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PILOT PICKUPS: Rise, For God and Country

NBC handed out two series orders tonight to get an early jump on what will be a very busy week of pickups, renewals, and cancellations next week. Dramas Rise and For God and Country, frontrunners from the start, were picked up to series.

Now that we're in the This is Us era, Rise from Jason Katims has been a hot contender for months. It is based on the book Drama High and centers on a high school theater program. Knowing Katims, it will probably be much more about the relationships between the characters. It seems like an obvious fit with This is Us and is also a natural fit for NBC, run by the man who brought Smash and the revival of live musicals to the network. Rise stars Josh Radnor, Rosie Perez, Marley Shelton, and a group of young actors playing the students.

If last year's pilots had a time travel theme, there is definitely a military theme in this year's drama pilots. The first to get a series order is For God and Country. It is centered on America's elite undercover military heroes executing missions in very dangerous places in the world. This seems like it might be a Monday 10pm candidate. For God and Country stars Anne Heche, Mike Vogel, Sofia Pernas, Tate Ellington, Natacha Karam, Demetrius Grosse, Noah Mills, and Hadi Tabbal.

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