NEW YORK, May 15 (UPI) — NBC says it has ordered new comedy series starring Kristen Bell, Ted Danson, Andrea Martin and Marlon Wayans, as well as re-imaginings of The Wizard of Oz and Taken franchises, for the 2016-17 television season.
“Coming off another winning season where we managed to substantially stabilize our entire year-round schedule, the NBC 2016 fall lineup introduces some of our best development in years,” Robert Greenblatt, chairman of NBC Entertainment, said in a statement Sunday. “The level of creative talent and stars who come to NBC is reflective of our leadership position in broadcast television, our sophisticated and upscale approach to all genres of programming, and our stable lineup. Coming off the Rio Olympics in August, we can’t wait to get the fall underway.”
Among the network’s slate of upcoming programs is Chicago Justice, which follows a dedicated team of prosecutors and investigators “as they navigate heated city politics and controversy head-on while fearlessly pursuing justice,” a synopsis said. Created by Dick Wolf, the program will star Philip Winchester, Carl Weathers, Nazneen Contractor, Joelle Carter and Ryan-James Hatanaka.
The ensemble for the Oz-themed series Emerald City will include Vincent D’Onofrio, Adria Arjona, Ana Ularu, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Jordan Loughran, Gerran Howell, Mido Hamada, Joely Richardson, Isabel Lucas, Stefanie Martini, Suan-Li Ong, Florence Kasumba and Roxy Sternberg.
“In the blink of a tornado’s eye, 20-year-old Dorothy Gale and a K9 police dog are swept into a world far removed from our own — a mystical land of competing realms, lethal warriors, dark magic and a bloody battle for supremacy,” press notes said.
From executive producer Luc Besson, Taken is billed as “a modern-day, edge-of-your-seat thriller that follows the origin story of younger, hungrier former Green Beret Bryan Mills [played by Clive Standen] as he deals with a personal tragedy that shakes his world.” Liam Neeson played an older version of Mills in three Taken movies. Rounding out the cast for the small-screen version are Jennifer Beals, Brooklyn Sudano, Monique Gabriela Curnen, Gaius Charles, Michael Irby, James Landry Hébert and Jose Pablo Cantillo.
Mandy Moore, Milo Ventimiglia and Sterling K. Brown will star in This is Us, a dramedy about people “whose paths cross and their life stories intertwine in curious ways.”
Bell, Danson, William Jackson Harper, Jameela Jamil, Manny Jacinto and D’Arcy Carden will star in The Good Place, a comedy about an ordinary woman who enters the afterlife where she realizes she hasn’t been a very good person. With the help of an “afterlife mentor,” she attempts to shed her old way of living.
Great News is a workplace comedy from executive producers Tina Fey, Robert Carlock and the producers of 30 Rock. It will star Briga Heelan, Andrea Martin, Adam Campbell, Kimrie Lewis-Davis, John Michael Higgins and Horatio Sanz.
“Loosely inspired by the real life of star Marlon Wayans, this update to the classic family comedy centers on a loving [but immature] father committed to co-parenting his two kids with his very-together ex-wife. While his misguided fatherly advice, unstoppable larger-than-life personality and unpredictable Internet superstardom might get in the way sometimes, for Marlon, family really always does come first — even if he’s the biggest kid of all,” said a synopsis for Marlon, which will feature Essence Atkins, Notlim Taylor, Amir O’Neil, Bresha Webb and Diallo Riddle.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.