Chris Columbus directed a mystery pilot so wild it never became a show.
Based on Ayelet Waldman’s Mommy Track Mysteries series of books, Applebaum centers on Juliet Applebaum (Rachelle Lefevre), a former public defender who becomes a private investigator to keep from being bored to death as a stay-at-home mom. Began as a pilot episode to a series, however released as TV movie.
Acting
Rachelle Lefevre carries unsold-show confidence.
Direction
Chris Columbus doing TV-pilot cozy mystery? Bizarre.
Director
Chris Columbus
Rachelle Lefevre
Juliet Applebaum
Miguel Ferrer
Detective Garcia
Jay Mohr
Al Hockey
Irene Keng
Samantha
Emjay Anthony
Leo Applebaum
James Hiroyuki Liao
Tze Lin
Tracie Thoms
Kat
Kathy Baker
Juliet's Mother
Rhys Coiro
Peter Applebaum
Marlowe Peyton
Sadie Applebaum
August Maturo
Isaac Applebaum
Kathy Christopherson
Abigail Hathaway
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was developed for Lifetime but never ordered to series, making it a rare Columbus project that disappeared entirely. The Mommy Track Mysteries book series ran to five novels.
The 'mommy track' concept was already dated by 2012; the show's failure suggests audiences wanted their mom-detectives either darker (Sharp Objects) or campier (Desperate Housewives). This landed in the dead middle.
US
