Mockingbird Lane’s pilot is well below NBC’s expectations

Last Updated on July 23, 2021

Last week we reported that the future of NBC’s MOCKINGBIRD LANE was in question. Despite assurances from show runner Bryan Fuller that quite the opposite was true, it seems the network will indeed be passing on the show in its current state.

That doesn’t necessarily mean the pilot itself is dead in the water. No, NBC has sank two years of development and $10 million into the sucker. It’s going to be a thing of some sort, according to insiders:

Sources say the network could choose to air the completed pilot as a Halloween special (either this year or next), or it might decide to shoot extra footage and package it as a made- for-TV movie for international buyers. Or [NBC chairman Bob] Greenblatt and NBC entertainment president Jennifer Salke could decide to go all-in and redevelop the project again.

Reports also suggest there was a clashing of creative differences between Fuller, pilot director Bryan Singer, and NBC studio brass over the pilot’s visual style. Though reshoots ensued to try to downplay Fuller’s stylistic quirkiness, it seems the pilot still wasn’t quite up to snuff for NBC.

I think anyone who has ever watched THE MUNSTERS would agree developing it into a high concept dramedy was a weird, if entirely ridiculous idea. Though it sports a great cast (Jerry O’Connell as Herman, Portia De Rossi as Lily, Eddie Izzard and Grandpa), most of us saw this disaster coming. The question is– would you watch MOCKINGBIRD LANE as a TV movie or Halloween special? Talk back with your thoughts below…