Oh c’mon, Apple. Learn to take a joke!
[Via Engadget]
Tag Archives: NBC
Parks & Rec welcomes Rob Lowe & Adam Scott to Pawnee
Rob Lowe (Brothers & Sisters) and Adam Scott (Step Brothers, Party Down) will join the cast of Parks & Recreation on May 13 in the episode titled “Master Plan.” They will become series regulars in season three. And Mark Brendanawicz (Paul Schneider) will bite the dust.
Parks & Rec airs Thursdays at 8:30PM on NBC.
Glee club battle: Jimmy Fallon crew vs. Parks & Rec cast
This is a must watch for Glee, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and Parks & Recreation fans alike! Last week on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy introduced a new segment he calls 6-Bee. It’s a story that follows the LNWJF crew on the road to sectionals. Clearly Fallon & co. are big fans of Glee (who isn’t?). In this episode, Jimmy Fallon crew (including Jimmy, staffers, and SNL’s Abby Elliot) face off against the cast of Parks & Rec and The Roots in a Glee club battle of epic proportions. A major amount of hilarity and musical genius ensues.
Look after the break for episode 1; Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On a Prayer” is the song of choice. Continue reading Glee club battle: Jimmy Fallon crew vs. Parks & Rec cast
NBC pushes out short featurettes on three Parks & Rec characters
Tom Havorford (Aziz Ansari) is the “Ladies Man.” Look after the break for April Ludgate (Aubrey Plaza) the “Intern” and Ron freakin’ Swanson (Nick Offerman) in “Legend of the Mustache.”
Continue reading NBC pushes out short featurettes on three Parks & Rec characters
Parks & Rec says hello to Natalie Morales, goodbye to Brendanawicz?
Actress Natalie Morales (fresh off USA Network’s White Collar season finale) will be joining the Parks & Rec gang for at least two episodes this season. She will play Lucy, “a smart, funny, cute and spunky busgirl at a bar in Pawnee, Indiana.” She joins a couple of new faces in Pawnee this season–Step Brothers‘ Adam Scott and Brothers and Sisters‘ Rob Lowe also join the cast later this season. With so many new additions, it isn’t entirely surprising that at least one current player might be given the boot. According to the latest sources city planner Mark Brendanawicz (Paul Schneider) will be leaving the show at the end of this season; apparently he has film roles on his mind. Schneider plays one of the most dry and subtley humorous characters on the show and will be missed tremendously.
Parks & Rec airs Thursday nights at 8:30PM on NBC. (This week is the Andy Samberg episode!)
Andy Samberg as Park Ranger Carl
NBC renews Community, The Office & 30 Rock (+ Parks & Rec cast welcomes Lowe, Scott)
Great news for fans of NBC Thursday night comedy! In addition to giving Parks & Rec the go-ahead for a third season, NBC has decided to renew the rest of its Thursday night lineup, including freshman comedy Community and old staples like The Office and 30 Rock.
While we’re on the subject of NBC comedies, it’s be let known that two new characters are joining the already-strong cast of Parks & Recreation. Actor Rob Lowe will be leaving his current post at ABC’s Brothers & Sisters and will join Parks & Rec at the end of this season; series creator Michael Shur hints Lowe will be on board for “a number of episodes stretching into Season 3.” Funnyman Adam Scott (you know him from Step Brothers; he played Brennen’s brother Derek) will also become a recurring character who will enter the scene towards this season’s end. Lowe and Scott will likely be welcome additions to Pawnee’s colorful, hilarious cast.
[Via EW-AusielloFiles; IGN]
The Life and Death of DJ Roomba
Parks & Rec‘s Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari) at his finest. And then there’s Jerry, always messing things up.
Andy Samberg is coming to Parks & Rec
Andy Samberg joins Fred Armisen as the second Saturday Night Live alum to guest star on the NBC comedy Parks & Recreation. According to the NYPost he is going to play “Carl, the head of park security who butts heads with Leslie (Amy Poehler) after someone gets mugged in one of their parks.” And it gets even better. Parks’ Aziz Ansari (he plays Tom Haverford) twittered that the Samberg episode is going to be “a great Jerry heavy episode.” Let’s just say I’m already in knots.
[Via IGN]
NBC renews Parks & Rec
This is very, very good news! NBC has decided to pick up Parks & Recreation for a third season to debut next fall. Apparently the show had “production timing issues” which made such an early renewal necessary. Whatever that means…it looks like Parks & Rec is here to stay. Just can’t get enough of Leslie Knope, Tom Haverford, Ann Perkins, Ron Swanson, and Andy Dwyer. Oh yeah, Jerry too. Season 2 has brought Parks & Rec into the mainstream and has already proved itself to be a worthy contender in TV comedy. Having dropped the overly recurring theme of building Leslie’s dream park, the writers have taken the show in a new, better direction this season, following the antics of the bumbling yet lovable Leslie Knop. If you haven’t seen The Office-esque Parks & Rec, please do yourself a huge favor and watch “Hunting Trip.” It’s not only the funniest episode of this season thus far, it also happens to be one of my all-time favorite episodes from any comedy.
In other related TV show renewal news, CBS picked up How I Met Your Mother, NCIS: LA; and The Good Wife.
NBC’s Day One is now a two-hour movie, potential series?
I’ve been looking forward to NBC’s Day One, a new post-apocalyptic sci-fi series. What’s it about? “The aftermath of a global event that devastates the world’s infrastructures, a small band of survivors strives to rebuild society and unravel the mysteries of why the event took place and what the future has in store. Told from the point of view of an eclectic group of neighbors in a Van Nuys, California apartment building, this journey of survival will show us that hope is found in the smallest of victories and heroes are born every day.” Day One comes from executive producer/writer Jesse Alexander (Heroes, Lost, Alias) and director Alex Graves (Fringe). It stars David Lyons, Julie Gonzalo, Adam Campbell, and Xander Berkeley (24). Alexander describes the show: “It is the story of ordinary people working together to save the world from an extraordinary threat. Though Day One’s prime time adventures are simple and compelling, its mythology is vast and designed to be experienced across multiple media platforms.” Sounds awesome.
NBC originally planned on airing Day One with the standard 13-episode run after the Winter Olympics. The latest news confirms that NBC has changed their minds and plans on airing it as a two-hour movie, see how that does, and move on from there. If the backdoor pilot receives positive feedback and high ratings NBC has the option to turn it into a regular weekly series. NBC Entertainment President Angela Bromstad: “We’ve always looked at Day Oneas a big event for us and not necessarily a show that would be an ongoing…you know, a returning show for a second season. It would depend on its success. I think just by the nature of the genre, [these genre shows] tend to get a little narrow.” So why did NBC decide to make the switch from series to TV movie? Sources are blaming it on the high expensive of computer-generated images required for realism and the ratings drop with similar sci-fi shows like ABC’s FlashForward and V.
Check out the trailer below. If you are at all interested in it, please give the show a try when it airs after the Olympics. If the two-hour TV movie is any good, it will deserve a 13-episode order.
Glee, Modern Family renewed; what about Fringe, Heroes, FlashForward, 24, & V?
It’s great to be a fan of TV these days. So many great shows to watch and discuss. This past week the TSA (Television Critics Association) Press Tour brought out TV’s stars, showrunners, and executives who talk to the press about what’s to come in the future. Below is a list of a handful of shows and clues to how their futures will pan out.
Gleeks rejoice! Glee has been renewed for a second season. FOX’s President of Entertainment, Kevin Reilly: “We’ve loved Glee ever since it was a pilot script, so it’s been an incredible thrill to watch the show take root and see audiences embrace these characters in such a huge way this season. The show is a true and rare gem in television. We couldn’t be more proud of what Ryan Murphy and the Glee team have created so far, and can’t wait to see what they come up with for Season 2.” In related news, the Glee execs will be holding a nationwide audition to fill in three new roles for season two. “Auditions will be open to amateur individuals as well as professionals between the ages of 16-26, and all hopefuls will be able to submit auditions online. Additional details will be announced soon [via] fox.com/glee.” Reilly adds that “the winners will be revealed in the first episode of the season.”
Glee returns Tuesday, April 13 on FOX. (Celebrate the news by watching a Glee flashmob after the break.)
Modern Family, the funniest new comedy of the season, has been given the green light for a second season! ABC also renewed Cougar Town and The Middle. Ugly Betty, Better Off Ted, and Scrubs are still in limbo. ABC Entertainment President Steve McPherson says “I’m not going to lie. The numbers are not encouraging.”
Modern Family airs Wednesdays at 9PM on ABC.
What’s going on with Fringe? Last we heard ratings dropped due to its competitive timeslot. It airs at the same time as Grey’s Anatomy, CSI, The Office, 30 Rock and Supernatural. FOX’s Reilly on the matter: “I wish the ratings were higher, but frankly, we’re going to keep it right where it is, because it’s doing a job for us.” On the future of this season: “We’re going to bring on Past Life, give this a breather, then going to play I think ten episodes in a row in the back half of the season, to really try and blast this when the other guys are in repeats.” So he definitely feels a good vibe around the show. But what does the future hold beyond season 2? “They’re in a creative groove with it. We have a great relationship with the producers. They’re delivering a quality show and it’s got an audience…The audience hasn’t entirely left it behind; they’re just watching it on their DVR. So I don’t know. We’ll just have to see what happens in May.” Fringe resides in the wait-and-see category, but I have a strong feeling it will be coming back for many more seasons.
Fringe returns Thursday, January 14 on FOX. (Look after the break for an exerpt from an IGN interview with Fringe creator J. J. Abrams.)
Oh, Heroes. Season 1 was fantastic. I even enjoyed watching seasons 2 and 3 on DVD. Unfortunately most of its original audience lost interest by season 2 due to lack of creativity, among other criticisms. Though the outlook for a potential season 5 looks bleak, Greg Grunberg (Heroes’ Matt Parkman) is very confident that the show will get renewed. “We wrapped yesterday and the [final episode] is nowhere near a series finale. It is cliffhanger-y and exciting, but it is nowhere near an end to a series that people are so invested in. It does not tie everything up in a neat bow… I don’t have any doubt that the show will be back.” He adds, “We will wrap it up properly in the next season and get to 100 episodes. At least that’s what I would like to see happen. They take so much care in writing the show that I would hope we get the chance to end it right. Lost announced an end [date] and I think that helped both the people working on the show and the people watching it. They see the finish line and I think it gives them something tangible to invest in and be excited about. It’s like it’s a movie and they want to see the end of it. That’s what I hope happens with our show.” Heroes is one of two “DVD shows” for me. I watch every season on DVD when it comes out. It’s the DVD sales and the international popularity of the show that keep it alive, so we will wait and see how it all plays out soon.
Heroes airs its season finale February 8 on NBC.
FlashForward’s long hiatus has just gotten a little longer. Its return is being moved from March 4 to March 18 so that it does not have to compete with TV juggernaut American Idol. When it does return it will air back-to-back episodes in a two hour event. It will run straight to its finale on May 27 with new episodes every week. Note that the finale will also be two hours in length. And we are all looking forward to the April 29 episode, aren’t we?
FlashForward returns March 18 on ABC.
As we all start getting pumped for 24 season 8 to begin, talk about a potential season 9 is already making waves. Keifer Sutherland (24’s Jack Bauer) told reporters that he is “absolutely open” to making another season if the fans want it. Sutherland: “I’ve always said that as long as people wanted us to make it , and people were really interested in watching it, I would be interested. There are a lot of components involved. Right now my focus is on finishing season 8.” FOX’s Reilly: “Collectively, we just made a decision to launch the season [first] and then sit down in the next four to six weeks. But my sense is Kiefer will want to keep it going.” Executive producer Howard Gordon: “The way I’ve looked at it is that every single season [finale] could have been a series ender. We just want to take it across the line credibly and then let the [other part] take care of itself. As long as Jack’s not dead, anything is possible.” Hell yeah! Sounds like season 9 is a definite possibility. And don’t forget a 24 movie is in the works after the show ends.
24, Day 8 premieres Sunday, January 17 on FOX.
As for the future of V…no one knows yet. ABC’s McPherson was not keen on running such a short first “pod” of episodes this past fall, but due to production issues the show was forced to limit itself to four initial episodes. ABC plans on airing uninterrupted episodes of V starting in March which will run to its finale in May so that they can “turn [it] into an event.” As long as there’s more Ana, I’m hooked!
V returns March 30 on ABC.
Check back here for the latest news in popular network TV series; I’ll make sure to update when they are renewed or cancelled and when their premieres and finales are televised.
[Via EW, here, here, here, here & here; IGN, here, here, here & here]
Continue reading Glee, Modern Family renewed; what about Fringe, Heroes, FlashForward, 24, & V?