or


[09/05/05 - 12:00 AM]
NBC Continues to Build Midseason Comedy Roster
By Brian Ford Sullivan (TFC)

LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- NBC continued to build up its unusually active midseason development slate over the weekend as the network had greenlighted the Greg Grunberg-led comedy pilot "Grand Union."

Grunberg ("Alias," "The Catch") stars as Tom McBride, a blue-collar family man who manages a local Long Island neighborhood grocery store in the project, which previously ran under the title "Father of the McBrides." Also cast in "Union" is Beth Lacke ("ER") as Grunberg's wife, Pat.

David Israel and Jim O'Doherty ("The Tracy Morgan Show," "Grounded for Life") are behind the project, which comes from NBC Universal Television and executive producer Tom Werner. It's believed Werner will produce through his Warner Bros. Television-based Werner-Gold-Miller banner along with Eric Gold and Jimmy Miller.

As for Grunberg, his involvement stems from an overall development deal the actor recently signed with the network.

Meanwhile, casting has begun on the Peacock's Tina Fey-led comedy pilot, a semi-autobiographical look at Fey's tenure on "Saturday Night Live."

Among the details revealed in the casting notice: Fey will play Lisa Lemon, the head writer of "Friday Night Bits" (the show-within-a-show), while the characters include Jack Donaghy (NBC's new VP of development), Pete Hornberger (Lisa's long-time producer and friend), Toofer (a Harvard-type staff writer), Frank (a heavy-set, working-class staff writer who butts heads with Toofer), Josh (an adorable young cast member known for his flawless impressions), Sarie (a Paris Hilton-esque assistant), Kenneth (a chirpy Clay Aiken-type NBC page) and Jonathan (Jack's nerdy assistant).

Lorne Michaels, David Miner and Joann Alfano serve as the executive producers of the NBC Universal Television/Broadway Video-based project along with Frey, who wrote the pilot script.

"Union" and the Fey project join the Peacock's already busy comedy development roster for midseason, which also includes the previously shot pilots "Filmore Middle" and "Lies and the Wives We Tell Them To" as well as the cast-contingent "I Love Faron Hitchman," "Bearaboo 2010" and untitled Mike Markowitz project.

Already on tap for midseason are the new comedies "Four Kings" and "Thick and Thin," not to mention the fifth season of "Scrubs."





  [september 2005]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· 30 ROCK (NBC)
· ALIAS (ABC)
· BARABOO 2010 (NBC)
· CATCH, THE (ABC)
· ER (NBC)
· FOUR KINGS (NBC)
· GRAND UNION (NBC)
· GROUNDED FOR LIFE (WB)
· I LOVE FARON HITCHMAN (NBC)
· LIES AND THE WIVES WE TELL THEM TO (NBC)
· SCRUBS (ABC)
· TEACHERS (NBC)
· THICK & THIN (NBC)
· TRACY MORGAN SHOW, THE (NBC)
· UNTITLED MIKE MARKOWITZ PROJECT (NBC)





[08/24/26 - 03:00 PM]
How You Doin'? Peacock Greenlights New Documentary "Clap If You Care: The Wendy Williams Show" (wt)
Suzanne Bass, the long-running executive producer of "The Wendy Williams Show" for 13 seasons, will be an executive producer on this documentary.

[08/24/26 - 12:01 PM]
Tubi Drops First Look Photos and Premiere Date for New Original Horror-Comedy Film "Buzzkill"
When a group of sorority sisters find themselves trapped with a vengeful killer, party-girl Nora (Siena Agudong) knows that the drunker she gets, the more her tipsy memories start revealing clues about who's murdering her friends.

[08/24/26 - 11:01 AM]
Video: "The Simpsons: Yellow Mirror" - Exclusive Episode on Disney+ - Trailer
Anything can happen in the Yellow Mirror.

[08/24/26 - 09:28 AM]
Video: First-Look at the Wild New Season of "Special Forces: World's Toughest Test"
The fifth season of FOX's ultimate celebrity social experiment enlists a new troop of household names to endure some of the harshest, most grueling challenges from the playbook of the actual Special Forces selection process.

[08/24/26 - 07:01 AM]
Video: Netflix Confirms Renewals for UK Fan Favourites and Debuts Trailer for "The Gentlemen" Season 2
"Black Doves," "Supacell," "Black Mirror," "At Home With The Fury," "Love Is Blind: UK," "Formula 1: Drive to Survive," "Being Gordon Ramsay," "House of Guinness," and "Legends" are also due back.

[08/24/26 - 07:01 AM]
BritBox Announces Casting as Filming Begins on New Detective Drama "The Detection Club"
The series stars Bryony Hannah as Agatha Christie, Miles Jupp as G.K. Chesterton and Cara Theobold as Dorothy L. Sayers.

[08/24/26 - 06:01 AM]
Video: "City of Blood" - Official Trailer - Hulu
It's the future and Berlin is collapsing. While privieged elite live beneath a climate-controlled dome, those outside struggle to survive in a world ravaged by heat, corruption, and crime.

[08/24/26 - 04:01 AM]
Video: "The Grand Tour" - Official Trailer - Prime Video
James, Francis, and Thomas are officially in the driving seat.

[08/24/26 - 03:01 AM]
Video: "Call My Agent! The Movie" - Official Trailer - Netflix
Five years after ASK Agency closed, debut director Andréa loses her lead actor just days before filming and reunites her old team - for better or worse.

[08/23/26 - 05:01 PM]
Video: "Kian's Bizarre B&B" Season 2 - Official Teaser - Netflix
Kian84's absurd architectural dreams come to life to host another B&B with Kim Yeon-koung, Lee Jun-ho, and Kazuha.

[08/23/26 - 04:01 AM]
Netflix Adds Four to "One Piece: The Battle of Alabasta"
Emilio Sakraya, Omid Abtahi, Jamie Ward, and Nabeel Khan are all bound for the show's third season.

[08/22/26 - 12:01 AM]
Video: "Sparks of Tomorrow" - New Episodes Trailer - Netflix
In an alternate past, an unlikely duo team up to look for a missing catalog that could bring electricity to the smoke-filled streets of Kyoto.

[08/21/26 - 11:32 PM]
Development Update: Week of August 17-21
Updates include: Netflix eyes "Outer Banks" prequel series; Hulu orders second season of "Good American Family" anthology; and "RuPaul's Drag Race" gets franchise extension.

[08/21/26 - 01:01 PM]
ABC News Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers Across Friday Night and Late-Night
"20/20" turned in double-digit gains year to year in all key target demos.

[08/21/26 - 10:46 AM]
HBO Max Orders New Comedy Series "The People v. Gorilla Grodd"
The series stars Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Jimmy Tatro as Gorilla Grodd, and "Superman" actors Beck Bennett as Steve Lombard, Mikaela Hoover as Cat Grant, and Wendell Pierce as Perry White.