Upfronts 2013: Fox Picks Up Four Dramas

Projects from J.J. Abrams, Greg Kinnear added to 2013-14 schedule

By Tim Baysinger -- Broadcasting & Cable, 5/8/2013 9:00:00 PM

Complete Coverage: Upfronts 2013

Fox became the first network to begin picking up pilots for the 2013-14 season, ordering four dramas Wednesday. The pickups are Almost Human (working title), Gang Related, Rake and Sleepy Hollow.

Almost Human, from executive producer J.J. Abrams and creator J.H. Wyman (Fringe), is a futuristic police series, where cops are partnered with human-like androids. It stars Karl Urban, Michael Ealy and Lili Taylor. The series is from Bonanza Productions in association with Bad Robot and Warner Bros. Abrams, Wyman and Bryan Burk are executive producers.

Gang Related follows a rising star in Los Angeles' elite Gang Task Force who takes one of the city's most dangerous gangs, one he has ties to. It stars Ramon Rodriguez, Terry O'Quinn and RZA. Gang Related is from Chris Morgan Productions, Skeeter Rosenbaum Productions, Imagine Entertainment and 20th Century Fox Television. The series is executive-produced by Chris Morgan (creator), Scott Rosenbaum, Francie Calfo and Brian Grazer.

Rake, which is based on an Australian show of the same name, marks Greg Kinnear's broadcast series debut, as he plays a criminal defense attorney whose self-destructive personal life often gets in the way of his professional one. Rake is produced by Fedora Entertainment and Essential Media & Entertainment Pty Ltd., in association with Sony Pictures Television. The series is executive-produced by creator Peter Duncan, Peter Tolan, Michael Wimer, Richard Roxburgh and Ian Collie.

The fourth drama pickup is the modern-day retelling of Washington Irving's Sleepy Hollow. The series is from cocreators/executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (Star Trek and Transformers franchises). Sleepy Hollow will see Ichabod Crane brought back to life and sent through time, where he teams up with a police officer to unravel a mystery that dates back to the founding fathers. It's from K/O Paper Products in association with 20th Century Fox Television.

Late Wednesday, Fox completed its new series orders by picking up five comedies.