Skip to main content

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.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

EPISODE GUIDES: That 70s Show Season Seven

On Thursdays, I go through classic series with a critical look at each season. Today I am looking at Season Seven of  That 70s Show ! THAT 70s SHOW: SEASON SEVEN 2004-2005 25 episodes The seventh season of  That 70s Show  is the final season with Topher Grace as a series regular and also the final full season for Ashton Kutcher. Despite still having both of those cast member, the show finds itself flailing especially with Topher Grace's Eric, who is stuck in a terrible arc for most of the season. The show also brings many characters back at one point or another but everything just feels tired. This season actually graded out the worst for me. Even worse than the often maligned final season (more on that next week). Every title this season is named for a Rolling Stones song. Starring Topher Grace as Eric Forman  (25 episodes) Mila Kunis as Jackie Burkhart  (25 episodes) Ashton Kutcher as Michael Kelso  (25 episodes) Danny Masterson as Steven Hyde  (25 e...

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...

SCHEDULES OF THE PAST: 1995-1996 Thursdays

On Tuesdays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Thursdays in the 1995-96 season! ABC 8:00 8:30 9:00 10:00 Sep Charlie Grace The Monroes Various Programs Oct Murder One Nov Various Programs Dec Various Programs Thursday Night Movie Jan Feb World’s Funniest Videos Before They Were Stars! Mar Apr May NBC was the powerhouse on Thursday nights but ABC still gave it the old college try in the Fall of 1995 with a trio of new dramas that they hoped would help them cut into the Peacock's dominance. Headlining their night was Murder One , a high profile new show from Steven Bochco that received much of the network's attention before the season started. The series focused on one murder case for an entire season, whi...