ParksAndRecreation-related stories
Posted Nov 20th 2009 9:00PM by Isabelle Carreau
Filed under: Spoilers Anonymous, Reality-Free
This is
Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at
TV Squad where we supply you with the dirt on some of the more popular shows on the air. We'll never put spoilers up here on the main page in order to help the reformed stay unspoiled. If you have anything to add to the group, feel free to step up and let yourself be heard, either with our
tips form or by emailing us at
tvsquad at gmail dot com, or call and leave a message at
(775) 640-8479. Your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.
This week we have spoilers for:
90210, Desperate Housewives, Glee, Gossip Girl, House, NCIS, Parks and Recreation, Private Practice and Smallville. (SPOILERS FOLLOW!)Continue reading Spoilers Anonymous: Desperate Housewives, NCIS, Smallville, and more!
Posted Oct 24th 2009 12:25PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Industry, OpEd, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free, Parks and Recreation, Community
Earlier this week, one of the big honchos at
NBC was kvetching to the media about how the company hates being in fourth place. Well, the only way out of the bottom is better programming. I don't know if the network will succeed with this news, but at least it's committing to its programs.
Three shows got full season pickups, Community, Parks and Recreation and Mercy. That means nine episodes more each.
Continue reading NBC commits to more Community, Parks and Mercy
Posted Aug 13th 2009 11:06AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Arrested Development, Pickups and Renewals, Casting, Reality-Free
Arrested Development was a critical darling that managed three seasons of low ratings before FOX pulled the plug. Creator Mitch Hurwitz reunited with
AD star Will Arnett for this past season's animated disaster
Sit Down, Shut Up.
Now, they're reuniting with
AD co-executive producer Jim Vallely for a third shot. This one's a live-action
single camera comedy on FOX starring Arnett as a jackass. It's off to a good start; Arnett plays jackass very well.
The premise: Arnett is rich Beverly Hills stock and falls in love with a tree-hugger who hates him and every shallow thing he stands for. Just for being live-action, I think this one has potential. Arnett is waiting for the right vehicle to make him a star, and we already know what Hurwitz is capable of. Could this be their pot of ratings gold?
Continue reading Hurwitz and Arnett hoping third time is the charm for new comedy
Posted Jul 3rd 2009 2:00PM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, Upfronts, Reality-Free
NBC isn't exactly engendering a lot of goodwill among people, with their cancellations of shows like
Life and
Medium, and
My Name is Earl. The fact that they're replacing these shows with
not one but two medical shows, isn't exactly a confidence booster. NBC hasn't sent screeners of all their pilots yet, hence the "Part 1" in the title. But I have gotten a taste of both their comedy and drama offerings with
Community, a comedy starring
The Soup's Joel McHale, and
Trauma, one of the aforementioned medical dramas.
Going into this, I didn't have high hopes for
Trauma, and while I wanted to like
Community, I had a bad feeling that it wasn't going to be the vehicle that would change Joel McHale from cute host of a basic cable show to primetime star. Now, after seeing both of them, I will say that I was pleasantly surprised by one.
Continue reading TV Squad previews NBC's new shows (part 1)
Posted May 4th 2009 4:29PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Saturday Night Live, Celebrities, Upfronts, Reality-Free
It looks like
NBC is going to expand Saturday Night Live's "
Weekend Update" segment with more half-hour specials, most likely on Thursday nights. Judging by the success of
SNL and its Thursday night election specials during the campaign season, this move isn't too surprising. Plus, this is a progressive step in reaching the network's ultimate goal, which seems to be filling the airwaves with as many former
SNL employees as possible. Actually, the next season of
Celebrity Apprentice is probably just going to be all the early-90s players that aren't doing movies right now. And Rob Schneider. That guy isn't doing anything.
Continue reading NBC thought you said you wanted more Weekend Update
Posted Mar 23rd 2009 11:36AM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Industry, OpEd, The Office, Reality-Free
When I first saw the headline from this Nikki Finke
report on NBC's Parks and Recreation, the highly-anticipated collaboration between Amy Poehler and the folks who write and produce
The Office, I thought the story might be about set tension or significant rewrites or even those ever-so-useful "notes" from the network.
But it turns out that the article was about notes the network got as part of a "Consumer And Market Intelligence Research Summary." Basically, the pilot went through audience testing, and the test audience saw some problems. In the 12-page report (nine of which are charts and graphs, as Finke takes pains to point out), the test audience liked a lot of the pilot, but thought it dragged in parts, was too similar to
The Office in tone, that Poehler's character needed to have "more energy and enthusiasm," and that there are "there are no 'datable' men in the cast."
To that, I say: who gives a flying crap?
Continue reading Problems with Parks and Recreation?
Posted Feb 2nd 2009 10:02AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Programming, The Office, Celebrities, Pickups and Renewals, Casting, Reality-Free
The new NBC sitcom originally planned as a spin-off of
The Office and then simply became a spin-off by the creators of the American version of the show will now be known as...wait for it...
Parks and Recreation. The series co-stars Rashida Jones and will premiere in March.
While I have high hopes for any show that stars Amy Poehler, it is cutting it a little close to think of the name at this stage, since there is just over a month before the initial broadcast. Still, the name is better than the
previously proposed one,
Public Service.
Truthfully, the name is just a formality. If the show starts in March, then it will likely have a very shortened season to prove itself worthy of a second one. While Amy Poehler is an excellent comedic talent, one can only hope that the writers behind the show can use her abilities to the fullest.
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