NBC has ordered what may just be the first batch of its pick-ups, which of course join the previously ordered MICHAEL J. FOX SHOW. Remember, for now we don’t know whether these shows will be on the air in fall or midseason, or when they’ll be scheduled. Here are some quick descriptions:
COMEDIES
ABOUT A BOY: Based on the 2002 Hugh Grant film and Nick Hornby’s wonderful novel, the US version has credentials of its own, being written by Jason Katims of Parenthood and Friday Night Lights fame. David Walton takes the Grant role of the immature guy who becomes friends with a neighbor’s oddball son, and Minnie Driver plays the boy’s mother.
SEAN SAVES THE WORLD: Sean Hayes returns to series TV (the supporting cast includes Thomas Lennon and Linda Lavin), as a guy whose teen daughter has just moved in with him and who also has to deal with a mercurial new boss. It’s written by Victor Fresco, creator of Better Off Ted.
THE FAMILY GUIDE: A post-divorce family that includes a blind father, from the point of view of the young son, with a cast that includes Parker Posey, J.K. Simmons and Harold Perrineau. Written (semi-autobiographically) by D.J. Nash, most recently a writer on Up All Night.
DRAMAS
CRISIS: Another international conspiracy thriller, but written by Rand Ravich, who was behind the interesting (if unsuccessful) Life, with a cast that includes Dermot Mulroney, Rachael Taylor and Gillian Anderson.
BELIEVE: Another fantasy-adventure from J.J. Abrams, teamed this time with the great filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men), who wrote the script about a girl with magic powers and her ex-con protector.
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