Pilot Watch: ABC Raises Its S.H.I.E.L.D., Once Wonderland Spin-Off

SciFi Stream looks at the genre pilots in contention for next season on the Alphabet Network.

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ABC might just double-down on its trip to fantasy land in a Once Upon A Time spin-off show, while also juggling one of the hottest properties of the year with a series set in the world of Marvel’s The Avengers.  Here’s a look at the new series currently in contention for a fall time-slot at ABC:

AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.
Producers: Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen, Jeffrey Bell, and Jeph Loeb
Writers: Joss Whedon and Jed Whedon
Starring: Clark Gregg, Ming-Na, Brett Dalton, Elizabeth Henstridge, Ian De Caestecker, Chloe Bennet

The title may still be in flux, but the S.H.I.E.L.D. television series seems all but certain for ABC’s fall schedule. It’s a spin-off from 2012’s biggest film, The Avengers, and it is written and produced by Joss Whedon (Firefly, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Dollhouse … need we say more?). The show would follow the agents of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. Whedon’s driving idea is to make a show that follows the “ordinary” heroes of the peacekeeping organization, and what they do when the superheroes aren’t around.

From the Marvel cinematic universe, Clark Gregg (Agent Phil Coulson) is on board, if in need of an on-screen resurrection. If the show is a hit, Cobie Smulders (Agent Maria Hill) may also be available once How I Met Your Mother concludes its final season next year.

EVOLVE
Producers: Alex Proyas and Jaime Paglia
Writers: Jaime Paglia

Developed by ABC Studios (not necessarily for its own network), Evolve may be a bit early in its development for the network to consider it this year. But we’re still keeping our eye on the show, set two years after a biological agent contaminates Los Angeles and leaves it quarantined from the rest of the world. When a group of people attempt to learn what happened to their loved ones inside the city, they find a world where humans have evolved to possess extraordinary abilities — and where powerful government forces seek to destroy them. It’s based on the Toxic City trilogy of books by Tim Lebbon.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN WONDERLAND
Producers: Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz
Writers: Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz
Starring: Sophie Lowe, Peter Gadiot, Michael Socha, Emma Rigby, Paul Reubens

A spin-off of the Sunday night family fantasy (final title TBD) would be set in Wonderland, and follow the adventures of Alice (Lowe) — a young woman who has a generous heart but who carries the scars of a long, hard life. (Rather than a full pilot, ABC commissioned a short presentation with a handful of scenes filmed.) Viewers have seen Wonderland and a number of its characters already, and a series could bring back characters like Cora (Barbara Hershey) and the Mad Hatter (Sebastian Stan).

The network was originally mulling around a spin-off about the Mad Hatter, but it looks like this Alice-based concept has likely replaced that.

THE RETURNED
Producers: Aaron Zelman, Charles McDougall, JoAnn Alfano, Jon Liebman, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner
Writers: Aaron Zelman
Starring: Matt Craven, Devin Kelley, Frances Fisher, Samaire Armstrong, Sam Hazeldine, Nicholas Gonzalez, Omar Epps, Kurtwood Smith

Similar in concept to The CW’s The Hundred, this is about a group of deceased loved-ones who mysteriously return home to their families, alive and well. The story is based on a novel by Jason Mott.

TOMORROW
Producers: Brett Ratner, Barry Schindel, Katherine Lindberg, Ted Cyr, Michael Sugar, and Nicole Romano
Writers: Katherine Lindberg and Ted Cyr

This high-concept police drama follows an FBI agent who is trapped in a time-travel scenario. The idea is still at the script stage but if the network likes it, Tomorrow will forgo a standard pilot and get a 13-episode order.

GOTHICA also appears to bear some fantasy elements, but it remains to be seen if it would actually be a genre show.

If We Had To Pick One Sight Unseen: S.H.I.E.L.D. C’mon … Joss Whedon and the Marvel universe? Even without Ironman, Hulk, Captain America, Black Widow, or Thor, it’s still going to kick ass.

ABC will announce its final decisions for new and returning series in May, when it announces its fall schedule at the network upfront presentation. Stay tuned to SciFi Stream for the latest!

Learn more about shows currently in development for broadcast, cable, and online television on our In Development page.