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| NBC prepares to host its upfront to advertisers in New York |
NBC got a jump start on upfront season by spilling their new 2011-12 schedule on Sunday. Gone are bubble shows Outsourced (a TVFMF favourite) and The Defenders. Back for a final 13-episode fall arc is a show you can’t kill with a stick, Chuck.
NBC did a pretty aggressive makeover, ordering six new comedies and six new dramas. The full details are here at the NBC release, out a day before Monday’s actual upfront in New York. There was a lot of talk about NBC ordering a new version of Wonder Woman but the Peacock network passed on that. It may not be dead dead; CBS took a couple of pilot seasons before their remake of Hawaii FIVE-0 cracked the schedule.
Among the new offerings is Up All Night, a new comedy starring Toronto-native Will Arnett and Christine Applegate as new parents. SNL and Bridesmaids player Mya Rudolph is also in the cast. Here’s Arnett setting in up with a clip:
Arnett seems dialed way back in this from his Running Wild misfire. With young kids at home, Up All Night seems closer to Arnett’s own home life.
Also new this fall for NBC is Smash, a Broadway-themed series already getting some buzz. Debra Messing stars as part of a Broadway team working on a musical about Marilyn Monroe. Angelica Huston is also in the cast, with American Idol alumni Katharine McPhee cast as a Broadway rookie looking for her big break:
It all appears very Glee-full.
There’s a mid-season comedy starring former That ’70s Show red head Laura Prepon in Are There There Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea. It’s based on the semi-autobiographical book by Chelsea Handler, although they’ve kind made it a new thing as Prepon describes:
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