NBC to Stagger Pilot Production Amid Coronavirus Disruption, Still Plans to Shoot ‘Langdon’ Later This Year

NBC has made the decision to stagger production on the 12 pilots it currently has in the works due to coronavirus disruptions.

The network still plans to shoot multiple pilots, including that for drama “Langdon” which centers around the character made famous by from Dan Brown’s novels and Tom Hanks, later this year once they can safely return to production.

However, five pilots, namely “At That Age” from Carla Banks-Waddles, “Echo” from JJ Bailey,  Rachele Lynn and Seth Meyers’ “Craazy For You,” Jim Jefferies’ self-titled comedy, and “Someone Out There” fromo “30 Rock” trio Matt Hubbard, Josh Siegal and Dylan Morgan, have been pushed to next year’s development cycle.

News of the pilot production plan comes less than a week after the network unveiled an optimistic fall schedule, featuring the return of its biggest series “This Is Us,” and the premiere of “Law & Order: Organized Crime” with Christopher Meloni reprising the role of Elliot Stabler. While sources with knowledge of the situation acknowledged that not all of NBC’s shows will likely be ready for the traditional fall start date, the network is still confident that the return to production is moving along fast enough to have plenty ready for later in the fall.

Only one pilot, alien wreckage drama “Debris” starring Jonathan Tucker, has been completed and delivered to the network so far. Sources say it is still being considered. The network ordered additional scripts for each pilot back in March, and has now ordered more for drama “La Brea,” which hails from writer and executive producer David Appelbaum.

The other pilots which NBC intends to shoot later this year are “Ordinary Joe” from “House” alums Russel Friend and Garrett Lerner,   “Grand Crew” (formerly untitled Phil Augusta Jackson/Dan Goor comedy), single-cam Ana Gasteyer-led “American Auto,” and “Night School,” which is a series adpatation of the 2018 Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish movie of the same name.