ABC has given a pilot order to a character-based procedural drama from top TV and film writer Drew Goddard (Daredevil, The Martian) and ABC Signature, where Goddard and his Goddard Textiles are based.
As Deadline reported exclusively last week, the project, based on TF1’s popular detective series HIP (High Intellectual Potential), had been a frontrunner for an order as part of a fall round of ABC pilot pickups. The network had set an early, mid-October script delivery date deadline for a few projects that were in more advanced stages of development to contend for what I hear are about two or three pilot orders.
2022 ABC Pilots & Series Orders
The premise of the untitled drama, written by Goddard and targeted for the 2023-24 season, evokes Good Will Hunting. In it, a single mom with three kids and an exceptional mind helps solve an unsolvable crime when she rearranges some evidence during her shift as a cleaner for the police department. When they discover she has a knack for putting things in order because of her HIP, she is brought on as a consultant to work with a by-the-book seasoned detective, and together they form an unusual and unstoppable team.
Goddard and Sarah Esberg of Goddard Textiles executive produce alongside Pierre Laugier, Anthony Lancret and Jean Nainchrik of Newen Connect, the distribution company which sold the rights to ABC Signature.
HIP, which is created by Alice Chegaray-Breugnot, Stéphane Carrié and Nicolas Jean, produced by Mediawan’s Septembre Productions and Itinéraire Productions, and stars Audrey Fleurot and Mehdi Nebbou, has been sold to more than 100 territories worldwide.
In January 2020, ABC started ramping up its efforts to move to year-round development, introducing “second cycle” pickups. ABC last month made decisions on its spring batch of 2022 pilots that were filmed/delivered after the May upfronts, picking up to series The Company You Keep, starring Milo Ventimiglia and Will Trent, starring Ramon Rodriguez.
Goddard’s project, which stems from his big overall deal at ABC Signature, marks his return to ABC. He worked on the network’s hit dramas Alias and Lost before segueing to movies with The Cabin in the Woods. Under his ABC Signature pact, Goddard recently boarded Phony, a half-hour project from Marcel the Shell with Shoes On co-writer Nick Paley, which landed at Hulu in a competitive situation with a big commitment.
Goddard served as director, producer and writer of the feature film Bad Times at the El Royale and was nominated for an Oscar for his screenplay for The Martian. In TV, he directed the pilot and served as an executive producer of NBC’s comedy series The Good Place, co-created Marvel’s The Defenders and created Daredevil and was an executive producer on both. Additional credits include Cloverfield and World War Z. Goddard is repped by UTA and Hansen Jacobson.