It’s official. CBS has announced fresh seasons for three new series — The Equalizer, Clarice, and B Positive (via Deadline). While the latest The Equalizer reboot stars Queen Latifah, Clarice is the sequel to the thrilling Silence of the Lambs, and B Positive is yet another comedy from Chuck Lorre-Marco.
The dramas have received straight-to-series orders from CBS. Of the three, B Positive was the only pilot that completed broadcast this season, in the race against coronavirus-related production shutdown.
As a production house, CBS has been quite picky in committing to a pilot. It recently passed on the drama The Lincoln Lawyer from A+E Studios and CBS TV Studios, and comedy Fun, from Warner Bros TV. That said, CBS’ new series picks are not surprising.
WBTV’s B Positive was as good as locked since mid-March when the finished pilot received a good response. By April, CBS was already hiring for the comedy series.
And since there were no pilots to look at for the dramas, CBS played it safe and relied on already successful titles, which is the case for both The Equalizer and Clarice.
As part of the pickups, it was also announced that Chris Noth joined the cast of The Equalizer, and the remaining cast of Clarice, led by Kal Penn and Michael Cudlitz, has been retained.
Also this week, CBS renewed 18 series for 2020-21 including the majority of its dramas and three comedies. The network is bringing back a total of 23 shows, scripted, reality and newsmagazines.
Meanwhile, the question of when will we get to see the new series orders will depend on when Hollywood can resume production safely. Because without enough original content by end of September, the new 2020-21 season cannot have a fixed date of start.
Clarice
CLARICE comes from the acclaimed executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet, and stars Rebecca Breeds (of the Pretty Little Liars fame) in the title role.
It follows the brilliant and vulnerable FBI Agent Clarice Starling as she returns to the field in 1993, six months after the events of “The Silence of the Lambs.”
Apart from Kurtzman and Lumet, Heather Kadin and Aaron Baiers are the co-executive producers for the banners MGM Television and CBS Television Studios in association with Secret Hideout.
The Equalizer
The new series is a reimagining of the classic series (that ran on CBS for four seasons) starring the gorgeous Queen Latifah (“Chicago,” “Bessie”) as an enigmatic woman. She uses her extensive skills to help the helpless.
Andrew Marlowe, Terri Miller, Dana Owens (Queen Latifah), John Davis, John Fox, Debra Martin Chase, Richard Lindheim (co-creator of the original “Equalizer” series), Shakim Compere and Liz Friedlander (pilot director) are executive producers for Universal Television.
B Positive
This is the latest work of art from award-winning executive producer, writer and creator Chuck Lorre and Marco Pennette, and stars Thomas Middleditch (“Silicon Valley”) and Annaleigh Ashford.
A newly-divorced therapist is faced with finding a kidney donor when he runs into a woman from his past who volunteers her own.
Chuck Lorre and Marco Pennette are executive producers for Warner Bros. Television and Chuck Lorre Productions, Inc. James Burrows directed the pilot.
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