Liz Friedlander is the first hourlong directing hire of the 2018–19 season. Deadline writes that the “Conviction” co-creator will helm and EP the pilot of ABC’s straight-to-series crime dramedy “The Rookie.” This news (hopefully) bodes well for 2018 being a better year for female TV directors than 2017, when only one of the 41 drama pilots was helmed by a woman.
Starring Nathan Fillion, “The Rookie” follows the oldest newbie on the LAPD and is inspired by a true story. “At an age where most are at the peak of their career, John Nolan (Fillion) cast aside his comfortable, small town life and moved to LA to pursue his dream of being a cop. Now, surrounded by rookies 20 years his junior, Nolan must navigate the dangerous, humorous, and unpredictable world of a ‘young’ cop, determined to make his second shot at life count.”
Friedlander was the one woman to direct a drama pilot in 2017 with “Las Reinas.” She and Jennifer Getzinger were the only two women to helm drama pilots in 2016. Friedlander directed “Conviction’s” first ep that year and Getzinger took on NBC’s “Miranda’s Rights.”
Feature “Take the Lead” and episodes of “Stalker” and “The Following” are among Friedlander’s directing credits. She also helmed multiple episodes of “Conviction,” which she created with Liz Friedman. The legal drama ran for one season on ABC. Friedlander currently has a woman-led cop drama in the works at NBC. The series is about the first female partnership in an elite LAPD division. Friedlander is set to write and direct the pilot.
