Upfronts Week

New York is abuzz with Upfronts, the fabulous time of year when television networks invade theaters, conference space and hotel ballrooms all across town to introduce their new Fall schedules to advertisers and the rest of the world. There are shows-a-plenty being unwrapped and presented, but here are a few that I'm really interested in tracking.

 The Office's very own Mindy Kaling is the latest lady on the scene with another grrrl-centric multi-camera sitcom currently called The Mindy Project that joins Fox's Tuesday comedy line up alongside Raising Hope and New Girl. I have a lot of personal jealousy over Kaling's success, but I have to admit, she's earned her due after so many years at Dunder Mifflin.  In the pilot (and presumably the series), Kaling plays a New York City doctor with a really dysfunctional personal life. She can't find or keep a boyfriend, and appears to do some demeaning things to herself as a result. The trailer below didn't wow me, but seeing it's the pilot - the show might need time to evolve as the episodes go by.



Over at NBC, there's some new shows that will join the multi-comedy line up.
Animal Practice, starring Justin Kirk as an ornery veterinarian who loves his animals and hates the humans who own them. The old Hollywood adage, first uttered by WC Fields is "Never work with children or animals." Screw that. This looks hilarious.  Kirk is ripe for comedy after being naughty and funny on Weeds. I'm rooting for this one to make it.

The New Normal is about a gay couple who bring on a surrogate mom to have their kid, and the surrogate mom who is looking for a new life. The show really looks funny and sweet; however, the political aspect of conservative versus liberal in terms of gay rights seems a little heavy handed. It is a reality in today's world, and probably needed as a basis for conflict. Perhaps temper down and weave itself more cleanly as the show grows.



Matthew Perry's back in a new series with a less than stellar title called Go On where he portrays a recently widowed newscaster who has to now...Go on...with his life. All bets are on that he'll get it on with the counselor he's arguing with in the car.




 Book of Mormon's Josh Gad stars in 1600 Penn as a college student whose act of anarchy on campus gets him into the White House where we meet President Gilcrist and his not-so-perfect family. I don't know if this show has legs, but the trailer is hilarious.



Returning to the Peacock network are Parks and Recreation, The Office, Whitney, Up All Night, and 30 Rock, which returns for it's final season with a 13 episode order. Sadly, with the exception of the very funny live episode a few weeks back, 30 Rock has been losing steam - and prime writers have moved on to great beyond - i.e. development deals in Hollywood. (Goodbye Kay Cannon, John Riggi and anyone else I don't know about.)

So there you have it. Comedies I'm hitching a comedy ride on. Bring it, new Fall season.

Network graphic courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter. I can't do this stuff on Photoshop.

NBC Upfronts Today: The Comedy Continues?

The NBC Upfronts are happening right now, today, at the moment of this writing. The Hilton Hotel ballroom is humming with Ad executives and programmers trying to convince the media that they have a line up that will knock the affiliate's socks off, bring tears of joy to advertisers and make all that bad Jay Leno/Conan O'Brien press seem like it was all a horrid dream after a hefty Mexican meal.

Being more interested in their comedy line up on Thursday night this coming Fall, it's a less than thrilling ride down the peacock path for this blogger. Happiness comes in the very funny 'Community' keeping its 8pm timeslot (NBC just ordered six more episodes). '30 Rock' moves to 8:30pm. 'The Office' will continue to gasp and cough along at 9pm. But there is sadness in the form of 'Parks and Recreation' being pushed to mid-season to make room for new laffer 'Outsourced', followed by the dreary 'Love Bites' - because outsourcing American jobs to India is hilarious, and on the flip side of that hour, you cannot get enough of hot women on the prowl since MTV and VH1 have not been able to fulfill that need. Thanks for more of that, NBC.

On the drama front, we've all heard that the original flavor of 'Law and Order' has been canceled, yet the other L&O's - 'Los Angeles' and 'SVU' - will be on the schedule on Wednesday nights.

'Chuck' continues to live on Monday nights at 8pm. Watch as Zach Levi continues to morph from a regular nerdy Joe to gorgeous hunky hero. Move over John Krasinsky. Another once floppish, regular cute dude is gestating into a commercially approved GQ model and overtaking your turf.

There's more 2010/2011 Fall Schedule to be viewed here.

You can preview some of NBC's new fare at http://www.nbc.com/upcoming-shows/.

Join the discussion over at www.aspecialthing.com.

NBC Infronts Today

Spring not only means blossoms, and showers, hayfever and spring fever, it also signifies the time of year when networks announce new programs, pick ups and cancelations for the fall to advertisers in a ritual called the Infronts and the Upfronts. Today is Infront day for NBC here in New York, so plenty of announcements shall be had. (Source: Variety - "NBC Shifts Through Shows at Infront) (Source: Variety - NBC Unveils Prime Time Plans)

NBC had already announced the renewal of the tremendous Friday Night Lights after it faced the chopping block many a time. Now the new Thursday night Drama Southland, which stars the very awesome Ben Mackenzie and the marvelous Regina King, has been renewed for next season. Also, Parks and Recreation got the nod for a return season. What these two shows have in common (along with the veteran Lights) are low ratings; however, since Southland is getting raves from viewers, and Parks is beginning to cook, the network is giving some fair chances for these shows. Good news for those of us who love new content, and shutter at the idea of another scripted program biting the dust to make way for reality brain dead prime time.

Also happy news out of the peacock regarding the new comedy Community which stars the insanely funny Joel McHale (The Soup). It been given a "hot" status, and apparently "falls in line" with the 30 Rock/ The Office lineup. However, I'm not sure if "falls in line" means it dovetails nicely with the quirky comedic styles of the Thursday night line up and will be scheduled on another day, or if it will become part of that specific comedy block. Another show getting some word of mouth is 100 Questions for Charlotte Payne, a sitcom that could be the next Friends. Where all these new laughers will fall on the schedule has yet to be mentioned. We'll find out when NBC announces their programming grid at their Upfronts on May 19, also in New York.

P.S. Negotiations in bringing back My Name is Earl is losing momentum. Kath and Kim is officially canceled. Word is still out on the fate of Chuck, but the vibe is positive. Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" is returning for another limited run on Thursday nights.

Additional Source: DeadlineHollywoodDaily


Here's a sneak peak at Community.