There was chatter at NBC’s upfront presentation that isolated 2011-12 NBC Primetime Preview press binders included a page for Wonder Woman as a new series. Everything was fine in the New Series section of the NBC binder I found waiting for me when I came back from New York, but the Returning Series section included two intriguing entries: freshman drama Law & Order: Los Angeles and comedy Outsourced. Both were canceled last Friday, so their glossy pages, accidentally included by the fulfillment house contracted for the binders, provide an eerie peek into what could have been. “Fusing the classic ripped-from-the-headlines storytelling with the distinctive backdrop of LA, the newest addition to the Law & Order franchise is back to delve further into the unique attitudes, cultures and crimes of the West Coast,” is the opening line in the LOLA profile. Outsourced‘s writeup provides a glimpse at some of the producers’ ideas for the now-scrapped Season 2 of the workplace comedy. “After surviving his first year managing the call center in India, Todd’s ready for some bigger challenges — should he try to make his relationship with Asha a bit more than work-related? Is his team ready for a trip to America for training and some good ol’ USA traditions like beer pong?” We’ll never know …
They were bubble shows, so the PR department probably had to make these pages just in case. And then they were accidentally put in the binders. Whoops.
Better hop on the bandwagon with the ticked off mothership/LOLA fans and sign the petition – http://t.co/jeIIcJD – I’ve already heard rumor that ‘Law & Order: LA’ is “not dead by a long shot” and might see some deductions if it’s renewed on a cable network (likely TNT or USA). I heard the mothership might possibly return too ‘in some capacity’ on, cable of course.
NBC is crazy for cancelling both ‘Law & Order’ and ‘LOLA’.
anybody know where I can see the Wonder Woman page?
Yeah, several people received booklets showing WW as a series… and the LOLA/Outsourced was in everyone’s books. I think there was some last minute shuffling :)
*sigh* If only Outsourced did make it to a second season. Oh well.
Amen to working in Hollywood. If it only did. Cancellation of Outsourced took jobs away from not only actors but Caucasian and minority crew members. This show, also provided jobs for Hispanic, Middle Eastern, African, Jewish, Native, Caucasian Americans and other performers who could pass for South Asians or East Indians in providing atmosphere as background artists or as featured parts. Runaway productions take jobs away from Hollywood and America but this show actually gave jobs to a majority of American workers in the entertainment industry.
For every show that gets cancelled, another one goes in it’s place. Plus, TV networks are not employment agencies. It’s a business decision. Deliver ratings or you will get cancelled. Do you even know how this business works?
Outsourced delivered ratings and people love the show. I know how this business works. The show Community didn’t deliver ratings and didn’t get cancelled. And an almost cancelled mid season replacement got picked up before showing their ratings. This was not a business decision. A sound business decision would have been to properly schedule the show. NBC programming put the show at an unwatchable time for its audience starting in January. Then they have the audacity to say that the ratings fell. Any fool will know that a new show at an untried time and unpromoted will not do well, but Outsourced did well despite unfair tactics. It was a show with life but seemed to have got stepped on by bullies. A sound decision would have been to keep the funny show and give it a better time or a day. An audience with jobs, that have money to pay for products, goes to bed early. And an audience that goes to school goes to sleep early. Do you even know how this business works? No man is an island and network decisions ultimately affect employment.
At least it had a good ending. Rajiv gets married, Todd gets the girl that he really cares for and Gupta says good bye to everyone. It’s a lot better than having a lot of dangling plot threads that will never get a conclusion. And based on that flier, it sounded like most of season 2 of Outsourced would have been the exact same things as season 1, so it looks like it was good for it to end the way it did than continue on.
Sarcasm? Outsourced had to be the sorriest excuse for a comedy show since Manimal.
No I’m being serious. Regardless of how one feels about Outsourced and its “humor,” at least those that liked it got a sense of conclusion as opposed to a lot of other shows that just end with many plot threads dangling there and will never get resolved.
It’s a lot better than fans of V who have to deal with Earth being taken over, or fans of Two and a Half Men who have to deal with Charlie Sheen just being gone now, or fans of TV shows that were cancelled within mere episodes.
I’m curious to know if you watched any episode past the pilot?
If NBC thinks Playboy Club is going to do better than Harry’s Law opposite Hawaii 5-0 and Castle….
or that Grimm is going to be a hit on Friday…
I got this bridge in Brooklyn I will sell them real cheap.
Also they are stupid in not bringing Wonder Woman to series…at least as a mid-season replacement after tweaking a few things. OK so it might not be a big ratings winner but I’ll bet it would have done better than Playboy Club or Grimm. And with THOR doing great at the box office, and GREEN LANTERN sure to do just as great too….plus all the free publicity they got and it seems everyone and their mother wants to see the pilot….it makes you wonder.
Agreed on all accounts, with the exception for Playboy Club.
And I still can’t believe that they cut Wonder Woman. It was a publicity juggernaut that single-handedly drummed up more buzz (positive or negative) than the entire 2011 fall lineup from the networks. That alone would’ve delivered the biggest ratings for a new series premiere in recent memory, even if audiences hate it.
Are networks completely out of the made-for-TV movie/miniseries game? I feel there are so many premises these days that are stretched too thin from the start by debuting as full-season series (“V”, “The Event”) that could have found greater success if they started with a condensed story that could go somewhere. Wonder Woman seems like something that would debut to high ratings, but would likely trail off over a full season. It would make good fodder for a miniseries or telefilm though.
Disagree. WW would have TANKED if the Bionic Woman, The Cape, and season 2 of Heroes are any indicators. Horrible premise and costume, FX budget was probably non-existent, Palicki was miscast. Internet/fanboy hype means nothing.
A rare good move by NBC, as was pulling the plug on Outsourced and LOLA.
It wasn’t a good move. Law & Order: LA was actually proving itself when NBC was cancelling it. Last Week’s episode was amazing, especially when TJ (secondary detective) was kicking ass! Watch it if you believe me!
LOLA sucked because NYC is a character in the L&O shows and the concept doesn’t work elsewhere like with CSI.
The mid-season changes were positive, but too little, too late.
Poor Dick Wolf won’t have an L&O on the air for the first time in over 20 years (Criminal Intent is ending this year, Hargitay is cutting back on SVU) if this keeps up. They should have given us a farewell season of the flagship. Karma at work, folks.
… but then it would have failed and been canceled and the network would have lost a ton of money.
Your suggestion is a terrible long-term strategy.
Unfortunately, it was mostly negative buzz. From the actress chosen to the costume fiasco. They shot themselves in the PR foot. The new guy had no choice but to pass.
Absolutely agree. Wonder Woman was indeed a “publicity juggernaut” and with the fact that they already had a pilot completeled, I’m baffled why NBC wouldn’t pick it up and see how the public responded.
Instead, we get “Outsourced” one of the lamest shows on TV. Unwatchable.
You don’t like to see good actors of color? Or is it that you don’t like to see a different culture?
NBC is crazy to cancel LOLA and Outsourced. LOLA cast looks grumpy. Outsourced cast looks tired. Who were they trying to convince with this press materials? NBC executives took one look at them and threw up. There is nothing exciting or appetizing about the plans they had for the shows. Both shows were developing nicely but they use old marketing material for the new season which has nothing to do with how the shows have evolved over the season. This makes me ashamed to even watch NBC. There is no excitement on the actors’ faces or enthusiasm attached to the shows which is a vast difference from what actually goes on in both of the shows.
I agree, and I don’t see Ajeet or Pinky on the binder page. They would have helped for a pick up.
These books need to go digital. They would be able to change last min mistakes and not create such waste anymore. Make em for the iPads next year. I’ve recently suggested it in my office and it has been working great for those thT have iPads or other tablet readers
NBC is crazy to cut LOLA and think anyone is going to watch The Playboy Club.
I tried to get into Outsource, but I couldn’t. However I LOVE Law and Order LA. I hope they don’t cancel it!! What they should do is put it on Wednesday evenings.
The writing on OUTSOURCED is exactly why network comedy shows fail.
Have those who think that Wonder Woman would tank actually seen it? BTW: the 1960’s Batman series with Adam West had one of the lowest scores for a test pilot and look how that turned out: a hit series for ABC. Also when Michael Keaton was announced as the star of the 1989 BATMAN movie there was a huge outcry against his casting and that movie was a big hit. Smallville (once described as “Dawson’s Creek” with super powers”) was originally not welcomed by many Superman fans for tinkering with the mythology and just finished a 10th season on the CW. And there is nothing wrong with Adrienne Palicki or the costumes she wears in the pilot. NBC should give the show a chance.
Yes and look how easily Val Kilmer replaced Keaton and how Bale has become the quintessential Batman. Keaton WAS wrong for the role then and still is now. Keaton got the role because he had worked with Tim Burton before and not because he’s a natural to play a dashing playboy billionaire. Out of all the actors to play Batman Keaton ranks about Clooney and for some above Kilmer but he’s not even in the top 2. They should’ve picked Alec Baldwin over him.
Uh, excuse you. Keaton was fine as Batman.
never bought Keaton as Batman, and never bought Toby McGuire as Spiderman.
Cancel Outsourced? Another douchebag executive decision. This show was hilarious and had a huge fan base. NBC did little or no advertising and banished it to the 10:30 slot…why? So they can proceed it by that tired, awkward, unwatchable show The Office?
Outsourced was a breath of fresh air in a completely different part of the world. I’ve worked in India for a number of years and found the show doubly funny because of it. The characters were genuinely funny, the story lines were good…this would have gotten twice the ratings in an earlier time slot.
I guess we have to make room for more lawyer shows, and doctor shows, and crime investigative shows, all portraying f-tards who bear no resemblance of their real-world counterparts. How many wanna-star shows can you stomache? How many fat-a*ses can you watch piss and moan about taking off weight, while you do picture-in-picture of 3 cooking shows on your U-verse?
Screw NBC…I’m deprogramming it from my cable box.
NBC (nothing but crap) look what they did to Chase it could have made it the last 5 episodes were great with great stunts and special effects and good stories.yank it around on different nites how do you find an audiance? sure put it against Mon.nite football the Kiss of Death
LOLA has a great cast and a great opportunity on a different timeslot. SAVE THE SHOW!! it’s really worth it. one of the best new shows in town, it deserves saving.
I love Law & Order: LA! I can’t believe NBC was stupid enough to cancel it. I hate it when a network doesn’t give shows the opportunity to find it’s audience or grow it. I was really getting invested in the new format and I love Terrence Howard and Alana de la Garza together in the DAs office. Clearly, the people making the decisions on what enters our living rooms have no clue who’s sitting in mine!!!!
So NBC’s PR dept. “outsources” its duties to a fulfillment house, and look what happens. Wasn’t there one flack who could double check the binders?! Embarrassing. Separately, take a look at the flesh tones of the performers in the adjacent Universal Media Studios ad. There’s absolutely no consistency. Another PR misfire from NBCU.
todd gack said:
Deliver ratings or you will get cancelled. Do you even know how this business works?
Yeah, that’s the way to do it, always go by ratings because those numbers are never wrong about how a show is doing or will do in the future. I mean look at Friends and it’s poor first season ratings. That show tanked, thank goodness they didn’t renew it after that first season. Oh and don’t get me started on Chuck and how everyone was glad that it got canceled. Must have been a lousy show because it’s not like a lot of fans did something like start a campaign with Subway to bring the show back. Oh and who can forget Friday Night Lights? Look at how that show is such a ratings blockbuster that they don’t ever get rid of it.
Okay yeah the real side here…
Friends sucked as far as ratings for the first season despite having a decent time slot (compared to Outsourced that was doing decent until its time slot was sabotaged). NBC kept it on the air anyway and it became a ratings sensation. Outsourced had that same potential and from what I gather, was actually off to a better start than Friends.
Chuck was canceled and then brought back because Subway sponsored it. That was a year ago and now it’s been renewed for yet another season. Chuck is one of those shows that is great but you just know some idiots are itching to cancel it.
As for Friday Night Lights, that show sucks and has had major issues with keeping ratings. A show that should have been canceled long ago and yet they kept it on life support. Heck it even went onto DirecTV or something, as though that was a selling point, and didn’t stay there long. NBC pours money into that flop but then cancels shows worth keeping. Go figure.
The reality is that the decisions are inconsistent and are obviously based on a personal bias. If you want to dispute that, then look at the shows Last Comic Standing and LAX. One was canceled despite being watched while LAX was kept on the air with NBC saying that they stand behind their shows. Leno even made a crack about it, by mentioning what NBC said about not canceling LAX and he referenced the fact that they canceled LCS. If you take a look, LCS finished that season on another network and continued on for at least another couple of seasons after that.
In short, your jumping on someones case about them not knowing how it works was absurd. You’re attempting to apply logic where it doesn’t exist (NBC). The reason so many of the NBC shows get crappy ratings isn’t because of the quality of the shows, it’s because people don’t want to risk getting attached to a show and then have it yanked off the air. If NBC were to internally set themselves to a two year minimum with each show, unless the show tanks something fierce (Perfect Couples for example) then people who see that a show will get a fair chance will actually tune in to the second season to see what it’s about. “Hey, it’s on for another season so it must be here to stay so I’ll check it out!”
Just remember, NBC means ‘No Brain Cells.’
Lol i think The Paul Reiser Show did much worse than Perfect Couples lmao…at least Perfect Couples was getting it’s occasional 1.1 rating……The Paul Reiser Show premiered to a 0.9…lol…just WOW.
I would have picked up Outsourced for 13 Episodes. Just keep it as a fall show and bring back P&R in it’s timeslot in the spring. Keep in mind, P&R has YET to outperform Outsourced in that sweet timeslot. I’m curious to know if it will manage to do so in the fall. Outsourced out performed both Community & P&R in the fall and had stable ratings.
So timeslot was their biggest issue tbh.
NBC TV series are not to be watched, because you never know when they will cancel them. It doesn’t mather if the series is good or not for the audience. If they think it’s not going to make the money they want they don’t care about the audience and cancel them. I understand it’s just bussines but doing so they will create more and more disapointment and some day the TV series will become past, nobody will start to watch them anymore.
Por favor, não cancelem a segunda temporada de Outsocerd!