Looks like ABC has had a change of heart regarding the paranormal investigation series it just ordered to series last week. Weird Desk was given the greenlight for a 13-episode summer season on December 5th, but in a very quick turnaround ABC has decided to shelve the project until further notice.
Deadline says that ABC realized shortly after ordering the series that while they liked it, it could very well be difficult and cost prohibitive to get it together in time for the planned summer premiere that had originally been announced for the project.
As with any sudden decision though, there seems to be plenty of speculation going around as to what else might have been behind ABC’s call to pull back the order. Among the more interesting rumors is that there may have been objections to Weird Desk’s similarity to the Joss Whedon project at ABC, Marvel’s S.H.I.E.L.D. which has been one of the most high profile projects this pilot season. Aside from both being about secret organizations, I don’t see much similarity, but I’m only going on the basic description that was provided for Weird Desk. Written by Stargate’s Carl Binder, Weird Desk is about a male/female paranormal investigation team handling investigations of strange occurrences that are passed to the “Weird Desk”, the nickname for their agency. S.H.I.E.L.D hails from the Marvel Comics world and focuses on an elite peacekeeping group.
Whatever the reason, Weird Desk is on hold for the moment. Word is ABC will take another look at it after the current pilot season, but I won’t hold my breath.
