How do you think the absence ...

Question: How do you think the absence of pilots from networks like NBC is going to affect the TV landscape? Do you think it will make the networks a little more committed once they order a series? Or is this is a way to avoid paying for development, a pilot and a 13-episode order — only to be off the air by Episode 4 — when they can just order six episodes up front and at least run a complete story that then gets cancelled if ratings are in the dumps? Is this a good change for the industry, or a wait-and-see one?
Answer: Without doubt, the new industry trend of taking a show directly to series is meant as a cost-cutting measure to reduce the number of outrageously expensive pilots that go nowhere. But how it plays out is absolutely wait-and-see. The best result is that we see fresher product because everyone's going with their gut and flying by the seat of their pants, with less interference from the suits. The worst result is that we end up with a bunch of duds that might have benefited by going through the fine tuning of the development and pilot process.