Babylon Fields is a comedic fantasy drama in which "the dead are resurrected and attempt to return to their normal lives." Gerald and Michael Cuesta and Michael Atkinson will be the show-runners.
CBS has had an interesting history with fantasy dramas. In the network's "Crimetime After Primetime" lineup circa 1992, Forever Knight introduced the character of Nicholas Knight, a -- wait for it -- vampire detective struggling with immortality and his love for a mortal. The network cancelled the series after one season, after which it was picked up by USA for two more seasons. Beauty and the Beast was a cult hit in the late '80s, featuring Ron Perlman and Linda Hamilton as soulmates separated by species and the New York subway system. The show had lackluster but consistent ratings in its Friday night slot for two seasons, at which point Hamilton departed to have a baby. The series imploded spectacularly in her wake, leaving a shortened third season that still serves as a warning to all new series on what not to do. In the '90s, CBS dipped into the fantasy genre again with Touched by an Angel, featuring Roma Downey, Della Reese and John Dye as angels sent on missions from God. The show enjoyed good ratings for its nine-season run, and led the network to create another religious-fantasy series, Joan of Arcadia. Joan's ratings never matched Angel's, and was cancelled after two seasons. Whether or not these two new pilots will sink or swim depends on any number of factors, including the network's reluctance to support the genre, though the current popularity of SF/fantasy shows such as Heroes and Battlestar Galactica may encourage the network to take another chance on fantasy.