Marg Helgenberger really hasn't been hurting for work since her tenure on CSI ended. The veteran actress first hopped to Intelligence and then made her way to Under the Dome. Now, she's landed a role in another potential TV series, playing Admiral Bobbie Decker in the Behind Enemy Lines pilot. The announcement makes her the first person cast in the upcoming pilot.
Marg Helgenberger should be a good fit for the pilot, as she's pretty much been a CBS regular for more than a decade. CSI, Intelligence and Under the Dome were all shows that aired on the Eye Network, so it's not a huge surprise that Behind Enemy Lines will keep the actress around. In the pilot, Helgenberger will play a Navy Admiral who is described by Variety as "the most powerful woman in the military."
If the drama project moves forward to series, it's going to have a bit of a different setup than a lot of TV shows, as it will focus on a group of U.S. soldiers trapped, well, behind enemy lines, but will also feature other perspectives from the military. Individuals on an aircraft carrier will also be followed, as will intelligence operatives based out of Washington, D.C.
The project has been in the works for quite some time. Originally it was in contention for a pick-up last season, but this pilot order is the closest Behind Enemy Lines has come to moving forward to series. And even a McG-directed pilot may not be enough to affirm that the show will be hitting CBS' actual schedule at any point in the future.
Clearly it will be some time before we learn whether or not Behind Enemy Lines will move forward. The TV project does have some name recognition, as it is based on the movie of the same name. Several DVD sequels were even made after the original movie, so clearly there is a fanbase for the franchise out there. However, pilot season is still a crapshoot. Pilots are noticeably unreliable indicators of the future success of a series, and networks have a limited number of new timeslots to fill each season. Sometimes a network will even have a cool drama and a meh comedy in contention and will have to go with the comedy simply because that is what a particular timeslot requires. We're hopeful Marg Helgenberger will be headed back to TV, but there's no indication that will be happening just yet.
Keep an eye on the TV landscape in May when the networks often make final decisions. Plus, to see what has already been cancelled and renewed take a look at our network rundown of new and returning shows.
