Representation matters, and The Paley Center of Media knows it -- they've narrowed down 12 finalists with great ideas for a show to inspire the next generation of female engineers.
On Tuesday, a panel of judges that include actress America Ferrera and CSI creator Anthony E. Zuiker will choose five winners to pair up with a mentor to develop their ideas into a TV show featuring a female engineer as a protagonist.
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The panel also includes Gabrielle Neimand (head of Take Fountain Productions), Clayton Krueger (coexecutive producer of 3001: The Final Odyssey), Lori McCreary (executive producer of Madam Secretary) and Roberto Orci (executive producer of Scorpion and the Star Trek films), all of whom will have the hard task of whittling down these pitches to five winners.
1. Ada and the Machine by Shanee Edwards (concept art by Zoe Chevat)
Genre: Historical/Steampunk
Logline: In 1832, 17-year-old Ada Lovelace, the real-life daughter of the poet Lord Byron, meets the first computer engineer, a young and dashing Charlie Babbage. A highly skilled mathematician, Ada generates logarithms and creates programs for Charlie’s wild new calculating machines. Together, they adventure through the steam age, obsessed with creating a super machine that can be programmed to “think” like a human.
2. Doctor Tailor by Kristen Bobst (concept art by Mina Price)
Genre: Drama/Procedural
Logline: Former fashion designer Tilly Tailor became a wearable technology engineer after clothing saved her life. Working as a consultant for the FBI, she helps solve crimes and foil wrongdoers by examining, creating, and hacking articles of clothing. She gives “dressed to kill” a new meaning.
3. Enhanced by Sam Ruano (concept art by Peter Bollinger)
Genre: One-hour Drama/Procedural
Logline: Enhanced deals with crimes and criminals of the late 21st century where technology, biology and robotics have given rise to a new breed of criminal. The show follows the career and personal life of bioengineer Claire Parish, as she adapts to life as a newly recruited FBI field agent. Selected for her expertise in the field, Claire helps her team investigate crimes perpetrated by individuals with artificially enhanced abilities amidst a growing climate of civil unrest and techno-paranoia.
4. @Gnosis by Judy Wu (concept art by Matthew Griffin)
Genre: Interactive Social Media Crime Drama
Logline: It's Veronica Mars meets Gossip Girl meets Hackers with a social media element. When the mayor’s popular daughter is abducted, five teenagers form an alliance to share clues via a Twitter(esque) alias (@Gnosis) to solve the mystery. They realize that there's a genius psychopath out there who is bent on destroying not only their town but their lives. Only by using their kick-ass brains can they outsmart the villain. The interactive Twitter element will be used to engage the audience during the show, week by week, to build the plot and create stimulating discussion.
5. Imagineers by Wesley Burger (concept art by Brian Vincent Rhodes)
Genre: Comedy
Logline: An offbeat single-cam workplace comedy about a diverse group of quirky-but-brilliant Disney Imagineers who make dreams come true. Think Silicon Valley or The Office but aimed at teens and infused with official behind-the-scenes Disney material a la The Wonderful World of Disney. This is a fictional series that will cross over with real Disney properties, events, attractions, culture, and lore -- making that classic mouse-house magic freshly relevant in the current tech zeitgeist.
6. Isabelle.exe by Daniel Wright (concept art by Ruolin Li)
Genre: Science Fiction/Drama
Logline: Isabelle thinks she's an ordinary college freshman -- until an accident reveals she's an advanced robot with programmed memories, but not a very well put-together one. With the help of fellow students and professors, Isabelle tries to learn how to keep herself functioning and figure out who created her, and why.
7. Kansas by Shane Courtney (concept art by Kathy Liu)
Genre: Science Fiction/Drama
Logline: Sophie Villeneuve, a celebrated French engineer, overcomes personal tragedy by immersing herself in creating the first human settlement on Mars.
8. The Mind by Nao Murakami (concept art by Eric Tortora Pato)
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Crime Drama
Logline: In the universe that’s just like ours, but slightly different, the minds of great scientists and innovators are stored within the super computer. When that technology gets stolen, an engineer forms a partnership with an android who can download the minds of the past.
9. Q Branch by Craig Motlong (concept art by Matthew Zikry)
Genre: Spy Action
Logline: You know those gadgets that spies use on dangerous missions? The shoe phones, the laser pens, the gas pellets hidden in watches? Someone goes in the field and invents those. This is her story.
10. Riveting by Miranda Sajdak (concept art by Tim Szabo)
Genre: World War II Drama
Logline: During WWII, a local prom queen's life is turned upside down when her fiancee is killed overseas. Determined to make sure that never happens again, the girl goes to work as an engineer, learning and perfecting her trade to do her part for the war effort.
11. Rule 702. by Beth Keser (concept art by Luke Freeborn)
Genre: Adventure/Procedural
Logline: A young and beautiful engineering and science prodigy decides to forego corporate life to pursue a career as an expert witness. She spends her new life traveling across the country to testify in torn-from-the-headlines cases, but in each case she finds a mystery that requires a keen mind and scientific investigation to find the truth.
12. SECs (Science and Engineering Clubs) by Jayde Lovell (concept art by Michael Penick)
Genre: High School Dramatic Comedy
Logline: Emily, a beautiful but snotty teenager, must join the high school Science and Engineering Club to avoid getting expelled after accidentally setting fire to the school gymnasium during a science fair. She helps the club achieve their dreams of one day coming first at FIRST, the national science and technology competition for teens. It's Glee meets Mean Girls, with an educational element embedded in each episode.
The winners will be chosen on Tuesday at the Paley Center in Beverly Hills in a panel co-presented by The Paley Center for Media, The USC Viterbi School of Engineering, and the National Academy of Engineering. The event will be streamed live in 2 parts: from 2:00 pm – 4:20 p.m. PT and from 4:40 p.m. – 5:35p.m. PT. The winners will be crowned "The Next MacGyver," after the eponymous series that inspired a generation of engineers -- only this time, they'll be looking up to a female protagonist.