My thanks to NBC for being the greatest contributor to my exhaustion today.
Updated (12:05 am 5/11): Now that the dust has settled, the official word of the most expected cancellation came down. Banishing Smash to Saturdays was a death knell! It’s officially gone. So is The New Normal, which is no surprise since it was doing worse than partner Go On, which was cancelled earlier today.
Updated (9:15 pm ET): More pickups! The Blacklist is finally official, so is Night Shift (Ha! to all of you calling it dead), and Welcome to The Family. In a flash of rare awesomeness for NBC, Community has earned a fifth season!
Updated (5:54 pm ET): DAMN YOU NBC!!!! Seems like this network doesn’t want me to watch them at all. NBC has officially cancelled Go On. Also, The John Mulaney Show is dead, not too surprising since they shot late and couldn’t find a cast. NBC also gets the honor of the first casting exit of a new pilot. Parker Posey is leaving The Family Guide. Also not surprising, Rock Center With Brian Williams has been cancelled. Looks like NBC will have to fill that slot with tacky reality, as opposed to informative.
Updated: This article has been up five whole minutes and we’ve already got a update! The Chicago Fire Spinoff has been picked up. You’ll notice the correction made on the lists down below in bold.
Well, if NBC is doing one thing this pilot season, it’s giving us bloggers and entertainment writers plenty to scoff about come upfronts. NBC just announced it was picking up for series Undateable, which is pretty cool like I like properties from Bill Lawrence, and the absolutely laughable Ironside.
The delay on Undateable is understandable, since it stars Chris D’Elia, the lead in another NBC comedy, Whitney. They had to cancel that one first. Good thing they didn’t try to put the cart before the horse, huh?
Out of NBC’s vast amount of pilots this year (28), Ironside was a concept that has done nothing but fail for this network repeatedly over the last several years. A modern reboot of an old franchise. Instead of the old fat guy in Raymond Burr, we get the rather dashing Blair Underwood, who honestly looks a lot better standing up. That said, this guy’s track record for TV series isn’t all that great. But yeah NBC, we all know how Knight Rider, The Bionic Woman, and Mockingbird Lane have gone for ya. Good call!
To think, the most promising and original pilot in NBC’s slate, The Sixth Gun, was passed up for this list so far. They also have yet to secure the most buzzed about pilot with focus groups, The Blacklist. Although, at least that one isn’t dead from what I hear. Tell me, any of these catch your eye?
Dramas:
Ironside
Crisis (formerly the Untitled Rand Ravich Project)
Believe
Chicago Fire Spinoff (updated)
Comedies:
MJF (announced before pilot season)
About A Boy
Sean Saves The World (formerly Happiness)
The Family Guide (formerly …Then Came Elvis)
Undateable
Here’s the scorecard of the remaining shows for those of you keeping track at home:
Dead: The Sixth Gun (Boo-urns!), Hatfields and McCoys, Bloodlines, Untitled Robert Padnick, The Secret Lives of Husbands and Wives, The Gates, Joe, Joe & Jane, Holding Patterns, The John Mulaney Show
Deferred to off-cycle due to production issues: Girlfriend in a Coma, Wonderland, The Donor Party
Looking mighty quesy: The John Mulaney Show, Brenda Forever, I am Victor
Should have had pick up announced, but currently floating in NBC limbo: The Blacklist, Welcome To The Family, Night Shift, Chicago Fire Spinoff
Shows that have dropped off the grid completely, with no word whatsoever as to why: Assistance, Untitled Craig Robinson
You can see the list of all the pilots here, since I’m sure you’re looking at all of these going, “Which one is that again?”
NBC is the fine network as you may or may not know that passed on The Walking Dead, letting AMC grab the project instead. Their streak for not taking chances continues! I’ll update this as more pilots are picked up (if any), but it’s looking obvious that NBC has had a rough pilot season so far for a reason. Sounds like NBC is fighting to secure it’s status as the fifth fourth place network, at least when football isn’t on.
Check back here for updates as (if?) they happen. NBC’s mind seems to be changing hourly, so this might get busier.
