"The Watch," a pilot television program that's set in suburban Milwaukee, appears dead, at least, on NBC. Other networks, though, may still pick it up.
According to hollywoodreporter.com's Nellie Andreeva, "sources said the network (NBC) has passed on the one-hour pilot, which revolves around a suburban Neighborhood Watch group gone awry."
Billy Burke, Lou Diamond Phillips and others were in Milwaukee on Aug. 27 to film the drama that also had "Backyards and Bullets" as a second working title.
The writers' strike, though, could cause the show to jump to another network or even find a home online.
"While the show appears dead on NBC, as reported, the pilot could be shopped around to other networks. Our sources at Sony had told us the fate of the show was in limbo because of the writers' strike. If the show doesn't find a home, Milwaukee as a film and television location to work has won a lot of new friends, from Charles McDougall, the director to high-level production executives at Sony," said David A. Fantle, vice president, public relations at VISIT Milwaukee.
Stay tuned, Milwaukee. Tax credits for film and TV production kicked in Jan. 1, so these incentives should stoke Hollywood's interest in Milwaukee and Wisconsin.
A life-long and passionate community leader and Milwaukeean, Jeff Sherman is a co-founder of OnMilwaukee.
He grew up in Wauwatosa and graduated from Marquette University, as a Warrior. He holds an MBA from Cardinal Stritch University, and is the founding president of Young Professionals of Milwaukee (YPM)/Fuel Milwaukee.
Early in his career, Sherman was one of youngest members of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, and currently is involved in numerous civic and community groups - including board positions at The Wisconsin Center District, Wisconsin Club and Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. He's honored to have been named to The Business Journal's "30 under 30" and Milwaukee Magazine's "35 under 35" lists.
He owns a condo in Downtown and lives in greater Milwaukee with his wife Stephanie, his son, Jake, and daughter Pierce. He's a political, music, sports and news junkie and thinks, for what it's worth, that all new movies should be released in theaters, on demand, online and on DVD simultaneously.
He also thinks you should read OnMilwaukee each and every day.
