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EXCLUSIVE: NBC has pulled the plug on midseason comedy series Next Caller. The network in May had given the Dane Cook-starring project a six-episode order. After filming four of them, I hear network brass had decided that creatively the series was not going in the direction they had hoped for. Production on the series, produced by Lionsgate TV and Universal TV, has stopped, and the produced episodes won’t air. Created and executive produced by Stephen Falk, Next Caller stars Cook as a foul-mouthed satellite radio DJ forced to share the mic with a chipper NPR feminist (Collette Wolfe). Jeffrey Tambor, Joy Osmanski and Wolé Parks co-star. NBC recently gave two of its freshman comedy series, Go On and The New Normal, full-season pickups, while fellow freshmen Guys With Kids and especially Animal Practice, have been struggling. The network has two other comedy series on tap for midseason, 1600 Penn and Save Me.
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It’s taken decades, but NBC Execs have finally shown a smidge of sense.
Given abominations like Animal Practice, how bad did this series have to be to get yanked before even one episode aired?
For NBC to give a full season order to a show as pathetically dreadful and unfunny as “The Ned Normal,” and pass on this show means one thing: This show was pure garbage.
I’ve never seen Ned’s show, but I would love to hear about it. Have you seen the funny original New Normal?
Dane is a great talent. He deserves better material.
This news makes us all winners.
What? A Dane Cook show isn’t funny?
This is a surprise given the low ratings of most NBC comedies. Cook may not be the sharpest knife in the comedy drawer but the fact is a lot of people do like him for whatever reason. I mean it must have been REALLY bad for them to have pulled the plug.
Just being honest, this seems like it would have done well on cable. It looked funnier than any of the other new comedy series they had this year. Oh well.
do dane and collette get paid for teh 4 episodes they filmed?
couldnt the episodes be added to on demand?
Of course they were still paid. It’s not like they force actors to work for free until the show airs. Actors are paid for the work they do, not for what airs.
Ha When I heard about this show being in development I thought it would suck. I was right..
‘What? A Dane Cook show isn’t Funny’ – exactly
Less than 5 minutes ago I was reading the Reunions issue of Entertainment Weekly, I read that Jeffrey Tambor was in this and felt sorry for him. Ever since I saw the trailer I knew it would be bad.
The previous comments are all true. Dane Cook is so bad that even on the same network that said yes to Guys With Kids (probably kissing Jimmy Fallon’s ass) and let Animal Practice and Chelsea go forward, his show couldn’t even make it to the air.
This should have been killed at the pitch meeting once they heard “Starring Dane Cook” I’ve been racking my head on how they could have made the comedy worse and I can’t come up with a comic that could actually make it worse.
Personally I think it would have been way better to just give the concept to Bob Saget and let him run with it. That would erase any lingering vestiges of Full House or AFV that the public may have about him.
Poor Collette…
Where does this leave me ?
Well out goes Dane Cook, and in comes the “Farm”
Considering go on has a partial workplace setting in a radio station, I could see how this would have became redundant.
Yes. Maybe even for the 2 that were ordered but not produced (unlikely).
most of you have no idea what you are talking about. first of all, the show was not written for Dane Cook, so there was no pitch meeting involved. he had a development deal with NBC and this is what they ended up casting him in. Secondly, having seen the pilot – not just the trailer – it was actually quite funny and the supporting cast was wonderful.
Why did they scrap the show then? Was it marketability issues? Was Dane a pain to work with? Was it expensive? It’s not like they don’t need more programming at NBC, so if the show was funny it seems odd that they would toss it.
I will quote my agent when I turned down a job writing on this show… “I’m just worried about your career if you turn this down.” Gut instincts are always right!
Fire him. He will just try to staff you in the next turd.
Yeah, great idea, fire your agent who’s apparently getting you offers on multiple shows each staffing season. Or thank your lucky stars that you’re working. Whichever makes more sense to you.
Worked on the pilot. This news is not surprising at all.
Man-they should have kept Bent or Best Friends Forever.
You mean they should have kept Bent. I wouldn’t have minded Best Friends Forever, but Jessica St. Clair is the worst. She is the equivalent of scratching nails on a chalkboard. The rest of the cast was pretty good, but luckily Luka Jones has moved on for Up All Night. Plus, shows about NYC are getting old. What this year we got Animal Practice, Partners, Elementary, The Mindy Project AND Guys with Kids? Only the first of which is good. Plus at midseason we have Golden Boy, although I heard that one is pretty good. After all, you can’t go wrong with Bonnie Sommerville and Chi McBride (unless you count Desmond Pfeiffer, which wasn’t his fault, it was the writing).
Agree on Best Friends Forever. That made me laugh audibly.
From firing Gail Lerner to shelving Dane Cook, it looks like someone at NBC is finally making good decisions again. If Ed Chung gets the axe, that will be the trifecta.
Has some of the NBC execs finally awaken and realized how bad this show and that new Munsters spin-off were going to be if they decided to air them? Thank goodness they woke up and jettisoned both these shows.
Honestly I would of held on to it just in case everything else bombs and they have to use it as an absolute last resort and if they didn’t have to use it just aired it in the summer or something and never speak of it again like 100 Questions and Love Bites.
Let’s be fair here, this didn’t start out as a Dane Cook vehicle – NBC had him on a talent deal and he got forced onto a developing property. The exec who thought that America wants Cook outside of his busy college stand-up tour has more fault in this than anyone else.
Wasn’t this called “The Brand And Martinez Show?” in real life?
The only excuse for this would be letting The Farm happen. Otherwise, why couldn’t they have just pulled another 100 Questions?
I really don’t like Dane Cook, but this is too bad for Collette Wolfe. She’s really interesting and beautiful and could easily be an Amy Adams caliber actress if she had the chance to break out in a leading role rather than her typical supporting actress roles. She’s a rose among thorns, but it’s difficult to see her promise at the moment.