NBC Is Screwing With Our Heads

The NBC upfront (infront...whatever)this morning gave few answers and a little bit of confusion. First, and most important, they gave absolutely no word on their bubble shows and, worse yet, returned Medium to the bubble.

The net had already warned news outlets that a decision on Chuck would not be made until next week at the earliest, so we expected that. Medium, though, was said to have been renewed as of Sunday morning, but there was no mention of it at the presentation, so all assume it's back on the bubble.

We didn't even hold out much hope for getting word on My Name Is Earl but today's announcement of Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday Edition's return pretty much nailed the coffin on that one. Not quite sure why Weekend Update is returning in a non-election year but I don't really mind. Seth Myers is a favorite of mine. I'm wondering if this means they'll finally announce a replacement for Amy Poehler.


Also no word yet on Law & Order's 20th season yet. I'm guessing a shortened mid-season debut like this year.

As for their new series, they officially announced pick ups of Trauma, Parenthood, Mercy, Day One, Community and 100 Questions.

I previously posted about Trauma, a paramedic series from Friday Night Lights head Peter Berg, and Mercy, another medical series based on nurses starring Michelle Trachtenburg. I guess her return on Gossip Girl is going to be short lived. Parenthood, I mentioned, halted production when an NBC executive died on location while playing basketball during a break. Word is the show has been picked up even though a pilot hasn't been completed. I had originally thought it would be a comedy but apparently it's being billed as a family drama. Again, I say this sounds better suited to ABC Family than NBC.

Also mentioned earlier is Community, a comedy featuring Clark Griswold...I mean Chevy Chase, about a community college and the weird students who attend. Chevy's guest appearances on shows like Law & Order, Chuck, Brothers & Sisters, et al have been pretty great so many are looking forward to his full time return to television.

Finally, I posted about 100 Questions and it's lack of premise but we now know the show is about a female in New York taking a 100 question compatibility test for an online dating site. Each question bring up a story from her past and she'll relate the tale to her friends.

A series I hadn't posted about is Day One. It's being called "an event series" that will air after the Winter Olympics. The premise is one I'm fond of - apocalyptic events destroy the world's infrastructure and a group of neighbors must rebuild their lives. I'm a sucker for such fare and I'm sure the world's Jericho fans are looking forward to this one.

Here's some previews:

100 Questions

From this preview I am really not holding out hope. It seems like a cheesy Friends remake only with a set storyline based on answering the 100 questions. The ridiculous amount of canned laugh tracks really turn me off, too.

Community

Now this what it's all about. True, it's only a four and a half minute clip but I laughed out loud repeatedly and am looking forward to this one.

Day One

It's just a behind the scenes clip so you can't really tell much.

Mercy

Looks pretty slick and full of attitude but also the requisite amount of drama. Could be a pretty decent rival for Grey's Anatomy.

Parenthood

Until now, including earlier in this post, I was pretty down on this show but after seeing this clip I'm ready to say I hope I am so wrong about this one. Brian Grazer and Ron Howard are well known for their brilliance. Throw in a writer of Friday Night Lights and a great cast and I think this could actually be the next Friday Night Lights - low ratings but a vicious fan base with high incomes that will keep the show coming back year after year.

Trauma

A pretty big step away from Peter Berg's usual fare. The beginning of the clip rivals the plane crash scene from Lost's pilot. NBC is billing it as a high-octane medical drama and I can see that - plenty of action in this clip.
Glad to see Peter Krause revived from the death of Dirty Sexy Money.