TV Bits: ‘30 Rock’ Nearing Renewal For Seventh And Final Season, Plus: ‘Parks & Recreation’, ‘Community’, ‘Game Of Thrones’, ‘TRON: Uprising’, And More
Fans of NBC’s Thursday night lineup will want to keep a close eye on TV news in the coming days, as the network is nearing a seventh season renewal for30 Rock. As for geek favoritesCommunityandParks & Recreation, let’s just say the latter seems to have a better shot of coming back than the former. Also after the jump…
As for the freshman series,Whitneyis looking unlikely to return, whileUp All Nightis in search of a co-showrunner to replaceJon Pollack, who just moved to NBC’s upcomingGo On. The fact that the network’s actively looking for a new staffer is a good sign, as it suggests that NBC plans to stick withUp All Night.
At this point, you may be wondering what these new shows are that NBC’s so concerned with. Well, in addition to Bryan Fuller’sHannibal, Matthew Perry’sGo On, J.J. Abrams’Revolution, Ryan Murphy’sThe New Normal, and Anne Heche’sSave Me, the network has also just given the green light to the First Family sitcom1600 Pennand the vet comedyAnimal Practice.
1600 Pennis created by actorJosh Gad(Book of Mormon), directorJason Winer(Modern Family), and former Obama speechwriterJon Lovett, and will starBill PullmanandJenna Elfmanas the POTUS and FLOTUS, respectively. Gad will star as Pullman’s oldest son.Animal PracticefeaturesJustin Kirk(Weeds) as an abrasive vet who loves animals but hates their owners, and also starsTyler Labine. Both1600 PennandAnimal Practicehave received 13-episode orders. [TV Line]
If the premise for1600 Pennsounds vaguely familiar, that may be because of its thematic similarities to USA’sPolitical Animals, which also revolves around the White House. Well, kind of —Sigourney Weaverstars as an ex-FLOTUS and current Secretary of State trying to recover from her failed marriage and failed presidential bid. The cast has just addedDylan Baker(The Good Wife), who’ll play the vice president under President Paul Garcetti (Adrian Pasdar,Heroes). Baker’s character Fred Collier is described as a sweet-seeming man with some dark secrets, and a “fierce combatant” of Weaver’s character.
Baker joins a notable cast that also includesJames Wolk,Sebastian Stan,Carla Gugino, andEllen Burstyn. The six-episode drama kicks offJuly 15. [Deadline]
We’ve only just passed the halfway point ofGame of Thrones' second season — this past weekend’s episode was #6 out of 10 — but I know some of the truly eager are already looking ahead to the season finale.Screen Crushgot their hands on the official description of the last episode of Season 2, titled “Valar Morghulis.” (SPOILERS FOLLOW.If you don’t want to know, please skip ahead to the next, non-GOTitem.)
Episode #20: “Valar Morghulis”
Tyrion awakens to a changed situation. King Joffrey doles out rewards to his subjects. As Theon stirs his men to action, Luwin offers some final advice. Brienne silences Jaime; Arya receives a gift from Jaqen; Dany goes to a strange place; Jon proves himself to Qhorin. (Written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss; directed by Alan Taylor.)
The episode will deal with the fallout of the events of the battle shown in the previous episode, “Blackwater” — one so epic thatGeorge R.R. Martinhimself was brought in to pen the script.
Do you think that sounds like a fitting end to this crazy season? (End Game of Thrones spoilers.)
As ABC’sOnce Upon a Timewinds down and Disney XD’sTRON: Uprisinggears up, producersEdward KitsisandAdam Horowitzwill be hosting a fan Q&A session on Wednesday,May 9from 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM Eastern Time. Kitsis and Horowitz are the creators and exec producers behindOnce Upon a Time, and serve as consulting producers on the upcomingTRON: Uprising.
As moderator, IGN’sEric Goldmanwill be selecting questions from Facebook to pass along to Kitsis and Horowitz. TV lovers who want to participate should go tofacebook.com/OnceABC,facebook.com/Tron, orfacebook.com/DisneyXDto join in and submit questions. The first half of the hour will be focused onOnce Upon a Time, while the second will kick off with a three-minute sneak peek of theTRON: Uprisingprelude"Beck’s Beginning.“In addition, a behind-the-scenes video fromOnce Upon a Timewill start airing a half-hour before the Q&A, at 2:30 PM (Eastern Time).
Beck’s Beginningwill air on the Disney Channel Friday,May 18, followed by the debut ofTRON: Uprisingon Disney XD Thursday,June 7. The first season ofOnce Upon a Timeends Sunday,May 13. [Stitch Kingdom]
