Two TV pilots shooting in Atlanta: TBS’s ‘Franklin and Bash’ with Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Malcolm McDowell; ABC’s ‘187 Detroit’ with Michael Imperioli

Atlanta-based TBS has committed to a one-hour comedy pilot called “Franklin and Bash” starring

Breckin Meyer

(”Road Trip,” “Rat Race”),

Mark-Paul Gosselaar

(”Saved by the Bell,” “NYPD Blue,” “Raising the Bar,” left) and the incomparable

Malcolm McDowell

(”Clockwork Orange,” “Tank Girl,” “Star Trek Generations”).

It's set to start taping in Atlanta next week. Here's a description from a Hollywood Reporter story:

Gosselaar was most recently on sister station TNT in a law series called “Raising the Bar,” which lasted two seasons.

Unlike broadcast networks, cable networks don’t create as many pilots and when they do, the odds the show will make it to series is far higher.

It’s unclear based on early descriptions if “Franklin and Bash” will be set in a different city despite shooting in Atlanta or will use Atlanta as a backdrop.

The ABC network is also planning to start shooting a cop drama pilot early next month called “187 Detroit,” which obviously is set in Detroit. It’s not definite ABC would bother to keep the show here if it does pick it up given that Michigan offers plenty of tax incentives to bring in TV series as well. The network may have only chosen Atlanta for the pilot for the weather at this time of year, Reitz said.

The show stars “Sopranos” star

, so expect sightings of him around town soon.

:

That “documentary”-style set up, made familiar to TV viewers thanks to reality television, has already been used by “The Office” and “Modern Family.”