More pilot season coverage

UPDATED 7:11 p.m. PT March 25, 2008

ABC has picked up two more pilots, an untited dramedy from Rob Thomas and "Five Year Plan," from Joe Port and Joe Wiseman.

The Rob Thomas project, an adaptation of the New Zealand format "Outrageous Fortune," makes a third pilot for the "Veronica Mars" creator this development season. ABC also picked up his comedy script, a revised "Cupid."

Both pilot orders follow the news that Thomas had been tapped by the CW to pen an updated spinoff of the hit 1990s series "Beverly Hills, 90210." He recently finished a draft for "Beverly Hills," which also is expected to go to pilot.

His latest ABC pilot -- from ABC Studios, where Thomas has a deal -- is a dramedy in which the matriarch of a family of criminals decides it is time for her brood to go straight when her husband ends up in the clink for five years.

In addition to writing, Endeavor-repped Thomas is executive producing the project with ICM-repped John Barnett, whose company South Pacific Pictures produces the original series. Michael Larkin, Michael Goldstein, Bruce Cervi and John Lansing will serve as co-exec producers, while Danielle Stokdyk and Jennifer Gwartz will produce.

"Plan," from Universal Media Services, is a half-hour multicamera comedy revolving around a group of twentysomethings who try to figure out the next five years and beyond.

The UTA-repped Port and Wiseman are the writers/exec producers under their overall deal at the studio. They most recently exec produced the pilots "The IT Crowd" and "Inseparable" for CBS.

Rob Thomas lands another ABC pilot

By Nellie Andreeva

March 25, 2008,