@David, I hear your question loud and clear. At the end of the day, though, it is a money thing. Instead of buying 8 eps a network is only risking money on 1. That allows them to develop more shows, and only put the very best on the air.

In all fairness to them, no one really knows how good a show can be until it’s all put together.

I’ll also add that a pilot is a great learning experience for any show. The pilot for Scream Queens (with a different cast and location) was really good–but we learned so much from producing it that we were able to make the series even better (we hope!)

Sure, we wish we could jump right to series on every show we do, but the fact of the matter is that pilots protect the network, and if a production company respects the pilot process, and learns from the experience, they can gain a lot from a pilot, too.

I have to admit, the concept of a reality pilot always puzzled me. With other pilots, you usually air it, so it’s not like you’ve wasted footage. But one doesn’t normally shoot a single episode of a reality show at a time; it’s done in a whole season. But a reality pilot is essentially lost material, even if all goes well and the show is picked up. It seems like a waste of energy and money. But I guess this sort of thinking is why I’m not in the biz.