NBC Orders Drama Pilots From Dean Georgaris, Daniel Barnz

By Joe Otterson

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – NBC has given out pilot orders to two drama projects for the 2019-2020 season.

The first is titled “Bluff City Law.” The series is described as a character-driven legal drama that follows the lawyers of an elite Memphis law firm that specializes in the most controversial landmark civil rights cases. Led by legendary lawyer Elijah Strait and his brilliant daughter, Sydney Keller, they take on the toughest David-and-Goliath cases while navigating their complicated relationship.

“The Brave” creator Dean Georgaris serves as writer and executive producer on the project, with David Janollari and Michael Aguilar also executive producing. Universal Television will produce along with David Janollari Entertainment.

The second project is titled “Prism.” It is an exploration of a murder trial in which every episode is told through the perspective of a different key person involved. Each new version of the facts ratchets up the mystery and the suspense, calling into question everything we have seen so far and asking is the right person on trial? Driven by an ensemble of complicated characters, the show lets the audience ask if truth matters less than who can tell the most compelling story.

Daniel Barnz will write, executive produce, and direct the pilot. Ben Barnz, Julie Weitz, and Carol Mendelsohn will also executive produce. Universal Television will also produce this pilot, along with Carol Mendelsohn Productions and the Barnz’s We’re Not Brothers banner.

These are the first pilot orders has given out for the upcoming season. The broadcaster previously gave a straight-to-series order to “Law & Order: Hate Crimes,” which is based on New York’s actual Hate Crimes Task Force, the second oldest bias-based task force in the U.S.