Unaired TV pilots I’d love to see

The recent decision by Warner Bros. Discovery to scrap its nearly finished superhero movie “Batgirl” shocked a lot of people. It doesn’t happen often in movies at that late stage, but it happens a lot in the production of potential television series thanks to the pilot process.
Many TV pilots never see the light of day and are shelved, locked in vaults, and not released.
What follows are some examples of unaired TV pilots that I’d be curious to see.

New Warriors

In 2017, Freeform passed on “New Warriors,” a TV series based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name. The pilot starred Milana Vayntrub as Squirrel Girl.

The Greatest American Hero

In 2018, ABC passed on “The Greatest American Hero,” a reboot of the 1980s comedy-drama superhero television series. The pilot for the new series starred Hannah Simone from “New Girl.”

Surveillance

In 2019, CBS rejected a pilot for conspiracy thriller drama “Surveillance,” starring “Chicago PD” alumna Sophia Bush.
“Surveillance” was described as a complex and timely spy thriller centered around the head of communications for the NSA (Bush), a charming operative who finds her loyalties torn between protecting the government’s secrets and her own.

Prism

Also in 2019, NBC nixed the drama series “Prism.” The pilot cast included Malin Ackerman, Ramon Rodriguez, Mykelti Williamson, Chloe Wepper, David Alpay, Brooke Smith, Sara Rue, Joe Tippett and Alex Neustaedter.
“Prism” was inspired by “Rashomon,” the 1950 Japanese period psychological thriller directed by Akira Kurosawa. “Prism” was described as a provocative exploration of a murder trial in which every episode was told through the perspective of a different key person involved.

Untitled Game of Thrones prequel starring Naomi Watts

As HBO’s hit series “Game of Thrones” was ending, the network ordered pilots for two prequels series. One of those, “House of the Dragon,” premieres on Aug. 21. The other untitled “Game of Thrones” prequel starring Naomi Watts did not move forward after its pilot was finished in 2019.

Powerpuff

In 2021, the CW decided not to move forward with “Powerpuff,” a live-action series based on the popular Cartoon Network animated show “The Powerpuff Girls.” The pilot starred Chloe Bennet, Dove Cameron, Yana Perrault and Donald Faison.

Related articles:

‘Batgirl’ joins list of notable unreleased movies (Aug. 6, 2022)

Warner Bros. Discovery Takes $825M Write-Down on Content Following High-Profile DC Axings and TBS-TNT Cancellations (The Hollywood Reporter; Aug. 5, 2022)

10 noteworthy TV dramas that never aired (Jan. 10, 2021)

Release the unaired TV pilots (Jan. 6, 2021)

Unaired TV pilots: Wonder Woman, Day One, Hieroglyph (Jan. 31, 2015)

Photos: “Powerpuff” promotional art (top), Milana Vayntrub as Squirrel Girl in the unused TV pilot for “New Warriors,” and Hannah Simone from “New Girl.”