REVOLUTION
According to the Official NBC Description: Our entire way of life depends on electricity. So what would happen if it just stopped working? Well, one day, like a switch turned off, the world is suddenly thrust back into the dark ages. Planes fall from the sky, hospitals shut down, and communication is impossible. And without any modern technology, who can tell us why?
Now, 15 years later, life is back to what it once was long before the industrial revolution: families living in quiet cul-de-sacs, and when the sun goes down, the lanterns and candles are lit. Life is slower and sweeter. Or is it?
On the fringes of small farming communities, danger lurks. And a young woman’s life is dramatically changed when a local militia arrives and kills her father, who mysteriously – and unbeknownst to her – had something to do with the blackout. This brutal encounter sets her and two unlikely companions off on a daring coming-of-age journey to find answers about the past in the hopes of reclaiming the future.
From director Jon Favreau (Iron Man) and the fertile imaginations of J.J. Abrams and Eric Kripke (SUPERNATURAL), comes a surprising “what if” action-adventure series, where an unlikely hero will lead the world out of the dark. Literally.
Why We’re Excited: Umm… did you see that trailer?
Why We Probably Shouldn’t Let Our Excitement Get the Better of Us: FLASHFORWARD, THE EVENT, SURFACE, THRESHOLD, INVASION, THE NINE, and V are just a few of the shows in a long line of LOST wannabes that failed to live up to both their trailer and the hype. Fool us once, shame on you. Fool us twice…
GO ON
According to the Official NBC Description: Misery loves company. Unless you’re sportscaster Ryan King, who thinks misery should just be left alone.
After taking some time off, Ryan – who recently lost his wife in a car accident – is now ready to get back to work. And while he seems like his same old charming, cocky self, his boss won’t put him back on the air until he seeks counseling. So, Ryan reluctantly joins a support group with one goal in mind: get in, get out and get back on the radio as quickly as possible.
Played by the fast-talking, sarcastic, and charismatic Matthew Perry, Ryan gives grief a real run for its money. Within one day of group therapy, he hijacks the meeting and suddenly the downtrodden are cajoled into playing a game of “who has the best sob story?” And in no time all of them are battling it out, trying to one-up each other’s despair. Now, this is fun!
Ryan’s total lack of interest in healing might be just what this group needs – and maybe, exactly what he needs to move on with his life. From Emmy-winning writer and executive producer Scott Silveri (FRIENDS) comes a new series that proves grief can be good.
Why We’re Excited: Just when we were about ready to write off Matthew Perry’s latest vehicle as yet another attempt to parlay his somewhat sarcastic and cynical brand of humor into another FRIENDS-esque pay-day, GO ON’s trailer cleverly decided to inject the one key ingredient missing from his previous project MR. SUNSHINE corgot: Some much-needed heart. Sold!
Why We Probably Shouldn’t Let Our Excitement Get the Better of Us: Former FRIENDS have had a really tough go of it in Broadcast television. Just ask newly acquired TBS star Courteney Cox (COUGAR TOWN) and current star of Showtime’s EPISODES Matt LeBlanc (RIP: JOEY)
THE NEW NORMAL
According to the Official NBC Description: These days, families come in all forms – single dads, double moms, sperm donors, egg donors, one-night-stand donors… It’s 2012 and anything goes.
Bryan and David are a Beverly Hills couple and they have it all. Well, almost. With successful careers and a committed and loving partnership, the one thing missing is a baby. And just when they think the stars will never align, enter Goldie, an extraordinary young woman with a checkered past. A Midwestern waitress and single mother looking to escape her dead-end life and small-minded grandmother, Goldie decides to change everything and move to L.A. with her precocious eight-year-old daughter. Desperate and broke – but also fertile – Goldie quickly becomes the guys’ surrogate and quite possibly the girl of their dreams. Surrogate mother, surrogate family.
From Emmy-winning hit-maker Ryan Murphy (AMERICAN HORROR STORY, GLEE, NIP/TUCK) and starring Justin Bartha (The Hangover), Andrew Rannells (star of Broadway sensation The Book of Mormon) and Ellen Barkin (The Big Easy) comes a fresh new comedy about the new normal family.
Why We’re Excited: Despite our current lack of interest in the train-wreck that is GLEE, there’s absolutely no denying Ryan Murphy’s track record when it comes to developing television to talk about. All the more so when you factor in a winning ensemble including Book of Mormon’s Andrew Rannells, The Hangover’s Justin Bartha and The Big Easy’s Ellen Barkin.
Why We Probably Shouldn’t Let Our Excitement Get the Better of Us: Ryan Murphy’s track record would also indicate a best case scenario shelf life hovering in and around the two season mark.
ANIMAL PRACTICE
According to the Official NBC Description: Meet Dr. George Coleman, a top-dog New York veterinarian. With an unorthodox style of operating, George’s success comes from his undeniable gift with animals of all kinds. That is, all but the human kind.
Dorothy Crane once held the key to George’s heart, but today she also holds the key to the family business as she takes over Crane Animal Hospital. Not only is she George’s new boss, but her romantic history with him (and her lack of experience with animals) is seriously cramping his style. Dorothy is whip-smart and ambitious, and she’s going to make George pay for the past. Needless to say, he’s determined not to make any changes in his (animal) kingdom – which includes poker games with a resident chimpanzee.
Starring Justin Kirk (WEEDS) and directed by Emmy winners Joe and Anthony Russo (HAPPY ENDINGS, COMMUNITY, ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT), this is a comedy where the animals are running the asylum.
Why We’re Excited: It’s WEEDS star Justin Kirk playing a veterinarian who cares more about his patients than their owners. Subtract the medical degree and you pretty much have the story of our life!
Why We Probably Shouldn’t Let Our Excitement Get the Better of Us: It’s never a good sign when the highly trained actors who are paid more money that most of us will see in a lifetime are overshadowed by a costumed monkey. We’re just sayin’
GUYS WITH KIDS
According to the Official NBC Description: From Emmy winner and executive producer Jimmy Fallon comes an absurdly funny new comedy about three thirty-something dads trying to hold on to their youth, while holding onto their new babies’ hands. Easy, right?
Thankfully Chris, Nick and Gary have each other to help navigate their survival as new dads, while still trying desperately to remain dudes. Balancing work or staying at home, painfully married or happily divorced, they know that taking care of the little ones while maintaining a social llife is a daily challenge. Whether it’s hosing the little squirt down in the kitchen sink or hitting the bar strapped with a Baby Bjorn, these guys are on a roller-coaster adventure – parenting like you (and they) have never seen before.
Someone once said it is much easier to become a father than to be one. These three guys are about to find out just how true that is.
Why We’re Excited: Well, on the plus side, neither COMMUNITY, 30 ROCK and/or PARKS AND RECREATION were harmed (read: canceled) to make room for what has the dubious distinction of being pegged as our frontrunner for next season’s first causality.
Why We Probably Shouldn’t Let Our Excitement Get the Better of Us: With apologies in advance to the very likeable cast that includes Anthony Anderson and Jamie-Lynn Sigler, an abundance of excitement isn’t going to be a problem when it comes to this “laugher.”
CHICAGO FIRE
According to the Official NBC Description: No job is more stressful, dangerous or exhilarating than those of the Firefighters, Rescue Squad and Paramedics of Chicago Firehouse 51. These are the courageous men and women who forge headfirst into danger when everyone else is running the other way. But the enormous responsibilities of the job also take a personal toll.
With big reputations and hefty egos, the pressure to perform and make split-second decisions is bound to put squad members at odds. When a tragedy claims one of their own, there’s plenty of guilt and blame to go around. In the middle of a divorce, Lt. Matthew Casey tries to go about business as usual, but can’t help butting heads with the brash Lt. Kelly Severide of the Rescue Squad – and each blames the other for their fallen team member. When it’s “go-time,” though, they put their differences aside and put everything on the line for each other. This is a look inside one of America’s noblest professions.
From renowned Emmy-winning producer Dick Wolf and the writing team behind “3:10 to Yuma” comes an edge-of-your-seat view of a dirty job that often means the difference between life and death.
Why We’re Excited: HOUSE’s Jesse Spencer and THE VAMPIRE DIARIES Taylor Kinney top line a high octane thriller reminiscent of ER.
Why We Probably Shouldn’t Let Our Excitement Get the Better of Us: The critical response and audience buzz surrounding CHICAGO FIRE is really going to have to heat before we’re willing to accept that it’s anything more than your standard write-by-numbers procedural. 
