force leader, Sung Kang, Inbar Lavi, Jay Hernandez, Cliff Curtis, and Shantel VanSanten, the show seems like a real gritty new addition to the lineup. It will be interesting to see where it is scheduled.

Sleepy Hollow has long been a hot pilot. It is a modern day retelling of the classic story. In this version, Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison) is brought back to life to see a world that is falling apart. He must team with contemporary police officers to uncover a long-standing mystery. The drama also stars Nicole Beharie, Orlando Jones, Katia Winter, and John Chu. I think this will get a fall premiere - maybe after The X Factor on Thursday nights?

Almost Human is a futuristic crime drama from JJ Abrams. FOX might see it as the heir apparent to cult favorite Fringe, which ended in January after five years. The show is set 35 years in the future where LAPD officers are partnered with human-like androids. Starring Karl Urban, Michael Ealy, Lili Taylor, Minka Kelly, Mackenzie Cook, Michael Irby, and Mekia Cox, this show is right on-brand which has always had a home for high concept sci-fi shows all the way back to The X-Files.

With this news, the other FOX drama pilots are dead: Boomerang, a drama about a family of assassins starring Anthony LaPaglia and Felicity Huffman, Delirium, an odd-sounding drama starring Emma Roberts about a time where love is illegal, and The List, a drama about a US Marshal trying to stop a criminal from killing people on the Witness Protection List.
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