Leave it to NBC to create a cliffhanger ending to series renewal time. On Monday, the network announced a batch of series it’ll pick up for next season, but left a few notable shows hanging in the lurch for a couple of more weeks.
To sum things up, “Southland” and “Parks and Recreation” are coming back, “Life” got canceled and the fates of “Chuck,” “Medium,” “My Name Is Earl” and “Law & Order” will be announced May 19, or thereabouts.
Here’s a quick look at the new shows on NBC’s fall lineup and my gut impressions:
“Parenthood.” When I first head they were going to turn a 20-year-old comedy movie into a TV dramedy, I rolled my eyes. BUT. . . . it’s got a great cast (Peter Krause, Maura Tierney, Craig T. Nelson, Erika Christenson, Monica Potter, Dax Shepard) that could elevate this to one of the top new shows on any network. Bonus points: It’s set (and being shot, at least partially) in the Bay Area. ABC’s “Brothers and Sisters” suddenly has some major competition.
“Trauma.” With “ER” gone, you’ve gotta have a hospital drama, right? This one’s about paramedics in San Francisco, starring Derek Luke (“Antwone Fisher”), Anastasia Griffith (annoying Katie on “Damages”) and Kevin Rankin (wheelchair-bound Herc in “Friday Night Lights). It’ll be shot in SF, so bonus points for that, but otherwise it sounds like a rehash of a dozen other medical emergency shows. Nice explosions, but otherwise . . . yawn.
“Mercy.” Another hospital show, this time about nurses and their traumas, both workplace and social. The biggest star is Michell Trachenberg (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Gossip Girl”). Sounds like a twist on “Grey’s Anatomy” and I can almost guarantee you I will never, ever watch it.
“Day One.” About a band of survivors in the fallout of a global catastrophe, as they try to piece together their lives and find out what happened. Sounds like a laugh riot. And a lot like “Jericho.” It might actually be decent, but it sounds way too depressing to be a network TV hit. Look for a quick cancelation.
“100 Questions.” A single woman joins a dating site that asks her 100 questions, and she of course has a poignant and amusing story to go along with each one. Gahhhhh. Kill me now. This looks 17 types of awful.
“Community.” A sitcom set at a community college among post-high school losers (their term not mine!), bored middle-aged folks and other misfits. It’s got Joel McHale (“The Soup”) which is good, and Chevy Chase, which is not (has he done anything remotely funny since 1985 or so?). But I laughed at the clip, so who knows, it might be decent.
