January has come and gone and as we fold into February it’s time to take a look at nine series/season premieres airing this month. Jump after the break for all the deets. Continue reading TV reminder: 9 premieres to look out for in February
Tag Archives: NBC
‘SNL’ names Seth Meyers Weekend Update successor
Turns out Cecily Strong won’t be manning the Weekend Update desk alone now that Seth Meyers has signed off Saturday Night Live for Late Night pastures. Replacing Meyers and co-anchoring with Strong is Colin Jost (rhymes with most) who is also SNL‘s head writer. He’s one of the masterminds behind popular Update characters like Drunk Uncle, second-hand news correspondent Anthony Crispino, and Strong’s The Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation With at a Party. Jost has big shoes to fill, and it’ll be interesting to see his rapport with Strong in the coming weeks; can they pull off the perfect comedic timing that reigned during Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey’s co-anchoring tenure?
[Via Deadline]
‘Hannibal’ season 2 trailer will whet your appetite and then some
The best series on TV you’re not watching is Bryan Fuller’s adaptation of Thomas Harris’ novel Red Dragon and his take on the famed fictional serial killer who eats his victims, Hannibal Lector. From the brilliant cast led by Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy (who play the nefarious Dr. Lector and gifted FBI profiler Will Graham, respectively) to the stunning cinematography, NBC’s Hannibal is one of the most compelling and thrilling dramas on TV today. Despite poor ratings last year, the Peacock miraculously renewed Fuller’s show for a second season and here we have our very first taste (or apéritif, if I may) of what’s in store. At the end of season 1 Fuller took fans on an unexpected turn by placing Graham behind bars letting the public think that he committed Hannibal’s heinous crimes.
Enjoy the masterfully cut trailer hanging above. After the break, a tantalizing teaser. Hannibal is back February 28. Continue reading ‘Hannibal’ season 2 trailer will whet your appetite and then some
Seth Meyers & Jimmy Fallon prepare for their new late-night digs
Next month Seth Meyers exits Saturday Night Live to become the new host of Late Night as Jimmy Fallon takes over The Tonight Show. In the promo embedded above, you’ll see just how physically close Meyers’ new job is going to be to his old job–they’re “basically 30 feet” from each other as SNL‘s home is located in the famed Studio 8H and the new Late Night is housed inside Studio 8G. Looks like Seth has some work to do, and fast; Late Night with Seth Meyers premieres February 24 on NBC.
After the break, the Peacock introduces “a new era” of late night as Jimmy Fallon is about to take the reins from Jay Leno to host The Tonight Show. The clip looks back at the previous Tonight Show hosts, even the fleeting Conan O’Brien. Fallon, because he’s the best, has decided to revert the show’s name to its original style; instead of The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, his show will be called The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, just as it was with original host Steve Allen, Jack Parr, and the late great Johnny Carson. A second clip featuring a kid version of Fallon follows. Fallon’s Tonight Show premieres February 17.
Update: Fallon passes the Late Night pickle to Meyers after the break, as is tradition. Continue reading Seth Meyers & Jimmy Fallon prepare for their new late-night digs
‘SNL’ hires Sasheer Zamata, first female African American cast member since 2007
Can’t say this happens all the time. In the middle of its 39th season, SNL has added a new featured player to its sprawling cast of up-and-coming comics. Enter 27-year-old Sasheer Zamata; she hails from NYC and studied improv at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade. She also happens to be the first female African American in SNL‘s cast since Maya Rudolph departed the late-night sketch comedy show in 2007. Zamata made her big debut this past weekend on the show Drake hosted so well.
In addition to bringing on Zamata, SNL bossman Lorne Michaels showed his support in diversifying his show by also hiring two female African American writers in LaKendra Tookes and Leslie Jones.
Happy Holidays from an animated ‘Community’
As season 5 looms on the horizon, NBC has pushed out an animated bit featuring the stars of Community. In “Miracle on Jeff’s Street,” Jeff Winger (voiced by star Joel McHale) gets ambushed by his Greendale friends including the Dean, Chang, and his study group made up of Britta, Shirley, Annie, Troy, and Abed. It’s a fun and funny clip as Annie mocks the Peacock’s decision to air Community so late in the season resulting in an Olympics scheduling fiasco.
Community returns with Dan Harmon in tow on Thursday, January 2. Oh, and Happy Holidays!
Preview Dan Harmon’s ‘Community’ season 5 returning this January
Community returns for its fourth season with creator Dan Harmon back at the helm on January 2. Here is one dark, hilariously explosive trailer for said season. The study group is back in full form, though Donald Glover’s character Troy acknowledges his early-in-the-season departure with a playful Scrubs joke. Chevy Chase might be out as Pierce Hawthorne but John Oliver’s Ian Duncan and Dino Stamatopoulos rises from the ashes to reprise fan-favorite Star-Burns. Notable guest stars include Breaking Bad‘s Jonathan Banks and Justified‘s Walton Goggins. Watch the absurdity unfold in the 2 1/2 minute trailer above; fans will surely love how it milks the whole “six seasons and a movie” movement for all its worth!
Community returns Thursday, January 2 with two new back-to-back episodes starting at 8PM on NBC. Jump after the break to watch a second sneak peak at season 5. Continue reading Preview Dan Harmon’s ‘Community’ season 5 returning this January
NBC renews ‘The Blacklist’ for second season
Here’s some exciting news: NBC has granted the wildly addicting and action-packed procedural The Blacklist for a 22-episode second season. After airing only two episodes the Peacock ordered a full season of the show and it didn’t take the network much longer to decide The Blacklist is a keeper. It’s a ratings machine; it ranks as the #1 drama in the coveted 18-49 demo averaging a 4.9 rating/13 share, plus it gains even more viewers after factoring in DVR usage.
“The success of The Blacklist demonstrates that inspired storytelling is alive and well in broadcast television, and I’m impressed on a daily basis by this creative team’s imagination and the extent to which they will go to capture this grand vision on film,” NBC head Robert Greenblatt said in a statement. “With gratitude to both our partners at Sony Pictures Television and our NBC development executives who took a great script and shepherded it into a great series, I hope that Red Reddington never runs out of names to bring down on his list!”
The Blacklist aired its fall finale last Monday and it returns with new episodes January 13.
Elsewhere, The CW gave full season orders to its three new series The Originals, The Tomorrow People, and Reign.
Fall TV updates: ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’, ‘The Crazy Ones’, ‘The Millers’ & ‘Mom’ get full season orders, ‘Ironside’ & ‘Welcome to the Family’ cancelled
What does the FOX say? It says Brooklyn Nine-Nine is getting a full season order bringing its season 1 tally to 22 episodes. Though the Andy Samberg/Andre Braugher sitcom has been landing so-so-to-low ratings since debuting to 6 million viewers and a 2.5 demo rating, the network sees its potential to grow into a bonafide hit by not only granting it a full season but also giving it the plum post Super Bowl slot. When Super Bowl XLVIII ends on Sunday, February 2 it will lead into a “special one-hour comedy event” with new episodes of New Girl and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Ratings are guaranteed to spike and with any luck these FOX comedies will retain a chunk of its new viewers when things go back to normal after the Super Bowl.
B99 has had a string of fine half-hours since opening in September. Samberg’s wacky Jake Peralta and Braugher’s deadpan Captain Holt is a match made in comedy heaven, as is the supporting cast anchored by MVP Joe Lo Truglio.
Expect a season 2 renewal next; Fox entertainment head Kevin Reilly is a fan: “It’s exciting to see that both critics and fans love Brooklyn Nine-Nine as much as we do,” he said. “With Andy and Andre out in front of this incredible ensemble, it feels like this show is going to be around for a long time.”
CBS also made some major announcements this week. A trio of new comedies–The Crazy Ones, The Millers, and Mom–have all been picked up for full 22 episode seasons. The three shows, in that order, ranks as the top three freshman comedies on TV. David E. Kelley’s The Crazy Ones with Robin Williams and Sarah Michelle Gellar averages 13.71 million total viewers and a 3.6/10 in the adults 18-49 demo; Greg Garcia’s The Millers with Will Arnett and Margo Martindale averages 12.41 million viewers and a 3.2/09 rating; and Chuck Lorre’s Mom with Anna Faris and Allison Janney averages 7.98 million viewers and a 2.6/06 rating.
“We’re proud of CBS’s leadership position in comedy and excited to build on it with the back nine pick-ups of these three new comedies,” said Nina Tassler, CBS Entertainment President. “These series are creatively distinct, continue to improve each week and are led by strong showrunners, writing and production staffs, and feature amazingly talented casts.”
Unlike FOX and CBS this week, NBC was forced to clean off its axe and kill not one but two shows. Drama Ironside with Blair Underwood and comedy Welcome to the Family have been cancelled. Ironside will air its fourth and final episode this Wednesday and Welcome to the Family has been pulled from the schedule effective immediately. In their most recent airings, Ironside and Family produced meager 1.1 and 0.9 demo ratings in 18-49, respectively.
To fill in Ironside‘s Wednesdays at 10PM void NBC will air original episodes of Dateline and various specials until Dick Wolf’s Chicago Fire spinoff Chicago P.D. premieres January 8. Filling in Welcome to the Family‘s Thursdays at 8PM void are episodes of The Voice, SNL, Parks & Rec, Sunday Night Football, the live telecast of The Sound of Music, and The Sing Off. Dan Harmon’s Community returns to NBC’s schedule Thursday, January 2 with two new back-to-back episodes. Click after the break to view the full breakdown of the network’s Wednesday & Thursday plans.
And lastly there’s ABC. Though the alphabet network didn’t make any major pickups or cancellations this week, they did show support for struggling in the ratings but widely buzzed about sitcoms The Goldbergs and Trophy Wife. Both freshman comedies have received an order for three additional scripts each, a sign of confidence from the network. These shows deserve a full season order, and hopefully this move brings them one step closer to that goal. In their most recent outings, The Goldbergs attracted 5.1 million total viewers and a 1.6 demo rating and Trophy Wife landed 4.1 million viewers and a 1.3 demo rating. Like FOX did with Brooklyn Nine-Nine, let’s pray ABC can see past the low ratings and embrace the relatable creativity these shows have been producing. Continue reading Fall TV updates: ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’, ‘The Crazy Ones’, ‘The Millers’ & ‘Mom’ get full season orders, ‘Ironside’ & ‘Welcome to the Family’ cancelled
TV reminder: Jonathan Rhys Meyers as ‘Dracula’ premieres Friday, October 25 at 10PM on NBC
After successfully adapting Hannibal from the Red Dragon novel by Thomas Harris, NBC is looking to reimagine another classic monster previously made famous in the movies and originally by Bram Stoker in a book. Jonathan Rhys Meyers stars in Dracula, a 10-episode limited series set to debut on Friday, October 25 at 10PM.
The series introduces Dracula as he arrives in London, posing as an American entrepreneur who maintains that he wants to bring modern science to Victorian society. In reality, he hopes to wreak revenge on the people who ruined his life centuries earlier. There’s only one circumstance that can potentially thwart his plan: Dracula falls hopelessly in love with a woman who seems to be a reincarnation of his dead wife.
Nice setup, yeah? You’ll definitely want to jump after the break to watch a couple trailers and a behind-the-scenes look at the new drama; from the lineup of primed British actors to the elaborate sets, time-period wardrobe, and finely tuned choreographed action sequences, Dracula looks to be a fun, engaging, and highly stylized twist on the classic fanged Count. Continue reading TV reminder: Jonathan Rhys Meyers as ‘Dracula’ premieres Friday, October 25 at 10PM on NBC
Bryan Fuller teases ‘Hannibal’ season 2 in stag-tastic new poster
As we wait ever-so-patiently for the next chapter in Bryan Fuller’s Red Dragon reimagining Hannibal, the show’s creator has released this poster hyping the second season of the thrilling psychological drama. Fuller designed it himself with help from the show’s F/X team. Here Mads Mikkelsen’s Hannibal Lecter embodies the Man-Stag that Hugh Dancy’s Will Graham kept seeing at the end of last season; at the bottom the year 2014 is spelled out with various lethal instruments things you’d find around a well-stocked kitchen.
Along with the stark image he released this statement to EW: “After a horrifying descent into madness in season 1, this image ironically represents the perspective of a scrappier, clearer-minded Will Graham in season 2. The scales have fallen from his eyes and he finally sees Hannibal Lecter for the monster he is.”
Hannibal returns to NBC early next year in the season two premiere titled “Kaiseki;” Wikipedia defines it as “a traditional multi-course Japanese dinner…[that] also refers to the collection of skills and techniques that allow the preparation of such meals.” Looks like Fuller hasn’t run out of non-English terms to describe meal preparation, a long-running theme of Hannibal season one.
[Via EW]
Fall TV updates: Good news for ‘Sleepy Hollow’ & ‘The Blacklist,’ ‘Lucky 7’ not so lucky
We are more than a few weeks into the new fall season of television and this is the time when networks typically announce “back nine” pickups and cancellations. This year, however, marks a unique occasion. Instead of increasing Sleepy Hollow‘s 13-episode count by nine for a “full season pickup,” FOX is limiting its run to 13 installments and renewing it for a second season already. The supernatural drama scored big the ratings when its pilot aired days before official premiere week; 10.1 million tuned in and it landed a solid 3.5 rating in the adults 18-49 demo. And if you include DVR gains following the three days after the pilot aired, 13.6 million viewers ended up watching the series premiere and the 18-49 rating jumped to a 5.0. These impressive numbers make Sleepy Hollow FOX’s most successful fall drama premiere since the debut of 24 in November 2001. “The show has proven to be a risk well worth taking – it’s a conceptual blast unlike anything else on television and it all holds together with inventive writing and a fantastic cast,” said FOX head Kevin Reilly in a statement. “I can’t wait for fans to experience what else is in store for this fall and even more of this wild ride into Season Two.” Sleepy Hollow airs Mondays at 9PM on FOX.
This week FOX also renewed The Simpsons for a remarkable 26th season. “For more than a quarter of a century, The Simpsons has captured the hearts and minds of fans in a way that transcends ages, languages and cultures,” said Reilly. “This groundbreaking series is not only the longest-running scripted show in television history, it’s one of the greatest sitcoms of our time, and I’m looking forward to yet another landmark season.” The Simpsons airs Sundays at 8PM on FOX.
Though FOX’s critically-adored cop comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine isn’t faring so well in the ratings (it debuted to 6 million total viewers and a 2.5 demo rating before falling to 1.4 million viewers and a 1.4 in its most recent episode), TVLine reports that the network has ordered an undisclosed amount of additional scripts. A full-season pickup might be around the corner.
Elsewhere, NBC decided to go the traditional route with its breakout new drama The Blacklist by giving the James Spader vehicle a full season pickup increasing its season one episode count to 22. Across its first two episodes the series averages 12 million total viewers with a 3.6 demo rating in adults 18-49. It’s the fall’s most-watched new drama in terms of total viewers. “The many layers of Red Reddington and his mysterious reasons for getting into bed with the FBI seem to be fascinating to fans of this show,” said NBC exec Jennifer Salke said in a statement. “With great talent like James Spader and Megan Boone on board, as well our stellar executive producers and the whole cast and crew, we believe this outstanding series will continue to make NBC a big destination on Monday nights.” The Blacklist airs Mondays at 10PM on NBC.
I hope you didn’t invest too much into ABC’s lotto drama Lucky 7 because that show just became the first to get axed this fall. After airing only two episodes the alphabet net has cancelled Lucky 7 and pulled it from the schedule effective immediately (repeats of Scandal will fill the Tuesday at 10PM void for now). The show debuted to 4.4 million viewers and a 1.3 demo rating and dropped significantly in week two which stuck a 0.7 rating; oh, the irony. Who will join the not-so Lucky 7 in the cancellation bucket next? My money’s on another ABC drama Betrayal. Keep it here to find out.