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Final Season of Parks and Recreation Premieres in Mid-January with Back-to-Back Episodes

December 3, 2014

final season, nbc, parks and recreation

(via Entertainment Weekly)

The seventh season of Parks and Recreation will air back-to-back episodes to get your Parks and Recreation fix.

The season premiere airs Jan. 13th at 8PM and, for six weeks, we’ll all get two episodes leading up to a standalone series finale on Feb. 24th.

With that in mind, if you’re on the Internet at all, prepare for a whole new set of Parks and Rec .gifs which will be contextualized to apply to everything.

Martin Short, Jerry Seinfeld, Miranda Sings, and Jimmy Fallon Play One of the Most Absurd Games of Pictionary

December 2, 2014

jerry seinfeld, jimmy fallon, martin short, miranda sings, nbc, pictionary, tonight show

The game Pictionary is simple enough as it’s basically charades, but utilizing drawing rather than acting out. It’s also been a game for several years, so it wouldn’t be unreasonable that people playing it would be, at least, decent at guessing words and phrases from drawings.

However, the duos of Martin Short/Jimmy Fallon and Jerry Seinfeld/Miranda Sings made for one great, rare edition of Pictionary on The Tonight Show that might be one of the more ridiculous, outlandish games that has ever been played.

Lauren Graham Developing Sitcom About There Being a Female Network Late Night Talk Show Host at NBC

December 2, 2014

ellen degeneres, kate on later, late night, lauren graham, nbc

Throughout the history of late night , all the major broadcast networks have had an absence of female late night talk show hosts. Even the roster of interim hosts for The Late Late Show that bridges the gap between Craig Ferguson exiting and James Corden starting doesn’t have a female guest host so far as we know.

So, Lauren Graham has taken it upon herself to co-write and star in a sitcom about their being a fictional one trying to make her way in what has been a field almost entirely populated by white men in America since its inception. NBC has taken on the project, titled Kate on Later, for development and Ellen DeGeneres has boarded the project as an executive producer.

Perhaps, this might resemble a female led Larry Sanders Show and we’re absolutely on board for that.

What Has Happened to Comedy on Broadcast Networks? (Hint: Lots of Canceling)

It would be a little premature to say that there’s writing on the wall, but comedy definitely seems like it is playing second fiddle (or almost no fiddle at all) to hour long dramas at NBC, ABC, CBS, and Fox. Comedy is currently flourishing on cable and online and, perhaps, that is where episodic comedy, wholly, is headed.

This TV season alone, freshman comedies Selfie, A to Z, Manhattan Love Story, and Bad Judge have been canceled along with relative new comers The Millers.

Community, Arrested Development, and now The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, which had a series order from NBC but didn’t even make it to air, have moved from TV networks to online streaming services.

Just yesterday, it was announced ABC also scrapped a sitcom they had already ordered to series, Members Only starring John Stamos.

Bloggers and John Mulaney alike keep talking about whether Mulaney will last on Fox. On top of all of that, there are rumors that NBC has halted production on Last Comic Standing after it already had brought it back from the dead.

We’re not saying broadcast networks have drawn a hard line on in the sand (yet) prohibiting comedy from their airwaves. Cristela, black-ish, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine have found success just starting out and the networks have a few comedy mainstays like Modern Family, The Big Bang Theory, and Two and Half Men. New Girl and The Mindy Project have also seemed to fared well in their tenure at Fox. Also, cable networks TBS and TNT have recently canceled Sullivan & Son and Franklin & Bash, respectively.

Still, this last couple of years have seen an unprecedented shift of the comedy genre as an aggregate on TV from going live on air to every household with a TV on a weeknight to niche cable networks and various online entities ranging anywhere from Netflix to YouTube to Amazon. Key & Peele, Louie, Portlandia, Veep, Transparent, and Children’s Hospital are all just a few perfect examples of this new paradigm.

The future for comedy on TV and the behemoths of television does have yet to be decided. The highly anticipated Last Man on Earth from Chris Miller and Phil Lord starring Will Forte is premiering next year. Networks, like CBS, are starting to get on board with their own streaming service.

What is clear in the current TV landscape, above all, is that the Internet isn’t going away and, because of that, viewers can watch whatever they want whenever they want to watch it. Thus, people will watch their favorite Key & Peele sketch as many as times as they can stand, binge watch The Simpsons via The Simpsons World app/site, consume as much media that exists online of their favorite comedians (i.e. web series, podcasts, stand-up clips, etc.), and do so at any time of any day in any place versus Thursdays at 8 at home,

In such an environment, it’s much harder than it used to be to launch a broad franchise sitcom that lasts 10 seasons and lives on in syndication, which has been the network TV model for comedy for decades. So, for now, as NBC chairman Bob Greenblatt poignantly remarked during Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’s move to Netflix, “…we have a very drama-heavy midseason schedule.”

NBC Not Moving Forward with Bill Cosby Sitcom Project

November 19, 2014

bill cosby, nbc

(via The Hollywood Reporter)

Well, that didn’t take long.

Earlier today, Netflix postponed their plans to release Bill Cosby 77 due to the rape allegations that are now coming out of the woodwork left and right, and now NBC is following suit by tossing the untitled series project that they were developing with Bill Cosby.

Currently, Cosby has tour dates lined-up through May 2015 as well as three appearances in documentaries according to his IMDB profile. Again, we wouldn’t be surprised if all of these got nixed/postponed too.

“Marry Me” Gets Five More Episodes at NBC

November 6, 2014

(via The Hollywood Reporter)

NBC has not shown mercy to its freshman comedies up until now. Both Bad Judge and A to Z have gotten the ax already.

However, there seems to be hope for Marry Me starring Casey Wilson and Ken Marino as NBC has just ordered five more episodes of the series.

Hopefully, the next order will be for a season rather than a few more episodes.

Jerrod Carmichael Gets 3rd Pilot Order at NBC with Nick Stoller Co-Writing

November 4, 2014

jerrod carmichael, nbc, neighbors, nick stoller, pilot season

NBC has ordered two pilot presentations from Jerrod Carmichael over the last calendar year. Neither one of them went to series, but NBC has come close and is obvious still jazzed about Carmichael since they have just put in an order for a 3rd pilot from him.

This time around, Neighbors director Nick Stoller will team up with Jerrod again and they’ll write the pilot together.

Hopefully, third time is the charm, comedy comes 3, or whatever other triplet-based-affirmation you know will come into play here.

Beck Bennett, Kyle Mooney, and Bobby Moynihan Take a New Approach to Robbing Banks

November 3, 2014

beck bennett, bobby moynihan, kyle mooney, nbc, snl

Coming in with guns has been a somewhat effective way to rob banks for a long time. However, in 2014, you’re going to need more than guns if you want to get away with robbing a bank.

Just watch how SNL’s Beck Bennett, Kyle Mooney, and Bobby Moynihan knock over a bank with more of a personal touch.

Chris Rock Is Hosting SNL Tonight

November 1, 2014

chris rock, nbc, Saturday Night Live

As of late, the best episodes of Saturday Night Live seem to come around when they have a host that has such a strong voice comedically and in many different disciplines (i.e. writing, stand-up, acting, directing). Both times Louis C.K. has hosted, for example, have been pretty great.

We think that Chris Rock might have a similar result having acted on Broadway, produced TV shows, and made his own highly anticipated movies like Top Five in returning to the SNL stage tonight as the host, so you should check it out at 11:30PM on NBC.

Also, it’s another rare chance to get to watch Prince perform live.

Neil Patrick Harris to Host NBC Variety Show

October 28, 2014

nbc, neil patrick harris, pilot season, variety show

NBC might be just getting a shot in the arm in the department of live variety shows as they have just ordered 10 episodes of a Neil Patrick Harris hosted variety show.

The show stopper of a host can really do it all, sing, dance, act, do comedy, which will all be on display when he hosts The Oscars next year.

We’ll be curious to what time slot it gets, specifically in relation to that other live variety show on NBC, Saturday Night Live.

High Concept Comedies Are in Style Ahead of This Pilot Season

October 27, 2014

abc, development, directv, downton abbey, elizabeth banks, lost, nbc, parody, peter serafinowicz, pilot season, rainn wilson, tbs, vine

There are indeed plenty of semi-autobiographical comedies in development, especially with the success of freshman series Cristela at ABC.

However, at the other end of the TV comedy development spectrum, at this time, is a bunch of high concept comedies that steer clear of the fish-out-of-water in a small (or big pond) dynamic. Conspiracy theories, witches, and, highest concept of all, Vine stars, and more are all subjects for comedy projects that are being worked for TV across several networks.

Specifically, TBS has ordered a sort of Lost parody from Justin and Jordan Shipley, DirecTV has ordered a parody reminiscent of Downton Abbey that will star Peter Serafinowicz and Will Sasso from College Humor’s Big Breakfast, Elizabeth Banks is set to produce and direct a workplace conspiracy theory comedy from Caroline Williams at ABC, 30 Rock’s Josh Siegal and Dylan Morgan are writing a witch comedy at NBC, Nick Frost is set to star in a comedy as an ex-jewel thief that’s having trouble getting out of the jewel thief business also at ABC, and Rainn Wilson is developing a series following stars (minus Curtis Lepore due to Internet outrage at his rape charge that he plead down to an assault charge) on the six second movie platform Vine trying to make it in the traditional half hour format.

There’s no telling where these will end up, if anywhere at all, but it’s a good sign to see more comedy series in the works that aren’t how two people met and fell in love or how an abnormally configured family figures out how to be a family.

SNL Bumps Up Leslie Jones to Cast Member

October 21, 2014

leslie jones, nbc, Saturday Night Live, snl

Saturday Night Live hired Pete Davidson as the only new cast member ahead of this season’s premiere, which, apparently, left room for some promotions internally.

Announced yesterday, SNL writer Leslie Jones has made her way to being an official cast member on the show. Jones has already appeared in numerous sketches as well as doing bit of stand-up on Weekend Update.

This leaves you wondering if any more changes are set to come midseason for SNL.

Amy Poehler Producing Another Comedy Project at NBC and Joins Legendary’s Digital Division with “Smart Girls At The Party”

October 18, 2014

aisha muharrar, amy poehler, nbc, pilot season, smart girls at the party

For quite some time, Amy Poehler has been doing quite well for herself or, as some might say, killing it.

This week has been a particularly good display of that as Legendary Entertainment acquired Poehler’s Smart Girls At The Party and she is set to produce another comedy at NBC along with Aisha Muharrar.

So, there will be even more Smart Girls At The Party content to be made and a comedy project following an agnostic woman who has to deal with the inheritance of a church.

These two announcements come on top of the release of Poehler’s book Yes Please, executive producing the second season of Broad City, and probably a million other amazing things that she has wonderfully hidden up her sleeve.

NBC Cancelled Female Driven 1960s Space Race Comedy “Mission Control” Before Premiere

October 17, 2014

canceled, gary sanchez productions, krysten ritter, mission control, nbc, space race

(via The Hollywood Reporter)

Though there seems to be a little bit of a trend of space themed comedies these days with Paul Feig‘s Other Space for Yahoo, Cracked‘s Starship Icarus, NBC has jumped off any sort of potential bandwagon that there would be by canceling Mission Control from Gary Sanchez Productions ahead of its premiere.

Krysten Ritter was set to star, but locking down the rest of the cast apparently proved too difficult for NBC to want to move forward with the show.

It’s unfortunate as a workplace comedy set at NASA’s Mission Control in the 60s with Ritter as the star definitely sounded pretty great to us. Maybe it’ll get revived somewhere else as that is definitely a trend in TV these days.

NBC Having Eddie Izzard Adapt ‘Junior Bender’ Novels

October 6, 2014

eddie izzard, junior bender, nbc, pilot season, timothy hallinan

(via The Hollywood Reporter)

Timothy Hallinan’s novel series that follow private eye Junior Bender are not only getting adapting for TV, but are being done so by the amazing Eddie Izzard.

NBC has made a script commitment to the project thus far and we’d be curious to see it goes further as Junior Bender juggles being both a high class thief and a detective. If this ends up going to series, it might be act as a nice companion/foil to The Mysteries of Laura.

Interestingly enough, Izzard is not attached to star though the role seems pretty perfect for him.

James Franco’s Behind-The-Scenes SNL Documentary “Saturday Night” Now at Hulu

September 29, 2014

james franco, nbc, Saturday Night Live, snl

Though it was made more than a few years ago, James Franco’s in-depth look into what goes into a week at Saturday Night Live in his documentary Saturday Night is finally available to more than a film festival crowd to watch.

You’ll get to take a look at Franco following the real life happenings of all the stories that you hear of SNL players and writers talk about in interviews of no sleep, the boatloads of sketches that don’t make it, and more.

Watch Saturday Night on Hulu Plus here.

NBC Buys 2 Comedies from John Krasinski

September 23, 2014

john krasinski, nbc, pilot season

After playing Jim Halpert for 9 seasons on The Office on NBC, John Krasinksi is getting back into business with NBC as he has just sold two comedy projects to the network.

They’re both single camera projects, one following a law student turned to garbage collection, and the other following start up company formed by a former ad agency exec in his garage.

While Krasinksi could easily fit into roles for either, there’s no one attached to star in either of these comedies yet.

Bill Hader Talks How to Get Serious with Kristen Wiig and Is Hosting SNL This Season

September 20, 2014

bill hader, nbc, Saturday Night Live, skeleton twins, snl

The Skeleton Twins with Bill Hader is playing in a few more dozen theaters this weekend and you should definitely catch it if you can. When Hader was on Late Night with Seth Meyers this week, he talked about how much fun he had with his former SNL castmate Kristen Wiig and how they had to kept together for the movie’s intense moments.

Bill is also hosting the third episode of Saturday Night Live this season on Oct. 11th and we wonder how Stefon would potentially deal with Colin Jost and Michael Che.

Darrell Hammond Will Replace the Late Don Pardo as SNL Announcer

September 18, 2014

darrell hammond, don pardo, nbc, Saturday Night Live, snl

Weeks ago, Saturday Night Live lost its legendary announcer Don Pardo when he passed away at the age of 96.

To replace him, former SNL cast member Darrell Hammond has been appointed to the position. If you watched Hammond’s time at SNL at all, you know this is a perfect replacement.

Pete Davidson Will Be The Only New Cast Member on This Season of SNL, Michael Patrick O’Brien Returning as Writer Only

September 15, 2014

michael patrick o'brien, nbc, pete davidson, satuday night live, snl

Following the announcement of the return of Michael Che, stand-up comedian Pete Davidson, who you probably saw do stand-up on Kimmel earlier this year, is set to be the only new cast member on the 40th season of Saturday Night Live, premiering later this month.

Additionally, Michael Patrick O’Brien who was featured in the cast last year is returning this season as a writer, leaving SNL with less three less players than last year.

However, as SNL casted Sasheer Zamata midseason, don’t think that all of this is written in stone.

Michael Che to Co-Anchor SNL’s Weekend Update in Place of Cecily Strong; Will Leave The Daily Show

September 12, 2014

cecily strong, colin jost, daily show, michael che, nbc, Saturday Night Live, snl, weekend update

(via The Hollywood Reporter)

There’s been a lot of movement as of late ahead of the 40th season of Saturday Night Live. The latest change is Michael Che will return to SNL to co-anchor Weekend Update with Colin Jost. Che was a correspondent on The Daily Show, but with taking on this gig, will leave The Daily Show after his short tenure there.

Cecily Strong, who co-anchored Weekend Update last season, is moving back to being in more sketches.

After seeing Che on The Daily Show, we think he will do quite well at The Weekend Update desk.

The Latest Season of Saturday Night Live Starting Off with Chris Pratt and Sarah Silverman as Hosts

September 10, 2014

chris pratt, nbc, sarah silverman, Saturday Night Live, snl

As you hear unofficial announcements of who will be working on Saturday Night Live this year, SNL has announced who will be hosting the beginning of their latest season.

Sept. 27th and Oct. 4th will see the return of Saturday Night Liveand they’re starting off with a bang by having Chris Pratt and Sarah Silverman host, respectively.

We think that might just make for two great episodes.

NBC Buys Bryan Cranston’s TV Adaptation of “Dangerous Book For Boys”

September 2, 2014

bryan cranston, dangerous book for boys, greg mottola, nbc, pilot season

A couple of months ago, Bryan Cranston announced that he was officially developing a series based on The Dangerous Book For Boys by Conn and Hal Iggulden.

That project has officially made the next step as it was just bought up by NBC. Greg Mottola, who has directed episodes of The Comeback and Arrested Development as well as Superbad, is set to write and direct the adaptation.

Along with other projects such as the one based on Joe Wengert’s life, NBC’s development slate gets more and more intriguing.

A Real “Cones of Dunshire” Game from Parks and Recreation Was Made

August 31, 2014

ben wyatt, cones of dunshire, nbc, parks and recreation

(via The AV Club)

The expansive board game Cones of Dunshire created by Ben Wyatt in Parks and Recreation was actually the idea from a gaming company, Mayfair Games, which, in turn, has made a real version of the game that was actually played at a gaming convention.

Currently, that’s the only version and time that Cones of Dunshire has officially existed outside the world of Parks and Recreation, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see it popping up in the not so distant future if only to figure out how to actually play it.

SNL Hires Alison Rich as Writer

August 29, 2014

alison rich, nbc, Saturday Night Live, snl

(via Splitsider)

Saturday Night Live has started the process of getting their new hires. For their first, they’ve made a fine choice in the very funny Alison Rich who you’ve probably seen in many a funny web video/sketch over the last few years.

For now, she’s only a writer, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see her as a full SNL cast member.