NBC has made decisions on two of its three bubble comedies and one of its four pilots.
The network has opted to cancel sophomore series Grand Crew and third-year show Young Rock, leaving fellow comedy American Auto on the bubble. As part of NBC’s comedy moves Friday, the network has handed out a series order to the mockumentary series St. Denis Medical. There is no word yet on the fates of NBC’s three remaining pilots, comedy Non-Evil Twin with Amber Ruffin and dramas Murder by the Book and Wolf.
St. Denis Medical, in the vein of ABC’s breakout Emmy darling Abbott Elementary, is described as a mockumentary about an underfunded, understaffed Oregon hospital where the dedicated doctors and nurses try their best to treat patients while maintaining their own sanity. Wendi McClendon-Covey stars in the Universal TV series, marking her first role after she wrapped a 10-season run as the star of ABC’s The Goldbergs earlier this season. The series hails from creator and writer Justin Spitzer, who also is behind NBC’s last remaining bubble show, American Auto. Spitzer co-created St. Denis Medical alongside Eric Ledgin, with Simon Heuer attached as an exec producer. Ruben Fleischer directed and exec produced the pilot. David Alan Grier, Allison Tolman, Josh Lawson, Mekki Leeper and Kahyun Kim round out the cast.
Grand Crew, meanwhile, starred Nicole Byer and Echo Kellum and was created by Phil Augusta Jackson who exec produced alongside his former Brooklyn Nine-Nine cohort Dan Goor. The series from Universal Television, where Goor is based with an overall deal, ran for two seasons.
Young Rock was based on the life of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who exec produced the series alongside creator Nahnatchka Khan. Johnson appeared as himself in the Universal TV-produced series, which starred Adrian Groulx, Bradley Constant and Uli Latukefu as younger versions of the global superstar.
St. Denis Medical marks the second comedy series that NBC has picked up for the 2023-24 broadcast season. The network already went to series on Extended Family, starring Jon Cryer, with the Lionsgate-produced series having already completed production. That series, alongside dramas Found and The Irrational, were picked up off-cycle and developed during pilot season 2022 before being pushed to next season as NBC banked original scripted series in the event of a work stoppage by Hollywood’s unions.
The ongoing writers strike, currently approaching its sixth week, has forced a number of TV series and film productions to halt shooting. The longer the work stoppage continues — with performers also threatening to strike against Hollywood’s studios and streamers — the more of an immediate impact it will have on broadcast networks which remain tied to a rigid schedule for advertisers.
The cancellations come as networks beyond NBC have taken a wait-and-see approach to bubble shows in the wake of the strike. Many studios are now being forced to make decisions on whether to pick up actor options and continue to delay decisions on bubble fare or outright cancel originals.
Keep up with all the broadcast renewals, cancellations and new series orders with THR’s handy scorecard. And click here for more on all of the broadcast pilots.
Source: Hollywood
