Bent

NBC has had mostly good tidings for fans of its comedies so far, renewing 30 Rock and Community, and now it's also given additional seasons to Parks and Recreation, Whitney, and Up All Night. However, we've also got some cancellation news to report: Are You There, Chelsea, Awake, Bent, and Best Friends Forever have all gotten the ax. All four shows were midseason entrants, and I'm not terribly surprised to see them go. In the meantime, I plan on celebrating the Parks and Recreation news (especially since it's also getting a full 22-episode order) the same way the gang gave it up for Leslie's election victory on the season finale.

Photos courtesy of NBC

NBC's comedy Bent is part of their new midseason lineup, and it stars Amanda Peet and David Walton as two people who can't really stand each other — and obviously become love interests. The half-hour show is set in Venice Beach, and the tone is as relaxed as the beach town setting. If you want to know whether Bent is something you'll want to tune in to before tonight's premiere, my pilot scoop can clue you in.

• What it's about: Amanda Peet plays Alex, a single working mother who hires a contractor, Pete (David Walton) to make over her kitchen. Her uptight personality is challenged by Pete's relaxed, go-with-the-flow mentality, and though they're just client and contractor at first, there is chemistry all over the place.
• Where it works: I've loved Peet since her days on the short-lived series Jack and Jill and she brings her effervescent charm (even when Alex is being uptight) to her role here. And Walton is hilarious and her perfect foil. You may remember him from Perfect Couples, which didn't get much of a chance, but Walton was one of the highlights.
• Where it doesn't: The show seems like it's going to rely too much on Alex and Pete's will-they-or-won't they relationship. Sexual tension is a classic TV ingredient, but there has to be something more going on, and a kitchen renovation isn't going to cut it.
• When it's on: Wednesdays at 9:00 p.m.
• You might like this show if: You like light, quirky comedy — think Cougar Town.

To watch a preview and see some photos from Bent, just keep reading.

NBC's new series Bent took its turn at the Winter TCA today to give reporters more insight into the show, which is about a mildly uptight woman (Amanda Peet) who hires a laid-back contractor (David Walton) to redecorate her kitchen. Though the show is all about the sexual tension between those two characters, the cast, which also includes Jeffrey Tambor and J.B. Smoove, proved just how funny the show might be by delivering nonstop quips as they answered questions about the series. Check out my five favorite quotes below.

• "Are you asking me if I'm a pot-smoking gambling addict?" — Walton, reacting to a reporter's question of how much he's like his character Pete
• "I don't have a relationship on the show. Which is fine because I'm 10 years old." — Joey King, who plays Peet's daughter, commenting on the show's focus on relationships
• "Joey's a scene-stealer. And she's to be removed from this cast." — Tambor, joking about young cast mate Joey King
• "[He's a] crazy genius combo of being really funny and really gorgeous . . . and kind of a dork." — Peet, giving love interest Walton a compliment that started high and went a little south
• "He's an out of work actor. So I relate." — Tambor, describing his character Walt and why he wanted to play him

Upfronts news means that we're finding out about what will happen in the upcoming TV season. Each network is clearing room in its schedule by getting rid of current shows to make way for new series, like NBC, which just canceled The Event and Law & Order: Los Angeles. But let's look to the future — here are the pilots NBC has just picked up, which star a host of familiar faces like Debra Messing, Will Arnett, Amanda Peet, and more.

COMEDY

• Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea: Based on Chelsea Handler's best-selling memoir about her life as a twentysomething. Laura Prepon stars in the Chelsea role.
• Free Agents: A male and female PR agent who are both on the rebound (Hank Azaria and Kathryn Hahn) fight their attraction to each other in this remake of a British sitcom of the same name.
• Bent: Amanda Peet plays a divorced single mom who falls for the contractor she hired to do work on her house, played by Perfect Couples's David Walton.
• Best Friends Forever: A woman moves in with her best friend, even though the best friend is already living with her boyfriend.
• Up All Night: Christina Applegate stars as a woman juggling work and motherhood. Maya Rudolph and Will Arnett costar, and Lorne Michaels is producing.
• Whitney: Comedienne Whitney Cummings headlines this sitcom as one half of a young couple figuring out their committed relationship.

To find out about NBC's new dramas, just read more