Upfronts - NBC

As promised, here is the news from NBC. Click on the title of each new show to see a clip and get more information.

The shows I currently watch are in purple.
The shows I'll check out have ** in front of them.

CANCELLED/ENDING

America’s Next Great Restaurant, The Cape, Chase, The Event, Friday Night Lights, Law & Order: LA, Outlaw, Outsourced, The Paul Reiser Show, Perfect Couples, School Pride and Undercovers.

RETURNING COMEDIES

I have to say I’m so bummed that 30 Rock isn’t coming back until mid-season. Tina Fey is pregnant, so it has to happen, but it makes me sad. It’s my favorite show on TV right now. Parks and Recreation, The Office and Community are also coming back.

RETURNING DRAMAS

Parenthood is the only drama I watch religiously. That’s kinda sad. Other returning dramas are Law & Order: SVU, Harry’s Law, and Chuck for its last season.

RETURNING REALITY

The Sing-Off used to be just a holiday special, but it will be coming back full time. Who Do You Think You Are, The Voice, Celebrity Apprentice and The Biggest Loser are also returning.

NEW COMEDIES

**Up All Night. Christina Applegate is a successful business woman/new mom and Will Arnett is the stay at home dad. Maya Rudolph and James Pumphrey play her co-workers.

Free Agents. Based on the UK series. It’s a cooky workplace/romantic comedy starring Hank Azaria, Kathryn Hahn, Mo Mandel and Natasha Leggero.

**Are You There Vodka, It’s Me Chelsea. Inspired by the book of the same name by Chelsea Handler. Laura Prepon plays Chelsea and the rest of the cast includes Jo Koy, Angel Laketa Moore, Mark Povinelli, Lauren Lapkus, and Lenny Clarke. Chelsea Handler will be making guest appearances as the character Sloan, her real life sister.

**Whitney. Whitney Cummings and Chris D’Elia play Whitney and Alex, a happily unmarried couple who are in no hurry to get married, but are afraid of letting their relationship get stale. It sounds like a bunch of 22 minute crazy hijinks. If I didn’t love Whitney so much, I wouldn’t watch, but I do, so I’ll give it a shot.

Best Friends Forever. Jessica’s husband files for divorce so she moves across country to live with her old best friend, Lennon and her boyfriend, Joe. The ladies fall into old routines and traditions and Joe is often the odd man out.

Bent. Amanda Peet plays a divorced, Type A lawyer raising her 8 year old. David Walton plays a contractor for her kitchen remodel. The two are completely different, but fall in love. I’ve seen this before. About 25 years ago. It was called Who’s The Boss.

NEW DRAMAS

**Smash. A musical drama that shows the beauty and heartbreak of Broadway. It’s supposed to be Glee for grown ups. The cast includes Christian Borle, Debra Messing, Katharine McPhee, Megan Hilty, Anjelica Houston and Jack Davenport. I love Broadway, so I’ll check it out, but I’m not too excited about it.

Prime Suspect. Based on the UK series. Maria Bello plays a brilliant female homicide detective in NYC. She’s a newby in her male-dominated precinct and an outsider with a questionable past. That does not sound interesting at all.

The Playboy Club. A provocative show about the Playboy Club in Chicago in the early 60s. The cast includes Eddie Cibrian, Amber Heard, Laura Benanti, David Krumholtz and Wes Ramsey. It’s supposed to be similar to Mad Men. I don’t think so.

Awake. Jason Issacs plays Michael, a detective trying to put his life back together after his wife dies in a car accident that he and his son were also a part of. He “awakens” again in an alternate universe where his wife is alive but his son is dead. He ends up living in parallel worlds.

Grimm. Inspired by Grimm’s fairy tales. David Guintoli is a homicide detective who starts seeing things. His ailing Aunt tells him that they are decedents of an elite group of hunters called “Grimms” and he must fight to keep humanity safe from supernatural creatures.

The Firm. Based on the movie, but takes off ten years after the events of the film. The McDeere family start to emerge from the witness protection program, but past dangers and new threats are everywhere. I never saw the movie.

NBC is also working on a plan B in case there is an NFL lockout. They plan to fill the void with reality shows. Did you notice all the Chelsea Lately panel members up there? Whitney Cummings, Jo Koy and Natasha Leggero. Good for them. I love all three!