The Television Critics Association Press Tour continues this week, with TV networks making their programming presentations to the media with brand new details on their new and returning shows. Tuesday saw NBC kick this week’s presentations into high gear. Here’s what’s hot with the peacock network:
NBC Programming News
Taken, NBC’s planned TV adaptation of the Liam Neeson franchise, will be a prequel set 30 years prior to the first film, but with the timeline reworked, so that it’s set in present day. “I think it’s all about execution at the end of the day,” NBC’s Bob Greenblatt said of his hopes for the success of the series.
Timeless is NBC’s time-travel procedural starring Goran Visnjic, Abigail Spencer, Matt Lanter and Malcolm Barrett. Visnjic plays a time traveling criminal who steals a time machine to change the course of history. Spencer, Lanter, and Barrett are the team tasked with catching him. We learned Tuesday that the plot of the second episode surrounds the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. “We’re doing things most shows won’t try,” Executive Producer, Shawn Ryan told the press
Meet the #Timeless team @malcolmbarrett, @AbigailSpencer, @MattLanter and crew at the #TCA16 panel. #NBCUTCA pic.twitter.com/supKMdM3XK
— Timeless (@NBCTimeless) August 2, 2016
This Is Us, from creator Dan Fogelman (Crazy, Stupid Love), is NBC’s plan to fill the void of emotional family stories on the network in the wake of Parenthood‘s ending. The show is billed as a refreshingly honest and provocative series starring an ensemble cast that includes Mandy Moore, Sterling K. Brown, and Milo Ventimiglia. As their paths cross over the course of the show, their lives intertwine in unexpected ways, the gimmick being that many of them share the same birthday.
We learned Tuesday that Katey Segal and Brad Garrett are in the second episode. “We’re getting a lot of high-profile talent that wants to be involved,” Fogelman said.
#ThisIsUs is keeping #NBCUTCA all in the family. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/cjT2Cj2cGw
— This Is Us (@NBCThisisUs) August 2, 2016
Fans of Dick Wolf’s “Chicago” shows (Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., Chicago Med, and the upcoming Chicago Justice) will be excited to learn that more seamless crossovers can be expected for that franchise during the upcoming TV season. For example, Wolf told attendees, Chicago Med doctors could be called to testify on Chicago Justice.
Bring. It. On! #OneChicago https://t.co/7FHcPwlR1e
— NBC (@nbc) August 2, 2016
The Good Place, starring Kristen Bell and Ted Danson, is a fantasy sitcom set in an afterlife where Bell’s character wakes up to realize she’s actually been mistaken for someone else. The buzz in yesterday’s Press Tour presentation was all about the show’s fake cursing (“Fork yes!”). “Kristen makes being a bad person really charming,” says director Drew Goddard.
Blindspot is primed to return for Season 2, and fans should expect some exciting revelations from the get-go. We’ll find out Jane’s real first name in the season premiere, for instance. Actress Archie Punjabi (The Good Wife) joins the show this season as the head of an NSA group. And just to keep viewers playing along with the show’s mystery at home, EP Sarah Schechter confirms that there will, indeed, be more hidden messages and puzzles in episode titles this season.
Other NBC programming updates:
- Celebrity Apprentice, ICYMI, will be hosted by Arnold Schwarzenegger. The show returns to NBC in January.
- America’s Got Talent will return for season 12 in 2017 with Simon Cowell and all of the show’s judges returning.
- Superstore‘s new season will deal with “hilarious” topics like undocumented citizenship, transgender bathrooms, morning after pills, and more.
- Hairspray Live!, NBC’s next big musical event, added Rosie O’Donnell and Sean Hayes to the cast. Ariana Grande plays Penny. Harvey Fierstein, Jennifer Hudson, Derek Hough and Martin Short also star.
- Alicia Keys joins Miley Cyrus, Adam Levine, and Blake Shelton on The Voice when it returns September 19.
- Jimmy Fallon will host this year’s Golden Globes, taking over from Ricky Gervais.
Check out more TCA Press Tour News from Syfy and USA Network.
