Pilot Watch! Katie Finneran, Jonathan Groff and 15 More Broadway Stars Headed to TV This Fall

Now that the major networks have announced their pilot pick-ups, the Broadway community can rejoice as as favorite stars hit the airwaves in some of this fall’s hottest new shows. Of course, they’ll be taking the place of recently cancelled series like The New Normal, Go On and Smash, all of which featured Broadway alums. But we can’t mope about NBC’s cruel cutting of Andrew Rannells and Megan Hilty! Instead, we’re keeping our eyes on the prize: the stage performers who will be turning up on television this fall! Take a peek at what you can expect from nine new shows this season.

Katie Finneran on The Michael J. Fox Show (NBC)
Fresh off her orphan-hating rampage as Miss Hannigan in Annie, Finneran returns to TV for the first time since I Hate My Teenage Daughter was nixed by Fox last year. She’ll star as Michael J. Fox’s boozy sister Leigh on the sitcom based on the Back to the Future actor’s personal life.

Jonathan Groff in Untitled Michael Lannan Comedy (HBO)
Perennial hottie Jonathan Groff will be breaking barriers on HBO this fall in the as-yet-untitled dramedy about a trio of gay friends living in San Francisco. Early buzz calls the show Girls for a new generation of gays. We call it our new favorite show.

Robin Williams and Hamish Linklater in The Crazy Ones (CBS)
Williams’ return to network TV is the season’s buzziest, and he’s joined by Shakespeare in the Park star Linklater in a show about a father-daughter team at a powerful ad agency. Williams, of course, plays said father, with Sarah Michelle Gellar as his hyper-focused daughter and Linklater as a neurotic art director.

Skylar Astin and John C. McGinley in Ground Floor (TBS)
Spring Awakening alum Astin joins recent Glengarry Glen Ross star McGinley in the new comedy from Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence. The show is set in corporate America and follows a hotshot banker (Astin) and his intimidating boss (McGinley). The actor’s frequent Glengarry f-bombs will most likely be absent.

Sean Hayes and Linda Lavin in Sean Saves the World (NBC)
Promises, Promises star Sean Hayes makes a splashy return to NBC (let’s just ignore that Smash cameo) in this sitcom about a divorced gay dad balancing work with the perils of raising a teen. And what’s a family sitcom without a wacky mother who moves in? Enter Tony winner Linda Lavin!

Tony Shalhoub and Jerry O’Connell in We Are Men (CBS)
Current Tony nominee Tony Shalhoub (Golden Boy) and Seminar standout Jerry O’Connell buddy up in CBS’s new show about four romantic losers who find friendship in a short-term rental complex. Good news: The show sounds promising. Better news: O’Connell spends time in a Speedo.

Toni Collette and Tate Donovan in Hostages (CBS)
Wild Party Tony nominee Collette will shake off her United States of Tara comedy for some heavy drama in this Jerry Bruckheimer-produced series about a family caught in the middle of a political conspiracy. Her husband is played by Broadway and TV vet Tate Donovan.

Margo Martindale and Beau Bridges in The Millers (CBS)
Martindale and Bridges star in this kooky comedy as a pair of newly divorced parents who each move in with one of their children. It’s the newest sitcom role for Bridges since My Name Is Earl, and a decidedly different character for Martindale after her Emmy-winning, gloriously batsh*t Mags on Justified and KGB handler on The Americans.

Allison Janney in Mom (CBS)
In one of the most anticipated titles of the season, we’re digging the idea of 9 to 5 Tony nominee Allison Janney as the passive-aggressive mother of a struggling single mom (Anna Faris) in the newest entry from Chuck Lorre (The Big Bang Theory). Can we just start calling her Grandma Rose?

Marcia Gay Harden and Bradley Whitford in Trophy Wife (ABC)
Hell hath no fury like an ex-wife played by Marcia Gay Harden! The Tony winner co-stars with Bradley Whitford in the buzzy comedy about a reformed party girl (Watchmen’s Malin Akerman) who shacks up with a divorced man with two ex-wives.  Bradley, get ready to feel the wrath of MGH!