The biggest TV news this week came in the form of NBC's midseason schedule announcement. The struggling network, in the midst of a takeover by cable giant Comcast, will try to improve its standing in January by adding several new series to its lineup, bringing back some old favorites and shuffling some current underperformers.
Most notably, in a nearly unprecedented move, NBC decided to expand its Thursday night comedy block to three hours. The current installment of "The Apprentice" is struggling in the 10 p.m. timeslot, and the network had too many comedies to fit in, so the new arrangement looks to be a win-win — especially as counter-programming to CBS' "The Mentalist" and ABC's "Private Practice."
Plus, it means that "Parks and Recreation" will finally be back on the air after a (too) long hiatus, with Adam Scott and Rob Lowe joining the cast full-time. (You can read more about the announcement and see the full midseason schedule at blogs.tuftsdaily.com.)
In other news, AMC decided to cancel "Rubicon" on Nov. 11, ending the cable network's record of multi-season, original series success stories.
The conspiracy thriller, centered on a team of intelligence analysts, was slow-paced and took several episodes to establish itself. Once it did, though, it turned into a smart and sleek drama. The finale was widely regarded as a letdown, however, and with the success of "The Walking Dead" — which has already been renewed for a second season — the network must have decided it didn't have to settle for low ratings.
In terms of content, NBC's "Community" continued its strong creative streak last Thursday with a "bottle episode," where the entire cast is contained on the main set to save production money. After several elaborate parody episodes chock full of pop-culture references, it was a nice change of pace and a terrific character study.
"Glee" also had a pretty good episode this week, which, relative to its usual standard, is saying something. Gwyneth Paltrow proved a fun and lively guest star — her rendition of Cee-Lo Green's "Forget You" was a highlight — and there was actually an attempt at continuity and character development.
Oh, and watch "Terriers."
—by Ben Phelps
