NBC goes for Laughs with its new 2012 Fall Schedule

NBC has been mired in the ratings cellar for several years now, but with their new fall schedule, they are hoping to return to their 80′s and 90′s glory days. How are they gonna do it? Well, apparently, they are hoping to become the kings of comedy again. They did it with shows like Cheers, Seinfeld, Friends, Frasier, The Cosby Show, The Golden Girls and Will & Grace. So, why not make a big play with 4 nights of comedy programming, Tuesday thru Friday? That’s what they will be doing by bringing back Community, Up All Night, Whitney (what?!) and 30 Rock  (in its final season) for 13 more episodes plus full seasons of The Office (with all the stars returning except for James Spader and Mindy Kaling who has a new sitcom on Fox) and Parks and Recreation. They will add 4 more comedies to the mix: Go On starring Matthew Perry as a sportscaster, Animal Kingdom with Justin Kirk as a House-like veterinarian, Guys with Kids from producer Jimmy Fallon and The New Normal with Justin Bartha and Tony nominee Andrew Rannells (The Book of Mormon) as a gay couple who enlist a surrogate to help them start a family. The latter comedy is from Ryan Murphy (Glee, American Horror Story) and costars Tony winner Ellen Barkin and looks like a riot. I can’t wait…
The network also has 3 more comedies for mid-season with Save Me starring Anne Heche, 1600 Penn (a comedy set at the White House) and Next Caller about a foul-mouthed DJ played by Dane Cook. Dramas joining later in the year are Infamous and Hannibal (yes, that’s about Hannibal Lecter!)
Also on the drama side, NBC has added Revolution, Do No Harm and Chicago Fire. Revolution will follow a new fall edition of The Voice which will now air twice a year essentially turning it into a singing version of Dancing with the Stars or Survivor, and thus further reducing the likelihood of ever producing a true music hit maker. (But it can still get good rating for the network that has such a low bar)… Also returning will be the musical drama Smash at midseason (so it can air 18 episodes uninterrupted) along with a newly reconfigured The Biggest Loser.... Cancelled shows include Awake, The Firm, Harry’s Law (boo!!!), Are You There Chelsea, Bent and Best Friends Forever. For more on the new shows and clips of them, head to TV Line here. And check out NBC’s new fall schedule below.

MONDAY
8-10 p.m. – “The Voice”
10-11 p.m. – “REVOLUTION”

TUESDAY
8-9 p.m. – “The Voice”
9-9:30 p.m. – “GO ON”
9:30-10 p.m. – “THE NEW NORMAL”
10-11 p.m. – “Parenthood”

WEDNESDAY
8-8:30 p.m. – “ANIMAL PRACTICE”
8:30-9 p.m. – “GUYS WITH KIDS”
9-10 p.m. – “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”
10-11 p.m. – “CHICAGO FIRE”

THURSDAY
8-8:30 p.m. – “30 Rock”
8:30-9 p.m. – “Up All Night”
9-9:30 p.m. – “The Office”
9:30-10 p.m. – “Parks and Recreation”
10-11 p.m. – “Rock Center with Brian Williams”

FRIDAY
8-8:30 p.m. – “Whitney”
8:30-9 p.m. – “Community”
9-10 p.m. – “Grimm”
10-11 p.m. – “Dateline NBC”

SATURDAY
Encore programming

SUNDAY (Fall 2012)
7- 8:15 p.m. — “Football Night in America”
8:15-11:30 p.m. — “NBC Sunday Night Football”

SUNDAY (Post-football/Winter 2013)
7-8 p.m. – “Dateline NBC”
8-9 p.m. – “Fashion Star”
9-10 p.m. – “The Celebrity Apprentice”
10-11 p.m. – “DO NO HARM”

The Stars of NBC take you to Broadway!

NBC is pretty much an unmitigated disaster area these days. Despite having two of the best and award-winning comedies on television. 30 Rock and Parks and Recreation, the network is mired at the bottom of the ratings heap. However, they are hoping two new rays of light will save the network, the singing competition show The Voice and the new Broadway musical show Smash. I think those two shows are a fantastic start. While The Voice grew into a disastrous mess last year, it was quite fun to watch and the judges are very entertaining. Plus they will be adding great mentors like Lionel Richie, Miranda Lambert, Alanis Morissette and Kelly Clarkson (hello defecting from her alma matter!) to the mix; so, I’m cautiously optimistic…. And looking at the new show Smash, I’m overjoyed. The pilot is wonderful, hilarious, moving and intoxicating with a great cast (Debra Messing, Angelica Huston, Katharine McPhee and  Wicked’s Megan Hilty to name a few) tackling the making of a new Broadway musical. I gave the pilot an “A” grade and I can’t wait to see where it goes.
So, with both of those shows in mind, the NBC brass is taking to the Broadway stage again to publicize its shows. Check out this fantastic promo (airing during today’s Super Bowl) which features the stars of the network’s shows from The Office to SNL, Parenthood and beyond singing “The Brotherhood of Man” from the current hit revival of How to Succeed in Business without Trying. Enjoy it below and catch the season premiere of Smash tomorrow night at 10pm on NBC.

NBC “Brotherhood of Man” Promo

NBC makes some Big Changes with its new Winter Schedule

NBC has had a rough few years and this fall has been no exception. With no new breakout hits, two cancelled new series (Outlaw, Undercovers) and its ratings continuing to drop, the network is ready to make some big changes in the hopes that things will turn around. The new winter schedule begins in January and already looks more promising than this fall’s. The good news: the return of the hilarious and under-appreciated Parks and Recreation (which I make an appearance on in the season premiere on Jan. 20), the debut of the new Kathy Bates drama Harry’s Law (created by David E. Kelly), and no more regular folk Apprentice (but the pesky celeb version is back). The bad news: they’re still sticking with Chase and Outsourced through the end of the season and the return of reality junk Minute to Win It. Along with those changes, watch for new time slots for a host of shows which could benefit them (Law & Order: LA heading to Tuesday after the Biggest Loser) or hurt them more (Parenthood to Mondays at 10pm opposite hits Castle and Hawaii Five-O)…. I have to give NBC props for trying something new like the all comedy Thursday night block (and for renewing Emmy winning 30 Rock for another year through 2012) and making these changes. We’ll see if they do help the network get out of last place…. And if not, they still have a few more new shows to introduce later in midseason with the ensemble comedy Friends with Benefits, the new romantic anthology series Love Bites starring Becki Newton (Ugly Betty) and the return of Paul Reiser in The Paul Reiser Show.

Check out NBC’s full new winter schedule below.

MONDAYS
8-9 p.m. – “Chuck”
9-10 p.m. – “THE CAPE”  (a new superhero family show starring David Lyons from ER will premiere with a two-hour episode on Sunday, January 9 (9-11 p.m.). New episodes start in its regular time period on January 17 (9-10 p.m.)
10-11 p.m. – “HARRY’S LAW’ (beginning January 17)
9-10 p.m. – “The Event” (returns on February 28, 9-11 p.m.; resumes in its regular time slot March 7)
10-11 p.m. — “Parenthood” (debuts in this slot March 7 with all originals)
TUESDAYS
8-10 p.m. — “The Biggest Loser: Couples” (beginning January 4)
10-11 p.m. – “Parenthood” (beginning January 4 for four episodes)
10-11 p.m. — “Law & Order: Los Angeles” (beginning February 8th)
WEDNESDAYS
8-9 p.m. — “Minute to Win It” (beginning January 5)
9-10 p.m. –“Chase” (beginning January 12)
10-11 p.m. – “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (originals beginning January 5 with two-hour episode, 9-11 p.m. ET)
9-10 p.m. – “AMERICA’S NEXT GREAT RESTAURANT” (beginning March 16)
THURSDAYS (all beginning January 20)
8-8:30 p.m. – “Community”
8:30-9 p.m. – “PERFECT COUPLES” (another new ensemble comedy about 3 couples)
9-9:30 p.m. – “The Office”
9:30-10 p.m. – “Parks and Recreation”
10-10:30 p.m. – “30 Rock”
10:30-11 p.m. – “Outsourced”
FRIDAYS
8-9 p.m. — “Who Do You Think You Are?” (beginning January 21)
9-11 p.m. – “Dateline NBC” (beginning January 7)
SUNDAYS
7-8 p.m. – “Dateline NBC”
8-9 p.m. – “The Marriage Ref” (beginning March 6)
9-11 p.m. – “The Celebrity Apprentice” (beginning March 6)

NBC’s new prime time Fall Schedule!

This week all of the big networks will be unveiling their fall TV schedules to advertisers and the media confirming all of the anticipated cancellations and new series pickups that we’ve been waiting to hear about. NBC was first out of the gate last night. With a dearth of programming due to the Jay Leno debacle, the network picked up ton of new series that will premiere in the fall and at midseason. Let’s take a look at the highlights and the new schedule below including the surprise time slot move of 30 Rock (now at 8:30 on Thursdays).

The Good: Chuck is renewed for a 4th season! Parenthood and Parks and Recreation are back!

The Bad: Buh Bye to Law & Order (which now will have to settle with Gunsmoke for the longest running scripted series in history at 20 seasons)… They’re holding Parks and Recreation to midseason. This is a big mistake if you ask me. Not only is the show on a creative role and will be adding new star the hilarious Adam Scott (Party Down) and special guest star Rob Lowe, but it’s been getting a lot of media and critical buzz. It also means that you’ll have to wait next year to see my delightful little role on the show. =(

The Eh: Cancellations of Mercy, Trauma, Heroes

The Yay: No Jay Leno in primetime!

Here’s the Full NBC Fall Schedule~

MONDAY
8-9 p.m: Chuck
9-10 p.m: The Event (new)~ a conspiracy thriller with Jason Ritter, Laura Innes, Zeljko Ivanek and more.
10-11 p.m.: Chase (new)~ about U.S. marchalls hunting down dangerous fugitives
TUESDAY
8-10 p.m.: The Biggest Loser
10-11 p.m.: Parenthood
WEDNESDAY
8-9 p.m.: Undercovers (new)~ kind of like Mr. & Mrs. Smith for TV from J.J. Abrams!
9-10 p.m.: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
10-11 p.m.: Law & Order: Los Angeles (new)~ exactly what you think it is
THURSDAY
8- 8:30 p.m.: Community
8:30-9 p.m.: 30 Rock
9-9:30 p.m.: The Office
9:30-10 p.m.: Outsourced (new)~ a new comedy about an I.T. group in India that looks promising
10-11 p.m.: Love Bites (new)~ a delightful new romantic comedy starring Ugly Betty’s Becki Newton!
FRIDAY
8-9 p.m.: Who Do You Think You Are?/School Pride (new)
9-10 p.m.: Dateline NBC
10-11 p.m.: Outlaw (new) a law show with Jimmy Smits
SUNDAY
7- 8:15 p.m.: Football Night in America
8:15-11:30 p.m.: NBC Sunday Night Football
SUNDAY (midseason)
7-8 p.m.: Dateline NBC
8-9 p.m. – Minute to Win It
9-11 p.m. – The Celebrity Apprentice

Also coming midseason are the aforementioned Parks and Recreation, and the new comedies Friends With Benefits, The Paul Reiser Show, Perfect Couples, as well as new dramas The Cape and Harry’s Law (with Kathy Bates). For more on NBC’s new fall schedule and full descriptions of the new series, click here.

More Crap TV gets renewed while the brilliant Damages is in serious danger…

Today, NBC solidified their status as the big network of crap by renewing three of their reality filler shows, The Marriage Ref, Who Do You Think You Are and Minute to Win It. It’s just another sad state of affairs at the once renowned peacock network after the Jay-Conan debacle and a schedule full of disasters like Heroes and Trauma. Seriously, this was once the grand daddy network of brilliance in the 80′s and 90′s with hits ranging from The Cosby Show to Cheers, Seinfeld, Friends, ER, Frasier and Will & Grace. Oh how far they have fallen when they have to rely on cheap mindless crap to keep the network afloat. And yes, they already renewed Donald Trump’s revolting
Apprentice franchise for another cycle. It’s no wonder so many discerning viewers continue to flock to ABC or cable for quality programming.

However, one cable show that is brilliant is struggling. FX‘s Emmy winning Damages remains a long shot for renewal due to abysmal ratings. It’s a shame because the show is on fire with wonderful and intelligent storytelling and award worthy performances from Emmy Winer Glenn Close, Emmy nominee Rose Byrne and new standouts this season Campbell Scott and Martin Short. Check out the show now and let’s hope the rumors of DirecTV rescuing Damages are true.

In the meantime, at least we still have some great shows to revel in like Nurse Jackie, Modern Family, Glee and the soon to be dearly departed Lost.