NBC Orders Crime Drama Pilots ‘Puzzled’ & Wolf Entertainment’s ‘What The Dead Know’

NBC is truly bringing back pilot season. In addition to the barrage of January pilot orders — six over the past four days — the network also has revived another forgotten pilot season tradition: Friday night greenlights.

Getting pilot orders tonight are dramas Puzzled, from former Charmed showrunner Joey Falco, and What the Dead Know, from Dick Wolf‘s Wolf Entertainment and writer Beth Rinehart (FBI: Most Wanted).

Both projects are crime/cop procedurals based on books, Danielle Trussoni’s novel The Puzzle Master and former New York City medical examiner Barbara Butcher’s memoir What the Dead Know, respectively. Both are produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.

In Puzzled, written by Falco who executive produces with Jordan Cerf, after barely escaping a tragic fire, once-promising college athlete Mike Brink is transformed by a traumatic brain injury that gives him the unique ability to see the world in an unexpected way and helps him solve crimes with local police.

Trussoni serves as producer.

Written by Rinehart, What the Dead Know centers on death Investigator Ava Ledger who is really good with dead bodies. It’s the living that give her trouble. The series follows Ava as she teams with the NYPD to solve their toughest cases.

Rinehart executive produces with Wolf Entertainment’s Dick Wolf, Tom Thayer, Peter Jankowski and Anastasia Puglisi. Kevin Plunkett, Rebecca McGill and Butcher co-executive produce.

NBC had been expected to pick up a sizable number of pilots by today’s standards this pilot season — about four dramas and four comedies. The network is already overdelivering on its goal with five drama pilots — The Rockford Files reboot, Protection, the untitled Georgaris/Fox project, Puzzled and What the Dead Know. Interestingly, all are in the crime genre and most are procedurals, indicating a clear programming focus for the network this season. (Tonally, Puzzled is believed to be lighter than the others.)

Even the sole NBC comedy pilot so far this cycle, the untitled Goor/Del Tredici project, is set in the world of crime, revolving around a private detective. With NBC ordering five drama pilots, it is unclear whether the network would stick with four comedy pickups or do fewer.

Falco previously created and executive produced the 2023 ABC legal drama pilot Judgement starring Sarah Shahi. His series credits also include Sleepy Hollow and Heroes Reborn. In addition to FBI: Most Wanted, Rinehart worked on Wolf Entertainment’s Law & Order: SVU and Chicago Justice. Her series credits also include NCIS: New Orleans.