New year, new TV. It’s time for the latest installment of what to watch this month! There are a total of 10 new and returning shows to look out for in January so let’s get right to it, after the break. Continue reading TV reminder: 10 premieres to look out for in January
The upcoming seventh season of NBC’s Parks And Recreation will be the series’ last, so you need to get all your laughs in now before the curtain closes. Enter the season 6 gag reel brimming with so much funny you might need to take an intermission or two. My favorite part? That’s when Jim O’Heir (aka Jerry/Larry/Terry Gergich) actually pulls a Jerry in real life and totally messes up a take. What’s yours?
Parks & Rec returns in 2015.
In a recent episode of Parks And Recreation titled “Anniversaries,” Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) gifted her geeky husband Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott) with a full-scale replica of the Iron Throne as made famous by George R.R. Martin in his A Song of Ice and Fire books and HBO’s adaptation Game of Thrones. Ben’s reaction to receiving said gift, to say the least, was extraordinarily hilarious.
Well, Parks & Rec fans, I present this gift to you: NBC has posted the extended take of the aforementioned scene and you can watch it in full above. If you didn’t think that tag could be any more perfect, guess again.
This is literally the worst news for fans of NBC’s sitcom Parks And Rec: Rashida Jones and Rob Lowe are leaving the series this upcoming season. According to the show’s executive producer Mike Schur, their exit stems from no controversy; this is purely a creative decision to let them go. He released this statement to BuzzFeed explaining the situation head-on:
The news about Rob and Rashida is true — they will be leaving the show after the 13th episode of the upcoming season six. We’ve been working on their storyline (on and off) for four seasons now, and heading into this year, with the two of them contemplating parenthood, it felt like a natural time to move them into the next phase.
We absolutely love both Rashida and Rob, and will be sad to see them go. Rashida was one of the very first people we knew we wanted in the cast, and as important as Ann is to Leslie (and vice-versa), she’ll certainly never be far from Pawnee. Rob we initially thought we could only have for six or eight episodes, and we couldn’t be happier that he will have stuck around for 75.
They are wonderful, funny, committed actors, they’ve been a huge part of the Parks and Rec family, and we think we have a great Pawnee send-off in the works for them.
Schur shared additional details with EW: “The decision that they make that will see them transition off the show is made very early, so it’s a long fun kind of celebratory send-off. And it happens in the first episode after the premiere — the seeds start being planted. So it’s going to be a long crescendo and Leslie will go through a series of complicated highs and lows about what’s happening. For obvious reasons, it’s the main arc that plays out in the first half of the year…. They’re moving into a new phase of their lives and they have a lot of things to consider and they’re going to consider them, and then make a decision that leads to their [exit].”
So there you have it. The absolutely positive and lovable Chris Traeger and Leslie’s most ardent supporter and best friend Ann Perkins are departing Pawnee at the half-way point in season 5. The show with one of the greatest ensemble casts will carry on without them, of course, but that doesn’t mean they will be greatly missed. Try to imagine the scene where Leslie has to say goodbye to Ann, a character who’s been with the show since the shaky beginning; a tear-jerker is most definitely in the works.
The Television Critics Association is back for its winter tour. It’s the time of year when the major networks and their shows talk about their fall performance and preview what’s to come midseason and beyond. Of the big four networks, NBC was up first today and man-o-man was the Peacock’s chairman of entertainment Bob Greenblatt happy to see a sea of press because this marks the first time in a long time that his network has something positive to really talk about. NBC’s had a great fall as they currently find themselves the #1 network in the adults 18-49 demographic and #2 in total viewers (still trailing CBS). “What a difference a year makes, right?” he exclaimed toward the crowd packed with press and critics. “I’m going to bore you with statistics because I’m not sure when I’m going to have the chance to do this again.” The major stats are as follows: for the first half of the season, NBC is up 24 percent and 19 percent in the 18-49 demo and total viewers, respectively. The net can thank the ultimate Monday pairing of The Voice and Revolution for their recent success, as well as high ratings for Sunday Night Football and their surging sitcom Go On. In 2012 FOX entertainment president Kevin Reilly accused the heads of the other major nets of having their heads up their asses. Greenblatt responded directly today with the most publicist quote to come out of his panel: “I can guarantee you, we don’t have our heads up our asses,” he said.
Greenblatt and NBC entertainment president Jennifer Salke used the rest of their time to discuss specific shows, new ones and old. Jump after the break for the bullet-point breakdown. Continue reading TCA 13: NBC’s Bob Greenblatt pats own back for hugely successful fall season
I mean, there really isn’t anything more I can say. It’s laugh out loud hilarious. Like always. Mash play and enjoy!
Parks and Rec returns to NBC September 20.
Paul Rudd is headed to Pawnee, Indiana! So you know how Amy Poehler’s Leslie Knope is running for city council? Well guess what? It’s been confirmed that the Knocked Up, Role Models, I Love You, Man star is going to play her opponent. Imagine that? It’s going to be hilarious on an epic scale. But isn’t Parks and Recreation already? Rudd will guest star in multiple episodes later this season (his first episode is set to air January 19) and Katherine Hahn (Free Agents) will be his adviser. Like Paul Rudd needs one! On second thought, maybe he does. Have you see Knope’s campaign banner? It’s after the break. Parks and Rec season 4 resumes this Thursday the 12th on NBC.
[Via Vulture; EW] Continue reading Paul Rudd sets his sights on Leslie Knope in upcoming ‘Parks and Rec’ guest spot
If you watched the latest episode of Parks and Rec, then you know that the Pawnee gang survived the (nonexistent) apocalypse in “End of the World.” During the episode, April encouraged her hubby Andy to check things off his bucket list. Among the many absurd activities on the list (including making the “most awesome” grilled cheese sandwich) was visiting the Grand Canyon. Actors Aubrey Plaza and Chris Pratt and some crew members shot the quick scene on location in Arizona. While they were there, additional scenes were shot that never made it in the episode. These scenes were packaged into four separate webisodes and are available to watch online right now! The web series is called Parks and Recreation: Road Trip, and it follows April & Andy’s antics at the Grand Canyon. The first one, “Spider,” is embedded above; watch the others plus a behind the scenes clip at NBC.com.
Nick Offerman is Parks and Rec’s meat and breakfast foods aficionado Ron Swanson. Here is a mosaic made entirely of images of his favorite meals. Get the full-res image at NBC.
You’re welcome.
Update: There’s a video sitting after the break called “Swanson vs. Food.” ‘Nuff said. And again, you’re welcome. Continue reading The Ron Swanson Mosaic
Oh, what more can be said about the Pawnee gang? The all-star cast that makes up NBC’s Parks and Recreation is delightfully genuine and wickedly hilarious. If you don’t watch the show this 15-minute blooper reel should still leave you in stitches. But if you do watch it the reel will shine a new light on these characters for you (literally tons of profanity are contained within) and at the same time remind you why you fell in love with them in the first place. Also, April (Aubrey Plaza) smiles! Now that’s a first. The Parks and Rec season 2 gag reel rests above.
New episodes return April 14 at 9:30PM on NBC.
Update: Looks like NBC took it off YouTube. Found another copy at Perez!
Fantastic news everybody: NBC has renewed Community, Parks and Rec, and The Office for a third, fourth, and eighth season, respectively! NBC’s other staple comedy 30 Rock was renewed for a sixth season late last year. It will surely be interesting to see how The Office performs without its star Michael Scott (Steve Carrell) and I’m equally looking forward to the return of the Greendale and Pawnee gangs. These shows have proved time and time again that they’ve found their stride. I am beyond elated that NBC has saved these shows from sitting on the cancellation fence and determined their value residing in the network’s Thursday night comedy lineup.
NBC chairman Bob Greenblatt: “Along with 30 Rock, they represent the best of what the NBC comedy brand stands for in terms of originality, wit, and sophistication. The Office continues to fire on all cylinders on the most competitive night of television; Parks & Recreation has come into its own this season as the rightful companion to The Office; and Community is one of the freshest comedies on any network and a solid foundation for Thursday night.”
Greenblatt has ordered 13 comedy pilots each vying for a spot in this talented lineup. Things are not looking up for Outsourced and midseason player Perfect Couples.
For those of you who follow the ratings game: The Office averages a 4.0 rating/10 share in adults 18-49 and 7.7 million viewers; Parks and Rec sees a 2.8/7 and 5.5 million viewers; Community gets a 2.1/6 and 4.7 million.
The Pawnee gang returns in two weeks! Watch this four minute sneak peek of Parks and Rec season 3; it neatly reminds you about what went down in season 2 and at the same time reveals some new, hilarious content. Rob Lowe and Adam Scott are perfect additions to this fabulous cast. January 20, 9:30PM, where are you? You need to be right now.
