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)