Day One

NBC announced some key pieces of its Fall TV lineup today as the network Upfront season kicked off, but it also left a bunch of questions unanswered. The fate of several shows remains up in the air, as does NBC's official schedule, which is complicated by the addition of Jay Leno in the 10 p.m. slot Monday through Friday. After the jump, I've got video and photos of NBC's six new shows, but first, a few of my thoughts as I read through the announcements:

• Yeah, no news on Chuck — nor on Medium, Life, Law and Order, or My Name is Earl.The new deadline when NBC says they'll decide is May 19. It's hard not to be bummed, but I'm going to do as Josh Schwartz commands and try to stay positive.
• Where on earth is NBC going to put all of these shows?
• On first glance, I reacted most positively to the trailer for Parenthood, which has a cast filled with some of my favorite actors and a script from Friday Night Lights's Jason Katims. I'm a little confused by the tone of Mercy and not taken by the preview of 100 Questions. Community could be great, though I wish I'd laughed even more. Trauma blows a lot of things up and looks very well-produced. All we have to go on for Day One is a behind-the-scenes clip, but there's still time — that one will launch in midseason after the Winter Olympics.
• In general, FNL alumni had a pretty good season at NBC! In addition to FNL itself coming back, five of the show's writers and/or producers are now working on other NBC shows, as is one of its actors (Kevin Rankin, aka Herc, who's on Trauma).
• Joel McHale will be pulling double duty next year: In addition to his role on Community, he intends to keep hosting The Soup.
• I'm a little surprised not to see David E. Kelley's Legally Mad on the list, but apparently it got mixed reaction at a screening. Of the buzzworthy pilots, I'm still curious about that one and the buddy-cop comedy Off Duty with Bradley Whitford.

I'm curious to know your first reactions, so without further ado, to see clips and photos from the NBC shows, just read more

NBC revealed a big chunk of its primetime plans for next TV season this morning, announcing six new dramas, four comedies, and four renewed series. But it left a lot of questions open, too — including the fate of Chuck and Law and Order and when all of these shows will fit on the new primetime schedule.

Those answers are supposed to come May 19 — the same week the rest of the networks will announce their schedules. But for now, here's what we know: The four new dramas are Parenthood, based on the feature film of the same name; Trauma, a fast-paced medical show; Mercy, another medical show revolving around the lives of nurses; and Day One, about the aftermath of a global catastrophe. The comedies are Community, about a band of misfits at a community college, and 100 Questions, about a young woman looking for love online.

Returning for sure next season are Heroes, Parks and Recreation, Southland, and Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday, which aired a few special episodes before last Fall's presidential election and will air six more times this Fall. Despite reports of a renewal over the weekend, no decision was announced about Medium. The network previously renewed The Office, 30 Rock, The Biggest Loser, The Celebrity Apprentice, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, and Friday Night Lights and had announced the new reality series The Marriage Ref, Breakthrough with Tony Robbins, and Who Do You Think You Are?

I'll be back with clips, photos, and my take on NBC's new shows a bit later, but for now, you can read official descriptions of all the shows if you read more

A couple of TV news tidbits worth noting today:

• Maybe you heard about the Greg Grunberg Twitter update that got people all worried that Heroes wouldn't be back for a fourth season (even though he clarified immediately) — or maybe you've just been following the show's sinking ratings and wondering if it might not return to NBC's lineup in the Fall. Well, no worries: NBC plans to order up another season of Heroes — albeit a slightly shorter one. The network will probably ask for 18 to 20 episodes of the series this time around (the first season had 23, the current season 25). The post-apocalyptic pilot Day One is one candidate to fill the time slot when Heroes isn't airing.
• Fox's Glee — which just yesterday added Kristin Chenoweth and Victor Garber in recurring roles — is getting itself a pretty high-profile tryout on Fox's schedule, but then it'll go back on the shelf for several months. The show's first episode will air after the final American Idol performance show on May 19, but then the rest of the episodes won't air till Fall. It's definitely an unusual way to roll out a series, but maybe it'll keep people talking about Glee all Summer long the way I've been since I saw the pilot in January. I just hope people don't forget about it in the intervening months!
• Shonda Rhimes's Inside the Box pilot has found its star: British actress Indira Varma will play the show's lead, the "fast-talking, whip-smart and wound a little too tight for her own good" Catherine. She previously appeared in HBO's Rome.

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