PILOT PICKUPS: Chicago Fire, Guys With Kids

As the busiest network in the week before upfronts, NBC picked up two more series today - the drama Chicago Fire and multi-camera comedy Guys with Kids. These join previous comedy pickups Go On, Save Me, The New Normal, 1600 Penn, and Animal Practice as well as dramas Hannibal and Revolution.

Chicago Fire is an ensemble drama from Dick Wolf centered on, you guessed it, the Chicago Fire Department. From all impressions, Chicago Fire sounds like a classic procedural drama and that may be something NBC needs because it could easily be broadly appealing. It was one of the hot pilots throughout the upfront season and could be headed to a prominent spot on the fall schedule.

Guys with Kids is the first multi-camera comedy picked up by NBC after five single-cam pickups. From Jimmy Fallon, Guys with Kids centers on three young dads who haven't quite grown up themselves. It boasts a strong cast including Jesse Bradford, Sara Rue, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, and Tempestt Bledsoe. Fallon's name attached added a lot to the pilot's strength during development. The big question is what does NBC pair it with? There are rumors it could go with one multicam comedy still in contention (Daddy's Girls), stand on its own, or be paired with a renewed Whitney, which seems unlikely. Honestly, I don't understand why NBC didn't take a chance with Roseanne's Downwardly Mobile even if it didn't come out great. It was a very buzzy pilot all through pilot season and could be an easy self starter for NBC, which they need but the pilot appears dead.

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EPISODE GUIDES: Rhoda Season Five

On Thursdays, I go through classic series with a critical look at each season. Today I am looking at Season Five (the final season) of Rhoda ! RHODA: SEASON FIVE 1978 13 episodes Rhoda' s final season was a truncated one as the show was cancelled in December 1978 after only 13 episodes had been produced (and only nine had aired). This feels like a continuation from season four in many ways except with the ill-advised split between Ida and Martin (more on that below). While Rhoda has an occasional good moment and even a couple decent episodes, it is a show that seems so wildly different from season one and not in a good way. Rhoda could never figure out what it fully wanted to be and only made it four and a half seasons as a result. Starring Valerie Harper as Rhoda Morgenstern (13 episodes) Julie Kavner as Brenda Morgenstern (13 episodes) Ray Buktenica as Benny Goodwin (11 episodes) Kenneth McMillan as Jack Doyle (9 episodes) Nancy Wa...

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