NBC Greenlights Crime Drama Pilots ‘Puzzled’ and Wolf Entertainment’s ‘What the Dead Know’

NBC really is dusting off the old-school TV playbook and fully committing to pilot season again — and honestly, it’s kind of refreshing to see.

After unleashing a wave of pilot orders earlier this week (six in just four days), the network doubled down on the throwback vibes by reviving another long-lost tradition: Friday night pilot greenlights. Joining NBC’s growing slate are two new crime dramas, Puzzled and What the Dead Know, both officially ordered tonight.

Puzzled comes from former Charmed showrunner Joey Falco and is based on Danielle Trussoni’s novel The Puzzle Master. The series follows Mike Brink, a once-promising college athlete whose life is upended after surviving a tragic fire. The trauma leaves him with a brain injury — but also a strange new way of seeing the world. That unexpected perspective turns out to be incredibly useful when he begins helping local police solve crimes. Falco writes and executive produces alongside Jordan Cerf, with Trussoni serving as a producer.

Meanwhile, What the Dead Know hails from Dick Wolf’s Wolf Entertainment and writer Beth Rinehart (FBI: Most Wanted), adapting former NYC medical examiner Barbara Butcher’s memoir of the same name. The procedural centers on Ava Ledger, a death investigator who’s exceptional with bodies… but far less comfortable dealing with the living. As Ava teams up with the NYPD, the show leans into tough cases, forensic expertise, and character-driven tension. Rinehart executive produces with Wolf, Tom Thayer, Peter Jankowski, and Anastasia Puglisi, while Butcher is among the co-executive producers.

What’s especially telling here is the bigger picture. NBC was expected to order around eight pilots this season — roughly four dramas and four comedies — but it’s already blown past that benchmark on the drama side alone. With five drama pilots ordered so far, every single one of them rooted in crime and most firmly procedural, the network’s programming strategy couldn’t be clearer. Even the lone comedy pilot currently in the mix is set in the world of private investigation.

Tonally, Puzzled is said to skew lighter than NBC’s other crime offerings, but make no mistake: the network is clearly betting big on procedurals once again. And notably, all six pilots ordered so far come from NBC’s sister studio, Universal Television.

In short, NBC isn’t just dabbling in pilot season — it’s fully embracing it. Whether all these crime-heavy projects make it to series remains to be seen, but one thing’s certain: the network knows exactly what lane it wants to stay in right now.