The 2000s are back in more ways than one. Low-rise jeans are everywhere, “Scrubs” will soon return to the airwaves and now, at NBC, pilot season is back.
NBC is going all-in on pilots in 2026, circling back to an industry-standard method of making TV in the hopes of crafting the broadcast network’s next big hit.
The streaming boom begat a “series order” trend across television, with networks and streamers greenlighting full seasons of new shows to feed the content machine as quickly as possible. But as the industry contracted, TV distributors across linear and streaming now have to be more discerning in development to ensure tighter budgets go to projects that will truly move the needle.
This year, NBC bet on pilot orders for eight new projects — generating 4,000 new jobs across five dramas and three comedies — to produce pilot episodes and test the waters on cast and creative teams before committing to full seasons.
The pilots include a “Rockford Files” reboot starring David Boreanaz and four other crime procedurals, a multi-cam romantic comedy starring Téa Leoni, a comedy set in a private investigator’s office and a buddy comedy with Katey Sagal and Jane Lynch. At least two of those shows would film in Los Angeles.
“NBC has always believed in the value of pilots, it’s another step in development and a way to really finetune what can ultimately be the next hit,” NBC and Peacock scripted content president Lisa Katz told TheWrap in an exclusive interview. “We developed very intentionally to find the next hits, and we’re so excited about the ones that we’re making.”
Pilot season was broadcast TV’s top development workflow for decades. Networks would make a combined 40-50 pilots a year as they tested out potential new scripted shows that would entice advertisers to invest on the upcoming season’s entertainment schedule. By producing just a single episode, these networks experimented with different genres and concepts to see what did or didn’t work. Each season, a dozen shows would come out of those efforts, keeping a steady stream of new titles.
NBC created some of its biggest hits through a traditional pilot season, of course. “Friends,” “Seinfeld,” “Cheers,” “Law & Order,” “ER” and “30 Rock” all began with pilots before the network picked them up to air.
But the advent of streaming platforms favoring straight-to-series orders, allowing a show to develop its first season in full upon receiving a green light, put pilot production on the back burner for many TV distributors. Production pauses due to Covid and the writers’ and actors’ strikes also made the practice difficult.
With those problems behind it, NBC is now bringing the practice back with a 2026 mindset that’s more cost-conscious. The addition of the NBA to the primetime schedule means there are fewer available slots for shows, so the use of pilots helps the network figure out which select programs make the cut. And it’s not just NBC, other distributors are also leaning into pilot orders, which revives a stream of Hollywood job opportunities — even if only to produce that one episode.
“We have been able to crew up for eight projects at a time when there’s not a lot of production happening,” Katz added. “It’s very energizing, both internally and externally, the agent community and below the line, people are really excited. It’s creating this enthusiasm that feels contagious.”
What works on broadcast
NBC and Peacock’s scripted development teams, led by Katz, looked at over 1,500 submitted pitches for new TV shows during this development cycle, a typical number for the year. From there, roughly 70 projects were developed specifically at NBC. Eight projects received pilot orders, and greenlight decisions on most are expected before NBCUniversal’s 2026-27 season upfront presentation in May, as has been the industry standard.
For drama series, Katz and her team bet on the crime procedural genre. “Rockford Files,” from “Shades of Blue” producer Mike Daniels, is a contemporary retelling of the classic PI series, no doubt buoyed by the success of CBS’ “Matlock” reboot. Network hitmaker Dick Wolf is an executive producer of “What the Dead Know,” centered on a female “death investigator” who teams up with the NYPD to solve cases. “Gossip Girl” reboot scribe Josh Safran created “Protection,” about the mystery surrounding a serial killer targeting a family of law enforcement officers, set to star Peter Krause.
There’s also “Puzzled,” from “Charmed” reboot writer Joey Falco and starring Damon Wayans Jr., about a savant sports better who pivots to solving crimes; and there’s one from “Quantum Leap” EP Dean Georgaris, inspired by the legacy of profiler and author Dr. Ann Burges, starring Emily Deschanel.
NBC is also taking a comedic bite out of the PI apple, with “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” duo Dan Goor and Luke del Tredici setting their next workplace comedy in the offices of an L.A. private detective’s office. Katz said the show could be an effective complement to “St. Denis Medical,” the hospital-set mockumentary that was already renewed for Season 3 for the 2026-27 season.
“Luke and Dan was a pitch we heard and I made a production commitment immediately based on their vision for it,” Katz said. “It was laugh-out-loud funny, and felt like such a home run for NBC comedy and what’s been [consistently] successful for us.”
The network ordered two more comedy pilots, both for multicam projects to complement the renewed “Happy’s Place,” headlined by Reba McEntire and Belissa Escobedo. “Newlyweds,” starring Téa Leoni, follows a free-spirited woman and an organized professor who decide to marry after a whirlwind courtship. The second is a buddy comedy starring Katey Sagal and Jane Lynch, the only project in the bunch to be produced by an outside studio, Paramount Television Studios.
Katz noted that the multicam projects fill programming gaps on network TV, offering a rom-com and an “Odd Couple”-like show centered around top talent. She also touted all the pilot projects for providing aspirational content that shows great characters solving problems with ease on screen, which could prove comforting for audiences in uncertain times.
The overall goal is to make a compelling show that will spark conversation and a passionate fanbase, and that works for a broadcast audience, Katz said. What this slate does not include is heavily serialized shows, and that’s by design.
“We’ve learned in broadcast that more episodic storytelling, where people can drop in and drop out, tends to do best for us than [a show that’s] heavily serialized,” Katz said. “People are coming back to see ongoing character relationships. The episode’s stories have a beginning, middle and end, but you’re really invested in those characters.”
Who gets a spot?
It’s too soon to tell how many of the eight pilots will get the coveted green light for a series order — and NBC doesn’t have that many spots to give.
The 2026-27 season marks the second year that NBC is the broadcast home of the NBA, which means Tuesday nights are dedicated to basketball in fall, with Sunday nights also accounted for in the spring. The network also has at least five shows with near-certain renewals on the horizon, including Dick Wolf’s top-rated “One Chicago” franchise and both “Law & Order” dramas.
Medical drama “Brilliant Minds” appears to have the iffiest future, with its remaining Season 2 episodes postponed indefinitely from a March debut, likely to return in the summer if not later. Also on the bubble are sophomore crime drama “The Hunting Party,” which has performed well since returning for Season 2 in January; new cheerleading comedy series “Stumble” and Tracy Morgan comedy “The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins,” which premieres Feb. 23 following a preview post-football airing in January.
Katz said the schedule could accommodate multiple new series, depending on episode counts and renewal decisions. And while this pilot exercise is NBC-focused, the team could always pick up a show for sibling streamer Peacock, too.
“We’ll watch them first and look at everything holistically from there,” Katz said.
Pilots revisited
While the rise of Netflix and other streamers led to an industry-wide prioritization of straight-to-series orders, it’s still true that ordering one episode and seeing how it goes is a far cheaper option than ordering an entire season for a show that doesn’t work.
So it makes sense that distributors would bounce back into pilot-making as budgets tighten, though NBC is by far producing the most this season. On broadcast, CBS has two comedy pilots under consideration for the 2026-27 season: One is “Eternally Yours,” a vampire comedy from the creative team behind hit “Ghosts,” and the 19th century-set sitcom “Regency” from “Big Bang Theory” EP Tara Hernandez. ABC has been casting a pilot for “The Rookie: North,” a spinoff of its long-running procedural that found a new audience with teen viewers in the last few years.
Pilots are even making their way into streaming’s development process. HBO Max is crafting two pilots this year for projects that could replicate the success and cheaper production model of Emmy-winning “The Pitt,” which airs 15 episodes per season on a $4-$5 million episodic budget. The shows include police drama “American Blue,” starring Milo Ventimiglia, and family drama series “How to Survive Without Me,” with Ray Romano and Joshua Jackson attached to star so far.
Even Netflix did a pilot order for its “A Different World” sequel series, and liked how it turned out since it greenlit it for a full season in November.
For NBC, the goal is to add another hit show to its 100-year-old legacy — one filled with huge hits that emerged out of pilot season.
“We’ve been starting to air the first spots for NBC100, created by Jenny Storms and our marketing team, that highlight our legacy talent and series [of the past] like ‘The Office,’ ‘30 Rock,’ ‘Cheers,’ ‘ER’ and ‘Friends.’ One hundred years from now, some of our newer characters and series will be celebrated for NBC200. It’s exciting to think about what and who will be part of that legacy,” Katz told TheWrap.
The post Making a Hit: Why NBC Brought Back Pilot Season in 2026 | Exclusive appeared first on TheWrap.
