Zachary Levi by John Shearer/WireImage.com
Coming to your local NBC station and online outlets soon: Adorable Chuck star Zachary Levi hosting a sneak peek at the network's new and returning series for fall.The 30-minute special, The NBC Primetime Preview, will include an exclusive backstage look at a full spectrum of NBC Universal shows (including titles from USA, Sci Fi, Bravo, UniHD, MSNBC, CNBC, Oxygen and Sleuth). It will also draw viewers in by the boatloads (they hope) with appearances by Christian Slater of My Own Worst Enemy; Molly Shannon and Selma Blair from Kath & Kim; and stars from Heroes and The Office. The special is set to blow your minds beginning Aug. 30 and running through Sept. 28. Are you excited for some sneek peakage, or do you think this is just a transparent ploy for early buzz? — Erin FoxRelated• Christian Slater Talks about His New Jekyl and Hyde Show• What Would Dwight Schrute Watch?• The Office's Phyllis and Stanley Dish about Next Season
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The Singing Bee's Joey Fatone with The Honey Bees by Trae Patton/NBC Photo
He dropped names as diverse as Norman Lear, Uri Geller, Isaiah Washington and Jerry Seinfeld. He teased an all-celebrity version of The Apprentice (with a half-joking promise to extend an invitation to Rosie O’Donnell). In describing his vision for NBC's immediate and long-term future, the network’s boyish new co-chair Ben Silverman showed his affinity for both packaging and programming TV in an enthusiastic debut performance in front of the nation’s TV critics on Monday morning.Though he took the stage alongside the relatively subdued co-chair Marc Graboff, whose expertise is on the business side, this was Silverman’s show all the way, and he wasted no time in announcing some surprising programming deals and a few aggressive scheduling changes, including turning Monday into an all-fantasy night and shifting Friday Night Lights an hour earlier on Fridays, so it’s now cozily hammocked between the strong franchises of a relocated Deal or No Deal and Las Vegas,...
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Question: I know television creators are taught to live in fear of the dreaded Moonlighting fiasco of getting fan-favorite characters together, but doesn't the opposite hurt a show just as much? Shows like Veronica Mars, in order to keep Veronica and Logan apart, sacrifice character development (and ratings). I also know of people who are getting tired of the Jim-Pam, Pam-Roy runaround on The Office, wishing she'd finally gain a little self-confidence, if nothing else. Veronica Mars only showed the relationship's good moments in brief flashbacks. The X-Files' Chris Carter believed in the Maddie-David cautionary tale, but at least Scully and Mulder evolved emotionally season to season. In some situations, an actual romantic relationship between main characters can be just as entertaining to watch as lust and angst; that's why so many have caught on to Grey's Anatomy. Gilmore Girls went downhill because of writing and plot, not Luke and Lorelai hooking up. What's your take on it? Thanks!
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Question: What is your opinion on the dramatic drop in ratings of NBC's Thursday-night comedies, more specifically of The Office? As a huge fan, I find its ratings decrease to be a bit mind-boggling. I understand a new Survivor has arrived, but I felt the show had picked up some serious steam and viewers in the wake of the Emmys last year and the SAG awards this year — not to mention that the quality has yet to falter. Do you believe the ratings decrease has to do with the audience's impatience with the tired Jim/Pam/Karen triangle and the more dramatic and angst-y approach taken this season to one of the most adorable and lovable non-relationship relationships in TV history? To be honest, even I, a fervent and loyal fan, feel the sadness deters my enjoyment of an otherwise brilliant episode and thus have to re-watch to truly laugh at its greatness. Does NBC expect the casual viewer to hang in there week after week watching Jim continue to date a girl he's not that into while Pam cries ...
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Question: I was mad when Everybody Loves Raymond beat Arrested Development for the best-comedy Emmy last year (I think Desperate Housewives siphoned away votes from AD), because an Emmy win might have helped AD stay on the air, and Raymond was already out to pasture in the fields of syndication. This year, I find myself rooting for AD to win despite its cancellation, in part because I feel that a postcancellation Emmy win is a righteous humiliation for Fox on behalf of every great show they ever axed, and also because anything that builds momentum for a potential AD movie is a good thing. I know The Office is the front-runner now, but I have a feeling it will get plenty more chances at the Emmys for years to come. Does the late, lamented AD have any hope of winning the trophy?
Answer: Slim to none, I'd guess. But with the Emmys, it's always a guess. In Arrested Development's favor is the fact that it has won before, and the industry clearly loved it to the very end. Otherwise, a show
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Question: Matt, I just watched Nobody's Watching on YouTube. I thought it was creative, original and absolutely hilarious! What's your take on it? I applaud NBC for giving it another shot. I really hope it makes it to prime time, not only for the chance to see such a bold, network experiment work, but also because I really love the show. Are there any precedents for this kind of action by a network? Do you think the effect iTunes and MySpace had on The Office's transformation from ratings loser to hit had anything to do with NBC's sudden willingness to try new things? What do you know about NBC's plans for the show? If it does make it on the schedule, when is it likely to air?
Answer: To put it mildly, Nobody's Watching's trajectory from failed WB pilot to actively-in-development NBC sitcom is unprecedented. It is a very clever pilot and premise, but has "cult" written all over it, so I understand NBC's choice to develop this one slowly, at first in Web-only episodes (my old-school self
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Question: I must say that I was shocked to read the TCA Awards results. It seems incredibly unjust that critically acclaimed series on UPN and WB such as Veronica Mars, Gilmore Girls, Everybody Hates Chris and Everwood get left out while shows like Lost, Grey's Anatomy, My Name Is Earl and The Office get all the prizes. I mean, critics often complain about how the Emmys always go for the same-old-same-old, but didn't they do the same?
Answer: Oh, climb down off your high horse. At least Lauren Graham was nominated, and for a subpar season. (And in the past, Gilmore Girls was honored by the TCA, something the Emmys has never done.) I was personally disappointed that Battlestar Galactica didn't make the drama cut (though I would never have expected it to win), and that Kristen Bell was not among the drama-performer nominees. But these are not the cult-TV awards, much as I love some of those shows (and honestly, Veronica Mars' sophomore year wasn't as solid as its first, though I'm hopeful
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Alan Arkin, Paul Dano and Steve Carell, Little Miss Sunshine
Amidst all the pillaging pirates and soaring superheroes of this summer movie season, keep an eye out for a plucky little yellow VW bus, because that's one ride you won't want to miss. Now in select theaters, Little Miss Sunshine follows a dysfunctional bunch — Dad (Greg Kinnear) is a low-rent Tony Robbins, the Nietzsche-loving son (Paul Dano) has taken a vow of silence, Grandpa (Alan Arkin) is an oversexed druggie, and Uncle Frank (
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Alan Arkin, Paul Dano and Steve Carell, Little Miss Sunshine
Amidst all the pillaging pirates and soaring superheroes of this summer movie season, keep an eye out for a plucky little yellow VW bus, because that's one ride you won't want to miss. Now in select theaters, Little Miss Sunshine follows a dysfunctional bunch — Dad (Greg Kinnear) is a low-rent Tony Robbins, the Nietzsche-loving son (Paul Dano) has taken a vow of silence, Grandpa (Alan Arkin) is an oversexed druggie, and Uncle Frank (
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Alan Arkin, Paul Dano and Steve Carell, Little Miss Sunshine
Amidst all the pillaging pirates and soaring superheroes of this summer movie season, keep an eye out for a plucky little yellow VW bus, because that's one ride you won't want to miss. Now in select theaters, Little Miss Sunshine follows a dysfunctional bunch — Dad (Greg Kinnear) is a low-rent Tony Robbins, the Nietzsche-loving son (Paul Dano) has taken a vow of silence, Grandpa (Alan Arkin) is an oversexed druggie, and Uncle Frank (
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