A pilot about pilots?
Aside from The Amazing Race, the major networks haven't engaged much with travel-related TV during primetime. That's all about to change.
How Exciting is this?
Playing on the retro travel trend, ABC has ordered a pilot {no pun intended} called Pan Am, that will potentially air this fall {update, it just got picked up and will air at 10pm on Sundays}. It's basically Mad Men meets the golden age of travel. Back in the day, I'm told stewardesses flight attendants were celebrities, trendsetters and jetsetters in their own right. The show lives up this lifestyle and centers around: "Maggie, who is leading a double life. When not all dolled up on her flights, she is living as a bohemian beatnik in New York's Greenwich Village. Kate is secretly an undercover CIA agent. Her gorgeous sister, Laura, is new to the stewardess world, having just ditched her fiancé at the altar." {via Jaunted}
The Scoop Though the show's status is still in the pilot stage, I don't suspect it will be relegated to the ABC TV dungeon given the big names that are rumored to be on-board {no pun intended}:
- Film actress Christina Ricci will take a lead role as Maggie
- Nancy Hult Ganis, executive producer, will auto pilot {no pun intended} the show's direction given her role as a flight attendant on the airline for 7 years
- Jonah Lotan has landed {no pun intended} the role of Dean, the recently promoted captain of the Pan Am luxury plane, the Majestic.
- Scrubs star Michael Mosley will also play an aviator-wearing pilot
- Australia actress Margot Robbie will be a sexy stewardess
Pan Am Started in 1927, Pam Am grew to one of the largest airlines in the world, with a famed logo'ed skyscraper position on New York City's Park Avenue. In 1991, the airline declared bankruptcy. Sadly, I never had the chance to fly Pan Am, but I hear it was the airline in the 60's and 70's. Check out this amazing Pan Am video from 1958, promoting the wonders of the new 707 plane, and innovative over-seat lighting...
PS - Speaking of travel and TV, tell me you've seen this Richard Simmons Air New Zealand safety video? He is the gift that keeps on giving. I don't think he's aged in 20 years.
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[photo by Dreamworks, from Catch Me If You Can movie]