Monday, May 13, 2013

2013-14 TV Season - NBC


Fall Schedule - NBC

NBC is the first broadcast network to unveil its official game plan for the 2013-14 TV season, and the biggest news regarding returning shows is the relocation of Parenthood to Thursdays at 10/9c, Revolution to Wednesdays at 8/7c, and Chicago Fire to Tuesdays at 10/9c.
Also of note: Parks and Recreation shifts to 8/7c on Thursday, where it will lead into three brand new series — Mike O’Malley’s Welcome to the Family, Sean Hayes’ Sean Saves the World and The Michael J. Fox Show.
Elsewhere, James Spader’s FBI drama The Blacklist has landed the coveted post Voice slot on Mondays at 10/9c, and Dracula starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers will air Fridays at 10/9c after Grimm.
On tap for midseason, in addition to Community: J.J. Abrams’ Believe (Sundays @ 9/8c), conspiracy thriller Crisis (Sundays @ 10/9c), pirate drama Crossbones (Fridays @ 10/9c) Chicago Fire spin-offChicago PD (TBD), medical drama The Night Shift (TBD), comedies About a Boy (Tuesdays @ 9/8c),  The Family Guide (Tuesdays @ 8:30/8:30c) and Undateable (TBD), and reality series Food Fighters, The Million Second Quiz and the returning Sing-Off. 
The fate of Celebrity Apprentice, Betty White’s Off Their Rockers, Fashion Star and Hannibal will be decided in the coming weeks, per NBC.
All told, the NBC schedule looks like this; new shows are in CAPS, click for details.
MONDAY
8/7c The Voice
10 pm THE BLACKLIST 
TUESDAY
8 pm The Biggest Loser
9 pm The Voice
10 pm Chicago Fire
WEDNESDAY
8 pm Revolution
9 pm Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
10 pm IRONSIDE
THURSDAY
8 pm Parks and Recreation
8:30 pm WELCOME TO THE FAMILY
9 pm SEAN SAVES THE WORLD
9:30 pm THE MICHAEL J. FOX SHOW
10 pm Parenthood
FRIDAY
8 pm Dateline NBC
9 pm Grimm
10 pm DRACULA
SATURDAY
Encore programming
SUNDAY
7 pm Football Night in America
8:15 pm NBC Sunday Night Football
SUNDAY (Post-football/Winter 2013)
7 pm Dateline NBC
8 pm Nate Berkus’ AMERICAN DREAM BUILDERS (Reality)
9 pm BELIEVE
10 pm CRISIS
NOT RETURNING NEXT SEASON: 1600 Penn, 30 Rock, Animal Practice, Deception, Do No Harm, Go On, Guys With Kids, The New Normal, The Office, Smash, Up All Night and Whitney.
Below are the trailers that have been released, along with additional clips from the series, and my first quick initial thoughts - followed by quick write ups on the trailers not available to post yet.
Be warned, Upfronts trailers are very spoilery - basically giving you an overview of what occurs in the entire pilot episode.
The Blacklist
This is the show NBC clearly sees as the one with the most potential. The network's president, Bob Greenblatt, noted it was their highest testing drama out of the last 125 drama pilots over the past decade. It's no accident it's getting the best timeslot on the network, after The Voice on Mondays.
It looks very fun to me, with James Spader having a ball as a master criminal who, for reasons of his own, is helping the FBI hunt down other criminals - while specifically asking for the help of a young FBI agent who has no knowledge of a connection between them. The Silence of the Lambs influence on the criminal/FBI agent dynamic is very clear, but it also has an overlying mystery and other aspects that make it stand out. And director Joe Carnahan (The Grey, Smoking Aces) brings his skill to the proceedings.

The Michael J. Fox Show
Who doesn't love Michael J. Fox? We all grew up watching him and it's great to have him back on TV. Embracing his real life condition was somewhat necessary, but Fox already proved on Curb Your Enthusiasm that he has a great sense of humor about his struggle with parkinson's disease. The meta aspects of the story (Fox is playing a TV personality going back to work, though a newscaster) are interesting and the show looks funny and endearing.

Dracula
I don't know about this one... NBC is capitalizing on the vampire craze of the past few years by going back to the most famous vampire of them all. The period setting does at least help Dracula stand out from all of the modern day vampire stories at this point, but the footage looks fairly hammy.
Ironside
This looks to be a straight forward procedural in most ways, but built around a different kind of protagonist (albeit by remaking a classic TV series). Certainly Blair Underwood has charisma to burn, but ultimately, this will likely be another variation on "Damn, this guy is smart!" each week. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course, if done well. And this character's specific scenario, a detective now in a wheelchair after being shot, is interesting and adds another layer. That being said, probably not appointment television for me. But if you love case of the week shows, go for it!


Sean Saves the World
NBC's latest attempt to launch a successful traditional, multi-cam sitcom, this one does boast two stars who know their way around this world with Sean Hayes and Linda Lavin. It looks amusing, if not great, and we'll see if NBC has any luck grabbing the larger audiences shows like this still can get (Hi, CBS!). If anything, it certainly looks to be an improvement over Whitney and Guys with Kids.

Welcome to the Family
This comedy about two less than friendly families brought together by their teenage children's shotgun wedding looks pretty middle of the road, but in a pleasant way. Nothing breaking new ground here (why do I feel the words "Modern Family" were evoked in the pitch?) but good for a few laughs.
On to the shows whose trailers were shown at Upfronts but are not released wide yet...
Believe
I've been excited about this one from the get go. J.J. Abrams' name as a producer is the selling point, but it's Alfonso Cauron's presence as both co-creator and director that really is notable. The acclaimed director of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Children of Men leaves behind much of his usual visual signature (the show's visual style is much more "TV norm" than you might expect), but the trailer still had a very poignant, artful and gripping tone to it, as a young girl with superpowers becomes the focus of multiple groups, good and bad, with plans for her. It looked highly emotional, filled with big moments and plenty of action (Resident Evil's Sienna Guillory stands out as a particularly skillful assassin). I can't wait to see this one.
Crisis
This show will be paired with Believe midseason on Sundays, and it looks to be a good partnership. While lacking that extra spark Believe hinted at, Crisis looks to be a well done, intriguing thriller, as a bus of children are kidnapped - including the president's own child and several other kids whose parents are highly influential and powerful people. There's a big conspiracy/mystery element, as we get hints at what the kidnappers want and who is involved, and it's terrific to see Gillian Anderson (The X-Files) back as a series lead, alongside Dermot Mulroney and Rachael Taylor.
The Night Shift
The most unimpressive of NBC's new drama pilot trailers was easily this one. This look at the night crew at a military hospital seems very cliched and routine; filled with moments that feel like third rate ER episodes.
Undateable
Bill Lawrence has given us strong comedies like Scrubs and Cougar Town, but this show -- about a bunch of "undateable" guys, getting advice from a new friend who seems to have the moves they don't --felt pretty lackluster based on the trailer. There were several obvious jokes and moments that failed to resonate. But hey, Cougar Town didn't start great either, so Lawrence gets a "I'll give it a few episodes" pass.
The Family Guide
While J.K. Simmons is tempting fate, starring in his second network comedy in a row with Family in the title, after the very lame Family Tools, he looks to have found better material here. Playing a blind father, Simmons brings the warm gruffness he's known for. Some of the moments in the trailer strain credibility (this guy would really try driving, with his son, on their street?), while others were humorous. But it does have an ace in the hole in the form of the title character, the new guide dog Simmons' character is given. Because... doggie!
Chicago PD
This spinoff of Chicago Fire will likely be familiar territory to anyone who's seen Dick Wolf's output. But who can argue with the success of the man behind the Law & Order franchise? At least Chicago PD has one notable element, centering on a gruff cop who seems to have had his own vaguely criminal past. Still, expect the usual type of Law & Order-ish Wolf cop stories. Which certainly has worked out fine for him in the past, so who can argue with that?
About a Boy


A new version of the story from the popular book and film of the same name. About a Boy stars David Walton, one of those actors who has appeared in many failed comedies. But this will hopefully be the right one for him, because it looks very funny and very sweet. Which is what you'd hope coming from Jason Katims, the executive producer of Friday Night Lights and Parenthood. I look forward to having Katims make me cry again from time to time, in the midst of a half hour comedy.
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