nbcupfront-related stories
Posted Jul 22nd 2009 10:04AM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Early Looks, Upfronts, Reality-Free
NBC seems to be sending out their screeners in dribs and drabs, so I'm making my way through their fall offerings very slowly. I've already given you previews of both
Community and Trauma, and now we've got
Parenthood, a new series based on a movie that was already turned into a series nearly twenty years ago. Who says Hollywood is out of ideas?
Parenthood is basically a less-melodramatic
Brothers & Sisters. It follows the Braverman clan, a family in Fresno made up of four siblings: Adam (
Peter Krause), Crosby (
Dax Shepard), Sarah (
Maura Tierney), and Julia (
Erika Christensen), along with their children and parents, played by
Craig T. Nelson and
Bonnie Bedelia. They all have their share of drama, but at the end of the day, they're all brought together in the most suburban of pursuits: Little League. Say it with me now: "awwww."
Continue reading TV Squad previews NBC's new shows (part 2)
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 19th 2009 12:56PM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Industry, Programming, The Apprentice, Law and Order, Saturday Night Live, The Office, Heroes, Pickups and Renewals, Friday Night Lights, Upfronts, Chuck, Reality-Free, America's Got Talent, Parks and Recreation
NBC has been leaking like a sieve for weeks, so other than a few on-the-bubble cancellations, there aren't any huge surprises in their official upfront announcement. The big change is that they're doing two official seasons. A lot of the networks have been doing this unofficially, but NBC seems to be one of the few that is putting a label on it.
Returning: Heroes, The Biggest Loser, Law & Order: SVU, Saturday Night Live, SNL: Weekend Update Thursday, Parks and Recreation, The Office, Law & Order, Southland, Dateline NBC
Returning mid-season: Chuck, 30 Rock, The Celebrity ApprenticeGone: Life, Medium, My Name is Earl, Kath & Kim,
Kings,
Knight Rider
New: Trauma, The Jay Leno Show, Parenthood, Community.
New for mid-season: Day One, 100 Questions, Mercy, The Marriage Ref
Not reflected on the schedule, but will be returning in the summer: America's Got Talent,
Friday Night Lights (which will once again be aired first on Direct TV).
Watch this space for more details on the new shows...
More on the schedule and comments after the jump.
Continue reading The Upfronts: NBC
Posted May 4th 2009 4:40PM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, Cancellations, Upfronts, Reality-Free
While they haven't yet made an announcement about other on-the-bubble shows, including
Medium, Law & Order, and of course,
Chuck, NBC's
Ben Silverman has confirmed that
Life has indeed been canceled.
Life is just the latest victim of the
Writers' Strike curse: ABC's
Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone, and
Dirty Sexy Money are among some of the other series that had their freshman seasons interrupted by the strike that began in November of 07, and won't live to see a third season.
Other second season shows, including the aforementioned
Chuck, along with ABC's
Samantha Who? and FOX's
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles are currently on the bubble. The CW's
Gossip Girl is one of the few shows that premiered during the 07-08 season that is definitely going to make it to the 09-10 one.
The strike spooked the networks and advertisers, and we're obviously feeling the effects now, over a year after it ended. What it boils down to is a lot of great shows are suffering-- and Ben Silverman is a dick.
Continue reading NBC confirms: Life is dead
Gone Too Soon: Invasion
Scrubs season nine -- An early look
The TV Squad Podcast: Vik Sahay of Chuck, Oprah talk, brutal timeslots, and more!
