NBC: Fall 2012
Image via big13.net
The May Upfronts bring a slew of announcements by the networks. This week we focus on the fate of shows you should care about at NBC.
Renewals
Parks and Recreation surprised many of its fans by obtaining a full 22 episode pickup for its fifth season. The series is remaining in the Thursday night comedy block airing at 9:30.
Community was given a 13 episode fourth season pickup by the network. The show will change timeslots from Thursdays to Friday nights at 8:30 in the fall paired with Whitney (returning for its second season). The shows do not seem like a good match, but Community on Fridays is better than no Community at all in my opinion.
It was announced late Friday evening that Dan Harmon is in fact not returning as the showrunner of Community. Without Harmon, we could see a very different Community next season. The show’s self-referential humor and intricate plots seem to come straight out of the creator’s mind. Will another person be able to come in and carry the show? I’m not sure.
Grimm fans have known for quite some time that the show would be returning for a second season this fall. Now we know that the show will remain on Fridays airing at 9:00.
Cancellations
Awake: Perhaps the saddest cancellation of all freshman shows, Awake is strike two for writer and creator Kyle Killen. Killen wowed myself and critics with his series Lonestar – cancelled after airing 2 episodes – and created an interesting and inventive sophomore effort in Awake. The cast, led by Jason Isaacs, was excellent and included one of the few onscreen teens that acted like a human being. We have yet to see how the series will wrap up at the end of this season, but for better or worse the journey so far has kept me enthralled.
Chuck: Alright, so Chuck was not really cancelled and this is not a surprise to anyone. Going into this most recent season, the fans and creative team behind Chuck knew that they would be airing the last episodes of the series. That being said, I will still very much miss Chuck, Casey, Sarah, Morgan, and the rest of the Buy More gang. RIP.
Bent: Bent was a show that most people reading this probably haven’t heard of. For some unknown reason, this half hour comedy, starring Amanda Peet, aired its entire 6 episode season over 3 weeks. The show started out luke-warm but continued to get better over its short life.
Pickups
Revolution is the one NBC pickup that I am looking forward to this upcoming fall season. With Eric Kripke and J.J. Abrams involved with the show’s creation, and Jon Favreau directing the pilot, it seems to have an extremely geeky pedigree. Interested readers can take a look at the four minute preview. If it peaks your interest all you’ll have to do is wait until the fall season and check in every Monday at 10:00.
I’d rather have NO Community, than Community without Dan Harmon, honestly.
I’m trying to start a twitter campaign to try to make Sony re-think their decision to fire him: #sixseasonsanddanharmon
A valiant enterprise, Totz, but I don’t think it’ll help much. Why? NBC is relegating Community to cancellation because it doesn’t bring in the numbers. So why renew it? Four seasons is a nice fat pack of episodes to put into syndication, which is easy money. Fire Dan Harmon, relegate it to Fridays, and NBC has a nice excuse to axe it. The controversy happens now, and when it dies after next season, it’s not as big a deal to the press.
It might be kind of funny if huge DVD sales made them look to renew it. But that probably won’t happen, and it would be more sickening than funny.
It should be noted that Dan Harmon’s firing was at the hands of Sony who produce the show. Granted NBC apparently didn’t speak out against it but the decision at the end of the day isn’t up to them. Also, you’re right about syndication but again a lot of that money goes to Sony. It sounds as though Sony made NBC a sweat heart deal to air the new season almost giving it to them so that While NBC makes what little ad revenue Community produces the shows doesn’t cost them much so it is easy to be profitable and then Sony comes in an makes the millions with syndication and DVD sales. Win-win for Sony and NBC and Dan Harmon’s creative direction doesn’t factor into that equation.
The actors on Community don’t even like the show. Surely it couldn’t survive in that condition even with Harmon.
Honestly, go back to 3 years ago before Community was the internet darling it is today. Take Chevy Chase out of the equation. Does the show even get made?
Now cut to today, have Dan Harmon publicly feud with Chevy Chase, and try to think of a universe where he DOESN’T get cut. Dan Harmon leaving doesn’t mean we’re in the “darkest timeline”, it means he may not be very good at being a part of the actual “business” of show business. If he’d just let Chase rant and rave, taken the high road, and let someone else look like the bad guy, Harmon would’ve stayed around.
Community is my favorite show on TV right now, but I’m a realist about it, too. It’s a fantastic experiment that we somehow all got away with for going on 4 seasons, now. We also got Donald Glover and Danny Pudi’s stars to rise out of the deal, to boot. So in my sole opinion: let’s enjoy the last season, call it a win, and let the internet fringe start their “Buy Dan Harmon the rights to Community” campaigns.
Troy and Abed in my Head. *sigh* I Love Them and it makes me sad that things arent going super well for the show … but, its about time to wrap up the storyline anyway. We Americans HATE to let a good show go to heaven and would rather a good show stick around until everyone hates it … like Lost. Which was really a 24 episode show. I mean, really.
Bring On The HATE!!
I don’t care what people say. I watched Grimm last night and I love it! I’m glad we’re getting a second season.