While we take a breather in-between the 2012-2013 and the 2013-2014 network TV seasons, we  are now focusing on the cable networks. One of the pilots that everyone has been anticipating is the adaptation of  The Strain, which was penned by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan.

Here is the synopsis of the first book in the trilogy:

A Boeing 777 arrives at JFK and is on its way across the tarmac, when it suddenly stops dead. All window shades are pulled down. All lights are out. All communication channels have gone quiet. Crews on the ground are lost for answers, but an alert goes out to the CDC. Dr. Eph Goodweather, head of their Canary project, a rapid-response team that investigates biological threats, gets the call and boards the plane. What he finds makes his blood run cold.

In a pawnshop in Spanish Harlem, a former professor and survivor of the Holocaust named Abraham Setrakian knows something is happening. And he knows the time has come, that a war is brewing . . .

So begins a battle of mammoth proportions as the vampiric virus that has infected New York begins to spill out into the streets. Eph, who is joined by Setrakian and a motley crew of fighters, must now find a way to stop the contagion and save his city–a city that includes his wife and son–before it is too late.

Filming for the pilot has not begun, but they have begin casting. Corey Stoll will portray Dr. Ephraim Goodweather, Mia Maestro has been cast as Dr. Nora Martinez, and Kevin Durand will be playing Vasily Fet,

As we stated earlier, it seems like team Bad Robot has their hands in everything and The Strain is just another example of such a project. Carlton Cuse, who worked on J.J. Abrams’ LOST, will be the executive producer of the pilot as Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan have co-written the pilot and Guillermo del Toro will direct the pilot.

This was kind of a shocker for me, but it’s a go for NBC’s Dracula…

As we stated earlier in the pilot season, Dracula is based on Bram Stoker’s novel of the same name, the 10-episode series finds Dracula preparing to unleash hell on the Victorian society responsible for ruining his life. But he’s thrown when he falls for a woman who’s a dead ringer for his beloved, long-deceased wife.

The show stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Jessica De Gouw, Katie McGrath, and Nonso Anozie.

Will Dracula be coupled with Grimm for a “Supernatural: Tuesday night? We shall see.

It was ABC’s turn to issue their renewals and pick-ups today. Happily and unlike CBS and NBC, it was not a slaughterhouse of a day over at the Disney network.

What we were speculating about yesterday, came into fruition today. Now only was Once given the go-ahead for a third season, but Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. got it’s series order and you know what that means…

Agent Coulson will be in our living rooms on a weekly basis!

Here is the synopsis for Marvel’s latest foray into prime time:

Clark Gregg reprises his role of Agent Phil Coulson from Marvel’s feature films as he assembles a small, highly select group of Agents from the worldwide law-enforcement organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. Together they investigate the new, the strange, and the unknown across the globe, protecting the ordinary from the extraordinary. Coulson’s team consists of Agent Grant Ward (Brett Dalton), highly trained in combat and espionage, Agent Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen) expert pilot and martial artist, Agent Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker); brilliant engineer and Agent Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) genius bio-chemist. Joining them on their journey into mystery is new recruit and computer hacker Skye (Chloe Bennet).

From Executive Producers Joss Whedon (“Marvel’s The Avengers,” ”Buffy the Vampire Slayer”); Jed Whedon & Maurissa Tancharoen, “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” pilot co-writers (“Dollhouse,” “Dr.Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog”); Jeffrey Bell (“Angel,” “Alias”); and Jeph Loeb (“Smallville”) comes Marvel’s first TV series. “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” is produced by ABC Studios and Marvel Television.

By the by, there will be a little sneak-peek of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. during the season finale of Once Upon a Time.

Adam Horowitz also notified the twitterverse that Once Upon a Time in Wonderland was picked up!!!!

Here is a first look at Sophia Lowe as Alice and the following is the synopsis of Once Upon a Time in Wonderland:

In Victorian England, the young and beautiful Alice (Sophie Lowe) tells a tale of a strange new land that exists on the other side of a rabbit hole. An invisible cat, a hookah smoking caterpillar and playing cards that talk are just some of the fantastic things she’s seen during this impossible adventure. Surely this troubled girl must be insane and her doctors aim to cure her with a treatment that will make her forget everything. Alice seems ready to put it all behind her, especially the painful memory of the genie she fell in love with and lost forever — the handsome and mysterious Cyrus (Peter Gadiot). But deep down Alice knows this world is real and just in the nick of time, the sardonic Knave of Hearts (Michael Socha) and the irrepressible White Rabbit (John Lithgow) arrive to save her from a doomed fate. Together, the trio will take a tumble down the rabbit hole to this Wonderland where nothing is impossible.

The 100, starring: Eliza Taylor, Henry Ian Cusick (Lost), Kelly Hu (Arrow), Isaiah Washington (Grey’s Anatomy), Eli Goree, Bob Morley, Marie Avgeropoulos (Cult), Paige Turco, Thomas McDonell, Christopher Larkin. The series is set 97 years after a nuclear war has destroyed civilization. A spaceship housing the lone human survivors sends 100 juvenile delinquents back to Earth to investigate the possibility of re-colonizing the planet. The project is based on upcoming Alloy books written by Kass Morgan and published by Little, Brown. Warner Bros TV, which owns Alloy Entertainment, is producing, with Rothenberg and Alloy’s Leslie Morgenstein and Gina Girolamo executive producing.

EPs: Jason Rothenberg & Leslie Morgenstein.

Star-Crossed (nee Oxygen), starring: Aimee Teegarden, Matt Lanter (90210), Malese Jow, Titus Mankin Jr., Grey Damon, Natalie Hall, Chelsea Gilligan, Greg Finley, Maggie Elizabeth Jones. The series is described as follows: Passion and politics threaten the peace and an epic romance ignites between a human girl and an alien boy when he and eight others of his kind are integrated into a suburban high school ten years after they and hundreds of others landed on Earth and were immediately consigned to an internment camp where they’ve been imprisoned ever since.

EPs: Meredith Averill, Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec, Scott Rosenberg, Richard Shepard, Bryan Furst, Sean Furst, Daniel Gutman; D Gary Fleder

The Tomorrow People, starring: Robbie Amell, Peyton List (Mad Men), Luke Mitchell, MarkPellegrino, Madeleine Mantock, Aaron Yoo. The show is based on the U.K. series created by Roger Price, the drama tells the story of several young people from around the world who represent the next stage in human evolution, possessing special powers, including the ability to teleport and communicate with each other telepathically. Together they work to defeat the forces of evil.

EPs: Phil Klemmer; EP Greg Berlanti; Julie Plec; co-EP Melissa Kellner Berman; D Danny Cannon

Believe: Starring Johnny Sequoyah as Bo and Jake McLaughlin as Tate. The series revolves around a little orphan girl named Bo. Since Bo turned two she has mastered levitation, telekinesis, and the ability to control nature and even predict the future. She’s been raised by a small group known as True Believers, who safeguarded her from “harmful outsiders who would use her forces for personal gain.”

It seems like team LOST has set-up shop in FOX.

The following shows have been given a series order:

Almost Human: Starring Karl Urban, Michael Ealy, Lili Taylor, Minka Kelly, Michael Irby, Mackenzie Crook, & Mekia Cox. The series is an action-packed buddy cop show set in the near future when all LAPD officers are partnered with highly evolved human-like androids.

The EPs for Almost Human are J.H. Wyman, J.J. Abrams, and Bryan Burk.

Sleepy Hollow: Starring Orlando Jones, Katia Winter, Nicole Beharie, Tom Mison, & guest star John Cho. This show is a modern-day supernatural thriller based on the legend of the titular Westchester Country, N.Y. town.

The EPs are Alex Kurtzman and Bob Orci.

After watching the success of True Blood, Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead (all of which have less than 14 episodes a season), the networks are now re-evaluation what they have to offer to their audiences. The success of these shows, shows that shortened season are not an issue. This type of formatting allows networks to have drama-based content throughout the year and allows it to not rely so much on reruns and reality-based programming as filler. It also allows networks to ”maintain series options on the actors while at the same time maintain the project’s international value. And if you market them well, they bring in audience,” as Deadline noted.

Some of the pilots that we have been watching over the last year are strong contenders for this format.

The CW is seeing if it will use this cable-like formatting for The Reign and The Selection.

ABC is looking at it’s spin-off, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, as a contender, as well as Gothica.

Fox may use this methodology for its Sleepy Hollow series.

CBS is using Under the Dome as it’s gateway into this type of programming.

There is an added plus to this, many of you will be quite thrilled at the prospect of not having to deal with four-week gaps in-between new episodes of some of your favorite shows (and I’m talking about CW) because if the networks see that this works than shortened seasons allow for a straight run of back-to-back new episodes. A win-win for everyone.

Let’s hope that this happens.

Here is the new synopsis:

“Fresh from his role in the summer’s box office smash, Marvel’s The Avengers, Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) returns to the worldwide law enforcement organisation SHIELD. He puts together a small, highly trained, team of agents to tackle the cases that haven’t been classified yet: the new, the strange and the unknown. That team consists of straight arrow agent Grant Ward (Brett Dalton), an expert in combat and espionage; pilot and martial artist Agent Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen); and brilliant if socially awkward scientists Agent Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) and Agent Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge). They’ll be joined by civilian new recruit and computer hacker Skye (Chloe Bennet).

“Prepare for an epic adventure that showcases the hope and wonder of the human spirit. This is a world of superheroes, aliens and the unusual; of action, spectacle and world-spanning stories. The show will speak to the human condition through the lens of our very human, non-powered SHIELD agents – that together we are greater than we are apart, and that we can make a difference in the world.

“Executive produced and co-written by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon & Maurissa Tancharoen (Dollhouse, Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog), Jeffrey Bell (Angel, Alias) and Jeph Loeb (Smallville, Lost, Heroes) comes Marvel’s first live-action TV series, Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD.”

From ABC

Patrick Gorman has been as Rev. Alfred Knapp.

ox’s “Sleepy Hollow” series last week cast three actors in major supporting roles. Today the show has added its most important face.

According to Deadline.com, Tim Mison (pictured right) will play the eccentric Ichabod Crane. The English actor was seen in last year’s SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN alongside Emily Blunt and Ewan McGregor; almost all of his work has been in the UK thus far, so he’s a completely fresh face to a worldwide audience.
Anything from Camp Abrams is considered hot property, Sleepy Hollow is one of those properties. Written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. the supernatural thriller follows Ichabod Crane as he partners with Sleepy Hollow’s Detective Abbie Archer to solve the mysteries of a town ravaged by the battle between good and evil. A captain from the Revolutionary War where he takes off a horseman’s head, Ichabod gets time warped into present day where he is confused by the modern technology but turns out to be a great detective once his enemy, The Headless Horseman, comes back to haunt the town.

Regarding casting for the show: Orlando Jones as Lt. Frank Williams, the serious and sternly professional detective transferred to Sleepy Hollow to investigate a double homicide; Swedish actress Katia Winter as Katrina, Crane’s wife and Nicole Beharie will play the detective who teams up with Crane (Tim Mison) in modern times.

Now, there is a chance this series may just turn out to be a movie.