NBC

Danny Pudi Talks COUGAR TOWN References, Pop Culture Knowledge, and Looking Like Jamie Lee Curtis on the Set of COMMUNITY

by Melissa Molina    Posted: May 17th, 2012 at 7:22 pm

There’s a variety of personalities that are interlaced in the study group on NBC’s Community, but the most eccentric of them all is Abed Nadir, played by Danny Pudi. At the beginning of the series he came off as the stereotypical socially awkward, nerdy type who quickly developed into a wonderfully complex character who’s going through even more of an identity crisis during the second half of this season. Will Evil Abed reign supreme in his mind? We don’t know, but we certainly want to find out.

We got the chance to speak with Danny Pudi about Abed being pushed to the limit this season, how fascinating it is he knows so much about pop culture and anymore possible Cougar Town references.

Watch Full Trailers for New NBC Comedy Series Including Ryan Murphy’s THE NEW NORMAL and GO ON, Starring Matthew Perry

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: May 14th, 2012 at 12:55 pm

NBC unveiled their upcoming Fall 2012 schedule yesterday, and we included clips from all the new NBC series in that post.  Hoping to steal a little of Fox’s thunder from their upfront presentation today, NBC has now posted full trailers for each of their new shows.  We just shared the trailers for their new dramas, Revolution and Chicago Fire, and now we’ve got the trailers for NBC’s new comedy offerings.  The most high profile new comedy is probably Glee creator Ryan Murphy’s half-hour series The New Normal.  The film stars Andrew Rannells (The Book of Mormon) and Justin Bartha as a same-sex couple who are having a baby via surrogate (Georgia King).  I can’t say I found the trailer funny, but it does maintain Murphy’s signature dialogue for better or worse.  I’ll watch the pilot, but I don’t exactly have high hopes after watching the trailer.

However, I was really impressed by the trailer for Go On.  Matthew Perry stars as a sportscaster trying to move on from a loss with the help of his fellow group therapy members.  Perry’s comedic timing is spot-on with a nice dramatic touch, and the ensemble cast looks to be surprisingly impressive.  Hit the jump to watch the trailers for all of NBC’s new comedies.

Watch Full Trailers for New NBC Drama Series CHICAGO FIRE and J.J. Abrams’ REVOLUTION

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: May 14th, 2012 at 12:16 pm

Yesterday NBC announced their new line-up for Fall 2012, and in addition to moving Community to a Friday timeslot (boo), the network also announced their slate of new series.  We included clips from said series in that post, but today NBC has posted trailers for all their new series.  These trailers give us a better sense of what to expect from the shows overall as opposed to the clips, and in this story we’ve included the trailers for two of NBC’s new drama series: Revolution and Chicago Fire.

Revolution comes from executive producer J.J. Abrams and Supernatural creator Eric Kripke and takes place in a world where all forms of energy have mysteriously ceased to exist.  The show stars David Lyons (The Cape), Billy Burke (Twilight) and Giancarlo Esposito and certainly has a strong premise.  Moreover, Jon Favreau directed the pilot.  We’ve also got the trailer for Chicago Fire, starring Jesse Spencer (House) and Taylor Kinney (The Vampire Diaries).  The series comes from Law & Order creator Dick Wolf and follows the lives of firemen in Chicago.  Hit the jump to check out the trailer, and click here to watch the trailers for NBC’s new comedies.

NBC’s Fall 2012 Schedule: COMMUNITY Moved to Friday; Watch Clips from the New Shows Including Ryan Murphy’s THE NEW NORMAL

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: May 13th, 2012 at 12:26 pm

The upfronts are upon us! Yes, it’s that time of year again. All the networks will be unveiling their fall 2012 schedules throughout this week, announcing time slot shifts for seasoned shows and debuts for the pilots that made the cut to full-series.  Today NBC announced their line-up with a pretty disparaging shake-up to the old schedule: Community has been moved from its prime Thursday night slot to Friday (aka where your favorite shows go to die).  The fan-favorite series wasn’t guaranteed a fourth season pick-up, but the TV gods were merciful as the show was recently given a renewal for a 13-episode fourth season.  However, the Friday slot isn’t exactly great news.  The show’s young and vocal fanbase has kept the series alive, but I wonder how many will actually choose to stay in on Friday nights to watch the show live.

There is hope, as previous ratings-challenged yet critically loved series like Friday Night Lights and Fringe managed to squeak by on Friday.  That said, with a short episode order and the new Friday timeslot I’m getting the feeling that NBC doesn’t have much faith in the show’s future post-season four.  I guess we should be thankful that it’s even coming back at all.  Nevertheless, the network has a slew of new series (some promising) that they hope will catch on.  After the jump you’ll find descriptions and clips of all of NBC’s new series, so take a look at plot out your new fall 2012 TV schedule accordingly.

NBC Cancels AWAKE, ARE YOU THERE CHELSEA?, HARRY’S LAW, BEST FRIENDS FOREVER, and BENT

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: May 11th, 2012 at 3:01 pm

Though we’ve been reporting on a bunch of very exciting pick-ups over the past 24 hours (including Community and Parks and Recreation), NBC has given the axe to a few of its freshman series.  The most high profile cancellation is the Jason Isaacs-fronted drama Awake.  The show, from Lone Star creator Kyle Killen and Homeland’s Howard Gordon, got off to a great star with a stellar pilot, but quickly spiraled into boring procedural territory.  I found the premise—a man is living two realities, one in which his son survived a car crash and one in which his wife survived—to be incredibly promising, but for some reason producers decided to rely heavily on the procedural aspect of the show and inject an eyeball-rolling mythology.

Audiences weren’t buying it, and the ratings steadily declined over the ensuing weeks. Killen is undeniably talented, so hopefully he gets another shot next pilot season.  Hit the jump for news on other NBC cancellations.

NBC Renews PARKS AND RECREATION, UP ALL NIGHT and WHITNEY

by Ethan Anderton    Posted: May 11th, 2012 at 12:46 pm

That’s right comedy fans. Not only has Cougar Town been saved by TBS and Community was miraculously given another season, but now NBC has finally renewed Parks and Recreation for another round along with the freshman comedy Up All Night. The former comedy series, which just had its season finale yesterday, has apparently only been given an order for 13 episodes, just like Community and the final season of 30 Rock. Could NBC be looking to end another comedy series too, or are they just being cautious and waiting to see how the new season does before ordering additional episodes? Either way, they better not do something equally as stupid as renewing Whitney for another season, something that NBC has also done now, likely in exchange for someone’s soul. More after the jump.

[Update: HitFix has updated their story to say that Parks and Recreation has been picked up for a full 22 episodes instead of the previously reported 13.]

Gillian Jacobs Talks Switching Episode Order, Britta and Troy Pairings, Fan Art and More on the Set of COMMUNITY

by Melissa Molina    Posted: May 11th, 2012 at 9:03 am

The character of Britta Perry on NBC’s Community doesn’t always have the best of luck when it comes to men or communicating with the group half of the time, but it’s just a couple of the many things about her kooky personality that television watchers absolutely love about her.  Now that she’s figured out what she’s majoring in, psychology, her outspoken personality is even louder, which most of the group notices but still chooses to ignore.  Britta, played by Gillian Jacobs, has already had her share of ups and downs during the second half of this season, but how will it all play out for her character by the end of it?

We recently got the opportunity to visit the set of Community and participated in a group interview with with Gillian Jacobs.  She talked about what’s going on with Britta and Troy, what they were filming that day, fan art, would they ever do a live show, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to watch.

Joel McHale Talks Homage Episodes, Character Deaths, a BLADE RUNNER Parody, and More on the Set of COMMUNITY

by Melissa Molina    Posted: May 10th, 2012 at 6:46 pm

The study group wouldn’t be the same, or would not have even formed, if it weren’t for Jeff Winger’s desire to get with Britta. Each one of the characters on the show bring something wonderfully unique to the group, but Jeff clearly is the leader, though that hasn’t always been the case.  Now we’re just a couple of episodes away from the season finale of Community, and it’s been pretty up and down for the whole Greendale crew.  Not only have they dealt with death and the Blanket/Pillow war, but the entire cast and crew had to deal with a long hiatus in between this third season.

A few weeks ago Collider got the chance to speak with several of the actors from Community.  We got the chance to sit down with Joel McHale, the jokester, who not only talked about the hiatus but the future of the group and the great guest stars they got to work with this half of the season.   Hit the jump to watch the interview.

NBC Renews COMMUNITY for 13-Episode Fourth Season

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: May 10th, 2012 at 5:12 pm

That “six seasons and a movie” mantra that I’ve been chanting for the past week must have counted for something (you’re welcome, Internet).  It’s just been reported that NBC has renewed the brilliantly funny comedy Community for a fourth season.  We reported earlier today on the network’s renewals for Parenthood, The Office, and a final season of 30 Rock, but the lack of news about Community was troubling.  Fans can now breathe much easier with the promise that everyone’s favorite study group will be back on our TV screens this fall.  Following an abrupt, network-imposed hiatus, the series returned to strong ratings and has been drawing significant audiences week after week.  Hit the jump for more.

NBC Renews LAW & ORDER: SVU for 14th Season and Gives Series Order to Dick Wolf’s CHICAGO FIRE Drama Series

by Ethan Anderton    Posted: May 9th, 2012 at 11:21 am

Good news for fans of the long-running legacy of Dick Wolf, the mad who has brought us countess episodes of crime drama, mostly through various Law & Order series. NBC has given a fourteenth season order to Law & Order: SVU, which means we’ll get plenty more crime drama with big name guest stars (easily the best part of the series) committing violent crimes across the board. In addition, for those who may not be fans of justice in the form of Law & Order, there’s a new series coming from Wolf which you can read more about after the jump.

NBC Comedy Outlook: 30 ROCK Gets 13-14 Episodes for Final Season; COMMUNITY and PARKS AND REC Still in the Running; Two More New Sitcom Orders

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: May 7th, 2012 at 8:26 pm

NBC already ordered three new half-hour sitcoms: The New Normal, Go On, and Save Me.  The network just added two more—1600 Penn and Animal Kingdom—which leaves little room for the many comedies that currently have a slot on the schedule.  What does that mean for the likes of 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation, and Community?  Here are the bullet points:

• 30 Rock is looking at 13-14 more episodes for its seventh and reported final season.
• Whitney is unlikely to return; Up All Night has slightly better odds.
• Community and Parks and Rec are still very much in the running for renewal.

Hit the jump for details.

NBC Series Order Round-Up: Ryan Murphy’s THE NEW NORMAL, J.J. Abrams’ REVOLUTION, GO ON Starring Matthew Perry, and SAVE ME with Anne Heche

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: May 7th, 2012 at 3:59 pm

The networks will be unveiling their fall schedules next week at the upfronts, but a few high-profile NBC pilots have already been picked up to series.  Briefly:

• The New Normal – Ryan Murphy’s blended comedy pilot centering on a same-sex couple and their surrogate.
• Revolution – The J.J. Abrams and Eric Kripke-produced action/drama takes place in a world where all forms of energy have mysteriously ceased to exist.
• Go On – Matthew Perry stars as a sportscaster trying to move on from a loss with the help of his fellow group therapy members.
• Save Me – Anne Heche plays a woman who, after letting herself go while in a broken marriage, goes through a transformation in which she becomes the best version of herself and creates miracles.

Hit the jump for more on each project.

Will Ferrell to Host SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE on May 12

by Ethan Anderton    Posted: April 27th, 2012 at 10:03 am

The season is winding down, and while the first weekend in May will see the untested comedic talent of NFL quarterback Eli Manning take the stage of Saturday Night Live, the following weekend will bring a seasoned veteran of the late night sketch show back to Studio 8H. NBC has announced that Will Ferrell will host Saturday Night Live on May 12th with musical guest Usher. Anytime Ferrell has shown up on SNL after his time on the show as a cast member, it’s been fantastic. But the question remains as to who will close out the season with the finale on May 19th. Who can top Will Ferrell?

Bryan Fuller Talks NBC’s HANNIBAL and STAR TREK TV Series Reboot

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: April 19th, 2012 at 12:23 pm

Though the wonderfully inventive series Pushing Daisies was cancelled way before its time, creator/executive producer Bryan Fuller is coming back to television with two new series.  The first is a reboot of The Munsters for NBC called Mockingbird Lane, and the second is a small screen incarnation of novelist Thomas Harris’ infamous character Hannibal.  Fuller recently revealed a few details regarding the latter, including sex changes for a couple characters and his intention to do a cable model on network television with 13-episode seasons.  Moreover, Fuller gave a brief update on his plans for a TV series reboot for Star Trek.  Hit the jump to see what he had to say.

30 ROCK Plans Another Live Episode for April 26th

by Ethan Anderton    Posted: March 29th, 2012 at 12:06 pm

Just as the series did back in 2010, 30 Rock is going even more meta again as the series, which has a sketch show similar to Saturday Night Live inside of the series (Inception!), will be doing another live episode. Tina Fey took on the task back in 2010, and now on Thursday, April 26th, the show will again be live from Studio 8H.

When their Kabletown bosses announce they will no longer pay for TGS to be a live show, Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) and Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) realize their lives will actually be easier if they shoot canned episodes fast and cheap. Only Kenneth the Page (Jack McBrayer) objects, urging that nothing can replace the communal experience of live television. He tries to convince the TGS staff to fight for their right to be live by taking them and our audience through a magical look back at the illustrious history of Studio 6H. See what they did there? The episode will be done twice so both East and West coast audiences get the live treatment. The first live episode was a great success and it was clear the cast was having a lot of fun. There were plenty of cameos as well and this one should be no different.

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