The Next MacGyver—digits crossed!

Many of you, being of a technical turn of mind, will remember the TV show MacGyver, where a spy with a lot of engineering talent got himself and others out of scrapes by putting together a piece of string, a paper clip, and who knows what else, and blowing up the bad guys. The character’s name has even passed into the popular vernacular (my husband refers to his multipurpose knife as a “mini MacGyver.)”

Now the folks connected with that show are looking for The Next MacGyver: “Thirty years ago, the original MacGyver created enormous interest around engineering with the exploits of Angus MacGyver, a spy who used his powers of engineering in every episode to solve problems. According to Lee Zlotoff, the show’s creator: “I literally could not tell you how many times people have come up to me and said, ‘I became an engineer, or I went into the sciences because of MacGyver.’” In the spirit of that show, in 2015, we are looking for TV ideas that will feature female engineers or female protagonists who will use their powers of engineering to solve problems.”

My goodness. Does this sound familiar to anyone?!

Screenwriter Carol Lee Hall contacted me and said that she believed the Lady might have a chance in this contest—she fit every single one of the requirements. It was a strange feeling to pair Lady Claire’s Victorian London with the words TV pilot, but this is Carol’s metier and she was up to the task.

We submitted our entry, and 12 semifinalists will be announced on Monday, June 1. Yes, two days from now.

Digits crossed!