TVSquad

There was more pilot news percolating out of ABC yesterday, including three dramas and a sitcom. On the funny side, writer/producers Jennifer Konner and Alexandra Rushfield are working on Bad Mother's Handbook. It follows the life of a busy, thirtysomething mom dealing with the needs/wants/desires of her teenaged daughter and 48-year old mother. Hmm, sounds like a close knit family! You think they're all under one roof? The sitcom will be a single-camera affair, half-hour laugh fest (or so we hope). I vote for Jamie Lee Curtis as the 48-year old mom. She can still play 48; yes, she can. She looks great on those yogurt commercials!

The other three go-aheads are all crime/police oriented. In Castle, a novelist of horror stories (Stephen King-like perhaps?) lends his expertise to the NYPD homicide squad. Maybe he's Monk without the neuroses, but I think this will be darker. It was written by Andrew Marlowe who also wrote the Arnold Schwarzenegger action movie End of Days.

Also on the police beat, The Unusuals comes from the pen of Noah Hawley (Bones). It's the story of a New York police precinct. Rescue Me vet Peter Tolan is the executive producer, and like that show, The Unusuals will blend drama with comedy.

Finally, there's Finnegan, also set in copworld, but this one is based in L.A. A tough female detective leads the organized crime/vice unit. Trent Jones (Threat Matrix) is the writer.