Dancing with the Upfronts: Rounding Up the Buzz on Pilots at ABC, FOX, CBS, and CW

The networks aren't expected to announce their schedules until the week of May 18th, but ABC got a jump on the competition yesterday by announcing that they had given an early pickup to single-camera comedy Modern Family, from writer/executive producers Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd, giving the series an initial thirteen-episode commitment.

Looking extremely likely for a series order at ABC is drama Flash Forward, especially given the fact that ABC has already launched an on-air viral campaign for the series with its "What did you see?" tagline. ABC executives are slated to screen the pilot and it's a given that Flash Forward will make it on the schedule. Other slots on the schedule could go to such drama projects as Happy Town, V, Limelight, Empire State, The Unknown, or Eastwick.

On the comedy front Awesome Hank (formerly known as Untitled Kelsey Grammer) is looking positive as are Ricky Blitt's Romantically Challenged (formerly known as Single With Baggage) and Bill Lawrence's comedy Cougar Town, though I've also heard some negative buzz forming about the latter. I'm hearing from several sources that comedies Pulling, Best Thing Ever, and The Law turned out decent but not spectacularly, although ABC's redo on The Middle screened very well. It seems like there's no hope for comedies No Heroics and Canned, however.

Meanwhile, several ABC pilots have gotten some title changes, with Lauren Graham's untitled comedy pilot reverting back to Let It Go (its original moniker), the untitled Tad Quill pilot now getting retitled as Best Thing Ever, the untitled Anita Renfroe pilot will now be called Bless This Mess, and Don't Try This at Home is now entitled Married Not Dead.

Meanwhile over at CBS, looking likely for a pickup is legal drama The Good Wife, starring Julianna Margulies, Josh Charles, Christine Baranski, Matt Czuchry, and Archie Panjabi, and the untitled NCIS spin-off is a lock, whereas the jury is deadlocked on the fate of medical dramas Three Rivers and Miami Trauma.

Hot comedies at the Eye are said to include Accidentally on Purpose, Happiness Isn't Everything, and Waiting to Die.

FOX is said to be extremely high on Simon West-directed action pilot Human Target, starring Mark Valley, Chi McBride, and Jackie Earle Haley, which is based on a DC Comics title. Meanwhile, medical drama Maggie Hill, starring Stuart Townsend, Christina Cole, Alfre Woodard, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Luke Mably, Denis O'Hare, and Anna Rose Hopkins, and supernatural drama Past Life (formerly known as The Reincarnationist) also said to be in contention.

On the comedy side, Sons of Tucson has emerged with the biggest buzz and Brothers and Cop House are said to be in contention as well. Reaction was mixed to Mitch Hurwitz and Christine Zander's US adaptation of British series Ab Fab, which here stars Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Johnston, Zosia Mamet, and Toni Trucks. I'm also hearing that Two Dollar Beer is stone cold and there's nothing to see on The Station, Walorsky, and Firsts, none of which have shot yet.

The revival of Melrose Place is considered a lock for the CW's fall schedule, so no surprise there that the netlet will go ahead with another update of a classic soap series.

Rather surprisingly, Privileged could get a second season renewal, thus tying up some of the available real estate at the CW. The Beautiful Life, from executive producer Ashton Kutcher, is looking strong, as are Kevin Williamson-adapted supernatural drama Vampire Diaries and Light Years. One fly in the ointment, however, is that Deadline Hollywood Daily's Nikki Finke is claiming that the untitled Gossip Girl spin-off, which would focus on a teenage Lily Rhodes (Brittany Snow) in the 1980s, is "now dead." Or is it? E! Online is reporting that the project is not dead. ("Nothing is dead," says E! Online's unnamed network source close to the network.)

The CW is out of the comedy game, so there were no comedy pilot orders this season and the CW is closing up shop with The Game and Everybody Hates Chris taking a bow this month.