• by David Goetzl , April 1, 2010

Not far away from a release of lineups for the 2010-11 season, five Academy Award winners have been cast for network pilots, while two prominent shows that ended in 1980 are in remake mode, according to a program development rundown from Horizon Media's Brad Adgate.

Also notable: CBS, perhaps inspired by the success of "Undercover Boss," has six reality series in the pipeline. And NBC, which after the Jay Leno imbroglio recommitted to more traditional prime-time fare, has fewer shows in development than either CBS or ABC. The other two networks have 22 prime-time hours to fill.

The Oscar winners who could find themselves on this fall's prime-time lineup include Kathy Bates on an NBC drama; Forest Whitaker in a spinoff of "Criminal Minds" on CBS; Jon Voight in a Fox drama; Mary Steenburgen in the ABC comedy "Southern Discomfort"; and Sissy Spacek as the lead on an untitled CBS medical drama.

A new "Hawaii Five-O" is a pilot at CBS, where it ran previously from 1968-'80, and NBC has one of "The Rockford Files," a series that ran on the network from 1974-'80.

The CW has a pilot that is a quasi-film remake, "Nikita," with roots in 1991's "La Femme Nikita." Another TV version of the film aired on USA from 1997-2001, according to Horizon.

While dozens of pilots are being evaluated, ABC has committed to put dramedy "Scoundrels" on the air this summer. With roots in New Zealand, it focuses on a family of miscreants that suddenly attempt to live as model citizens when the father is incarcerated.

Also on the celeb front: Matthew Broderick has been cast in an NBC comedy, his first TV go-round, while Brian Dennehy is attached to an untitled ABC comedy. Jimmy Smits will join the NBC legal drama "Rough Justice," while Michael Imperioli, a co-star in "The Sopranos," is a would-be lead in an ABC police drama set in Detroit.

"Rough Justice" is in development from Conan O'Brien's production company.

CBS with "Survivor" and "The Amazing Race" has been loath recently to experiment with reality shows, but has found success with "Boss" since its post-Super Bowl debut. Its development slate has six unscripted shows -- more than any other network. They include a hidden camera show hosted by Drew Carey; an interview show where renowned people answer kids' questions; and a cooking competition with pros against amateurs.

According to Horizon, ABC has 26 shows in development, and its ABC Studios is involved in producing half of them. CBS has 27 pipeline shows -- 11 where its eponymous studio has a role.

NBC, however, has only 21 shows in development -- 12 of which come from its related Universal Media Studios.

In a congressional hearing about the proposed Comcast-NBC Universal merger, Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) seemed to question whether the new company would seek to prohibit other studios from placing shows on NBC. Executives at NBC Universal say they simply want the best shows for the struggling network.

Fox has 21 shows in development, 14 from sister 20th Century Fox Television.

The CW has 10; eight come from either CBS Television Studios or Warner Bros. The network is co-owned by CBS and Warner and is believed to be a money-loser, but its owners say it provides an opportunity for their shows to get exposure en route to syndication profits.

There is only one spinoff in development, the "Criminal Minds" relation at CBS, with Whitaker as the lead. The cast will be integrated in a "Criminal Minds" episode this month. The network has done well with crime-genre spinoffs for years.

Two years ago, there were no drama pilots with minority actors cast as leads. A year ago, there was only LL Cool J as a co-lead in "NCIS: LA." But this year, there are as many as nine, according to the Horizon report.

More in development: India is a focus for two comedies. The first is at Fox, about a family with a son inclined to tradition and another who is attracted to America. The other, at NBC, concerns a manager moving to India to train his replacement.

Attempting to stay in step with pop culture, consumer behavior, technology, etc., there's an CBS comedy carrying the title "Shit My Dad Says" that is based on a true story -- a son's Twitter account of familial relations attracted more than 1 million followers.