Release the unaired TV pilots

I’m fascinated by high-profile television projects that were filmed but never released. As a TV junkie, I’d love to watch some of these pilots no matter how bad they are. I’d like to see for myself why they didn’t work and why they weren’t picked up by the television networks.
In August, The Ringer writer Ben Lindbergh suggested that TV networks salvage these pilots from Hollywood vaults and air them when new television programming gets scarce during the Covid-19 pandemic. Lindbergh listed many interesting projects that are sitting in warehouses or on computer servers.
I have a couple different ideas for how these unused works could be repurposed.

Make a documentary series about failed pilots

My first idea is to make a documentary series about why these television projects failed. The series can show clips from the original project – not necessarily the entire pilot – and then interview actors, writers, directors and others involved to discuss what went wrong and perhaps what went right.
It would be a bit like the series “Brilliant But Cancelled.” However, this series would focus on pilots that had big-name stars and behind-the-camera talent, but just weren’t very good.

Make a contest out of fixing unused pilots

Television studios should let talented young editors, effects artists and up-and-coming producers take a crack at some failed pilots. The goal would be to “save it in post,” as they say in Hollywood.
They can take inspiration from remix culture (see “Star Wars Episode I.I: The Phantom Edit,” etc,) and try to make something worthwhile from those flawed and possibly unfinished works.
They could make a contest out of it. Set up two producers and see which one can make the best show from failed pilots, preferably hour-long dramas. They can select their teams from recent graduates and industry upstarts to find editors, music composers and visual effects artists.
The contestant producers should be given a limited budget to film some additional scenes. Think of what Zack Snyder is doing to reinvent “Justice League” for HBO Max. But this would be on a shoestring budget, something a guerilla filmmaker like Robert Rodriguez could pull off.
It could be a bit like the series “Project Greenlight.”
The holdup for not releasing these pilots is almost certainly related to legal clearance and ownership rights. But if there’s a will there’s a way.

Next: 10 noteworthy TV dramas that never aired

Photo: “TV” by chrisinplymouth via Creative Commons.