NBC Announces Fall Lineup Stocked with Suspiciously ABC-ish Shows
NBC just concluded its "infronts," and though the fate of several bubble shows (like the geek cause célèbre Chuck) hasn't been decided, the network did announce the pickup of six new series. Our initial impressions? Boy, does NBC want to be ABC. Here's a look at the new shows (with video), each broken into handy-dandy ABC formulas:
Trauma
Premise: From Peter Berg comes this medical drama about first responder paramedics. They fight, they fuck, they mourn, and (to judge from the pilot) they're always quick with an emergency tracheotomy.
Formula: Grey's Anatomy (medical drama) x The Unusuals (manufactured quirk)
Mercy
Premise: From someone who is not Peter Berg comes this medical drama about sex-ay nurses. They fight, they fuck, they mourn, and (to judge from the pilot) they're always quick with an emergency tracheotomy-like procedure.
Formula: Private Practice (estrogen-injected medical drama) x Scrubs (single-camera workplace comedy)
Parenthood
Premise: Four siblings live in the same city and try to make their families work with each others' help.
Formula: Brothers & Sisters (premise) ÷ In the Motherhood (suburban familiarity) + Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (obligatory dose of emotional uplift)
Day One
Premise: After a global catastrophe, a ragtag bunch of survivors must rebuild society and struggle to piece together what happened.
Formula: Lost (duh)
100 Questions
Premise: A young woman is prompted by a dating site to reconsider what she wants in a relationship -- and herself.
Formula: Cupid (date-of-the-week) x Samantha Who (cute femme navigates identity crisis)
Community
Premise: The Soup's Joel McHale goes to community college and meets a supporting cast full of quirky characters, surprisingly.
Formula: Better Off Ted (self-aware, self-impressed sitcom not quite as interesting as it thinks it is)
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Comments
Man, what would pretty people do if they weren't on television?
TRAUMA: The Rebel is my favorite because he's the MOST cliched.
MERCY: "You're the only thing that makes sense"? A sassy gay friend? Men not taking women seriously? Medical Personel finding out people actually die at hospitals? Wow, MERCY, you win The Worst Award.
PARENTHOOD: The only one I'm considering giving a chance to because Peter Krause, Craig T. Nelson, and the magic words "the writers of FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS".
DAY ONE: If you don't have any footage, we don't need to see anything.
100 QUESTIONS: "You know how HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER plays around with sitcom stereotypes, and develops actual friendships rather than excuses for ones? Well, let's make the premise more contrived, stick in people it will be impossible to give a shit about because they are less developed than an abortion-ok fetus, and then make it not funny. Sound good?"
COMMUNITY: Do you like Joel McHale? Think Chevy Chase could use a good comeback? Like that Indian guy who has been in some stuff? Then don't watch this. It will make you cry more than stupid people when the hot guy finally kisses the main girl on 100 QUESTIONS.
Hey, NBC. You're responsible for FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, THE OFFICE, 30 ROCK, CHUCK, SEINFELD, and other good shows. Just wanted to remind you.
Is that Kyle Secor with the beard in MERCY? As much as I'm happy to see Detective Bayliss still working, I'm gonna have to give this one a pass. Lots of love for John Oliver, but I don't think his tweedy cameo in COMMUNITY will be enough to pull me in. I'm sure the teen girls too young to remember the original Breakfast Club will go apeshit over this and McHale. Me, I'm sticking with LOST, and saving my Hail Marys for NBC for them not somehow destroying Conan.
Stupid trailer aside, I have a feeling Community will be a really good show. It will probably be so good it gets canceled, in fact.
Definitely not Secor. That's James LeGros with the unfortunate beard.
So, Day One is just people running around without dialogue? They had me at green screen!