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UPDATED: After picking up five single-camera new comedy series, NBC today ordered its first multi-camera show for next season, the Jimmy Fallon-produced Guys With Kids. For now, it’s the only multi-camera NBC comedy series — new or returning — confirmed for next season, which raises the question of what it will be paired with. Multi-camera sitcoms traditionally fare better in a block as evident by CBS’ success with the format. Besides Guys With Kids, the only NBC multi-camera comedy pilot still alive is Daddy’s Girls, which has not heard about its fate yet, with Ladyfriends fading fast and the rest, including Roseanne Barr’s Downwardly Mobile, over. The possible scenarios I’m hearing are: 1. NBC picks up Daddy’s Girls. 2. It pairs Guys with a single-camera comedy. And 3. The network brings back Whitney for a second season. The last scenario had been looking very unlikely lately but I hear the network brass are revisiting the idea of possibly renewing Whitney, created by and starring Whitney Cummings, after a very low-rated first season.
Written by Charlie Grandy, the Universal TV-produced Guys With Kids revolves around three 30-something guys (Jesse Bradford, Anthony Anderson, Zach Cregger) who enjoy the adventures of parenting despite the fact they haven’t grown up themselves. Grandy, Fallon and Amy Ozols executive produce with Rick Wiener and Kenny Schwartz who as executive producers/showrunners. The cast of the pilot also includes Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Tempestt Bledsoe as well as Sara Rue as a guest star. Rue in second position to another multi-camera comedy pilot, Malibu Country, which is looking good at ABC, so her role in the Fallon project may have to be recast. This is the second new series pickup at NBC today, following this morning order to drama Chicago Fire. Of the remaining NBC comedy pilots, the only ones that are not dead yet are, Daddy’s Girls, Ladyfriends and single-camera Isabel. As I’ve reported before, among those not going forward is Friday Night Dinner.
TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.
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Let’s hope Rue’s role has to be recast because that would mean Malibu Country is picked up. Definitely looking forward to that one! Thanks for the info Nellie.
Downwardly Mobile tested thru the roof, I’m told by trusted “Insiders”, with tried, true talent & endless potential
for laughter/human interest, etc…. what’s Wrong with NBC, going all “Gee, I don’t know….” when they’ve got a diamond in the rough which Any network I’d think would grab? Some snotty person posted something about “lower class scum” (referring to Downwardly Mobile), implying that anyone who lives in a mobile-home community’s trash? For shame, snotty person! You’d rather watch shows about “high class scum” such’s “Dallas”, so far removed from the “real world’s” realm? While I don’t live in a trailer-park, nor belong to ANY class per se, I can see Downwardly Mobile appealing to a broad spectrum of people who love laughter & “everyday people”, to Roseanne & Co. are near-geniuses at delivering. WHILE making a network piles of money. For Heaven’s sake, NBC, get off yr. butt & grab D.M. before Roseanne has the last laff, as always….
Looks like What To Expect When You’re Expecting: THe TV SHow.
NBC is treating Parks, 30 Rock and the others like Lebron treated Cleveland. Make them wait until the last minute when most of the talent has left for shows that are for sure going, while picking up all of these pilots.
what??? lmao @ the stupid sports analogy
Multi-cams usually don’t get ratings when surrounded by single-cams. So, unless multi-cam Whitney is coming back, it seems like NBC has another multi-cam pilot to pick up.
That’s true and that’s why I believe Whitney will be renewed. I think if they pickup another multi-cam it might be a mid-season option or if they pickup two their planning on a two-hour block.
It would be cool if they eventually had a four multi cam block on Tuesday and single cams on Thursdays. Networks shouldn’t be about niche, reality, single cam, multi cam procedurals and serials should all be able to live in harmony.
I was hoping multi-cam Downwardly Mobile would be going to series for NBC, but since that appears dead at the moment (and given the news that ABC’s comedy development was a disappointment), is it possible that the studio that produced Roseanne’s pilot will shop it to ABC? As much as I don’t like LAST MAN STANDING, I could easily see Tim Allen’s show paired up with Rosie’s.
Me too as NBC really dropped the ball on not picking up Mobile but it might be ABC’s gain if they would have LMS, Roseanne, and Reba altogether in one block.
Are you kidding me? I have been waiting to Roseanne’s new show, Downwardly Mobile. I guess we have more canned copies of reality TV to watch. The networks just don’t have a clue. If they had a shot at “Seinfeld” today, they would turn it down.
Well I sure hope SOMEONE picks up Downwardly Mobile — sounds like the most promising show of all of these.
yes!!! bring back Rosanne and John. There’s not enough sitcoms and this team is already a hit! Hello???
All I’ll say is, I hope SOMEONE picks up “Downwardly Mobile.” Can’t the networks mix comedy with zeitgeist with the 99% already? Sheesh.
Okay, but what about Awake ? Community ? Frontier ?
Awake-99% cancelled
Community-probably a shorten final season ~17 episodes
Frontier-Likely dead pilot
I am not sure which of ABC’s comedy pilots were ill received, but Malibu Country is hysterical, as per the script. I have friends who went to the taping who said it is LOL funny from start to finish, and Rue is a showstopper. I am hoping that ABC picks that up & pairs it with Tim Allen. Would be a great night for Kevin Abbott.
:Sigh: … so Friday Night Dinner is totally, definitively dead? What happened?
I’m curious about this, too. I didn’t follow this stuff that closely last year, so I can’t say if these things can change last minute, but I am surprised, given the pedigree of the show, that it wasn’t picked up.
I’ve heard many credible people refer to it as the worst pilot of the season.
Really, like who? And isn’t that true of all Greg Daniels’ shows, though? With both The Office and Parks you had middling pilots and messy first seasons that blossomed in their second seasons. Given the talent behind it, I’ve had thought it would get a change to revamp if it went forward.
Anyway, it sounds like in the end it was a choice between Animal Practice and FND – and they went with Animal Practice.
But given the talent involved, why wouldn’t they hold it to midseason and tell them to rework everything?
Worst script I read this pilot season. So much for that.
If Whitney comes back, then NBC deserves to be in LAST place
Agreed.
I would put re-runs of FRIENDS on before bringing WHITNEY back.
I think NBC will pick up Downwardly Mobile and put it in the Midseason. I say this because NBC isn’t going to make the mistake of rejecting yet another Roseanne show for ABC to pick it up and have runaway success with it.
Downwardly Mobile was a horrible read… I don’t know how it got past script… I guess just because it’s Roseanne they got to waste the money making it.
They finally pickup a multi-cam and from what I heard this was the best of the bunch. Anthony Anderson is in this one I believe.
The reports all along has been that Whitney’s fate is likely determined how many multi-cams are picked up. The remaining ones in contention could replace Whitney but I think this lone pickup pretty much is an unofficial renewal for Whitney because Whitney now has a partner on the schedule.
My question for NBC is that I still don’t get why they won’t at least have four multi-cams on their roster so they can build a two-hour multi-cam block.
Guys With Kids sounds more compatible with Up All Night. Though shot in different formats, GWK and Up All Night have a similar tone and familial premise that could make them good partners on a new comedy night. Not to mention UAN has more critical buzz/star power/viewers (including DVR viewers) than Whitney.
And what if WHITNEY tanks even further and needs to be replaced? If NBC wants to keep two multi-cams on at any given time, NBC better order a back-up in the event WHIT is renewed and re-bombs, or if a new show gets paired with GUYS and bombs.
And unsurprisingly, these all sound God awful. Let’s hear it for NBC’s sense of consistency.
wait? what? it wasn’t even on the fake schedule.
How do you not pick up a tv pilot starring Roseanne Barr and John Goodman? It’s their television reunion for gods sake. And I hear it’s actually good. At least give it a shot NBC. You’ll finally get viewers to your network. As opposed to no viewers which is what you get now. Makes no sense.
Or, if the concept itself doesn’t work, sign them to develop another show, just as I suggested the network does with Whitney Cummings.
The thing that makes me wonder is, how was “Downwardly Mobile” so terrible, if it was in fact that bad? Why would Goodman sign on to do a show like that?
I feel like if Downwardly Mobile were truly dead, as reported here, Roseanne would be very vocal about it on Twitter.
Downwardly Mobile is not 100% dead. It is stuck in budgeting hell.
Why in THE world would NBC even contemplate bringing such an awful show like Whitney back on the air? it tanked for a reason as nobody bothered watching it and it was a stupid program to begin with. Can’t NBC ever do anything right for once? They’re desperate for viewers and thinking stuff out like this scenario will be an easy way to land in 5th place come next season and heads rolling.
Yeah, really.
Cummings is definitely talented, and if the network is really interested in working with her, why not cancel her show but sign her to develop another one?
All these discussions of single-camera versus multi-camera. You really think the audience knows/notices the difference? All the audience cares is “is it good, funny, entertaining?”
Preach it. Lately the thing is to be snobby about single-camera, acting like people only want to watch multi-camera. ‘Cause Modern Family is hurting in the ratings and all.
It’s the other way around. People are snobs about multi cam shows and sneer at them.
Of course the audience notices the difference. Maybe they didn’t back when single-cams had laugh tracks. But now that single-cam shows don’t have laugh tracks, there’s a serious “flow” problem. The viewers who watch single-cam don’t like to hear laughter on the soundtrack, while the people who like multi-cam comedy find that single-cams are too much like dramas.
is Kari Lizer’s show dead? Too bad. I heard great things. I’d put my money on her all day long.
Ladyfriends was hilarious. I wonder if Best Friends Forever, which was thematically identical but was shrill, not nearly as funny and quickly cancelled, hurt Kari Lizer’s pilot.
Yeah, pick up Whitney….which got awful ratings….instead of a Roseanne show that would draw twice the ratings just based on Roseanne and Goodman’s following alone. Another show about a goofy doctor, playing with monkey’s and some 30 something guys who refuse to grow up. Way to think outside the box, NBC.
The script was definitely offbeat, but with Justin Kirk in Animal Practice, I’m sold. Guys With Kids, on the other hand, I can’t imagine lasting very long. Also just because these shows were ordered to series doesn’t mean they’re going to air in the fall. Probably half won’t air till the winter/spring and/or get burned off with no advertising (re: Bent).
I’d rather see something about a vet, with Justin Kirk AND Tyler Labine, only one camera, and an unsympathetic comedy protaganist. In fact this was the show that I was probably most looking forward to, save for maybe Go On, American Judy, or Friday Night Dinner (bummer bout that one).
The only thing that Downwardly Mobile has is John Goodman. I would rather eat a dirty diaper than watch any of the following:
a. A show with Roseanne Barr.
b. Another show about lower class scum.
c. An NBC show filmed multi-cam, that was made after the turn of the century (Guys with Kids looks interesting, but I really don’t see how it can work multi cam. Just to many characters).
I really hope this is the last we see of Roseanne Barr. Roseanne, Frasier, and Married with Children were awful shows, yet somehow people liked them. I guess humans are stupid.
PS. Call me a snob. I can take it. Forgive me for appreciating television that does not have laughing constantly.
Wow, dude, you are really angry for a conversation about comedies.
Single cam works for some people, multi cam works for others. I watch whatever I like. Bursting a vein over a sitcom is really not worth it.
Best wishes to Whitney or Roseanne or whoever else is on the bubble.
My sources tell me that Downwardly is not dead. As a matter of fact, I hear that its very much alive.
I’ve heard the net is concerned about costs.
As far as the cast goes, or something else?
Everyone keeps talking about John and Roseanne…. I saw the pilot. What about the rest of the cast!? That show was genius!!!
“Whitney” wasn’t “very low-rated” by NBC standards. It got about the same ratings as a bunch of shows they’re already going to pick up.
NBC would be better off investing as heavily in new multi-cams as they clearly are in high-concept single-cams, but since they have no interest in that, bringing back “Whitney” seems like a good option. It didn’t do bad and got better toward the end. Again, by NBC standards…
The Fallon show has a great cast. I wish it well. Keep an eye on Zach Creggers. Could become a Ryan Reynolds if not a Tom Hanks. And what did happen to the Kari Lizer? Who would pass on Mary McCormack? Not me. She’s poised to go big as a household name once and for all in my opinion.
Mary McCormack was in the ABC pilot that Kari did…no idea what the status there is. Her NBC pilot (previously “Ladyfriends” and referred to above) starred Minnie Driver, Andrea Anders, Rachel Dratch and Josh Hopkins. Heard the cast clicked well. Hope it sneaks into the lineup.