ABC

MY GENERATION - What a difference ten years can make. In 2000, a documentary crew follows a disparate group of high schoolers from Greenbelt High School in Austin, TX as they prepare for graduation, then revisits these former classmates ten years later as they return home to rediscover that just because they're not where they planned doesn't mean they're not right where they need to be. "My Generation" was created and written by Noah Hawley ("The Unusuals," "Bones"), who is also an executive producer, along with Warren Littlefield, Henrik Bastin, Patrick Magnasson and Martin Piersson. Craig Gillespie directed the pilot. The project is from ABC Studios. (ABC/CRAIG SJODIN) TOP PHOTO: SEBASTIAN SOZZI, DANIELLA ALONSO, JULIAN MORRIS, JAIME KING, MICHAEL STAHL DAVID, ANNE SON, KEIR O'DONNELL, KELLI GARNER, MEHCAD BROOKS; BOTTOM PHOTO: KEIR O'DONNELL, MICHAEL STAHL DAVID, SEBASTIAN SOZZI, ANNE SON, KELLI GARNER, JAIME KING, DANIELLA ALONSO, JULIAN MORRIS, MEHCAD BROOKS

Test Pilot is a semiregular feature sharing my first impressions of the pilots for next fall’s shows. These aren’t reviews, since these pilots can be rewritten, recast and retooled before airing, and the shows that eventually get on the air can prove much better or worse. But, premature opinions are why God invented the Internet, so let’s get on with…

The Show: My Generation, ABC

The Premise: In 2000, a documentary film crew followed a gaggle of high school seniors in Austin, Texas. Ten years later, it’s back to catch up with them and see how actual life is living up to their optimistic, pre-9/11, pre-market collapse, pre-adulthood expectations. Among the characters that this high-school-reunion drama (with some comic notes) checks in on are an overachiever-turned-bartender, an overachiever-turned-political aide, the class wallflower, the class beauty queen, the rich kid, the school rebel now married to the class’ top jock (and pregnant), and a sweethearted nebbish yearning for kids of his own. Some have been stuck in town since graduation, some have just returned because of personal crises. And.. roll cameras.