Showtime became an unlikely supplier of strike content when CBS picked up "Dexter" during the heart of the labor stoppage.

With the strike over, CBS will still forge ahead with that series -- even as Showtime lines up its next round of pilots.

The pay network said Wednesday that it has greenlit to pilot the Tim Robbins pharmaceutical drama "Possible Side Effects" with Robbins set to direct and casting to begin shortly. The network has also attached feature director Craig Gillespie ("Lars & the Real Girl," "Mr. Woodcock") to direct the pilot for "The United States of Tara," the Diablo Cody-penned half-hour about a woman with multiple-personality disorder, and is aiming to shoot in the spring.

"Now that the strike is over, we\'re in the process of making pilots that we could move on quickly," programming chief Robert Greenblatt said Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters in New York in a joint appearance with Showtime business topper Matt Blank, Greenblatt said that one of the pilots could turn into an on-air series before the end of the year and possibly as early as the summer.

A deal for another pilot, set and shot in New York, was also close to being sealed, Greenblatt tipped.

But execs also said that with so many returning shows and at least one of the new round of pilots likely to go to series, the pace of development may slow down.

"We\'re getting there," Greenblatt said, when asked if the network was near its ceiling. The exec said that Showtime considered whether or not to bring back or shelve political drama" Brotherhood," which would have opened up a slot, before opting to bring back the series.

The net has been in a robust development and production period on originals over the past few years. "The L Word" is the only current show that began life before Greenblatt arrived at the net nearly five years ago.

Source: Hollywoodreporter.com