JJ Abrams looms large on the airwaves with NBC line up

After the serial "Revolution," which he launched last September, JJ Abrams will be back on NBC this fall with "Believe," a supernatural thriller series developed by Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón.

Already tapped to executive producer "Person of Interest" for CBS and "Almost Human," an upcoming series on Fox, JJ Abrams is swelling his multi-network presence. His "Believe" project is one of the five series selected by NBC for the next fall season.

Written and directed by Alfonso Cuarón ("Children of Men"), this drama is about an orphaned 10-year-old girl with mysterious powers protected by an ex-convict who broke out of prison.

Gillian Anderson (famed as Dana Scully in "The X-Files"), whom we've already seen this season in the thriller series "Hannibal," has signed up for a longer stint on NBC's "Crisis." The plot revolves around an FBI agent (the Anderson character's estranged sister) who is plunged into the heart of a national crisis from her very first day on the job: the president's son has been kidnapped along with some of his classmates. Dermot Mulroney ("J. Edgar") and Rachael Taylor ("Grey's Anatomy") co-star.

NBC's other picks are lighter fare. "About a Boy," a TV adaptation of the eponymous Hugh Grant movie, stars David Walton ("New Girl") as a fireman and confirmed bachelor who eventually makes the ultimate sacrifice: taking care of someone other than himself. He strikes up a friendship with an 11-year-old boy, who lives next door with his zany single mom, played by Minnie Driver.

Jason Katims, creator of "Friday Night Lights" and "Parenthood," will direct the series now that Jon Favreau's pilot has made the grade.

"The Family Guide" is about a son coping with the breakup of his blind father and eccentric mother. JK Simmons ("The Closer," "Juno") and Harold Perrineau ("Lost") star in this sitcom executive produced by Jason Bateman ("Arrested Development") and directed by David Schwimmer ("Friends").

Also lined up for this fall on NBC is "Sean Saves the World," the story of how a divorced father learns to deal with his 14-year-old daughter, who has just moved in with him. Sean Hayes ("Will & Grace") will play the lead.

NBC, which will be announcing the other additions to next season's lineup at a press conference on Monday, May 13, will be discontinuing its comedy series "Guys With Kids," "Up All Night," "Whitney" and "1600 Penn."