Hope for Kiele Sanchez & Football Wives.

SoSueMe

I was disapointed to hear that Football Wives wasn ot picked up by ABC in May but they have apparentely changed thier minds. The show has gotten very good reviews but there are rumours ABC didn't want to upset the NFL and the show was really expensive (cast-wise) The pilot cost over $8million

Here is the article:
ABC's presumed-dead pilot "Football Wives" is getting at least a tentative new lease on life.

The show, an adaptation of the British hit "Footballers Wives," attracted a fair amount of buzz during pilot season, but ABC chose not to make the show one of its 11 series orders for the 2007-08 season. Now, though, the network may be reconsidering its position.

ABC Studios, which produced the pilot, has extended its options on the show's cast, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The move keeps the cast -- which includes James Van Der Beek ("Dawson's Creek"), Gabrielle Union ("Night Stalker"), Lucy Lawless ("Battlestar Galactica") and Ving Rhames ("Mission: Impossible III") -- from taking roles on other series and suggests that ABC may still be interested in "Football Wives."

Marco Pennette ("Ugly Betty," "Crumbs") wrote the pilot, transplanting the high-camp British soap about the wives of professional soccer players in England to American football. Bryan Singer ("Superman Returns," "House") directed it. The cast also includes Kiele Sanchez ("Lost"), Eddie Cibrian ("Invasion") and Arielle Kebbel ("Gilmore Girls").

Even if ABC does ultimately decide to pass on "Football Wives," the HR says it may find a life elsewhere. NBC and FOX are reportedly interested in the show.


From The Hollywood Reporter:

ABC's drama "Football Wives" is going into overtime. ABC Studios, which produced the pilot based on the popular ITV series "Footballers Wives," has extended the options on the actors, an indication that the project remains in contention at ABC. "Football Wives," written by Marco Pennette and directed by Bryan Singer, was one of ABC's highest-profile pilots this past development season, and its failure to make it onto the network's schedule was considered a surprise. Revolving around the wives of professional football players, the show stars Gabrielle Union, Lucy Lawless, Kiele Sanchez, Ving Rhames and James Van Der Beek. Although ABC still has the rights to "Wives," sources said that several other networks, including NBC and Fox, have expressed interest if ABC decides to pass on it.

SoSueMe

Here are a few reviews:

Who stars? Eddie Cibrian, Gabrielle Union, Holly Robinson Peete, James Van Der Beek, Lucy Lawless, Ving Rhames, and others!

Why should you care? The pilot was delicious -- witty, outrageous, sexy, and fun! Sure, the dialogue was a bit corny, but that was the point. Remember how fun Desperate Housewives was two years ago? This was that fun. Lucy Lawless must find another project that lets her work her comic chops -- Xena is funny!

Why should you worry? Rumor has it that ABC dropped the show to keep the football leagues happy. We can't have entertainment kowtowing to sports. Other accounts suggest ABC was trying to save money. While this doesn't seem to be ABC (they largely believe in the high risk/high reward motto if the project looks promising), it is sad to think that such a good show was lost because of behind the scenes stuff.

Bottom line? While ABC had a good crop of pilots, too many of them looked too similar to each other. This one was different -- and it would have had men and women watching together, laughing, and drooling. The loss of Football Wives isn't a huge one, but it would have been nice to have the show brightening television screens.



BONUS FIRST LOOK: FOOTBALL WIVES (ABC)
(pilot not ordered to series)

The network's description: ""Football Wives" centers on the lives of three women and their husbands who are teammates on a fictional NFL franchise in Orlando. Their decadent lives are seen through the eyes of innocent newcomer Donna, whose new friends quickly indoctrinate her. Because when your husband goes from poor college student to newly-minted millionaire overnight, your lifestyle explodes. In no time, Donna learns being a football wife is anything but a game. It's not only the team obligations and the obsessive fans. Hot groupies, addictive drugs, excessive shopping, outrageous greed, ravenous desire and bitter jealousy all mask the nagging anxiety that this party train is one injury away from ending. Director Bryan Singer ("House," Superman) takes us behind the scenes with American royalty to see how instant success pushes these women around and how they push right back. Gabrielle Union (Bring it On, "Night Stalker"), Lucy Lawless ("Xena"), Kiele Sanchez ("Lost"), James Van Der Beek ("Dawson's Creek"), Brian White ("The Shield") and Ving Rhames (Mission: Impossible) and Eddie Cibrian ("Invasion," "Third Watch") star in this comedic soap that mixes the best of "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" and "Desperate Housewives" to become a Dallas for the new generation. Marco Pennette ("Ugly Betty") adapts the massively successful British series into super raunchy, campy, yet exclusively American fun. You don't have to be a football fan to love the football wives."

What did they leave out: Director Bryan Singer makes a brief cameo as a music video director. And somebody is nearly eaten by a crocodile. And no I'm not making that last part up.

The plot in a nutshell: Life as the wife of an Orlando Ray is pretty sweet. There's the shopping trips to Miami via private jet, the enormous houses and equally as enormous jewelry, not to mention the "bitch nights" when they hit the town during their husbands' away games. Conversely, being a football wife is a full time job. That's the first lesson new mom Donna Reynolds (Kiele Sanchez) learns after her husband Brian (James Van Der Beek) is drafted by the Rays and signs a huge five-year contract. Somewhat uncomfortable with their new lavish lifestyle ("I still have underwear from freshman year," she notes), Donna is nonetheless shown the ropes by the wives' queen bee, Tanya Austin (Lucy Lawless). And sure enough it proves to be as creepy of a sorority as advertised as everyone has some sort of drug or eating disorder. But Tanya herself has bigger problems - her husband, veteran quarterback Jason Austin (Eddie Cibrian), is being forced out by the coach (Spencer Garrett) in favor of a hot young (but mysteriously unseen) free agent. Sensing the end of her lifestyle, Tanya will do anything and everything to the Rays' owner Frank Wallingford (a surprisingly invisible Ving Rhames) to keep that from happening. Also thrown into the mix is Chardonnay Lane (Gabrielle Union), a burgeoning pop star whose longtime boyfriend - star receiver Kyle Johnson (Brian White) - recently proposed, finally giving her full-time admittance into the wives club. Their engagement isn't all its cracked up to be though as she clashes with Kyle's mother (Holly Robinson Peete), who still lives with him. It's Donna however that proves to have the biggest problems and the biggest secrets. Unbeknownst to Brian, she had another child at 16 and gave it up for adoption, a fact the current adopted father is exploiting for a cash payout. Making matters worse - her party girl sister Nicole (Arielle Kebbel) isn't too good at keeping secrets, especially after she catches the wandering eye of Jason. A game of "telephone" soon follows as word gets to Tanya, who offers to help Donna in exchange for future favors. And it's not long before Tanya tries to cash in said favor as she attempts to cover up that she accidentally killed Frank (or did she?) after learning her efforts to keep Jason on the team have failed.

What works: The show has a few fun characters (Kyle's mom) and a few fun lines (Kyle's mom upon learning Kyle's engaged to Chardonnay: "So when's she due?") but...

What doesn't: ...it's all so disappointingly predictable and obvious. All the plots - baby blackmail, fiancee clashes with mother-in-law, wife who will do anything to stay ahead - are straight out of the warmed-over-soap-opera-plot playbook while only marginal effort is given to put a fresh spin on them. And while most of said plots are straight out of the U.K. original, that world was decidedly more in the "super raunchy, campy" mold than this show professes to be. Everything here is played extremely straight and its few attempts at being super raunchy (Nicole appears wearing only a mascot uniform) or campy (um, they use the word "bitch" a lot and somebody gets slapped 30 minutes in) only remind you what a pale imitation this show is. Making matters worse is a cast that doesn't seem to be enjoying themselves - the boys in particular sleepwalk through the show while of the girls, only Lawless appears to be having any fun at all. Equally as distracting is the show's "maybe-I've-watched-the-game-once-or-twice" treatment of football. All of the team's particulars are kept frustratingly vague (Brian's position is identified as "defense") while no one will mistake the behind-the-scenes operations as an episode of HBO's "Hard Knocks"... or even "1st and Ten."

The bottom line: It's the type of show that reminds us what "Desperate Housewives" does on a weekly basis is no easy task.


Football Wives: Now I know that many of you are in love with this project and absolutely angered that it wasn't picked up...but it's certainly not as good as "Secrets of a Small Town" from last year, while the ensemble cast always hits the mark.

I felt the best moments were between Chardonnay (Gabrielle Union) and her soon to be mother-in-law, especially when we find out the truth about Grandmother's Ashes and after an interview where Mother uses an impending, undesired event as leverage to get her way. However, Lucy Lawless is flawless as the backstabbing, bitchy leader of the wives...and she will literally stop at nothing to ensure that things go the way she plans it.

The focus of the pilot, though, is between Dawson...er...James Van Der Beek and Kiele Sanchez, who are newcomers to the Orlando Rays football franchise, with his recently coming out of college to join the professional league. She's not quite ready to accept this flossy lifestyle, while he is ready for the fame, the glamour, and possibly, the women on the side, unlike her, who is devoted, but has a secret that she doesn't want to tell him. But, lucky enough for us, she has a slutty sister who doesn't mind sharing.

As you would expect, there are secrets and backstabbing, ranging from the wives, to the relationships of the players, to the football team as a whole. If it is picked up and the ending of the pilot leaves anything to suggest, the second episode is going to be scandolous.

All in all, this is a solid addition to any networks lineup, but I'm not sure if it would be the out of the box hit that some posters have suggested...I still feel like I've seen this before, but performances elevate the material. 8/10

qz

Eh, what?

The_B_Man

Kiele Sanchez - Nikki from Lost