As pilot season kicks off, ABC is looking to stay in business with “American Crime” creator John Ridley, giving his detective drama project “Presence” a formal pilot order, Variety has learned.

In contention for the 2016-17 television season, “Presence” has been hot at ABC since the get-go, as the drama was the first pilot script order at the network this development season.

“Presence” follows Presence Foster, a former Army vet who finds herself navigating a widely divergent and highly colorful cross section of L.A., as she unintentionally begins a career as an unlicensed private investigator.

Hailing from ABC Studios, Ridley penned the pilot script and will direct and exec produce through his International Famous Players Radio Picture Corporation with his fellow “American Crime” exec producer Michael McDonald, who will exec produce “Presence” by way of his ABC-based Stearns Castle banner.

Aside from “Presence” and “American Crime,” which debuts its second season on Jan. 6, Ridley and McDonald have another drama set up in the early stages with ABC Studios — the duo optioned the rights to Kim Reid’s novel “No Place Safe: A Family Memoir” for a limited series.

Ridley also has a top-secret Marvel project in the works at ABC Studios, where he is under a producing deal.