Tag Archives: NBC

‘SNL’ adds three featured players, Jason Sudeikis staying on (for now)

News, Television, , , , , ,

As we inch ever so close to the 38th season premiere of Saturday Night Live, it’s been confirmed that three new featured players will take the place of the departed Kristin Wiig, Andy Samberg, and Abby Elliot. They are Aidy Bryant, Tim Robinson, and Cecily Strong and they all hail from Chicago’s Second City improv comedy club.

In other SNL news, although the most recent reports had Jason Sudeikis eyeing an exit from the late-night NBC show, head honcho Lorne Michaels informs us that the actor will remain on the show “at least until January” so that he can reprise his roles as presidential candidate Mitt Romney and Vice President Joe Biden as we head into election season.

And there’s one more thing: Michaels has shared that featured player Jay Pharoah will be replacing Fred Armisen as President Obama on the show this season. In an interview with the New York Times Michaels said, “Jay has been doing Obama in his act this summer, and Jay is coming into his own. I just thought it might be time to shake it up.”

SNL returns to NBC’s lineup this Saturday night (9/15) at 11:35PM with host Seth MacFarlane and musical guest Frank Ocean.

[Via EW; NYT 1, 2]

2012 Fall TV Schedule: NBC

Images, News, Television, , , , , , , , , ,

Here we are, the most exciting time of year. Summer is coming to a close, school is back in session, new shows premiere and your favorites return to the magical box in your living room. The 2012 fall TV season technically doesn’t start until later this month, but some of the networks are premiering new shows sooner rather than later. Whip out your calendar; it’s prime time to mark it up.

NBC has the most staggered rollout of the big four networks. In August, the Peacock previewed the Matthew Perry starrer Go On and the wacky Animal Practice to take advantage of its Olympics coverage. They also premiered the controversial reality show Stars Earn Stripes and the second season of Grimm last month. NBC will continue to let shows premiere before the official start of the fall season with The Voice starting Monday, September 10. Also premiering next week is Go On (a re-airing of the pilot on 9/10 plus episode 2 on 9/11), The New Normal (the pilot on 9/10 plus episode 2 on 9/11), Parenthood, and Guys with Kids. The week of September 17 sees the premiere of Revolution, Up All Night, The Office, and Parks and Recreation. Interestingly, the network is only premiering one show during the official start week (that is 9/24 -9/30), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Fans of 30 Rock, Whitney, and Community will have to wait until October. Also premiering that month is the Dick Wolf drama Chicago Fire.

Buzzy NBC dramas to look out for include J.J. Abrams’ Revolution (I saw it, the pilot is good not great, much potential is there) and Hannibal from Bryan Fuller. The latter show is premiering in midseason along with Do No Harm, Infamous, and comedies Next Caller, Save Me, and 1600 Penn.

Ryan Murphy’s The New Normal is certainly the network’s most buzzy new comedy. Having watched the previews of both shows during the summer Olympics, I heartily recommend Go On over Animal Practice, especially if you’ve been following Perry over the years.

Jump after the break to view the full schedule.

Click here to get reacquainted with the new programming.

Look in the gallery below to view key art, aka TV posters!

Continue reading 2012 Fall TV Schedule: NBC →

‘Saturday Night Live’ lines up hosts and musical guests for new season

News, Television, , , , , , , ,

Though it hasn’t even started and we’re already missing Kristin Wiig and Andy Samberg, the 38th season of NBC’s Saturday Night Live is going to start with an exciting bang. The late night comedy sketch show has tapped Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane to host the upcoming season premiere with musical guest Frank Ocean. A man of many talents, MacFarlane is a great choice to start the season of right and so is Ocean who is hot off his debut release Channel Orange. In the weeks following the September 15 premiere, Studio 8H will be visited by Joseph Gordon-Levitt (promoting Looper, out 9/28) and Mumford & Sons (airing September 22) and Daniel Craig (promoting Skyfall, out November 9) and Muse (airing October 6).

In addition to Wiig and Samberg, it has been confirmed that Abby Elliot will not be returning this season. Jason Sudeikis is still on the fence but all signs point to a no-show.

‘The Office’ season 9 will be the show’s last

News, Television, , , ,

Some say this news should have come when star Steve Carell left the show at the end of season 7. But the show went on and this past Tuesday the series’ executive producer Greg Daniels announced that the upcoming ninth season will conclude the antics in The Office. Daniels served as the series’ showrunner from seasons one through five and then handed the creative reins to exec producer Paul Lieberstein, who plays Tobey. For the final season Daniels returns as showrunner and he had this to say about the not-so-shocking news.

“This will be the last season of The Office. And we’re planning a very big exciting last season. We’re going to have a lot of faces coming back … There are a lot of things that I’ve personally been wanting to do since season two … All questions will be answered this year. Now that we know we have an end date we can blow things up and take some chances and it will be very freeing, creatively.”

He assures fans that NBC has not cancelled the show (why would they–it’s the network’s highest rated comedy); The Office is closing its doors because the creative team behind it feels the time has come; many fans likely share the sentiment. “This year feels like the last chance to really go out together and make an artistic ending for the show that pays off a lot of the stuff that matters most to fans,” said Daniels. He continued, “You have a choice–only tell the beginning of story and the middle, or allow a story to end. If we didn’t let it end this year, I don’t think we would have been able to tell the ending stories of so many characters… we couldn’t count on getting everybody back for season 10.” (What with Mindy Kalling headlining The Mindy Project on FOX with fellow Office star B.J. Novak, and Rainn Wilson moving on to NBC’s Office spinoff The Farm.) Daniels added, “You could see a world where new people keep coming on the show. But I think [we want to] do justice to the existing characters in the most creative and explosive way and that means the show will be changed to such a degree that if anything was to continue it wouldn’t be the same show.”

Specifically, what can longtime viewers expect to see in the final season? Daniels says more drama will hit Jim and Pam’s relationship, the season will explore who’s behind the documentary crew that’s been filming the Office employees over all these years, and the elusive Scranton Strangler will be revealed. Do you want to see Michael Scott again? The producers do. “We would certainly wish for it,” Daniels said. “We’re not going to put so much pressure on Steve by writing something that would only work if he would return. He really loves how he was exited. He’s probably anxious about not messing up such a stylish exit. It’s a perfectly legitimate point. We’ll see, we haven’t written anything, we just have some ideas for the ending.”

The Office returns Thursday, September 20 on NBC.

[Via EW; Deadline]

NBC to preview new comedies ‘Go On’ & ‘Animal Practice’ during Olympics

News, Television, , , , ,

NBC is taking advantage of its exclusive Olympics coverage by stuffing previews of two upcoming fall sitcoms smack in the middle of it. Tomorrow, on August 8, viewers will get a sneak peek at the premiere of the latest Matthew Perry vehicle Go On. A few days later on Sunday, August 12 the already easy-to-pan Animal Practice starring Justin Kirk and Crystal the monkey from The Hangover Part II will screen its pilot. Both episodes will premiere following the Olympics broadcasts on their respective days and will return to NBC’s primetime schedule in September.

To learn more about Go On and Animal Practice, refer to NBC’s Upfronts report. And Grimm fans, note that your show returns earlier than most, premiering on Monday, August 13 at 10PM; new episodes will air on three consecutive Mondays and then during their regular Friday at 9PM timeslot beginning September 14.

‘Awake’ creator Kyle Killen addresses that mind-bending finale and what was planned for season 2

News, Television, , , , ,

Major spoilers inside…

This past Thursday marked the season one finale of NBC’s unique drama Awake. Unfortunately for the show’s small but rabid audience the episode also served as the series finale; the cancellation was announced weeks ago. But how about that mind-bending, Inception-like conclusion? After an impressionable pilot and a handful of procedural installments, Awake managed to tell an extremely compelling story that left its viewers wanting more when the grand finale closed one chapter and opened the door to a shiny treasure chest of possible season 2 storylines. Detective Michael Britten (played by the gifted Jason Issacs) figured out that Harper was the one behind his life-altering car accident, and shortly thereafter he created a third (dream?) reality in which his son and wife survived.

So what the hell happened? Continue reading ‘Awake’ creator Kyle Killen addresses that mind-bending finale and what was planned for season 2 →

Kristen Wiig parts ways with ‘SNL’ (also, Samberg’s “Lazy Sunday 2” video inside!)

Hilarity, News, Television, Video, , , , , , , , ,

Last night Kristin Wiig made it official with a curtain call at the end of the season 37 finale. After spending seven wonderful years as a member of the Saturday Night Live cast, Wiig has decided to move on to shift her focus on other projects including film ventures. In her final episode Wiig played some of her most memorable characters including the bizarre small hands freakshow in the “Lawrence Welk” cold opening (with Mad Men‘s Jon Hamm!) and the theatrical Mindy in “The Secret Word” game show sketch. Also brought back was the instant classic “The Californians” for a second round before her departure. (I probably could have done with one more Kathy Lee Gifford impression, Gilly (with Will Forte!), the Target lady, and movie reviewer Aunt Linda); but we’ll always have the archives.) At the very end of the show she “graduated” and received hugs from all her castmates and SNL head honcho Lorne Michaels in a very emotional send off. In case you missed it, you can watch the goodbye after the break.

It was rumored that Andy Samberg and Jason Sudekis would also be leaving this season because their contracts are up, too. In the past two weeks Samberg and his Lonely Island crew celebrated 100 Digital Shorts and brought back SNL alum Chris Parnell for a sequel to their breakout viral rap “Lazy Sunday.” You can watch both of these hysterical clips after the break. For Samberg this feels like a nice send off; Sudekis, however, was featured in only a handful of sketches as of late. Though nothing has been confirmed by NBC yet, don’t be surprised if these two aren’t included in next season’s opening credits. We can hope that Samberg will return every now and then for a Digital Short, and Sudekis should reprise his role as Republican Mitt Romney (especially if he becomes the next POTUS).

For now, farewell Kristen Wiig. The show will go on, but it will never be the same without you. Continue reading Kristen Wiig parts ways with ‘SNL’ (also, Samberg’s “Lazy Sunday 2” video inside!) →

‘Community’ creator Dan Harmon is forced out as showrunner

News, Television, , , ,

Sad times for Community fans. Creator/executive producer/writer Dan Harmon will no longer serve as the NBC’s sitcom showrunner when it returns for its shortened fourth season in the fall. David Guarascio and Moses Port (Just Shoot Me, Aliens in America) have been tapped to take over Harmon’s vacated positon.

So what happened? Recently Harmon was in the news because of a feud between him and Community star Chevy Chase went viral. To make what may be a long story short… It was reported that Chase stormed off the set during the filming of the final shot of the season. In retaliation Harmon shared a private voicemail from Chase at the show’s wrap party and in it Chase said some pretty nasty things about Harmon and Community itself. I won’t go into full detail here, but if you do some light digging you can find the recording and additional detail surrounding the feud floating on the ‘Net. In any case, the public feud concludes with Chase sending Harmon a second lewd voicemail after finding out that Harmon played his previous message at the wrap party, in front of the actor’s wife and children no less. Though he wouldn’t apoligize directly to Chase, Harmon took to his blog to apologize formally the fans. “That was a dumb, unclassy, inconsiderate move on my part. I’m very sorry it’s reflecting poorly on the show,” he posted.

Following the feud and the apology, things settled down as Community returned from its extended hiatus and wrapped up its third season. At the Upfronts NBC entertainment president Bob Greenblatt addressed the future of the show. Would Chase and/or Harmon be forced to quit the show so things can move forward smoothly in season four? Greenblatt said that he expected “Dan’s voice to be a part of this show somehow. I’m just not sure if that means him running it day to day or consulting on it.”

Flashforward to near present day. On May 18, one day after the season three finale, news broke that Harmon will not be returning as Community showrunner. Speculation ensued; did Harmon step down from his post or was he forced to quit. In a blog post he admitted that Sony Pictures Television (the studio that owns the show) kicked him out without even consulting him about it. “Why’d Sony want me gone? I can’t answer that because I’ve been in as much contact with them as you have.  They literally haven’t called me since the season four pickup, so their reasons for replacing me are clearly none of my business.  Community is their property, I only own ten percent of it, and I kind of don’t want to hear what their complaints are because I’m sure it would hurt my feelings even more now that I’d be listening for free.”

NBC says that Harmon will remain attached to Community as a “consulting producer” but the showrunner reveals that the network is technically obliged to holding onto him like this and that this new title ultimately still renders him powerless. He writes: “However, if I actually chose to go to the office, I wouldn’t have any power there.  Nobody would have to do anything I said, ever.  I would be “offering” thoughts on other people’s scripts, not allowed to rewrite them, not allowed to ask anyone else to rewrite them, not allowed to say whether a single joke was funny or go near the edit bay, etc.  It’s….not really the way the previous episodes got done.  I was what you might call a….hands on producer.  Are my….periods giving this enough….pointedness?  I’m not saying you can’t make a good version of Community without me, but I am definitely saying that you can’t make my version of it unless I have the option of saying “it has to be like this or I quit” roughly 8 times a day.” Consulting producer means nothing without creative control.

So Harmon was fired and that is that. Also not returning next season to focus on other projects are executive producers Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan and writer/producer Chris McKenna. Will Community be different next year? Almost certainly. Without Harmon’s voice and knowledge of these characters he created the show will feel a tad off; or maybe it won’t, we’ll have to wait and see. However season four (and beyond) turns out, Community fans will always have Harmon’s hard work that makes up seasons 1-4 to look back on. In a way the season three finale felt very much like a series finale, the closing of a chapter with Dan Harmon’s signature scribbled directly on it.

[Via TV Guide]

2012 Upfronts: NBC orders 12 new series for next season

News, Television, Video, , , , , , , , , , ,

Today NBC kicked off the 2012 Upfronts, an annual event where the big four networks present their upcoming slate of new programming to advertisers and the press. The Peacock unveiled 12 new series coming to the network next season; seven comedies and five dramas. Half will premiere this fall, and the others will wait for midseason. Jump after the break to get more information about all of the new shows including synopses, cast and creator/executive producer listings, and clips.

Also posted after the break is NBC’s 2012-13 programming schedule. The three most significant changes to the schedule include Whitney and Community moving to Friday nights paired with Grimm and Dateline NBC; The Voice gets a second cycle in the fall; and Smash is being held again for midseason.

NBC entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt explained Community‘s move to Friday: “I know that most people in our industry think Friday is a graveyard but we don’t really believe that. If you don’t build it they won’t come. We got some traction with Grimm, it’s the No. 1 18-49 on Fridays. We thought if we have a base there, let’s see if we can give Grimm a lead-in with these shows that actually have fan bases–including Whitney.” … He added, “[Community] has its faithful audience and they will follow it to the ends of the Earth. And I really wanted to do something to invigorate Friday because we love Grimm. So I thought, let’s move a show where the audience will move with it. I actually look at the positive side of it, although no good deed goes unpunished.”

While The Office and Parks and Recreation were picked up and given full 22-episode full season orders, other comedies like 30 Rock, Community, and Up All Night were handed smaller 13-episode orders; and this has led to speculation about whether or not NBC plans to phase these shows out sooner rather than later. Greenblatt addressed this: “[The Thursday night comedies] have a really strong following [but] they don’t have a large enough audience. They’re still shows that mean something to this network…I think on the Thursday night shows, ‘broad’ is synonymous with ratings…we’re always trying to be broader.” … He added, “a 13-episode order does not mean a death knell to the show.” So fret not, my friends. (5/14 update: It has been confirmed that the upcoming seventh season of 30 Rock will be its last.)

On why the network is saving Smash for midseason, Greenblatt wants the second season to air uninterrupted with not a single hiatus, like FOX started doing with 24 by premiering it in January instead of September. The plan is for the musical drama to produce 15-18 episodes every season as opposed to the standard 22. Also, the network wants accomodate new showrunner Josh Safran (Gossip Girl). Explains NBC’s Jennifer Salke: “New showrunner Josh Safran is coming in–he’s awesome. And we wanted him to get a chance to own [it] and get in there and have an ownership stake in the show — not just put a gun to his head and [tell him], ‘You gotta get going!’ So we wanted him to be able to stand back and have a real creative discussion about what he wants the season to be and be a big part of that.” Continue reading 2012 Upfronts: NBC orders 12 new series for next season →

2012 TV renewals and cancellations

News, Television, , , , , , , , , , ,

Tis the season when the TV season comes to a close and the press goes wild with speculation about which shows will be coming back next fall and which ones will be brutally murdered never to be seen again. If you’re looking for rampant speculation you won’t find it here; this post will inform you about the already determined futures of your favorite TV shows that air on the big four networks. As the Upfronts loom ahead (the time when the networks reveal their schedules for next season), the current slate of TV shows look fate in the eye and a decision is made to keep them or cut them.

Unless otherwise stated, the following shows have been renewed for full 20-something episode seasons and will return in the fall or midseason.

CBS

Renewed: 2 Broke Girls, Blue Bloods, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: NY, Criminal Minds, Hawaii Five-0, How I Met Your Mother, Mike & Molly, NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, Person of Interest, Rules of Engagement (13 episodes), Survivor, The Amazing Race, The Big Bang Theory, The Good Wife, The Mentalist, Two and a Half Men

Cancelled: A Gifted Man, CSI: Miami, How To Be A Gentleman, NYC 22 Rob, Unforgettable

NBC

Renewed: 30 Rock (13 episodes), Betty White’s Off Their Rockers, Celebrity Apprentice, Community (13 episodes), Grimm, Fashion Star, Law & Order: SVU, Parenthood, Parks and Recreation, Rock Center with Brian Williams, Smash (15-18 episodes), The Biggest Loser, The Office, The Voice, Up All Night, Whitney

Cancelled: Are You There, Chelsea?, Awake, Bent, Best Friends Forever, Chuck, Fear Factor, Free Agents, Harry’s Law, Playboy Club, Prime Suspect, The Firm

FOX

Renewed: American Dad, American Idol, Bob’s Burgers, Bones, Family Guy, Fringe (13 episodes), Glee, Hell’s Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares, New Girl, Raising Hope, The Cleveland Show, The Simpsons, The X Factor, Touch

Cancelled: Alcatraz, Allen Gregory, Breaking In, House, I Hate My Teenage Daughter, Napoleon Dynamite, Terra Nova, The Finder

ABC

Renewed: America’s Funniest Home Videos, Body of Proof, Castle, Cougar Town (moving to TBS), Dancing with the Stars, Don’t Trust The B in Apartment 23, Grey’s Anatomy, Happy Endings, Last Man Standing, Modern Family, Once Upon A Time, Private Practice (13 episodes), Revenge, Scandal, Shark Tank, Suburgatory, The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, The Middle

Cancelled: Charlie’s Angels, Desperate Housewives, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, GCB, Man Up!, Missing, Pan Am, The River, Work It

The CW

Renewed: 90210, America’s Next Top Model, Gossip Girl, Hart of Dixie, Nikita, Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries

Cancelled: H8R, One Tree Hill, Remodeled, Ringer, The Secret Circle

Bryan Fuller opens up about ‘Munsters’ reboot ‘Mockingbird Lane’

News, Television, , , , ,

In a recent interview with EW, Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller shed light on his most recent TV project Mockingbird Lane. Here are some choice quotes from the extensive interview that can be read in full right here.

Fuller on the inspiration behind the Munsters reboot: “It started when I was at the Tim Burton exhibit in New York and he had all these monster family portraits. And I thought there should be a show about a family of monsters. But any show about a family of monsters is going to be calling back to the original show about a family of monsters. We are reinventing The Munsters because if we didn’t everybody would just say, “You’re ripping off the Munsters!” So why not just make it official?”

On why he decided to change the name of the show from The Munsters to Mockingbird Lane: “The script is such a dramatic departure from the tone and style of the original show. If we continued to call the show The Munsters, people are just going to to think we’re doing The Munsters. We’re doing a reinvention and re-imagination of this property. I love the Universal monsters. I love The Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Invisible Man, The Wolfman, Phantom of the Opera, The Mummy. There’s so many great characters we can run through this metaphor of family storytelling that it just felt it was ripe to do as a one-hour dramedy. Having all those elements to play with, the toy box is really, really full.” (Note: the title is a direct reference to the Munsters’ address: 1313 Mockingbird Lane.)

On what viewers can expect in the pilot: “There’s some great stories going forward in the series. Any story you can tell onParenthood we can run through a Universal monster prism and tell it in a very twisted, off-kilter way. What I love about the pilot story is it’s about a family who loves each other and they have a child [Eddie, the werewolf] with a disability and they’re trying to craft a path for that child so he can have a happy life — they just happen to be monsters. And, unlike in the original, we’re going to see our monsters do monstrous things.”

Fuller’s grand vision for the show: “We want this show to be an American Harry Potter. To have that sense of a magical world that you get to go to with your family and find stories told in a fantastical way that are instantly relatable. It’s an American Horror Story that the whole family can watch.”

Since the pilot is still being tweaked, no actual footage has been released from Mockingbird Lane…until now, that is. EW got their hands on a still that reveals the Munsters‘ mansion. “We wanted [the mansion] to have feeling of the original,” Fuller comments. “We wanted a house in the neighborhood that children would walk past faster than other houses.” The image looms above.

Mockingbird Lane, starring Eddie Izzard as Grandpa, comes to TV this fall on NBC.

[Via EW]