There’s proof!  The first promo for the March premiere of Parenthood featuring Lauren Graham aired last week.  It’s short but great, a nice hint at what the show will be.  If you recall, Graham stepped in for Maura Tierney when her breast cancer treatments made it impossible for her to continue with the show.

I have high hopes for this show, because it contains such a stellar cast (Peter Krause, Monica Potter, Craig T. Nelson, Erika Christensen…) and because it’s from Jason Katims, the Friday Night Lights showrunner.  And now my optimism for its success is running very high.  I’ve said before that it might have gotten lost in the fall shuffle amidst the Modern Family buzz.  Now that that show’s succeeded, I think viewers are looking for more quality family-based entertainment, and Parenthood will be a nice counterpart (a grittier, more dramatic, obviously hourlong family series).

Here’s the long-form promo that gives you a better idea of the tone of the series:

The series is set in a small town and revolves around an ensemble who makes episodes of their favorite show after it goes off the air.  (It is tentatively titled Allie After Lost and will star me and my dog, Freckles.)

In all seriousness, I love the idea of shows about fanboys and girls–it’s one of the reasons why I think a lot of us love The Big Bang Theory so much. A series like this promises in theory to explore what I think is a particularly hilarious subculture.  Semi-scripted means they’re going to be improv-ing a little, which means they need to find funny funny people for this job.  Good luck, folks.

If you’re not familiar with Larry Charles–I knew his name but wasn’t up on his creds–he was big at NBC in the mid-90′s, serving as showrunner for Mad About You during its heyday.  I flailed a little bit when I realized he wrote probably the best episode of that show ever–”The Finale.”

In a way, it’s like NBC is putting together its 2010 Dream Team. It could either be totally awesome (like when Torchwood and the Tyler Family and Sarah Jane Smith and Harriet Jones and The Doctor all fight the Daleks in “The Stolen Earth”/”Journey’s End” or when every Bristow ever, even an in-utero Isabelle, takes down the Mueller Device in Alias‘s “Before The Flood”) or a hot mess (like when the entire cast of Bones showed up for that dumb-ass coma dream).

P.S. You know who the ideal leader of this Dream Team ’10 sitch would be? Aaron Sorkin, who was rumored a few months ago to be developing a series set backstage at a Keith Olbermann-type cable news show.  Just putting that out there.

The show is a legal dramedy called “Rex Is Not Your Lawyer” and focuses on Rex Alexander, a top Chicago litigator who begins suffering panic attacks and takes up coaching clients to represent themselves in court.

First of all, I love the title.

Second of all, I love the idea of these awesomeface people showing up at the Peacock. They’re not running the network by any means, but it’s good news for serious.  Lots of talent showing up over there … I’m liking the way the 2010-2011 season is looking so far.

And third of all–DAVID TENNANT. HOLY GOD, THANK YOU, GREAT BRITAIN.

In the newest Funny or Die sketch, Anthony Edwards prepares for his NBC return–the NYC Marathon, starring himself.

The telecast will be hosted by none other than Ricky Gervais, the man behind The Office, one of my new favorite movies The Invention of Lying, and that one really good episode of Alias.  Says Paul Telegdy, an executive vice president at NBC Universal:

Ricky is certainly one of the funniest people on the planet and has provided some of the most hilarious and memorable awards show moments in recent memory.  His unique comedic style will enhance the only awards show that brings together television and film stars to celebrate entertainment’s biggest night of the year.

AGREED.

Here’s a video of him behind the scenes on Alias. My favorite part is when the cast members dish about what a failure the then-forthcoming US version of The Office was going to be.  Guess again, Vartan.

what gives? // fox promotional photo

According to rumor, NBC nixed the idea of the cast of Glee performing in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.  TMZ (I know) reports that NBC banned the performance because Glee airs on a rival network.  Apparently, Macy’s, who organizes the event, had invited the cast, but NBC, who produces and airs the parade, shut it down. This just seems petty coming from NBC, who can’t seem to dig themselves out of their pit of misery. UGH.

oh please oh please oh please! // the wb promotional photo

Updated 10/9: It’s official! Lauren Graham’s joining the cast of Parenthood!

When the news broke yesterday afternoon that Lauren Graham might take the Parenthood role vacated by an ailing Maura Tierney, a great deal of people (including myself) leapt for joy.  As a longtime fan of both Maura and of the film version of Parenthood, I was really bummed when breast cancer treatments prevented her participation.  By all accounts, it seems Maura will make a full recovery, but it still sucks that she’s not going to be able to do this role.  (I’m sure there’s still room for her over at Untitled Noah Wyle TNT Alien Pilot.)

Anyway, if we have to replace Maura, I’ve got my fingers painfully crossed for Lauren Graham, who, in my opinion, can basically do no wrong.  The woman lights up every scene she’s in, transitions seamlessly from comedy to drama, and spits that rapid-fire dialogue like it’s her job (oh, wait…).

Don’t forget that Parenthood, which was supposed to start in the fall on NBC but was pushed to midseason in the hopes of Maura’s quick recovery, is run by Jason Katims, the man behind Friday Night Lights.  Is that a dream team OR WHAT?  The rest of the cast aren’t no-names, either.  Craig T. Nelson plays the patriarch, Peter Krause is the oldest brother, Erika Christensen is the youngest sister, and Monica Potter is Krause’s wife.  Yeah, crazy extended family isn’t necessarily the freshest concept, but it’s also a concept with the power to deliver if coupled with the right writing.

And honestly, it might be a good thing that this show hasn’t premiered yet.  With Modern Family making such a huge splash, this show may have come out looking like the Studio 60 to MF‘s 30 Rock.  Now, they have more time to prep it, perfect it, and blend whoever takes Maura’s part into the family (please oh please, let it be Lauren, please oh please!).

no, seriously, who's the hottest person in this picture?

This week, we heard the news that J.J. Abrams, the man behind perennially awesome Alias, Lost, and Fringe, has a new pilot in development, based on the concept of a married couple who spies together.

Described as lighter fare than his most famous projects offer, this series sounds a little like a brighter version of Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

Couple of thoughts–

Jabrams’s most enduring series have been those with heavy plots and a side of romance. People forget that he was also behind the short-lived Six Degrees and What About Brian, both of which were practically intolerable. This series is being billed as an “action-adventure-romance.” And with the main characters already coupled up, I’m skeptical about the potential one-true-pairing-ness of the whole thing.

That said, with the right leads with the right kind of chemistry and really strong writing, this sounds like an interesting concept. And of course I’ll give anything from Bad Robot the benefit of the doubt.

A bidding war ensued amongst the major networks; NBC came out as the victor.  Let’s take a moment to discuss this beleaguered network.  In 2006, Conan O’Brien summed up the sad fate of the peacock in his opening number as host of the Emmys.  ”Well, a few years ago, we were sitting on top, with Seinfeld, Frasier, and Friends. But then those shows bailed, and the new ones failed, and it started a nasty trend. And the guy who passed on Lost? Was promoted instead of tossed–and now the peacock’s getting it from both ends.”

It’s three years and two NBC presidents later, and the network is still trying to dig itself out of the hole left by the near-simultaneous departure of Frasier, Will & Grace, and Friends.  What’s worse is that The Office is aging and Steve Carell’s contract is up at the end of next season (2011).  The network had to cancel shows to make room for the truly terrible Jay Leno Show at 10:00, which one hopes will not outlast the one season that NBC promised Jay.  Pretty soon, the network will not only have to fill a whole lot of time with new programming, but it will also have to do this without the help of strong anchor shows.

So it sounds like a good idea to me for NBC to bid big on a show from Jabrams, especially one that seems to take a lighter spin on his spy-fi body of work.  (I love it to pieces, but the world only needs one Fringe right now.)  Remember that in the 2003-2004 season, ABC was looking pretty sad: Monday Night Football was keeping the lights on, and that doesn’t exactly bring in the demographics executives clamor for.  The 2004-2005 season, however, introduced Desperate Housewives, Lost, and Grey’s Anatomy to the ABC schedule.  And all it took was one strong season to turn the Alphabet Network around.

Could the same be true for NBC?  It’s way too early to tell if Bad Robot’s latest production has the power to create an NBC renaissance, but it’s definitely promising to see them investing in quality brains so early in the process.