UPDATED: The network upfronts are once again front-and-center for the television industry as major players gather in New York May 13-16 for the springtime ritual of courting advertisers and media buyers and presenting programming plans for the upcoming TV season.
The industry is looking forward to a return to form after the disruption of last year’s writers and actors strikes. As content chiefs outline their schedules for the 2024-2025 television season, here is a running list of new comedy, drama and unscripted series orders handed out by ABC, Disney, CBS, Warner Bros. Discovery, NBC, Fox, the CW and other major players. This post will be updated throughout upfront week.
NBC COMEDY
Happy’s Place (Universal Television)
Logline: Bobbi inherits her father’s bar and is less than thrilled to discover that she has a new business partner in the half-sister she never knew she had.
Cast: Reba McEntire, Belissa Escobedo, Melissa Peterman, Pablo Castelblanco, Tokala Black Elk and Rex Linn
Exec producers: Kevin Abbott, Michael Hanel, Mindy Schultheis, Julie Abbott and Reba McEntire
St. Denis Medical (Universal Television)
Logline: A mockumentary about an underfunded, understaffed Oregon hospital where the dedicated doctors and nurses try their best to treat patients while maintaining their own sanity.
Cast: Wendi McClendon-Covey, David Alan Grier, Allison Tolman, Josh Lawson, Mekki Leeper, Kahyun Kim and Kaliko Kauahi
Exec producers: Justin Spitzer, Eric Ledgin, Simon Heuer
NBC DRAMA
Brilliant Minds (Warner Bros. TV/Universal TV)
Logline: Inspired by the late author and physician Oliver Sacks, the series follows a revolutionary, larger-than-life neurologist and his team of interns as they explore the last great frontier – the human mind – while grappling with their own relationships and mental health.
Cast: Zachary Quinto, Tamberla Perry, Ashleigh LaThrop, Alex MacNicoll, Aury Krebs, Spence Moore II, Teddy Sears and Donna Murphy
Exec producers: Michael Grassi, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Leigh London Redman, Lee Toland Krieger, DeMane Davis, Melissa Aouate, Henrik Bastin, Andy Serkis, Jonathan Cavendish, Will Tennant
The Hunting Party (Universal Television)
Logline: A high-concept crime procedural about a small team of investigators who are assembled to track down and capture the most dangerous killers our country has ever seen, all of whom have just escaped from a top-secret prison that’s not supposed to exist.
Cast: Melissa Roxburgh
Exec producers: JJ Bailey, Jake Coburn
NBC UNSCRIPTED
The Americas (BBC Studios Natural History Unit/Universal Television Alternative Studio)
Logline: Narrated by Tom Hanks, the series will employ revolutionary filmmaking technology that will showcase the wonders, secrets and fragilities of the Americas – Earth’s largest landmass and the only one to stretch between both poles – and reveal extraordinary, untold wildlife stories that deeply connect with millions around the world.
Exec producer: Mike Gunton
Destination X (Twofour, Universal Television Alternative Studio)
Logline: Merging fantasy with reality in this larger-than-life adventure competition series, viewers will follow contestants as they embark on the road trip of a lifetime but have no idea of their location. In order to win, they must figure out their mystery locations. Once they’re on the blacked-out Destination X bus, the journey transforms into a real-life game board, with challenges designed to offer clever clues as to their location, along with a few misdirects to keep them guessing.
Exec producers: Caroline Davies, Andy Cadman Dan Adamson, David Clews, Shireen Abbott, Karen Hudson
CBS DRAMA
Sheriff Country* (CBS Studios)
Logline: A straight-shooting sheriff investigates criminal activity as she patrols the streets of small-town Edgewater while contending with her ex-con father and a mysterious incident involving her wayward daughter.
Cast: Morena Baccarin, Diane Farr
Exec producers: Max Thieriot, Tony Phelan, Joan Rater, Jerry Bruckheimer, KristieAnne Reed
* Ordered for 2025-26 season
More to come
(Pictured top: NBC comedy “Happy’s Place”)