NBC renews '30 Rock' and 'Parenthood,' adds two new series

NBC's veteran series "30 Rock" and "Parenthood" have been picked up for another season, and the network this fall will add two other series, "Do No Harm" and "Infamous," the network announced.

The new season of "30 Rock" -- its seventh and final season -- will be abbreviated, with only 13 episodes. "Parenthood" will be entering its fourth season.

"Do No Harm" is a medical drama that puts a twist on the classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde story, revolving around a neurosurgeon with a dark alter-ego. "Infamous" features a female detective who goes undercover to the rich family she grew up in — as the maid's daughter — to solve the murder of the heiress who had been her best friend.

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— Greg Braxton

Photo: Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey of "30 Rock." Credit: Ali Goldstein / NBC.

 

 

 

New and returning shows for the 2011 season

Here's a roundup of some of the highlights of the new and returning series in the 2011 fall TV season.

“Survivor: South Pacific” 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14, CBS: (season premiere) The contestants begin competing for a million-dollar prize. (N)

“H8R” 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14, KTLA: (series premiere) TV personality Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi tries to win over a person who dislikes her; Jake Pavelka (“Bachelor”) faces his biggest hater. (N)

“America's Next Top Model” 9 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14, KTLA: (season premiere) Fan-favorite contestants from past cycles return to compete; the women reenact memorable moments during the first photo shoot; guest judge Nicki Minaj. (N)

“Operation Repo” 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14, Tru: (season premiere) Vehicle repossession pros deal with confrontations in California's San Fernando Valley. (N)

“Up All Night” 10 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14, NBC: (series premiere) Reagan Brinkley tries to adjust to her new life as she returns from maternity leave to her job as a talk show executive producer to support her stay-at-home husband and their baby. (N)

“Hulk Hogan's Micro Championship Wrestling” 10 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14, Tru: (series premiere) Hulk Hogan provides little wrestlers with advice, guidance and training; inside all of the insane action, conflict and drama that it takes to create a pro wrestling league from scratch. (N)

“Free Agents” 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14, NBC: (series premiere) Two co-workers, both still reeling from their last relationships, try to sort out their relationship after a moment of weakness finds them in bed together. (N)

“The Vampire Diaries” 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15, KTLA: (season premiere) In "The Birthday," Caroline plans a party for Elena's 18th birthday; Damon and Elena search for Stefan; Klaus and Stefan track a werewolf; Jeremy struggles with visions of ghosts. (N)

“The Secret Circle” 9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15, KTLA: (series premiere) After her mother dies in a mysterious accident, Cassie Blake moves to a small town to live with her grandmother. After a series of strange and dangerous events, Cassie's new friends reveal a secret. (N)

“Angels Among Us” 9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15, CMT: (series premiere) Commemorating the 10-year anniversary of 9/11. (N)

“It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia” 10 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15, FX: (season premiere) In "Frank's Pretty Woman," the gang attempts an image makeover to uncover the heart of gold that exists deep inside Frank's prostitute fiancee. (N)

“Archer” 10:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15, FX: (season premiere) In "Heart of Archness, Part I," Archer is finally tracked down in the South Pacific by handsome adventurer Rip Riley. (Part 1 of 3) (N)

“Ben 10: Ultimate Alien” 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 16, Toon Disney: (season premiere) In "The Purge," Old George reignites a war against all aliens on Earth. (N)

“Star Wars: The Clone Wars” 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 16, Toon Disney: (season premiere) In "Water War: Gungan Attack," inhabitants of Mon Calamari are on the brink of civil war; the Jedi realize they need help from a powerful and amphibious ally to drive out Separatist invaders. (N)

“Need to Know” 8:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 16, KOCE: (season premiere) Reports on the economy, environment and energy, health, national security and culture. (N)

“20/20” 10 p.m. Friday, Sept. 16, ABC: (season premiere) Investigative reporting. (N)

“Celebrity Nightmares Decoded” 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17, Biography: (series premiere) Dustin "Screech” Diamond dreams of a faceless butcher; Danielle Staub wakes up hanging out of her bed after a nightmare; Nicole Eggert is tormented by snakes in her nightmares; Too Short dreams of meeting a ferocious dog. (N)

“How I Met Your Mother” 8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 19, CBS: (season premiere) In "The Best Man," Barney and Ted reminisce about Punchy's wedding; Robin considers confessing her feelings. (N) 

“The Sing-Off” 8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 19, NBC: (season premiere) Eight of the 16 competing groups unite to perform together. (N) 

NBC announces its fall premiere dates

James Spader isn’t the only thing coming to NBC this fall. The peacock network announced Wednesday the premieres of its fall 2011 prime-time schedule.  Get ready for Playboy bunnies, newbie parents, fairy-tale characters ... and some football.

Things kick off Tuesday, Sept. 13, with new episodes of “Parenthood."  New comedies “Up All Night” and “Free Agents” will make debut in the 10 p.m. hour following the season finale of “America’s Got Talent” on Wednesday, Sept. 14, before they land in their regular time slots in the 8 p.m. hour the following week. Things continue the week of Sept. 19 with the debut of new drama “The Playboy Club.”

Other new series “Prime Suspect,” “Whitney” and “Grimm” will also debut.

For the football lovers, the start of “Sunday Night Football” will launch Thursday, Sept. 8, and resume on its regular night on Sunday, Sept. 11.  

The full list of premiere dates are after the jump.

Michael C. Hall, Jon Hamm, Cloris Leachman, more to join Emmy Week panels

 
The L.A. Times is ushering in Emmy season with Envelope Emmy Week -- five days of television series screenings, cast Q&As and roundtable panels starting June 1. Fans of “Mad Men,” “True Blood,” “Dexter,” “Justified,” “Shameless” and many others will get a chance to hear the series' stars discuss their shows and characters. 

As noted on our sister blog, Awards Tracker, Jon Hamm, Christina Hendricks and Kiernan Shipka will join “Mad Men” creator and executive producer Matt Weiner for a screening and Q&A on June 1. William H. Macy and other cast members of Showtime's "Shameless" take the stage on June 2, and Timothy Olyphant, Walton Goggins and others talk about “Justified” on June 6.

The final two roundtables mix things up thematically; the Alternative Families panel on June 7 will be hosted by Times TV critic Mary McNamara and will feature Katey Sagal (“Sons of Anarchy”), Jennifer Carpenter (“Dexter”), Denis O’Hare (“True Blood”), Emmy Rossum (“Shameless”), Cloris Leachman (“Raising Hope”) and Peter Krause (“Parenthood”). The Geek TV panel on June 8 will be moderated by Times television critic Robert Lloyd and will feature Joel McHale (“Community”), Sam Trammell (“True Blood”), Jayma Mays (“Glee”), Michael C. Hall (“Dexter”) and Johnny Galecki (“The Big Bang Theory”).

So, what would you want to ask this eclectic mix of actors? Leave your questions here for possible inclusion in the panels.

Guild members can get additional details and RSVP to attend any of the events at http://events.latimes.com/envelope/.

-- Elena Howe

Top photo: Michael C. Hall. Credit: Randy Tepper / Showtime 

Photo at right: Cloris Leachman. Credit: Stefano Paltera / For The Times

Television Academy Honors honors 8 shows 'with a conscience'

With its Television Academy Honors, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences will pay tribute to eight programs that demonstrate the power of television to change attitudes and exemplify "television with a conscience."

The honorees selected for the fourth annual event, which will be held May 5 at the Beverly Hills Hotel, explored a range of issues including sexual abuse and assault, racism and teen pregnancy, living with a life-threatening disease and good nutrition in the fight against childhood obesity.

The recipients include "The Big C," "Friday Night Lights," "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution," "The Oprah Winfrey Show," "Parenthood" and "Private Practice."

Documentaries to be honored include HBO's "Wartorn 1861-2010" and ESPN's "The 16th Man."

-- Greg Braxton

'Law & Order: Los Angeles' takes a break from NBC [Updated]

"Law & Order: Los Angeles," the West Coast revamp of the landmark New York-based "Law & Order" franchise, had been scheduled to return to NBC on Feb. 8 following a hiatus of more than two months. But the series will be off the air for a bit longer.

Back in November, NBC announced that starting in February,"Law & Order: Los Angeles" would run on Tuesdays at 10 p.m.,  when"Parenthood" had been airing. Now NBC says that "Parenthood" will stay in that slot for the remainder of the season. [Updated on Jan. 19 at 2:00 p.m.: A previous version of this post mistakenly mentioned "Parenthood" previously airing on Monday nights; it has been corrected.]

Executives said "Law & Order: Los Angeles," which is informally known as "LOLA," will return to the prime-time slate on a date yet to be determined. They added they are pleased with the ratings for "LOLA," which has been one of the few new highlights of NBC's schedule.

The drama remains in production, filming two more episodes featuring Skeet Ulrich in his lead role as a police detective. Ulrich will then leave the series, and the character played by Alfred Molina -- a deputy district attorney -- will move to the detective squad. 

The network also noted that the competition series "America's Next Great Restaurant" will premiere March 6 instead of the previously set March 16. "The Marriage Ref," which was scheduled to return for its second season March 6, will come back to the schedule at a later date.

---Greg Braxton

Photo: Skeet Ulrich in "Law & Order: Los Angeles." Credit: Dean Hendler / NBC

 

 

TCA Press Tour: Maura Tierney winds up in role written for her

Maura Tierney was not supposed to be in ABC's new legal drama "The Whole Truth."

Executive producer Tom Donaghy had written a lead role on the series for Tierney, who is a longtime friend. But the role went to Joely Richardson ("Nip/Tuck"), while Tierney, who was recovering after being diagnosed with breast cancer, had departed from the cast of "Parenthood."

But when Richardson had to deal with personal issues that prompted her exit from the series, Tierney, who was getting better, was hoping to get back to work.

"It was joint events happening at the same time," said executive producer Jonathan Littman. "Joely's life is very complicated, and the timing just worked out for Maura."

Tierney, who has appeared in several series including "ER" and "NewsRadio," was not particularly forthcoming when talking about her return to work following her health scare.

When asked if she had a renewed perspective on life, she replied, "I probably should have more of a perspective than I have. But it's wonderful to know that people care so much." She did add that she had one new priority: "It's a priority to work with people I like and trust. Tom and I have been friends for more than 20 years."

-- Greg Braxton

Photo: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

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Follow our coverage of the TCA Press Tour

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TCA Press Tour: What can we expect from 'Parenthood's' Braverman family this season?

 

It’s not easy keeping track of a large ensemble cast — try taking notes on one! The Television Critics Assn. Press Tour officially kicked off Tuesday and included a set visit of NBC’s drama “Parenthood.” The populous Braverman brood — minus Mae Whitman, who was off promoting “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”  — and executive producer Jason Katims sat down to answer questions about the upcoming season. 

Whereas the first season was a journey of discovery and voice finding, the second season, Katims said, will be about “continuing to allow these characters to evolve.” 

So what can we expect? Well, with so many names on set, an elimination round was bound to be expected.  “We’re planning on killing them off one episode at a time,” Katims teased. All joking aside, here’s a glimpse of what's in store for the Braverman clan:

Lauren Graham makes unexpected return with 'Parenthood'

Since the end of the popular "Gilmore Girls" in 2007, Lauren Graham has been relentlessly searching for other projects, reading "tons of scripts" and trying to produce her own shows. She had no plans to be featured this year in a highly anticipated comedy-drama.

Enter "Parenthood."

Graham was offered a role in NBC's adaptation of the 1989 Ron Howard movie after actress Maura Tierney had to bow out after being diagnosed with breast cancer.

"It all happened so quickly," Graham said Sunday to reporters during a session for the series, which features a large ensemble cast, including Craig T. Nelson and Peter Krause ("Six Feet Under). She never saw the original pilot with Tierney but was so impressed by the pedigree of the show, which is being produced by Howard. Jason Katrims ("Friday Night Lights") is developing the series. "Working on this has exceeded all my expectations."

Katrims added that Graham's addition to the show has made the tone a bit lighter: "There's just this incredible energy."

He added that he recently spoke to Tierney, who is undergoing treatment, "and she is doing well."

-- Greg Braxton

 Photo: Lauren Graham. Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images