Eleven brand new shows from NBC will b gracing our screens this season, as they go all out to cover all genres. You’re bound to find something here to tickle your fancy, although sadly possibly the most promising series to come (The Firm) has no trailer. I’m sure a little Playboy can go some ways to making up for it, and watch out for what could be the sleeper hit (no pun intended!) for the network this year, Awake.
Show: The Playboy Club
Starring:
Eddie Cibrian as Nick Dalton
Leah Renee as Bunny Alice
Amber Heard as Bunny Maureen
Jenna Dewan as Bunny Janie
Laura Benanti as Bunny Mother Carol-Lynne
David Krumholtz as Billy Rosen
Naturi Naughton as Bunny Brenda
Wes Ramsey as Max
It’s the early ’60s, and the legendary Playboy Club in Chicago is the door to all your fantasies… and the key is the most sought-after status symbol of its time. Step inside the seductive world of the Bunny, the epitome of beauty and service, and rub shoulders with the decade’s biggest mobsters, politicos and entertainers (like Tina Turner and Sammy Davis, Jr.) With all these larger than life ambitions, there are even greater secrets. Like when innocent new Bunny Maureen – who wants to take the world by storm – accidentally kills one of the Windy City’s most powerful mafia bosses… and the only person capable of covering it up and protecting her is Nick Dalton, a man who once worked for the mob but is about to run for district attorney. Bunny Alice is married but hiding an explosive personal life while Bunny Janie is running from a past that threatens to catch up with her. It seems everyone has a secret – none more so than Maureen, who may not even be the innocent orphan she appears to be. Thank goodness Hef’s Playboy Mansion is open after hours for a little R&R… and burying your past.
Show: Grimm
Starring:
David Giuntoli as Det. Nick Burkhardt
Silas Weir Mitchell as Eddy Munroe
Russell Hornsby as Lt. Hank Griffin
Sasha Roiz as Captain Renard
Bitsie Tulloch as Juliette Silverton
Reggie Lee as Sgt. Wu
Remember the fairy tales your parents used to tell you before bedtime? Well, those weren’t stories, they were warnings. Detective Nick Burkhardt thought he was ready for the grim reality of working homicide in Portland, Oregon. That is, until he started to see things… things he couldn’t quite explain. Like a gorgeous woman suddenly transforming into a hideous hag, or an average Joe turning into a vicious troll. Then, after a panicked visit from his only living relative, Nick discovers the truth about his visions: he’s not like everyone else, he’s a descendant of an elite group of hunters known as “Grimms” who are charged with stopping the proliferation of supernatural creatures in the world. And so begins his new life journey – albeit a reluctant one at first – as he solves crimes with his partner who knows something about Nick has radically changed but can’t quite put his finger on it. Along the way, Nick finds himself unexpectedly getting help on some of the more difficult cases from Monroe, a guy who seems normal at first but is soon revealed to be what you might call a “big bad wolf.” Literally!
Show: Prime Suspect
Starring:
Maria Bello as Det. Jane Timoney
Kirk Acevedo as Det. Luisito Calderon
Aidan Quinn as Lt. Kevin Sweeney
Joe Nieves as Det. Eddie Gautier
Brian O’Byrne as Det. Reg Duffy
Damon Gupton as Det. Evrard Velerio
Tim Griffin as Det. Augie Blando
Peter Gerety as Desmond Timoney
If being a homicide detective in New York isn’t tough enough, having to contend with a male-dominated police department to get respect makes it that much tougher. And that’s exactly what Jane Timoney has to do. She’s an outsider who was just transferred to a new precinct where a fraternity of cops isn’t willing to give her the benefit of the doubt – especially given the way they think she got the job after an illicit affair with her boss. Jane is by no means perfect, and with her own vices and questionable past she can be forceful, willful, rude, and downright reckless. She’s also a brilliant cop with an uncanny ability to see what others miss, and get inside a criminal’s head like no one else. While she wouldn’t admit it, she wants the respect of the men in her life – including her commanding officer, her fellow detectives, and her complicated boyfriend and his young son – but above all, she keeps her eye on one thing: the prime suspect.
Show: Whitney
Starring:
Whitney Cummings as Whitney
Maulik Pancholy as Neal
Chris D’Elia as Alex
Dan O’Brien as Mark
Zoe Lister-Jones as Lily
Rhea Seehorn as Roxanne
They say marriage is the number one cause of divorce. For Alex and Whitney, it’s one of many reasons they’re determined not to take the plunge. After going to yet another one of their friends’ weddings, Whitney realizes that she and Alex are dangerously close to relationship boredom. She sees it happen all the time: pretty soon you’re not dressing up for each other, you’re not having enough sex, and you start fighting. Determined not to let that happen to them, Whitney consults her close circle of (opinionated) friends and snaps into action. A few awkward sexy costumes and one botched seductive evening later, they end up in the ER after Alex gets a concussion from a compromising position. Not exactly the mind-blowing experience she wanted, but you know what? That’s all right. Their relationship might not be perfect on paper, but it works and they really do love each other.
Show: Free Agents
Starring:
Hank Azaria as Alex
Natasha Leggero as Emma
Kathryn Hahn as Helen
Anthony Head as Stephen
Mo Mandel as Dan
Jo Lo Truglio as Walter
Al Madrigal as Gregg
Alex is recently divorced, and Helen lost her fiance a year ago. Obviously, these two are definitely not ready to be dating again. So naturally, they end up in bed together one night. Oops. And they’re co-workers. Double oops. At least they have one thing in common: they’re both in need of getting back on the horse again but unable to figure out how. Despite their little romantic encounter, however, they decide to just remain friends. Helen insists this has nothing to do with Alex crying like a baby after sex. And Alex tries to reassure Helen that she’ll have no trouble finding a new boyfriend as soon as she removes the pictures of her dead fiance that are all over her apartment. The rest of the office tries to get Alex back out there… but no matter how many douchey shirts they make him buy, he’s never going to be a ladies’ man. His colleagues aren’t actually much help: from the boss who can’t wait to hear about Alex’s sexual exploits to the eternal “player” who wants Alex as his new wing man. When he finally gets up the courage to go on a date, Helen finds herself just a little jealous… which is what Alex secretly wanted all along. And one drunk-dial later, they end up back in bed together. Looks like this might be the start of something (awkward) big.
Show: Smash
Starring:
Debra Messing as Julia
Jaime Cepero as Ellis
Christian Borle as Tom
Anjelica Huston as Eileen
Katharine McPhee as Karen
Raza Jaffrey as Dev
Jack Davenport as Derek
Brian d’Arcy James as Frank
Megan Hilty as Ivy
There’s nothing more exciting than the opening night of a hit Broadway musical, except maybe what happens getting there. While Wicked and The Lion King pack audiences in on the Great White Way, Julia and Tom, a successful songwriting team played by Debra Messing and Christian Borle, begin work on a new musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe. When a tenacious producer (Anjelica Houston) jumps aboard, so begins the difficult task of casting the silver screen icon. Ivy Lynn, a tough Broadway veteran, seems like the obvious choice. But enter Karen Cartwright (Katharine McPhee), a young girl from Iowa with a dream of making it on Broadway who walks in and blows everyone away. So who will get the part and begin a journey that will change their lives? It’s an age-old story, but a star just might be born once again.
Show: Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea
Starring:
Laura Prepon as Chelsea
Mark Povinelli as Todd
Chelsea Handler as Sloane
Natalie Morales as Ivory
Angel Laketa Moore as Shoniqua
Lauren Lapkus as Dee Dee
Jo Koy as Mark
Lenny Clarke as Melvin
Do you remember where you were when you had a life-changing realization? (In other words, a DUI? ) For Chelsea Newman, it was in the drunk tank at her local jail. And maybe “life-changing” is a slight exaggeration – her version of a wake-up call is realizing that the way to avoid driving drunk is to get an apartment within walking distance from work! But hey, baby steps, right? Chelsea is young, strong-willed, and a force of nature determined to live life to the fullest and make no apologies. Her friends are along for the ride, but they all know it’s Chelsea’s way or the highway. Her fiery Cuban BFF accuses her of “collecting weirdoes,” but to Chelsea, different types of people – including Todd, (a little person) who always has her back – just make life more interesting. Into her posse comes a new roommate who is Chelsea’s polar opposite (sheltered, shy, a virgin) so you can probably guess which way the influence will go. Chelsea works at her local bar (how appropriate!) where her co-workers are just as crazy as she is.
Show: Bent
Starring:
Amanda Peet as Alex
Margo Harshman as Screwsie
David Walton as Pete
Joey King as Charlie
Jeffrey Tambor as Walt
It’s amazing what you can find when you’re a little bit lost – and how ironic at a time like this that you suddenly find yourself attracted to exactly what used to repel you! That’s the situation for Alex and Pete. On the surface, they could not be more different. Alex is strong, resilient, tough-as-nails and recently divorced, now raising her eight-year-old daughter as a single mom. She’s also a lawyer, which is funny because her ex-husband is in jail for fraud. Determined not to let anything do her in, she stays the course by not taking grief from anyone… oh, and she’s just decided to redo her kitchen. Enter Pete, the contractor she hires for the job. Pete is a recovering gambling addict, avid surfer and unapologetic womanizer. His vices have ruined his relationships with his old construction team, and Alex’s kitchen job is his last chance to prove that he won’t just blow it all again.
Show: Awake
Starring:
Jason Isaacs as Michael Britten
Wilmer Valderrama as Det. Efrem Vega
Laura Allen as Hannah Britten
Michaela McManus as Tara
Dylan Minnette as Rex Britten
Cherry Jones as Dr. Judith Evans
Steve Harris as Det. Isaiah “Bird” Freeman
B.D. Wong as Dr. John Lee
Lots of people find themselves leading some kind of double life… but none quite like this. After Detective Michael Britten wakes up from a car accident with his wife and teenage son, he learns the devastating news that his wife died in the crash. Trying to put the pieces of his life back together, he wakes up a few days later to realize that his wife is very much alive and his son died in the accident! Did he lose his wife or his son? Or neither of them?? What if your life split in two in the face of a situation like this, and you could actually have everything you wanted, just not all at the same time? Michael goes back to work solving crimes while trying to put things back on a “normal” track, but alternating between realities provides some challenges – one moment he and his wife are grappling with having another child to replace their loss, and the next moment he’s finding himself attracted to his son’s tennis coach to fill the void from the loss of his wife. At the same time, he is solving crimes in each world which sometimes overlap in fascinating and inexplicable ways. Is he dreaming or going mad? Michael begins seeing two different therapists to help him sort things out, but then again why would he want either “reality” to go away when the totality of both means having his family complete?
Show:Up All Night
Starring:
Christina Applegate as Reagan
Maya Rudolph as Ava
Will Arnett as Chris
James Pumphrey as Brian
Life is all about balance. So what happens when you throw a new baby into it? Reagan (Christina Applegate) and her husband, Chris (Will Arnett), are the proud new parents of baby Amy. She may have been unexpected, but life’s curve balls can be a godsend, literally. Unless you have a career that needs attention, which is exactly what Reagan has. So, bucking tradition, they decide Reagan’s the one going back to work while Chris is going to be the stay-at-home dad. Easy, right? Well, not quite. Back at work at her high-pressure job, Reagan immediately feels the push and pull of motherhood and career while her self-involved co-worker, Ava (Maya Rudolph), can’t believe her best friend now has a baby (nor can she even remember if it’s a boy or girl!) Then her Facebook-generation assistant reminds Reagan of the free-wheeling lifestyle she and Chris once had. She also remembers that no matter how rowdy the partying once was, she always managed to get home, something that makes her very proud.
Show: The Firm
Starring:
Josh Lucas
Callum Keith Rennie
Juilette Lewis
Molly Parker
There are no character details or trailers available at present.
Picking up 10 years after the events of the 1993 feature film, this new series finds lawyer Mitch McDeere, who worked with the FBI to bring down a Memphis law firm associated with the Chicago mob, coming out of near total isolation after his family spent a decade in the Federal Witness Protection Program. The McDeeres are ready to return to their old lives and leave the past behind them – but the mob has a long memory. Add that to Mitch’s new association with another firm that may or may not be involved in something illicit, and the path ahead is dangerous and unknown. As old enemies return and new threats emerge, Mitch has no choice but to fight back if he ever hopes to return to some sense of normalcy. But can one man fight a criminal conspiracy? At least Mitch has one thing going for him: he’s done it before.
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