Before Once Upon a Time came to an end this May, Ginnifer Goodwin signed on to star in the pilot of a potential ABC comedy series entitled Steps. When network upfronts came and went in May without a series pickup, it seemed the project might have been in jeopardy or even done for good. In a sign that the comedy is far from defunct, the network has extended its options on the cast, which includes Goodwin. So what does this mean?
Well, the most important thing is it indicates ABC wants to buy time with the entire cast. By extending their options, it keeps the actors available to film on the series, if ABC does, in fact, pick up Steps. The show is an English-language remake of the Swedish series Bonus Family.
For now, things are sort of in limbo. The pilot is currently being altered by its writer, Kristin Newman, so ABC has yet to decide if they are going to reshoot the revised version of the pilot. Steps reportedly shared a noticeable similarity to another ABC comedy, Single Parents, so work may be being done on Steps' pilot in order to distance itself from the other series, according to Deadline.
While the cast has been retained, whether or not the network decides to shoot the retooled pilot will be the most telling sign of whether things could move forward. For now, the cast will have to wait and see if the series comes to fruition. With this much effort being made on Steps, you have to believe it will come to something. For an actress as in-demand as Ginnifer Goodwin, she should not have to worry about finding another series, if Steps ends up falling through though.
Ginnifer Goodwin and her Once Upon a Time co-star/husband Josh Dallas both left the fairytale drama in what turned out to be the series' penultimate season. Both actors returned for the series finale. Dallas' series Manifest will premiere this fall on NBC. For now, fans of Ginnifer Goodwin will have to wait and see if Steps turns out to be Goodwin's return to television following Once Upon a Time.
The actress joined the fairytale series following the end of her critically acclaimed series Big Love, which came to a close on HBO in early 2011. The same year Once Upon a Time premiered, Ginnifer Goodwin also starred in two terrific romantic comedies with Take Me Home Tonight and Something Borrowed. Talk about a busy year!
With Steps currently in a holding pattern of sorts, it is unclear if it could still join the fall schedule, should it be given the go-ahead by ABC. A safe and purely speculative guess would be a potential midseason release, especially given ABC's straight-to-series order for The Conners to take the place of the cancelled Roseanne in the fall. For new and returning television shows you can anticipate watching while you await word on Steps, check out CinemaBlend's guide to TV's summer premieres.
