NBC Picks Up ‘Awake,’ ‘Playboy’ & ‘Grimm’
‘Wonder Woman’ Not Going Ahead At NBC, ‘Mann’s World’ May Be Shopped To Cable
UPDATE: I hear NBC just picked up two more comedy pilots: romantic comedy Bent, starring Amanda Peet and David Walton, which I hear will probably be for midseason, and the untitled Parham/St. Clair project, now called BFFs. That makes a total of six new comedy series and five dramas for the peacock network. BFFs, written by and starring Upright Citizens Brigade alums Lennon Parham and Jessica St. Clair, has been a classic dark horse. It was very low-budget presentation (“made for nothing,” as one agent put it), the network brass didn’t quite like the first cut but was they were intrigued enough to order a second cut and that did very well.
PREVIOUS: NBC just picked up two more comedy pilots to series: the Chelsea Handler project Are You There Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea and the British romantic comedy adaptation Free Agents starring Hank Azaria and Kathryn Hahn. Meanwhile, more pilots got word that they are not going forward: dramas Reconstruction and 17th Precinct and comedies Lovelives, Brave New World, My Life as an Experiment and untitled Kari Lizer, which was well received but dubbed “not an NBC show.” They join Wonder Woman, Metro and A Mann’s World, which may be shopped to cable. The pass on My Life as an Experiment means that its co-star Paget Brewster will probably return to Criminal Minds. The producers of the CBS drama have an option on her, which they can exercise if her pilot was not picked up.
I’m glad for Free Agents because Anthony Stewart Head is in it playing the same character that he did in the British version.
Great news for FREE AGENTS. Congrats all around
Revenge looks fantastic. Playboy and Pan Am seem very much like Mad Men quality scripts. A Mad Men type of show is the type of risk network tv should be taking.
I didn’t think either were necessarily of “Mad Men” caliber (although i don’t think Mad Men is always that great either), but they were good scripts, and yes, I totally agree that this is what network TV should be doing.
Chelsea Handler knows… its easy to get a show picked up on NBC when its now owned by Comcast and you’re doing the chairman of the network. Nepotism… 60% of the time it works every time.
They stopped dating over a year ago.
they broke up like 2 years ago. and she got chelsea lately before they were even dating.
Actually, the previous comment is correct. Chelsea Handler started dating her boss BEFORE she “got” her late night TV show. She was a nobody until she benefited from such an egregious act of nepotism. It’s funny how Team Handler has to keep lying to make their obnoxious idol look good. LOL.
they made good choices and I can see why they didn’t pickup Reconstruction, but wtf with Metro? Retool it morons, you don’t turn down Stephen Gaghan.
Really bummed about 17th Precinct – the script was great and I could totally see Moore making this a real great series.
Poor Lee Adama and Caprica Six.
Congrats to Todd and Karey at Dark Toy – they’re deserve it. Happy for them.
I’m guessing that with all those new comedies, plus Tina Fey’s pregnancy, they’re going to hold 30 Rock for midseason.
it’s possible, though seems to always launch 30 Rock late in the year (and I think she said on SNL last week she was at 5 1/2 months)… it seems more likely that they’ll launch a second night of comedy and put a drama in the 10pm slot
I hope NBC does not doom a promising new show like “Smash” by putting it at 10.
9 has been the new 10 for about 3 seasons now, 10 belongs to cable and DVRs, and there’s no point pretending otherwise.
Actually I thought Smash was slatted for Thursdays at 10 after the comedies?
Any news on My Amigos? NBC has been sitting on it forever and still not a word!
Wish they’d picked up either Lizer’s or Dan Goor’s pilot. They shovel all this money into single-camera and it’s not working for them except for The Office. Two multi-cams is better than none but it’s not enough.
any word about the untitled dan goor?
“Are You There Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea”
They really need to shorten that title.It doesn’t roll off the tongue at all.
Networks enjoy the bravado of greenlighting cool “cable-ish” pilots but lack the guts to order them to series in most cases.
Now that Paget Brewster’s pilot is dead, I wonder if she’ll return to Criminal Minds?
So happy for the Chelsea Handler project, but upset about the Kari Lizer pass-up. Kari is so good at what she does.
gaghan gets a deal and no show, what up Hollywood?
I am not sure Free Agents is a network show. It has the same style as Episodes on Showtime (same star in the UK too), and I think more suited as a cable show.
Yay Karey! Congrats on your pilot. Couldn’t have happened to a more deserving person!
I hope she does return, but for more money. That’s gonna be her revenge.
Am I the only one that can see that the title “Are You There Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea” does not work as a sitcom title?
I’m still holding out hope that some network takes a second look at Wonder Woman. I think retooling it will help enough to make it work. Kelley was the wrong choice to develop the pilot but the premise works and just needs tweaking.
I am SO disappointed about the Kari Lizer pilot! While I didn’t know much about it, the talent attached and the buzz made it sound very good.
Was one of my favorite pilot scripts.
Get ready for Lauren Lapkus, World. (“Are you there…”)
You’ll know what I mean in a few months.
She is funny!
I could see the new “Wonder Woman” going to sibling Syfy.
Congrats to Todd and Karey. Tow of Hollywood’s finest.
So happy for the CHELSEA HANDLER pilot. With Laura Prepon and Chelsea, it’s going to be hilarious. I absolutely cannot wait. I hope they go big on promo.