Welcome to the fifth installment of Pitch Your Show, covering shows from O-So. Tomorrow will be the last installment. Previous pitches are linked below, along with the nomination form for the Character Cup. (Yes, this is a shameless plug.) Again, thank you to everyone who helped with the pitches. To keep the articles shorter and more readable, all pitches were edited for length, clarity, and grammar. Nominations were also limited to 3 per show with a couple very popular shows having more. I am truly sorry if your nomination is not in here. Know that I appreciate your time and pitches. Making the choice of what went in was difficult. After all sections are posted, I will include a link to the original spreadsheet so you can read them all in their unedited entirety.
Pitches - Part A
Pitches - Part B
Pitches - Part C
Pitches - Part D
Character Cup
2 seasons, 16 episodes
Netflix
Netflix's The OA is unlike almost any show on TV right now, with many comparing it to Stranger Things. Really though, this genre-bending, metaphysical foray sits somewhere between the abstract and captivating visuals and tones of Legion and Bad Robot's multiple universe redemption story, Fringe. The story starts out with an adult blind girl named Prairie, who’s been missing for seven years, only to finally return home with sight. She sets out to find 5 unlikely socially dysfunctional band of outcasts that she begins to tell her strange, almost unbelievable tale to. It ends up being, in part, about information gained from Near Death Experiences, and how she needs their help to save her other friends who are being held captive. It sounds simple enough, until it isn't. Its second season, which just aired this spring, takes everything to brand new levels of strange from flowers growing out of people's brains to telekinetic aquatic life to a puzzle-mystery-house! If you're looking for something with moody tones, great mythology and visuals, unlikely heroes, metaphysical quandaries, and a feeling of conspiracy, but still has something nuanced and is VERY character driven, this is SO the series for you! (Darthlocke)
3 seasons, 39 episodes
Netflix, Pop
Based on the 70’s CBS sitcom about a white family and their next door neighbour, this reimagined Netflix reboot is about a Cuban-American family and their next door neighbour. This is one of the best and most inclusive shows airing currently. Tackling every possible touchy subject with ease and reverence, and without being too preachy or akin to A Very Special Episode, One Day at a Time is such a timely show. Don't get me wrong, the show is also immensely hilarious and the chemistry between the actors and these wholesome characters is off the charts. Each and every single one of them is Emmy award worthy - oh wait, Rita Moreno already has an EGOT. If 'laugh tracks' bother you, fear not. The show is performed in front of a live audience, who become their own character in the show and react to appropriate things in the manner that you'd expect. They're there to make you feel at home. After the show was brutally cancelled by Netflix, PopTV has swooped in to save it. So now you have the time to binge it, and to do so, I'd simply say, take it...one day at a time. (LauraLoo)
Netflix has an unfortunate habit of cancelling shows after three seasons and I was fully ready to turn this into a #SaveODAAT pitch – but then a miracle happened, and Pop TV saved it just after I had reluctantly accepted its fate! If the show had ended its run there, it would have still given us three of the most important, relevant and best seasons of comedic prowess around, tackling topical subjects that need to be tackled both big and small with care and respect whilst still providing plenty of laughs, but now there’s more and things look only set to get better. The more you spend time with the Alvarez family, the more you grow to love the character dynamics. The brilliant cast of Rita Moreno, Justina Machado, Isabella Gomez and Marcel Ruiz ace every line delivery, making the Alvarez family feel all the more real and all the more believable, right at home in the modern age. Its consistency is also its biggest strength, with no weak episode out of the entire series, leading to highly emotional payoffs. It also boasts one of the best coming out stories on television. (Milo)
4 seasons, 32 episodes
Hulu
Please Like Me was a fantastic Australian show dipping into a nice mixture of fun, lighthearted comedy and very emotional, hardcore drama. It dealt with a variety of serious issues and was always respectful when talking about them. Josh Thomas and Thomas Ward breathed so much life into this show. Josh is a comedian in real life and the show was based on his experiences with finding out he was gay later in life, the reactions to this, and more. He had a very creative and explosive way of getting his image onto the screen. PLM doesn't just have impeccable writing, the directing is beautiful as well. Most noteworthy is an episode from Season 2, where Josh and his mum take a camping trip and talk about their experiences. The scenery was breathtaking and the writing amazing. It's also funny to note that none of the characters have last names, but this doesn't take away from the great development that they received. The acting is flawless too; everyone delivered quality performances, especially Caitlin Stasey and Keegan Joyce. This show was charming, very smart, and is deserving of everyone's time. It's a great binge-watcher, and it ended well enough too. (LauraLoo)
1 season, 10 episodes
Freeform, Hulu
If you love mysteries, this show is for you. It’s set in a small, creepy town in the Pacific Northwest and the mystery begins after Nolan, a student of the prestigious Beacon Heights University, gets murdered. But that’s not all; his sister Taylor killed herself a year before the show started. The siblings were investigating on their own after they realized someone was using the campus security system to spy 24/7 on a select group of people for obscure reasons. Soon enough our three main characters and college students, the “perfectionists”, are in danger because Nolan’s murderer found all the horrible secrets Nolan knew about them that could ruin their perfect lives, and uses those to blackmail them. They need to find out who the killer is to save themselves. The show is based on the novel “The Perfectionists” by Sara Shepard and serves as a Pretty Little Liars spin-off, with returning original characters Alison DiLaurentis as the new teacher assistant and Mona Vanderwaal as a faculty staff member. (Ava)
5 seasons, 90 episodes
Hulu
In a time before Netflix, Prison Break was the most binge worthy show of its time. It always keeps you wanting more and guessing what will happen next. Michael Schofield commits armed robbery and gets thrown into Fox River Penitentiary, all part of his plan to break out his brother Lincoln, who is framed for a murder he did not commit. Once inside, Michael begins an elaborate, intricate plan to escape, recruiting inmates and earning the trust of the guards and warden all while he struggles with the one hitch in his plan - his budding feelings for Sara, a prison doctor who started off as part of his plan but becomes someone Michael genuinely cares for. Once on the outside, Michael discovers he and Lincoln are part of a government conspiracy of people who want then dead and they do what they can to avoid recapture and stay alive (The North Remembers)
Ion, Global TV
3 seasons, 40 episodes (counting this summer's episodes)
Thank goodness for Ion TV. With the darkening of USA Network’s skies, I haven’t been able to find feel good, action shows like Burn Notice and White Collar very easily. Enter Private Eyes. It centers on Angie Everett, a PI, and Matt Shade, a former hockey player, played by Cindy Sampson (Supernatural) and Jason Priestley (Beverly Hills 90210). Set in Toronto, they track down answers with a dose of action and a lot of humor each week. There is an annoying “will they, won’t they” element to the show but it is packed with fun secondary characters that offsets it. Mostly though, they help people as they banter, making it a fun, easy breezy, summer show. Bonus points for using a remake of Hall and Oates' claptastic 80's classic for their theme song. (Dahne)
1 season, 8 episodes
YouTube
Originally airing on FOX, Profit is one of those rare shows that dares to be different. This was the first time I’d watched a show where the main character, Jim Profit, was not a good guy. Jim Profit works for G&G, a multinational conglomerate that Jim has an abnormal attachment to. We come to find out that this attachment was formed at a young age because he was, basically, raised in a G&G cardboard shipping box. Each episode focuses on Profit's efforts to remove an obstacle from his path or to protect G&G in some way. More compelling than Profit’s devious schemes to remove or manipulate the people in his way was getting a peek behind the curtain into why Profit’s mind worked the way it did. His childhood abuse wasn’t limited to being kept in a cardboard box with only a television screen for mental stimulation. The show was ahead of its time. In the years to come, we would see shows like Dexter or The Sopranos become hits. (Prpleight)
4 seasons, 52 episodes
Netflix
Described as Scarface on TV, it opens with Teresa Mendoza, the most notorious Queenpin in the drug trade but it wasn’t always like that. The show chronicles her journey to how she got to where she is. Before,she was a young woman on the run after her drug dealing boyfriend is killed trying to rip off the cartel he works for. Fleeing to America, Teresa ends up as a drug mule for Camilla Vargas, wife of the drug lord who ordered the death of Teresa's boyfriend and whom Camilla secretly plots to overthrow. Now neck deep in the drug trade, Teresa must navigate through the life, rising through the ranks and making questionable choices both to insure her survival and to become the drug lord she will one day be. At the core, its a show about tough choices, doing what it takes to survive, and once you do, where you go from there. (The North Remembers)
1 season, 10 episodes
Hulu
Ramy is frequently laugh-out-loud funny, often unflinchingly honest, occasionally surreal, and always left me thinking about each episode for days after I watched. The series is loosely based on the life of creator/star Ramy Youssef and revolves around a 28-year-old Muslim man living with his parents in New Jersey, navigating the morals of his faith and the temptations of being a millennial. Particularly unique is that the series never treats the supporting characters as props, but rather often gives them their own episodes to shine. Ramy's sister, mother, father, and best friend Steve are all scene-stealers. Deeply introspective and affecting, Ramy is a unique series that pushes the envelope and gets more honest than most series dare to. I can't recommend this one enough. (Maximilian)
4 seasons, 90 episodes
Hulu
Remember the good old days when soapy, over-the-top, campy shows were allowed to unapologetically exist? Well, one show that contributed to that time was ABC’s “Revenge,” a four-season, soapy, mystery thriller, chronicling socialite Emily Thorne’s path of revenge as she avenges her father’s wrongful conviction and his ensuing death. Since most of this show takes place in the sunny, breezy Hamptons during the summer, this is the perfect show to binge throughout the summer while waiting for your fall TV to return. Revenge is addicting, fun, and thrilling, but also occasionally heartbreaking, dark, and twisted. Its two leading actresses, Emily VanCamp and Madeline Stowe, embody their characters, Emily Thorne and Victoria Grayson, expertly. Their characters’ rivalry is insanely delicious and indulging, as is Victoria’s inconsistent love-hate relationship with her husband Conrad. But beware, this show is soapy and unabashedly so. Its dialogue, twists and turns, and character moments have to be viewed through a particular lens, but you’re in for one heck of a ride. Believe me when I say that you will be hooked within the first ten minutes. Why? Well, you’ll have to check out the pilot to see! (Missions)
3 seasons, 31 episodes
Hulu
Rick and Morty is a sci-fi/action lover’s dream, disguised within a creative animated cartoon. Filled with Dan Harmon’s distinctive quippy dialogue and Justin Roiland’s signature voice acting, this show takes television to places it has never been before. It’s Futurama for a new generation. Follow along with Rick Sanchez, our pansexual, mentally-ill lead character, who has all the genius of Doc Brown, but all the misanthropy of Gregory House. He’ll take his grandson Morty Smith on crazy adventures through space, time, other planets, and other dimensions! The entire Smith family grounds the show towards believability, but it also uses them as a crux to show how maniacal Rick can get. It’s entertaining as hell, and each episode is refreshingly different. These characters grow and develop right before your eyes. Season 4 is set to air in November, so there’s plenty of time to binge it! There’s something in this show for everyone whether it’s the family dynamic you crave or the sci-fi nerd within you, or maybe you just like a good animated cartoon once in a while. This show features all of this and more in spades and it begs to be watched just from its pilot alone. (LauraLoo)
1 season, 20 episodes
ABC, Hulu
With his divorce finalized and his son off to college, John Nolan, after facing down the barrel of a gun during a bank robbery, decides at the age of 45 to enroll in the LAPD police academy, making him the oldest rookie ever in the department. With Nathan Fillion headlining a show, you expect it to be a “one man” showcase. With the word “cop” in a show’s description, you probably also expect it to be a run of the mill police procedural as well. While the pilot might very well give you that impression, The Rookie excels by using its ensemble and in making its narrative character-driven. The other two rookies are as important as Nolan and all three training officers are multilayered, interesting characters. The tough sergeant is not just mean for the sake of it. The precinct’s captain is not wallpaper and owns every room she walks in. The reason this show keeps you watching is because it is compelling to see all these people do what they do and learn why they do it. Even if you do come for Fillion, odds are you’ll find way more things to love about it. (Folie-lex)
2 seasons, 32 episodes
Hulu
Runaways has taken its time to quietly become one of the best comic book dramas on air. Its premise is enough to draw eyes, telling the story of kids who find out that their parents are part of an evil cult. After a slow start, which spent too much time setting the stage for the events in the original comic book series, the show quickly remedied its weaknesses with a fantastic second season that really stepped up its game. With a diverse cast and a script that tackles a host of teenage problems and family drama that keeps this series grounded, Runaways has enough to appeal to everyone regardless of their age. It knows exactly what show it is and what it’s trying to do really which helps this show find its tone and groove. The comics are rich enough to keep this show going for years, and the second season pulled out all the stops to get everything right in an easily digestible way that will only improve as a binge watch. Runaways more than makes its case for your time. (Milo)
3 seasons, 30 episodes
Netflix
Santa Clarita Diet has a very dark and very serious subject matter, a woman, played hilariously by Drew Barrymore, becomes a flesh-eating zombie. However, the show is laugh-out-loud hysterical. While providing consistent comedy and consistent gore, the tonal juxtaposition never feels jarring. SCD also provides a great look at a loving and committed marriage between its leads. The supporting characters are also well fleshed out, providing a delightful, lived in world. It’s a fantastic show all around. (That Other Joshua)
5 seasons, 66 episodes
Netflix, Pop
Schitt's Creek is a fish out of water story with a twist. Dan Levy refers to the show as “Breaking Good”, where our family, the Roses, start with everything in the world except the capacity to love, and after losing everything, realize that’s the one thing they can’t live without. It is welcoming to everyone and has the wittiest and sharpest comedy of any sitcom right now. Every dynamic is expertly built up to be the most romantic couplings ever depicted, and the characters develop better than they had any right to. Every season seems to one up itself in terms of the hilarious situations they build, the expert acting and directing, the handful of sets crafted, and the growth the characters experience. Music also has a crucial factor: the show is two steps away from being a musical and that’s a major compliment. A butter-voiced rendition of ‘Simply the Best,’ used by Noah Reid’s Patrick to serenade David in front of the whole town, encapsulates the entire show. With one season left, it promises to deliver a coda that satisfies as much of its audience as possible. What more can be asked for? (LauraLoo)
3 seasons, 55 episodes
Freeform, Hulu
It represents everyone, deals with mental health issues, has badass women, caters to a huge array of diverse viewers, and has the biggest, most devoted fan base. This show has so much more to offer in regards to storyline and could be taken in so many different directions. (Ruth)
This show has helped me in a very difficult time. It has changed and shaped not only me, but the lives of many. ShadowFam is for life. It has a strong LGBTQ representation, POC in high positions, and badass women. It is about love, family, changes, and acceptance. We could all learn from this show. (Imandra)
Shadowhunters has some of the greatest love stories ever told - straight, bi, pansexual -it’s inclusive for all. The show stars some awesomely good-looking people fighting demons with a cast that truly loved every minute of filming. (Kerry)
It is an amazing and inclusive sci-fi/fantasy show. It has inspired thousands of people with its great representation of LGBTQ+ characters and characters coming from different ethnic backgrounds! (Majo)
7 seasons, 89 episodes
Hulu
First airing in 2002 as the show that put FX on the map, Vic Mackey is an LA cop and his strike team takes down gangs. Known for his illegal tactics, Vic takes it up a notch and then some. By the end of the pilot, you see just how far he is willing to go. In addition to the criminals, Vic and his team face off against fellow cops like the ambitious Captain Aceveda, who will either scheme to bring Vic down or seek his help if needed. Other cast members include Dutch, a brilliant but socially awkward detective, the hard nosed often too righteous Claudette, Shane, Vic’s reckless right hand man, and Lem, a loyal cop who serves as the conscience Vic too often forgets. Michael Chiklis won best performer at both the Emmys and Golden Globes the same year for this role, a feat never before seen at the time. The Shield is a nonstop ride from start to finish with an ending that, to this day, many professional critics see as one of the best endings in TV history. (The North Remembers)
7 seasons, 92 episodes
Hulu
One of the most criminally underrated shows of the past decade that still doesn’t get enough recognition, Sons of Anarchy explores the biker gang culture with characters you’ll love one second and hate the next or vice versa. Jax Teller is a new father and vice president of the Sons of Anarchy, a small town motorcycle club that serves as a front for gunrunning. It also serves as protectors, dishing out street justice to more dangerous criminals and keeping drug dealers and enemy gangs out of their home. After discovering a memoir written by his late father, Jax sets out to change the direction of the club from a criminal enterprise to a clean, legitimate business - a decision that clashes with the ideals of many members including Clay, the club president who happens to be his stepfather. Its complex characters and brutal, bloody action is driven by the theme of whether or not you can do right by the family you have and the family you choose, and how the duties to both can affect you for better or worse. (The North Remembers)
5 seasons, 43 episodes
Hulu
Most cop shows feature detectives who investigate the whodunnit, but Southland is the rare instance where the story is centered on the uniform cops, who answer the most horrific day-to-day calls. Ben Sherman (Ben McKenzie) is a newly minted cop partnered with rough veteran, John Cooper, as his training officer. Ben struggles with learning the ropes and going through the daily trauma of the job, all while questioning whether or not he has what it takes. Each episode shows how a case affects the officers, detectives, and victims, while the cops try to balance their personal and professional lives. The action is face paced and the show can be quite graphic. Within the first ten minutes of the pilot, a young boy is mistaken for a rival gang member and is brutally gunned down. (The North Remembers)
