The J.J. Abrams REVOLUTION Comes Post-Apocalypse

You say you want a revolution? It appears as though NBC will be giving us one as they prepare to begin shooting a pilot for the new show Revolution.

Deadline reports that NBC has given the green light to pilot the show which was written by Eric Kripke who is most notably known for writing the TV series Supernatural. Deadline.com also reports that J.J Abrams and Bryan Burk, will be executive producers, making the overall team up an exciting and highly anticipated one.

Last fall Abrams and Kripke reportedly signed a lucrative deal with NBC to create and develop Revolution. Reportedly the deal also included a significant penalty if the network declined to make a pilot commitment. With the addition of the penalty in the deal, the show’s slot in NBC’s line-up is fairly secure. The project was moved to the pilot stage after a recent rewrite of the script done by Kripke.

Revolution is described as a high-octane action drama with sci-fi elements. The plot follows a group of characters struggling to survive and reunite with loved ones in a world where all forms of energy have mysteriously ceased to exist. The story, of course takes place in a post-apocalyptic world, a world where cities are empty and local militias and freedom fighters reign. And when they say all forms of energy have disappeared, they really do mean ALL forms – from computers to lights, there is not a drop of technology available to the survivors of this world. It will certainly be interesting to see how this plot plays out and what in what direction they will take it.

Although Kripke has had quite a bit of success with Supernatural, he is also slated to take on a new show for the CW called Deadman which focuses on Boston Brand, a circus acrobat who is murdered. Despite being dead, Boston continues to live on when a supernatural being enables him to possess the living. After this gift is given to Boston, he then becomes torn between finding and exacting revenge on the person who killed him and using his abilities to help others. This series is also in talks for a pilot.

Abrams on the other hand, has has been most successful as producer and director with the relaunching of the Star Trek feature-film series. Abrams is no stranger to television though – he was the creator of Alias and Felicity and was the co-creator of Fringe as well as everybody’s favourite, Lost. Abrams will be moving further in to the television world as he is set to produce a drama pilot with Mark Schwahn, creator of One Tree Hill. This project, also for The CW, is called Shelter which is set at an historic New England summer resort.

The networks are ramping things up this year with quite a few post-apocalyptic based shows. Is the fear of December 2012 influencing television now as well as the film industry?

If Revolution or Shelter are picked up for a full series they will likely debut in the fall of 2012.