Upfront Central: Complete Coverage from B&C
NBC has renewed the cult hit Chuck and added four more scripted series to its growing list of pick-ups for the 2010-11 season.
The Cape, Outlaw, Harry's Law and the comedy Friends With Benefits will join the NBC line-up next season.
Angela Bromstad, president,
primetime entertainment, NBC and Universal Media Studios made the
announcement May 14, hours after breaking the news that Law & Order
would have its series finale May 24, ending a 20-year run on NBC.
"The
addition of these four inventive series to our new scripted lineup
demonstrates a wide spectrum of creative stories," Bromstad said in a
statement.
"We are featuring popular, top-flight stars along with a strong pedigree of successful writer-producers.
Likewise, Chuck has proven its enduring appeal."
Chuck
concludes its third season May 24 with a two-hour finale. It is
averaging a 2.4 rating, 6 share in adults 18-49 and 6.6 million viewers
overall. The show also gets a 22% bump in the demo when 7-day,
time-shifted viewing is factored in.
The
latest pick-ups join previously announced Law & Order spin-off LOLA
(Law & Order: Los Angeles), Perfect Couples, Chase, Undercovers,
The Event, Love Bites and Outsourced. NBC will make its pitch to
advertisers May 17 at its upfront presentation in New York.
The Cape is about an honest cop on a corrupt police force, who finds himself framed for a series of murders and presumed dead. It is from Universal
Media Studios and BermanBraun production from Executive Producer/Creator Thomas Wheeler (Empire), Executive Producer/Director
Simon West (Con Air), the executive producing team of Gail Berman and
Lloyd Braun and executive producer Gene Stein.
Outlaw
stars Jimmy Smits as a Supreme Court justice who abruptly quits to
return to private practice where he's determined to help "the little
guy." It's from Universal
Media Studios and Conan O'Brien's Conaco productions. John Eisendrath
is executive producer along with O'Brien, Terry George (Hotel Rwanda),
Jeff Ross and David Kissinger (Andy Barker, P.I.).
Harry's Law
is a legal drama from David E. Kelley (The Practice, Boston Legal)
starring Oscar winner Kathy Bates as a disillusioned ex-lawyer who is
drawn back into legal work by two young idealistic lawyers. It is produced
by Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with David E. Kelley Productions and Warner Bros. Television.
Kelley and Bill D'Elia are executive producers.
Friends
With Benefits is a half-hour comedy from Brian Grazer revolving around
a group of twenty-something singles navigating the dating world. Grazer
and
David Nevins are executive producers for Imagine Television.
Also serving as executive producers are David Dobkin, who
directed the pilot, writers Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber and
Jeff Kleeman.
Friends With Benefits is a production of 20th Century Fox Television, Imagine Television and Big Kid Pictures.
