Just after fall schedules are determined at networks' upfront presentations in late May, major networks send the pilots of their new programs to the media. These previews are not for in-depth review, because many pilots are retooled, recast, and reshot before they officially debut, and the final product might be much different. But that doesn't mean we can't share some basic ideas of what to expect!
The Show: Up All Night on NBC, which will debut on Wednesday, September 14 at 10 p.m. (it will move to 8 p.m. after that).
The Cast: Christina Applegate, Will Arnett, Maya Rudolph, James Pumphrey, Reid Ewing, Nick Cannon.
NBC's official logline: "Christina Applegate stars as Reagan Brinkley: loving wife, successful career woman, life of the party and, most recently, mom. Determined not to compromise her career or cool reputation to the cliches of motherhood, Reagan adjusts to life with a baby and returns to work with the support of her stay-at-home husband, Chris (Will Arnett). As Reagan and Chris figure out their new life, self-doubt, sleep deprivation and the pressure of today's parenting protocols rattle their confidence. What's more, the endless needs of Reagan's boss, ambitious but vulnerable talk-show host Ava (Maya Rudolph), threaten to throw Reagan off balance."
Early Intel: With Applegate and Arnett on board, this instantly became a must-see project during its development. The show comes from Emily Spivey, a writer for Saturday Night Live, but this is the first show that's genuinely hers. Early word is the success of Rudolph from her stint in Bridesmaids is changing the series a bit by giving her character more screentime.
First Thoughts: The new comedies this season are a sorry lot, but Up All Night is at least near the top of the heap and not at the bottom.
What the series has going for it: Will Arnett is great, and finally found a role where he's not stereotyped as the big-mouthed A-hole. Rudolph is also enjoyable as the domineering boss. In fact, the cast is fantastic all around.
Room for Improvement: Up All Night has decided to go with handheld cameras and natural lighting for that indie look, but it just feels like it has fidgety cameramen. It's a style that works for Steven Soderbergh and dramas, but in my opinion not with comedies. At times, it also felt like your friend who corners you and shows you baby pictures for hours.
The Coolest Part of the Early Version: There was still plenty of Maya Rudolph in the early version, so it will be interesting to see how they give her more time in a show that's really about the couple at the center, not her.
Last Word: Overall, the humor is fairly generic. But at least the lines are delivered by likable people.
Here's NBC's official trailer for the series:
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Young couple? Are they not both in their 40's?
The preview is not very promising. Usually, writers/comedians resort to cursing when they can't find any more funny lines. When it happens on the first episode, it is not a good sign of what's to come. I'm not puritan. I'm talking about cursing versus good "comedic dialogs".
Whatever, if the show is good the network will probably cancel it after the first season anyway... (That seems to be a trend these days.)
The biggest problem with many sitcoms is that they seem to fall into a cliche of what a sitcom is suppose to be like and as such wind up telling the same jokes in the same way. Even the laughs that the jokes may get are almost scripted.
I actually really liked this preview
Looks like it could be fun to watch!
The Preview was hilarious so we'll see how it goes.
Meh...
I'm reserving judgement until I've seen the first episode. I'm not a fan of Arnett, but if he's not playing an over-the-top character for once he might be OK. The biggest problem I have with the Promo is the lack of anything truly original, it's all be done before but maybe this time the cast will make a difference, add to that the clever guest appearence angle with Rudolph's characters job as a talk show host and it just might survive the end of season cut.
yeah, i dont know, we shal see
sounds like it may be a keeper. i'll watch.
I hope they don't focus too much on Rudolph, I'm not a huge fan of hers but I looooooove Arnett and Applegate!
I like the Applegate/Arnett mingle and banter. Rudolph I ALWAYS felt overacts any part given and seems forced. Going to need STRONG direction here!!
is there any show you guys like gosh
I was planning on giving this show a go when it aired, mainly because of Applegate and Arnett. I remember thinking the first preview I saw was kind of bad, but this preview makes it look better. I still don't like the documentary-type shooting though.
Looks really promising!!! Love them!!!
Looks awesome.