UPDATED: The network upfronts are once again front-and-center for the television industry as major players gather in New York May 15-17 for the springtime ritual of presenting programming plans for the upcoming TV season.
Upfronts are always a hectic time, but this year it’s even more so because of the writers strike that began May 2. Writers and many actors are sitting out the upfront presentations in solidarity with the Writers Guild of America. The promise of WGA pickets surrounding all major events spurred Netflix to make a hasty decision to switch to a virtual presentation rather than an in-person event at the company’s Paris Theater.
As content chiefs outline their plans for the 2022-2023 television season, here is a running list of new drama and comedy series orders handed out by ABC, Disney, CBS, Warner Bros. Discovery, NBC, Fox, the CW and other major players in the upfront. This post will be updated throughout upfront week.
NBC COMEDY
Extended Family (Lionsgate TV, Universal TV)
Logline: Jim and Julia, after an amicable divorce, decide to continue to raise their kids at the family home while taking turns on who gets to stay with them — a process that becomes more complicated when Julia begins dating the owner of Jim’s favorite sports team.
Exec producers: Mike O’Malley (writer), Tom Werner, Wyc Grousbeck, Emilia Fazzalari and George Geyer
Cast: Jon Cryer, Donald Faison, Abigail Spencer, Sofia Capanna and Finn Sweeney
NBC DRAMA
Found (Universal Television, Warner Bros. Television)
Loglinee: A crisis management PR specialist works with a team to help find missing persons but this everyday hero is hiding a chilling secret of her own.
Exec producers: Nkechi Okoro Carroll (writer), Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Sonay Hoffman, Lindsay Dunn and Leigh Redman
Cast: Shanola Hampton, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Kelli Williams, Brett Dalton, Gabrielle Walsh, Arlen Escarpeta and Karan Oberoi.
The Irrational (Universal Television)
Logline: Alec Mercer is a world-renowned leader in behavioral science who lends his expertise to an array of high-stakes cases involving governments, law enforcement and corporations with his unique and unexpected approach to understanding human behavior.
Exec producers: Arika Lisanne Mittman (writer), Mark Goffman, Samuel Baum and David Frankel
Cast: Jesse L. Martin, Maahra Hill, Travina Springer, Molly Kunz and Arash DeMaxi
NBC UNSCRIPTED
The Americas (BBC Studios Natural History Unit, Universal Television Alternative Studio)
Logline: Narrated by Tom Hanks, this 10-part documentary series will employ revolutionary filmmaking technology to showcase the wonders, secrets and fragilities of the Americas and reveal extraordinary, untold wildlife stories that deeply connect with millions around the world.
Exec producer: Mike Gunton
Unititled America’s Got Talent Series (Fremantle, Syco Entertainment)
Logline: A special edition of the global talent competition franchise
Exec producers: Simon Cowell, Sam Donnelly and Jason Raff
Deal or No Deal Island (Endemol Shine North America)
Logline: Teams compete for the biggest prize in “Deal or No Deal” history
Exec producers: Sharon Levy, DJ Nurre and Howie Mandel
(Pictured: NBC’s “Found”)
More to come
