NBC: ‘Smash’ Canceled… YES, Canceled

OK, here’s the thing about networks: they’re glad to tell you about their successes but they NEVER will admit failure.  This is why they have such ridiculously glowing press releases issued for when a show gets renewed, but nary a peep when a show gets canceled… except if you read between the lines… which is exactly why you come here… so we can separate the wheat from the chaff, as it were.

“Hey… where’d my show go?”

Here’s how it works: when a show is canceled due to poor ratings (unless it’s a long-running show that’s just run its course) one of two things will occur.  In the first scenario a press release focusing on schedule changes will be issued and buried in that release among other schedule changes will be a change indicating that the timeslot that “X” show was in has been filled with “Y” show with no mention of the previous existence of “X” show.  This is similar to how Stalin dealt with political enemies; he erased them from existence.

Scenario two (what’s happened with Smash) also involves a

“Sorry, ‘Smash,’ but I can only keep this up for about 12 more weeks…”

schedule change press release but instead of erasing show “X” from existence from a timeslot, the announcement instead indicates that the show has been moved to Saturday nights.  This approach is effectively scheduling a date to have your cat put down.  Yeah, it’s still alive at this very moment but there is a very definite timer on that life… in this case, the remaining episodes of Smash‘s second and final season, beginning April 6th.

We (and when I say we, I mean every outlet that covers television) call it “Saturday burn-off.” The reason it’s called that is because networks don’t schedule standard first-run prime-time scripted shows on Saturday for the simple reason that no one watches television on Saturday night (well, at least no one in the coveted 18 – 49 demographic).  Despite what anyone will tell you or what the wishful-thinking types over at the Huffington Post would like to suggest, it’s not a matter of the show technically NOT being canceled because the word “canceled” isn’t used, it’s a matter of semantics.

As noted, networks don’t admit failure so it’s rare that a series is ever actually announced as canceled with a press release but announcing a Saturday burn-off is code for: “no one is watching this show so we are airing all the remaining episodes on Saturday nights until they are all gone because it can’t do much worse on Saturday night than re-runs of She’s The Sheriff and then you’ll never see another episode again” or, in layman’s terms “it’s canceled.”

So, sorry, folks but Smash has been canceled.  Oh, and by the way… if you want to know why Smash was really canceled as opposed to the nonsense showrunner Josh Safran suggested in the HuffPo piece about it being in a bad timeslot or not having The Voice to help it out, read our review from last year of Smash, here.  It’s a harbinger for exactly why this show has failed.

Via Press Release:

NBC Schedule Changes

NBC has announced the following schedule changes:

Ready For Love

Will now air Tuesdays, beginning April 9 (9-11 p.m. ET) following “The Voice.”

CELEBRITY Apprentice

Beginning April 14 (9-11 p.m ET) will be expanded to two hours through the end of May.

The Voice

Will air encore episodes on Sunday, March 31 and Sunday, April 7 (7-10 p.m. ET), leading into original episodes of “The Celebrity Apprentice” (10-11 p.m. ET)

Go On

Moves to Thursdays on April 4 and April 11, which will be the season’s final episode. Both episodes will air at 9:30-10 p.m. ET following “The Office.”

The New Normal

One-hour season finale on Tuesday, April 2 (9-10 p.m. ET) following “The Voice.”

SMASH

Moves to Saturdays at 9 p.m. beginning April 6 and will air its entire season of 17 episodes.

Whitney

Will have a one-hour season finale on Wednesday, March 27 (8-9 p.m. ET).

Bryan Fuller Confirms ‘The Munsters’ Remake ‘Mockingbird Lane’ Not Going Forward As Series

We’re not really sure if this is news because NBC had already downgraded Mockingbird Lane from series to one-off holiday special so it really already was DOA (if not on serious life-support), however Bryan Fuller himself confirmed via Twitter on December 27th that NBC would not be going forward with his reboot of The Munsters.

So, there you have it.  A swing and a miss from one of the most prolific writers in television, but not to fear, Hannibal is coming soon.

ADVANCE REVIEW: ‘1600 Penn’ (NBC – Thursday, 9:30 p.m.)

EDITORIAL NOTE: To understand how we do our reviews, please refer to our review of Revolution, here.

The Gilchrists are just the average American family dealing with all the everyday issues – like a grown kid who’s forced to move back home, children who are smarter than their teachers and a stepmom (Jenna Elfman, “Dharma and Greg”) desperately trying to win over the kids. They’re loving, fun and a little crazy. In other words, just like everybody else. With one exception: they live in a very special house. The White House! Whether it’s entertaining foreign dignitaries, sneaking away for a night out, dealing with middle school crushes or putting out fires – figuratively and sometimes literally – there’s never a dull moment in the Gilchrist White House. For example, the First Son (Josh Gad, star of Broadway sensation “The Book of Mormon”) is one of the administration’s biggest liabilities, but also the glue that holds this family together. The President (Bill Pullman, “Independence Day,” “While You Were Sleeping”) knows too well that the only thing harder than being Head of State is being head of the family. Also starring are Martha MacIsaac (“Superbad”), Andre Holland (“Friends with Benefits”), Amara Miller (“The Descendants”) and Benjamin Stockham (“Sons of Tucson”).  “Modern Family” meets “The West Wing” in this election-year comedy from Emmy-winning executive producer/director Jason Winer (“Modern Family”). The executive producers are Winer, Gad and Jon Lovett (former White House speechwriter).  Winer also directed the pilot.  “1600 Penn” is produced by 20th Century Fox. – NBC

Score:     85 out of 100

Initial Impressions (May 22, 2012):  Yes!  Our prayers have finally been answered.  Bill Pullman is President of the United States, once again.  This is something we’ve wanted since Independence Day… we just weren’t expecting it to happen in comedy form.  Despite the limited information from the clip [above], just reading between the lines on this gives us a lot of insight as to the quality of this offering.  First, you’ve got two big leads in Bill Pullman and Jenna Elfman and you know they weren’t signing on to a crap show because they can be more selective with their roles.  More importantly, though, is the fact that the show is from the brains behind Modern Family which hopefully will mean nothing but good things.

Shawn: Yet another great new show from NBC.  Like I said initially, when you’ve got Pullman and Elfman leading the cast and the minds of Modern Family, that should really tell you what you need to know, and seriously, NBC, stop telling us about stars on these shows that were in Broadway hits.  Do you honestly think anyone watching a network television comedy on a Thursday night cares that Josh Gad was a star in The Book of Mormon?  I’ll give you a head’s up on this: they don’t and in fact most of your key demographic doesn’t even know what the holy-crap The Book of Mormon is other than in the context of the teenagers in matching short-sleeved, white dress shirts, bad ties and bicycle helmets that come knocking on their door on a Saturday afternoon.  The only reason I know what it is because I follow South Park and I know that it’s Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s baby.

All I need to know about Josh Gad is that he is flippin’ brilliant comedically and that is exactly what I was treated to when watching the pilot.  He’s so funny that if not for how good the other performances were, I would have had ignored them completely.  Pullman is fantastic, Elfman is fantastic as are the rest of the supporting cast and the show does an excellent job of portraying what appears to be just your average, typical middle-class suburban family who are now in the White House.  Seriously, it’s like watching the worst aspects of your own family dysfunction play itself out at the most famous address in the world.

And yes, 1600 Penn is absolutely absurd, but it’s done so cleverly and so heart-warmingly that you can’t help but to ignore the absurdity and appreciate it for what it is: just a great comedy.  Tim Goodman, resident hack at THR says that, “It’s obvious this is NBC’s answer to Modern Family,” but then again, that’s why I refer to Goodman as a hack. He just throws out whatever nonsense seems good on paper because he read the same show description we did.  The fact is, though, even with the creative talents of Modern Family behind 1600 Penn, it is NOTHING like it.

Again, it’s the absurdity factor that’s the big difference.  Modern Family works because of its mockumentary format in that the setup is that the Dunphys/Pritchetts are indeed a real family.  There’s none of that with 1600 Penn.  It’s pie-in-the-face, seltzer-down-the-trousers slapstick from the opening sequence.  There’s an immediate wink to the audience and we all get it… except for Tim Goodman.  Bravo, NBC.

Chance of Renewal:  80%

I seriously cannot fathom how anyone but the most tight-assed of newspaper TV critics wouldn’t like this show.  But then again, mid-season comedy replacements don’t have a good history.  I’m going with more likely to be renewed than not.

Watch the pilot of 1600 Penn, right now, ahead of the January 10th premiere, here.  Cable subscribers, you can also watch it OnDemand, as well.

Pilot of Canceled Spinoff, ‘The Farm,’ To Air As Episode Of ‘The Office’

TVLine is reporting that even though The Office spinoff The Farm, a series that was supposed to be centered on the Schrute Family Beet Farm (Gee… can’t imagine why NBC didn’t pick that up to series) will air as an episode of this, the final season of The Office.  That is all.  More details here.

NBC: ‘Chicago Fire’ Picked Up For Full Season

Via Press Release:

NBC HEATS UP ‘CHICAGO FIRE’ DRAMA SERIES WITH PICKUP COMMITMENT FOR REMAINDER OF 2012-13 SEASON

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. – November 8, 2012 – NBC has picked up its new freshman drama “Chicago Fire” with a production commitment for the remainder of the 2012-13 season, it was announced today by Jennifer Salke, President, NBC Entertainment.

“We all love this thrilling new drama with its sexy breakout cast. We are excited to see it gaining traction on our schedule,” said Salke. “Executive producer Dick Wolf and all the producers have done an amazing job developing a high-stakes series with lots of great heroic characters whose exploits are depicted in Dick’s typically epic storytelling style. We are incredibly invested in this one and can’t wait to hear about their plans for the rest of the season.”

“Chicago Fire” is averaging a 2.4 rating, 7 share in adults 18-49 and 8.0 million viewers overall in “most current” averages from Nielsen Media Research through the season’s first six weeks. In “live plus same day” results for the current week, “Chicago Fire” generated new series highs in adults 18-49 and total viewers, making it the first new drama on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox this season to top its premiere results with any subsequent telecast.

From renowned, Emmy Award-winning executive producer Dick Wolf (“Law & Order” brand) and creators Derek Haas and Michael Brandt, the writing team behind “3:10 to Yuma,” comes the high-octane drama “Chicago Fire” — an edge-of-your-seat view into the lives of everyday heroes committed to one of America’s noblest professions. For the firefighters, rescue squad and paramedics of Chicago Firehouse 51, no occupation is more stressful or dangerous, yet so rewarding and exhilarating. These courageous men and women are among the elite who forge headfirst into danger when everyone else is running the other way.

The pressure to perform on such a high level has a way of taking a personal toll, sometimes putting team members from the Truck and the specially-trained Rescue Squad at odds with each other. Lt. Matthew Casey (Jesse Spencer, “House”), in charge of the Truck, butts heads with the brash Lt. Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney, “The Vampire Diaries”) of the Rescue Squad.

The firehouse also includes: Battalion Chief Wallace Boden (Eamonn Walker, “Oz”); paramedics Gabriela Dawson (Monica Raymund, “The Good Wife”) and Leslie Shay (Lauren German, “Hawaii Five-O”); Peter Mills (Charlie Barnett, “Law & Order: SVU”), an academy graduate who is the latest generation in a family of firefighters; and Christopher Herrmann (David Eigenberg, “Sex and the City”), a seasoned veteran who must uproot his family to move in with his in-laws.

In addition to Wolf, Haas and Brandt, executive producers also include Matt Olmstead (“Breakout Kings”), Joe Chappelle (“The Wire”), Danielle Gelber and Peter Jankowski (“Law & Order” brand). “Chicago Fire” is produced by Universal Television and Wolf Films.

NBC Announces Midseason Schedule, ‘Community’ and ‘Smash’ Return Dates Announced

Congratulations, whiny Community fans!  You got the Thursday, 8:00 p.m. slot and it only took the cancellation of slightly poorer performers to get you there!

Via Press Release:

NBC REVEALS CHANGES FOR MID-SEASON 2013

SERIES PREMIERES:

— New Drama “Deception” (Formerly “Infamous”) January 7

— New Comedy “1600 Penn” January 10

— New Relationship Series “Ready for Love” from Eva Longoria March 31

ANTICIPATED RETURNS:

— “The Voice” Begins Fourth Cycle March 25/26

— The Season’s Newest Hit “Revolution” Returns March 25

— “The Biggest Loser” Weighs in January 6/7 with Return of Jillian Michaels

— “Smash” Dances Back to the Schedule February 5 with Oscar Winner Jennifer Hudson

— “Community” Returns February 7

–“The Celebrity Apprentice” Debuts March 3

— “Betty White’s Off Their Rockers” Comes Back January 8

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. – October 30, 2012 – NBC today announced changes to its 2013 primetime mid-season schedule highlighted by the premieres of three new series, including comedy “1600 Penn,” from one of the architects of “Modern Family”; an intriguing drama “Deception” (formerly “Infamous”); and producer Eva Longoria’s big reality relationship show “Ready for Love.”

In addition, several of the network’s biggest hits will return, including “The Voice” with new coaches Usher and Shakira; fall hit “Revolution”; “Smash,” featuring Jennifer Hudson; and “The Biggest Loser,” with some innovative changes to the format and the return of Jillian Michaels.

Further scheduling announcements will be forthcoming.

Following are the highlights of the changes:

Mondays:

The new drama “Deception” – starring Meagan Good (“Think Like a Man”), Victor Garber (“Alias”), Tate Donovan (“Damages”) and Katherine LaNasa (“Alfie”) in a dark family murder mystery — debuts on January 7 (10-11 p.m. ET). Preceding “Deception” is the new season of “The Biggest Loser” which returns with a two-night premiere on Sunday, January 6 (9-11 p.m. ET) and Monday, January 7 (8-10 p.m. ET), and will continue on Mondays (8-10 p.m. ET) until the return of “The Voice.”

“The Voice” maintains its momentum as it returns March 25 for a fourth season (8-10 p.m. ET) and Tuesday, March 26 (8-9 p.m. ET). It continues its two-night Monday/Tuesday schedule as it did this fall. “Revolution” — the season’s only bona fide new hit series — will return and follow “The Voice” on March 25 (10-11 p.m. ET) when it concludes its current fall broadcast dates in November.

Tuesdays:

Last year’s acclaimed musical drama “Smash” makes its much-anticipated return with a two-hour episode on February 5 (9-11 p.m. ET) — with Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson — and will resume on Tuesday, February 12 (10-11 p.m. ET) in its regular day and time. “Betty White’s Off Their Rockers” premieres on January 8 with back-to-back episodes (8-8:30 p.m. ET and 8:30-9 p.m. ET) and will continue in that hour each Tuesday.

“The Voice” also will return on Tuesdays on March 26 (8-9 p.m. ET).

Thursdays:

The new comedy “1600 Penn” — starring Bill Pullman (“Independence Day”), Jenna Elfman (“Dharma and Greg”) and Josh Gad (Broadway’s “The Book of Mormon”) as a typical American family who just happen to live in the White House — debuts on January 10 (9:30-10 p.m. ET). Jason Winer, Emmy-winning director of “Modern Family” is co-creator and director. The critically hailed comedy “Community” returns on February 7 (8-8:30 p.m. ET). “Parks and Recreation” moves up one hour on the Thursday schedule to 8:30-9 p.m. (ET) on January 17.

Sundays:

The new alternative series “Ready for Love” — an innovative and dramatic new relationship show about making real connections with executive producer Eva Longoria – premieres Sunday, March 31 (8-10 p.m. ET). Donald Trump’s “The Celebrity Apprentice” resumes with an “All-Star” edition of former celebrity contestants on March 3 (9-11 p.m. ET) for four weeks before continuing in one-hour episodes on Sunday, March 31 (10-11 p.m. ET).

For embeddable clips from the NBC shows, please visit: http://www.nbc.com.

For artwork and complete press kits from the shows, please visit the NBC Universal Media village website athttp://www.nbcumv.com/mediavillage/.

Please follow us on http://www.facebook.com/NBC and at http://www.twitter.com/NBC

 

NBC Will Not Pick Up ‘The Office’ Spinoff, ‘The Farm’

In what really comes as no surprise, NBC has decided to pass on spinoff of The Office, The Farm revolving around Dwight Schrute and the Schrute Family Beet Farm. Rainn Wilson confirmed this news today on Twitter.  The Office is currently in its final season and will air its series finale in May, 2013.

REVIEW: ‘Chicago Fire’ (NBC – Wednesday, 10:00 p.m.)

EDITORIAL NOTE: To understand how we do our reviews, please refer to our review of Revolution, here.

No job is more stressful, dangerous or exhilarating than those of the Firefighters, Rescue Squad and Paramedics of Chicago Firehouse 51. These are America’s everyday heroes — the courageous men and women who forge headfirst into danger when everyone else is running the other way. But the enormous responsibilities of the job also take a personal toll. Big reputations and hefty egos, coupled with the pressure to perform and make split-second decisions, are bound to put squad members at odds. When a tragedy claims one of their own, there’s plenty of guilt and blame to go around. In the middle of a divorce, Lt. Matthew Casey (Jesse Spencer, “House M.D.”) tries to go about business as usual but can’t help butting heads with the brash Lt. Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney, “The Vampire Diaries”) of the Rescue Squad – and each blames the other for their fallen team member.  When it’s “go-time” though, they put aside their differences and put everything on the line for each other. “Chicago Fire” is a look inside one of America’s noblest professions. Also starring are Eamonn Walker (“The Messenger”), Charlie Barnett, (“Law & Order: SVU”), David Eigenberg (“Sex and the City”), Monica Raymund (“The Good Wife”), Lauren German (“Hawaii Five-O”), Teri Reeves (“Three Rivers”) and Merle Dandridge (“Sons of Anarchy”).  “Chicago Fire” is produced by Universal Television and Wolf Films.  Emmy Award-winning creator/ producer Dick Wolf (“Law & Order” brand), Derek Haas (“3:10 to Yuma”), Michael Brandt (“3:10 to Yuma”), Peter Jankowski (“Law & Order” brand) and Danielle Gelber serve as executive producers.  Haas and Brandt wrote the pilot, which was directed by Jeffrey Nachmanoff (“Homeland”). From renowned Emmy-winning producer Dick Wolf and the writing team behind “3:10 to Yuma” comes an edge-of-your-seat view of a dirty job that often means the difference between life and death. – NBC

Score:     38 out of 100

Initial Impressions (May 20, 2012):  As much as we admit our bias in favor of J.J. Abrams, we are as equally honest about our bias against Dick Wolf who really hasn’t done anything creative in over twenty years.  But our biases aside, we would have the same opinon of Chicago Fire regardless of who developed it because anyone could have developed this cookie-cutter series.  It doesn’t really seem much different from anything that’s come before.  It’s simply a bland procedural with generic characters thrown in and an attempt to portray some kind of personal drama between the characters.  Sorry, Dick, but we’ve seen all of this before, we’re not impressed.  It’s not awful it’s just nothing new.

Shawn:  Yet another reason to hate Dick Wolf.  It wasn’t bad enough that he single-handedly destroyed the the police procedural for more than two decades turning a decent concept into a bunch of recycled garbage but now he has his sights on fire and rescue first responders with this terrible series.

Before I start tearing into this series, let’s take a look at the poster above.  Notice how it looks like it was ripped from one of those charity calendars and everyone looks like a supermodel?  It really is a metaphor for everything that’s wrong with the show.

The big problem with Chicago Fire is that it’s trying to convince us that it’s an accurate portrayal, albeit dramatized, of what life in a major city fire department is like but it doesn’t just fail in the five minutes, it fails right in that poster.  The characters and their dialogue are as equally superficial and quite frankly, you want to start punching them repeatedly in the face before the first commercial break.  I mean, seriously, you knew it was all going downhill when during the first five minutes you’re exposed to not only the most cocky and clichéd dialogue imaginable but a pissing match between two top firefighters reminiscent of a spat between twelve year-old middle school girls.

Once you get beyond that, it gets even worse by presenting a lousy version of Third Watch with far too many subplots involving each of the cast of thousand and you’re left in the end not being emotionally invested or caring about a single one of them. I don’t what’s more predictable and unbelievable, the characters or the plotlines, themselves.

Chicago Fire is a horrible series for anyone that appreciates actual compelling drama as opposed to what Dick Wolf calls drama but it’s not unwatchable.  If forced to, I could sit through it but if I have a choice, I won’t be.

Chance of Renewal:  80%

Like I’ve said, this is the typical crap that American audiences lap up.  As the current ratings indicate, this mess will probably be picked up for a second season.

Watch Chicago Fire, here.

NBC: ‘Animal Practice’ Canceled, Replaced By ‘Community’… OK, No… Just Kidding… It’s Replaced By ‘Whitney’

As we reported yesterday,  NBC was delaying the previously scheduled premiere dates for both Community and Whitney due to the success of their current fall lineup and was waiting for the other shoe to drop on whatever borderline performing comedy the wheels fell off of first which we predicted would either be the awful Guys With Kids or the lackluster Animal Practice.

It certainly didn’t take long for our prediction to come to fruition as NBC wasted no time in reviewing the overnight ratings for Animal Practice and canceling the show immediately. Not a surprise, here, as we noted in our review, there was far too little monkey on this show for it to ever find success. What’s particularly hilarious, though, is that it was placed by the awful (like, one of the worst comedies in the history of television, awful) Whitney and NOT Community!  Community fans, you just can’t get no love.  NBC is probably punishing you for being such a bunch of whiny crybabies.

Via Press Release:

NBC’S ‘WHITNEY’ RETURNS FOR SECOND-SEASON PREMIERE ON WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. – October 18, 2012 — NBC announced that its second-year comedy series “Whitney” will return to its primetime lineup on Wednesday, November 14 (8-8:30 p.m. ET) replacing “Animal Practice.”

Whitney Cummings stars in the title role in the multi-camera series which is a look at modern-day love and relationships which centers around Whitney (Cummings, “Chelsea Lately”) and Alex (Chris D’Elia, “Glory Daze”), a happily – newly “married” couple. Surrounded by a quirky group of friends, Zoe Lister-Jones (“The Other Guys”), Rhea Seehorn (“The Starter Wife”), Dan O’Brien (“How I Met Your Mother”), and Tone Bell (new to the second season of the show).

The series is produced by Universal Television and Stuber Television.  The executive producers are Scott Stuber (“The Breakup”), Quan Phung (“My Boys”), Wil Calhoun (“Friends”) and Barry Katz (“Last Comic Standing”) are executive producers along with Cummings executive producer/writer and Andy Ackerman (“Seinfeld”) who is the director.

NBC: Dane Cook Vehicle, ‘Next Caller’ Not Going Forward

Deadline is reporting that NBC has pulled the plug on Next Caller, a comedy that was scheduled to premiere midseason starring Dane Cook.  This is one of those shows that you knew would be awful just by watching the trailer and I’m thrilled I won’t have to review this mess. Here’s the trailer for the show and what I said in May about it…

Our Take:  First, any time a show description begins with “What happens when a _______ ,” you know you’re in trouble.  Second, any time your lead is Dane Cook, you know you’re in trouble.  Hasn’t this guy gone away, yet?  No offense to Mr. Cook, but as fun as his comedy routine was (like a decade ago) he’s kinda worn thin and really has no business in film or television.  Truthfully, based on that show description and the clip below, we really have no idea what this mess is about, nor do we really care.

Chance of Renewal:  We aren’t the only ones who aren’t impressed with Dane Cook and as noted there’s not a whole lot being brought to the table with this.  We expect this to last three or four episodes at the very most.

We were wrong.  It didn’t even make it to one episode.  According to Deadline, four of the six episodes ordered of the series had been produced and the NBC execs didn’t like what they were seeing.  Considering how strong NBC’s fall schedule has been so far, it’s not really a surprise that the preemptively ended this disaster before it had a chance to kill all of the network’s positive momentum.