2007 NBC TCA

The cast of "The Office" will start production on the show's fourth season today in Los Angeles, which means it's only a few short weeks now till we find out what will become of our beloved Pam and Jim after the third-season finale. After the hilarious NBC comedy panel at the TCA press tour, I joined a group of reporters chatting with John Krasinski about the Jim and Pam dynamic, as well as his upcoming role in Leatherheads and his favorite Dwight prank. For highlights of what he had to say, read on ...

On where he'd like Jim and Pam to go: "I think that it would be interesting to see — after all that pressure — to see what a relationship would be like. I feel like there would be some sort of awkwardness. ... There's a lot of fun stuff you could do with it — and then there's a lot of fun stuff you could with making people wait a little longer."

On what's up with Karen: "Rashida [Jones] is back, as far as I know. I think she's back for a couple episodes. ... She didn't get to say her piece. I think she'll come and slap everybody in the face and then just walk out. It'll be glorious."

On creating the Jim/Pam dynamic with Jenna Fischer: "I constantly am thinking about Martin Freeman and Lucy Davis [Tim and Dawn from the BBC version of "The Office"] and what they gave to us. It's really a gift; they're so perfect in what they did. So us playing the relationship had to be between Jenna and I, and sort of finding little things that we do. We hang out a lot together on set and we talk a lot about it, and Greg [Daniels, the executive producer] is so nice to let us have a say in it. Working with her has been a real treat. We both sort of understand the awkwardness and where it's going, and we love putting the brakes on."

More JAM from John, so read more

The Bennets' new home wasn't the only spot I got to tour on the set of "Heroes" at the TCA press tour. As I wandered through Isaac's studio, Mohinder's apartment, and an Irish pub, cast members — including my tour guides, Hayden Panettiere and Zachary Quinto — delivered a few hints about what's going to happen when season two begins in September. To hear what they had to say, read more

It would have been exciting enough to wander alone through Claire's new home on the "Heroes" set. But it was far better for my tour guide to be Jack Coleman, aka Mr. Bennet, aka HRG. He led a group of reporters through the airy, spacious, well-decorated house during a set visit at the TCA press tour, artfully dodging questions about where exactly we were.

"Let's just say it's not where the old house was," Coleman said.

OK, then. Is it in a different time zone?

"A different time zone is very possible."

A sunny climate?

"You're killing me."

All we know for sure is that the Bennets have indeed relocated since, you know, that whole episode when Ted-the-radioactive-guy kinda ruined the Bennets' Texas home and made Claire's face melt temporarily. The new home, decorated almost entirely in shades of blue, brown and black, has a large triangular window, potted trees in the corners, glass jars of rice and lentils in the kitchen, and a walk-up pathway lined with slightly trampled Astroturf. There are fewer pictures of Mr. Muggles in this house, though Coleman assured us the dog has not been forgotten. And though we're not quite sure what Mr. Bennet's plans are for the season, even Coleman had to admit that the home looks pretty permanent.

One reporter pointed triumphantly at the flowering bougainvillea in the back yard — yes, there was a back yard, complete with patio furniture — as a dead giveaway that the Bennets were in California (and that's what a little bit of casting news indicated to us, too).

"I don't know," Coleman teased back. "We might be in the Mediterranean."

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The attention at the TCA press tour shifts to CBS today, but there are still a few great NBC tidbits to share from the network's two days at the press tour:

• "Chuck" star Zachary Levi (above), Pop's new favorite person, took first place in a live version of "The Singing Bee" at NBC's all-star party on Tuesday night, beating out Scott Porter of "Friday Night Lights", an Us Weekly writer, and a tone-deaf TV critic. The highlight: Levi's perfect rendition of the chorus from "Breakfast at Tiffany's." Oh, the mid-'90s. Check out Pop for more great pictures of the party.
• "Bionic Woman" producers answered several questions about their casting of Isaiah Washington as a guest star for several episodes early this season. The character existed before Washington was brought on board, but the role was changed slightly to fit the number of episodes Washington was signed for. NBC entertainment co-chairman Ben Silverman brought Washington to the producers, rather than the producers going after Washington on their own. And they said they believe in giving Washington a chance to make amends. "Rather than excommunicate someone," executive producer Jason Smilovic said, "we felt that it was better to give him a second chance."

Two more bits, so read more

Sure, the Panthers have won State, but that doesn't mean things are going to be easy in Dillon when "Friday Night Lights" starts again this fall. During and after their presentation at the TCA press tour, the cast and crew spilled some secrets about the show's upcoming second season premiere, which is scheduled for Oct. 5. If you don't want to know what happens with Coach Taylor's job, Tami's baby, or Matt and Julie's relationship, stop reading now. But if you want some delicious teasers for the stories coming up this season, read more

Forget about Chuck and Larry — one of this year's greatest duos is Chuck and Morgan, the two geeky Nerd Herd employees on NBC's spy dramedy "Chuck." At the TCA press tour on Tuesday, I chatted with Joshua Gomez, who plays Chuck's sidekick Morgan, about the show's inherent nerdiness and the appeal of going on a secret mission.

Between your character and Chuck's, who's the bigger nerd? Who thinks he's cooler?
I definitely think I'm cooler. Chuck would probably even say he's the bigger nerd, you know, like he would admit it. Morgan is sort of the — you know, he's not as smart as Chuck. So he's a little more of the instigator, the wise guy. But I don't think I'm quite the geek and full-on nerd that he is. Getting there, maybe.

Is there a sense that you guys are doing this show that people like you would watch?
That's an interesting dynamic through all of us, except maybe for Yvonne (Strzechowski) and Sarah (Lancaster) — oh, the beautiful ones. We all grew up with very similar experiences, you know, not the high school football star. I grew up playing video games and on early commodore 64s and sort of "what is this Internet thing I've heard about?" That's what's cool about Chuck. He's different than Spider Man. He cannot lift up a car, and he can't do superhero things. He's still just Chuck the nerd who just happens to be really, really important.

Do you end up finding out about Chuck's new spy abilities?
At this moment, I think he wants to keep both worlds separate. Chuck wants to keep his family and his friends safe, so in order to do that they mustn't find out. I would assume at some point one of us would find out, maybe — me being the snoopy best friend, I would hopefully get a whiff of what's going on. I don't know at this point, but I hope so. ... [Maybe then] I'd get to tag along on a secret mission — maybe just, like, carry stuff.

Frankly, it would have been sad if a panel full of stars and producers from NBC's four acclaimed Thursday comedies hadn't gotten laughs during the TCA press tour on Monday. So I'm pleased to report that the panel, which included Zach Braff, Jason Lee, John Krasinski, Tina Fey, and the executive producers of their shows, was appropriately hilarious. A few favorite moments:

Bill Lawrence, "Scrubs" executive producer, on his show's ratings:
"I think this is the year that "Scrubs" really becomes a big hit. We always kind of geared our plan towards peaking in the seventh year."

Tina Fey, on whether she had to convince Alec Baldwin to come back to the show:
"I've never even met Alec."

Greg Daniels, executive producer of "The Office," on those Jim-and-Pam-heavy promos:
"I always felt jealous on these Thursday-night promos because everybody else had these really funny clips on, and then, you know, ours was like, 'Do I still love you?'"

Fey on the differences between herself and her character, Liz Lemon:
"The biggest difference is that my character is not married. And also, apparently her jugs were bigger."

Lorne Michaels, "30 Rock" executive producer, on DVD commentaries:
"I was thinking it might be time to buy a DVD player."

John Krasinski on DVD commentaries:
"Tell you what, when I was doing a comment about DVD commentaries, what I was really thinking about was ..."

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• In addition to all-fantasy Mondays, NBC announced a few more changes to its schedule during Monday's TCA presentation. On Tuesday nights, "The Singing Bee" will lead in to a 90-minute edition of "The Biggest Loser." "Friday Night Lights" will shift to 9 p.m. on Fridays instead of 10 p.m., with "Deal or No Deal" as a lead-in and "Las Vegas" following it at 10.
• It's official: "The Apprentice" is back with a special celebrity edition. The idea is for celebrities who have a business focus to duke it out, and apparently Donald Trump is encouraging Rosie O'Donnell to sign up. The involved celebrities will be raising money for charity, so at least there's something redeeming about this project.
• Jerry Seinfeld will star as himself in the season premiere of "30 Rock," going toe-to-toe with Alec Baldwin's character, the bullish Jack Donaghy. Seinfeld's quip in NBC's statement: "I think it's going to be so refreshing for me to be playing myself in a show that has nothing to do with neurotic, dysfunctional New York characters." Tina Fey, meanwhile, said she was happy to have Seinfeld drop by so the rest of America would learn that "30 Rock" exists.
• NBC entertainment co-chairman Ben Silverman believes the network has "the next great reality format" in "Phenomenon," which will feature Uri Geller and Criss Angel searching for the next great mentalist. Geller and Angel will judge contestants' abilities in weekly challenges, with viewers at home voting for the ultimate winner.
• Norman Lear, the mind behind "All in the Family" and other classic sitcoms, will be returning to TV, working as a producer on a one-hour comedy focused on a single mother battling sexism on Wall Street.

One story that got the room buzzing this morning at the TCA press tour was the news that Isaiah Washington will be joining the cast of "Bionic Woman," appearing in five of the show's early episodes.

NBC entertainment co-chairman Ben Silverman said NBC had been talking to Washington even before he was ousted from "Grey's Anatomy." Despite the controversy that has surrounded him, Silverman said he wasn't worried about alienating part of "Bionic Woman"'s potential audience. "The bottom line is he's a wonderful actor," Silverman said. "We think, inside 'Bionic Woman,' the character that's been created for him is very strong and one that he'll do a great job at." According to USA Today, Washington will "play an outsider with a mysterious agenda" who will either help the main character or try to undermine her.

Whatever the circumstances surrounding Washington's firing by ABC, I'm glad that he's moving on — and maybe now we can all focus on his acting again. What do you think? Will you be able to watch him without thinking about the "Grey's" mess?

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NBC is bringing sci fi back to broadcast TV — big time. As the network kicked off its presentations at the TCA press tour today, network entertainment co-chairman Ben Silverman said the fall schedule would be shifted around to surround breakout hit "Heroes" with two other fantasy shows: "Chuck," about a 20-something slacker who gets spy secrets implanted into his brain, and "Journeyman," which focuses on a reporter who finds himself traveling through time.

When NBC first announced its schedule in May, "Deal or No Deal" was slotted for the 8 p.m. spot that now will be occupied by "Chuck." But Silverman said he expects these three shows will make a strong lineup because they are built on character, not just fantasy. "Chuck has a bit of the quarter-life [crisis] going on," Silverman said. With his terrible job at a big-box electronics store and his woes with women, "he could just as easily be appearing in a Judd Apatow movie." "Journeyman," on the other hand, "is basically a love story with time travel underneath it," Silverman said.

I'm still a little surprised that "Bionic Woman" isn't in that lineup, but I see what Silverman's saying about the character-driven elements of these three shows. When I recently watched the "Chuck" pilot, I wouldn't have necessarily thought to call it sci fi; it was more about Chuck and his goofy friends. Plus, I could see "Chuck" drawing a young audience (thanks to "OC" creator Josh Schwartz's involvement), with "Journeyman" skewing older and "Heroes" somewhere in between. Silverman said we can expect to see a lot of advertising for the three shows during NBC's Sunday night football programming come fall.

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