UPDATE: While monitoring NBC’s ratings may not be the most enthralling of games, watching as the peacock network rolls out its slate of new series is always diverting. We’ve watched the 2012 lineup of Chelsea Handler-inspired sitcoms and fedora-dependent dramas parade out before the viewing public, only for many of the flashier series to scamper off back to the place from whence they came. (Okay, okay. Are You There, Chelsea? is this close to scampering, but give it time, my friends.) But no matter which ones stick and which ones flop, NBC continually rolls things that make you go “Huh?” This year, we’re once again doing the pug head tilt as we flip through the promising, perplexing and intriguing pilot-to-series pick-ups, just in time for next week’s upfronts.
Hannibal Starring Hugh Dancy
The network has picked up ten episodes of Hannibal, a series about one of cinema’s most beloved villains: Hannibal Lecter, immortalized by Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal and Red Dragon. Our Idiot Brother star Hugh Dancy is on board as Special Agent Will Graham (formerly played by Edward Norton in Red Dragon.)
1313 Mockingbird Lane Starring Eddie Izzard
In the 1960s, television introduced The Munsters: a life action fantasy-comedy about a family of working-class monsters (Frankenstein’s monster, his vampire wife, their werewolf son, and Grandpa, a.k.a. Count “Sam” Dracula). NBC has picked up a reboot of the series, stressing the horror aspect. However, with comedian Eddie Izzard cast as Grandpa, there is likely to be a good deal of humor as well. NBC has picked up 13 episodes of 1313 Mockingbird Lane (a very apropos amount.)
Crossbones from the Creator of Luther
With cannibals and monsters on the way, NBC is covering all bases in terms of the dark and criminal: how about pirates? The network has ordered 10 episodes of Crossbones, a pirate-themed drama from Neil Cross, creator of Luther. The series is adapted from The Republic of Pirates by Colin Woodard, and is set in the 1700s.
Revolution Starring Giancarlo Esposito
When all of the world’s electricity suddenly and suspiciously disappears, humanity is forced to pick up and start anew. Of course, easier said than done. Fifteen years after the incident, the world is overtaken by militant societies operating with guerilla warfare. When one girl loses her entire immediate family, she is forced to pick up and find a relative whom she hasn’t seen since the planet lost its power. And of course, one question persists: why on Earth did this all happen in the first place?
Do No Harm Starring Steven Pasquale
Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde will be reinvented with a new, modern twist in Do No Harm. The new series stars Rescue Me‘s Steven Pasquale as an ingenious neurosurgeon, plagued by his malevolent, monstrous alter ego. Joining Pasquale are The Cosby Show‘s Phylicia Rashad and Law & Order‘s lana De La Garza.
Infamous Starring Meagan Good
NBC is delving into the world of soap operas and detective stories with Infamous (previously titled Notorious). The series stars Meagan Good who goes undercover among the wealthy family for whom her mother worked as housekeeper when Good’s character was a child. She is bent on investigating the murder of one of the family members, who was also her childhood best friend. The series also features Victor Garber and Damages‘ Tate Donovan.
Guys with Kids Starring Anthony Anderson
In light of the recent “Having kids is funny” theme that is sweeping the comedy world, NBC has picked up Guys with Kids, a sitcom about three friends who are new fathers, all the while suspended in their own adolescence. Star Anthony Anderson actually tried this once already as a movie: My Baby’s Daddy, back in 2004. But let’s hope this time around, the project has a little more to it. The West Wing‘s Jesse Bradford, The Sopranos‘ Jamie-Lynn Sigler and The Cosby Show‘s Tempestt Bledsoe also star.
Chicago Fire from Creator Dick Wolf
Law & Order mastermind Dick Wolf has spent most of his career looking at the crime-laden streets of New York City, with a few trips to Los Angeles here and there. But Wolf’s newest series, Chicago Fire, will focus on a team of fire fighters in the Windy City. The program stars Vampire Diaries‘ Taylor Kinney, Hawaii Five-0‘s Lauren German, and House‘s Jesse Spencer as members of a (if this is the same Dick Wolf we’re talking about) entertaining but no-nonsense and dedicated fire department.
Like NBC’s 30 Rock, which takes place (obviously) at 30 Rockefeller Center in New York, 1600 Penn is set at the house every American can recognize in a matter of seconds: The White House at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Along with President Obama’s former speech writer Jon Lovett and Modern Family director Jason Winer, Book of Mormon star Josh Gad penned this sitcom centered on the First family, a group who turns out to be just as messed up as the rest of us. Gad will star alongside Bill Pullman (who will play the President of the United States once again) and Brittany Snow co-stars as the First daughter.
The series sounds promising enough — a sportscaster who suffers a great loss finds solace in his support group — just imagine the Former Mr. Chandler Bing as the smug sports guy finally coming to the conclusion that it’s okay to get something out of group therapy. However, we’ve seen this before. In fact, it’s almost too familiar. This series is practically an evolution from the last two series Perry tried to get off the ground: Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and Mr. Sunshine. He’s a flippant sportscaster dealing with loss; it basically offers to combine the gravity of Aaron Sorkin’s SNL-inspired dramedy with the silly, quippy nature of Mr. Sunshine. That sounds like a perfectly adept progression… now let’s just see if it sticks.
The New Normal from Creator Ryan Murphy
From the creator of Glee and American Horror Story comes a regular family sitcom about a gay couple (The Hangover’s Justin Bartha and Book of Mormon’s Andrew Rannells,) their surrogate (Georgia King) and their children. Ellen Barkin co-stars as the surrogate’s (hopefully delightfully icy) mother and Murphy favorite NeNe Leakes (The Real Housewives of Atlanta) has secured a recurring role. No matter what happens with Leakes and Queen Barkin, there’s no way the perfect pairing of Bartha and Rannells won’t be worth tuning in at least once.
Anne Heche may have earned her designer shoes by heading up series like Men in Trees and earning roles on Hung and Ally McBeal, but she still can’t manage to escape the stigma of her mental breakdown in 2000. Still, we’ve got to give the girl kudos, because she’s getting back on the horse — by playing a woman doing the exact same thing. Heche stars as a woman in a broken marriage who decides to better herself, and produces miracles along the way. It’s always a risk bringing miraculous happenings into play on a sitcom, but the quirky Heche might be just the girl to do it.
Revolution from J.J. Abrams and Eric Kripke
Not satisfied with past attempts to capture the post-apocalyptic mindset on television, Revolution attempts to traverse the territory for NBC. The series will follow a group of survivors (including Breaking Bad’s Giancarlo Esposito and Twilight’s Billy Burke) as they struggle in the new American landscape bereft of technology and civil order. Sure, it sounds a little like Cormac McCarthy’s bestseller The Road, but with a sizeable ensemble cast like Revolution’s, there will be plenty of series-worthy drama to weave into the otherwise bleak landscape.
