ABC Scraps Four Pilots Including Judy Greer-Starring Comedy
ABC has officially scrapped four potential series for the 2023-2024 season. On Friday, it was confirmed that the network has passed on comedy pilots Public Defenders and Keeping It Together, as well as drama pilots The Hurt Unit and Judgement. Each project had some notable names attached to them, with Anthony Anderson in Public Defenders, Ellie Kemper and Judy Greer in Keeping It Together, Melissa George and Ben McKenzie in The Hurt Unit, and Sarah Shahi in Judgement. That being said, there is a chance that these series could potentially live on elsewhere, as ABC Signature is reportedly shopping The Hurt Unit, while 20th Television will do the same with Public Defenders and Judgement.
Public Defenders followed four inexperienced public defenders, up to their earholes in student loan debt, who work tirelessly to keep their clients out of jail. Along the way, they have to rely on each other to navigate their first defendants, the absurd court system, and the copy machine that always jams. In addition to Anderson, the series also starred Erika Henningsen, Arturo Castro, Kimrie Lewis, Natasha Lopez and Isaiah Dòdó-Williams.
Keeping It Together, which is a remake of the British series Motherland, followed Julia (Kemper), a working mom for whom nothing is working so she goes looking for her village. With the help of new friends Calvin, played by Karan Soni, and Liz, played by Michaela Conlin, Julia discovers she just might succeed at balancing work and parenting from time to time. This is a comedy for anybody who's dropped their kids at school, breathed a sigh of relief … then realized it's Sunday.
The Hurt Unit followed a highly skilled team of trauma surgeons and nurses who race into the field to treat the patients who won't make it to the hospital in time. When the sick and the injured can't get to the ER, the Hurt brings the ER to them. Melissa George starred as the female lead alongside Ben McKenzie, Ashley Romans, Michelle Ortiz and Augustus Prew.
In Judgement, fifteen years from now, a woman, played by Shahi, being vetted for a Supreme Court seat recounts her experience at a prominent D.C. law firm in 2023, where the only thing more controversial than the cases was her messy love life, caught between two feuding brothers, played by Reid Scott and François Arnaud. Now, with a Supreme Court seat on the line, all of her darkest secrets are at risk of coming out, threatening her nomination, her reputation, and her marriage. The series also starred Portia Doubleday, Christine Adams and Ken Kirby.
What are ABC's fall shows?
At the time of this writing, ABC has not included any new scripted TV in its fall 2023 schedule, due to the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike, instead planning to air unscripted programming and reruns of Abbott Elementary. Three ABC shows still remain on the bubble — Home Economics, The Rookie: Feds, and The Good Doctor's backdoor pilot The Good Lawyer.
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