The Oaks - Unaired 2008 Pilot (Patreon)

Jeremy Renner, Matthew Morrison, Johanna Braddy, Shannon Lucio, Bahar Soomekh, Michael Rispoli, Romy Rosemont

Michael Rispoli ("The Black Donnellys") and Romy Rosemont ("Prison Break") have both joined the cast of the drama pilot, about the  intertwined stories of three families - a young couple who have just  lost a child in 1968, a family of four in 1988 and a pregnant couple in  2008 - who live in the same house and are haunted by a restless spirit.  They'll play the parents in 1988 with Rosemont taking over for the originally cast Gina McKee. Her exit is believed to be tied to the producers' desire to shift that portion of the show in a more comedic, blue-collar direction.  Keep in mind all of this went down over the writer's strike of 2008.  Shawn Ryan had limited involvement because of the strike and if anyone looks at the list of pilot and series over this year can see how awkward and different this pilot season was from different years.  So many interesting pilots never received that full consideration usually given when launching new prime time series.  

The original casting notices for Rispoli and Rosemont read as follows (I'm adding these to the description because the people cast don't seem to fit the description imho)  

- "Frank: Early-Mid 40s, a bit sloppy and has a sense of humor , he is Molly's husband, and the father of 8 years old Lucy and 14 year old Brian, who lives in The Oaks house in 1987. He is the last one to get to use the bathroom in the mornings and often regrets entering into heated family discussions. He's trying to bring a bit of passion into his marriage at Molly's request, and grows frustrated when their attempts to schedule sex are thwarted. Eventually, though, he takes charge and tells Molly no time will be right, but they love each other and bad sex  is better than no sex. He's disturbed by his daughter Lucy's recent  foray into bad behavior." 

- "Molly: Early-Mid 40s. She's a harried wife and mother of two (an 8 years old daughter and 14 years old son)  who is struggling to keep passion alive in her marriage. She lives in The Oaks house in 1987, and her looks, clothing and attitude reflects  this (she has the full '80s aerobics outfit). The bloom is definitely  off the rose in her relationship with her husband Frank, and their attempts to schedule sex don't usually go as planned, but they are  devoted to one another. She is perplexed and disturbed by Lucy's recent  bad behavior, which is supposedly dictated by a never-seen imaginary friend, Amelia."

Contextually, this show might have been unpacking the struggles of so many people losing their house and leaving their property not by their own choice.  That could be a total leap, but I'm always interested when a prime time show really is trying something kinda new.  The house is clearly the lead actor here.  Enjoy!  I'd love to know what you think.