Deadline reports that NBC has decided to call it quits on Next Caller after four episodes (out of the six ordered) were filmed. Apparently NBC didn't like the creative direction of the comedy starring Dane Cook. According to the report, production has been shut down and the filmed episodes will not air.
@HoneyBadger, the Cancellation Bear is designed to think like network executives.
Based on the trailers this looked more appealing to me than any of NBC’s other freshman comedies… of course that isn’t saying much! But still, there must have been some business reason to give up on it – why not show them on a dead December Friday otherwise?
This isn’t that uncommon. The show was given a series order pending a reworking which obviously NBC executives didn’t like. Critics were very lukewarm towards the pilot and I suspect the final, retooled, version didn’t test well.
Jeffrey Tambor has no luck with TV shows.
@ Max Vrany “@HoneyBadger, the Cancellation Bear is designed to think like network executives”.
I agree the Cancellation Bearis designed to think like GOOD network executives. But the NBC executives are not good.
If the NBC executives were replaced by the the Cancellation Bear, NBC would be in better shape.
Animal Practice, 30 Rock, Up All Night, Guys With Kids, etc. all with very low ratings and getting beat in ratings by CW would be canceled. And Rock Center would have been cancelled long ago.
Who would have thought Jay Leno primetime would have had better ratings than so many NBC prime time shows?
That sucks. Hopefully they come out online or somewhere, as it would be decent to see as I am a DC fan
NBC, soon to cancel a show after they order the pilot
@Honey Badger
Well, for what it counts, 30Rock is in its final season.
Though Up all Night is a gonner I’m crossing my fingers for it to be picked up by a cable network ala Cougar Town
Why did NBC cancel “Mockingbird” ?
It had good stars – Jerry O’Connell as Herman Munster, Portia de Rossi as his wife Lily and Eddie Izzard as Grandpa.
‘Mockingbird Lane’ series downgraded to NBC Halloween Special
NBC’s rebooted Munsters series “Mockingbird Lane” will air as a Halloween special on Friday, Oct. 26 at 8/7 before their megahit supernatrural drama “Grimm,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
THR reports that the creatives behind the scenes “had different visions” for the $10 million pilot, and the net result was the network did not have the confdence to proceed with “Mockingbird” as a series
What The Heck?
I was looking forward to this series.
@ were123 ” NBC, soon to cancel a show after they order the pilot”
well NBC sort of did with Mockingbird Lane, which they spent $10 million dollars for the pilot.
NBC is one strange network.
Hopefully another network will pick up Mockingbird Lane as a series.
@Honey Badger: all networks order more pilots than they actually pick up to series. They pick the ones they think are best. pilots that aren’t picked up to series aren’t considered canceled series.
lol. NBC’s a joke.
Shocking second cancellation of the season everybody!! What will be the third?
NBC’s gotta pull Animal Practice. Up All Night never should of been renewed. Thank god 30 Rock has only like 11? episodes left to air. Luckily Guys with Kids is holding above a 1.5.
Oh, too bad. I was looking forward to this show.
Anyway, this calls for a fantasy schedule!
This is what I think NBC SHOULD do in midseason (approx. Jan):
Mon-
8: The Voice
10: Revolution
Tue-
8: The Voice
9: Go On
9:30: TNN
10: Parenthood/Infamous
Wed-
8: The Biggest Loser
9: Hannibal
10: SVU
Thu-
8: 1600 Penn
8:30: Community/Save Me
9: The Office
9:30: P&R
10: Smash
Fri-
8: Whitney
8:30: GWK
9: Grimm
10: Dateline/Crossbones
Sat-
8: SVU (r)
9: Chicago Fire burnoff/ Dateline
10: Rock Center
Sun- (previously announced)
7: Dateline
8: Fashion Star
9: Celebrity Apprentice: All-Stars
10: Do No Harm
I originally thought Next Caller could start a new Weds. block with Save Me at 9 pm, but I guess not. Save Me will just have to be stuck on Thursday.
@ Robert Seidman why did NBC come to Comic-Con and say Mockingbird Lane was going to be a series?
It is not good to get our hopes up for a show and cancel it.
Can it even be called a cancellation before it even airs ? I didn’t even know Next Caller existed but Mockingbird Lane I have. It sounds awful & can understand why it wasn’t given a regular run. I still expect AP to be the next morsel for the bear, just surprised it didn’t get yanked today.
@ Robert Seidman could Mockingbird Lane be picked up by another network?
Robert Seidman ” @Honey Badger: all networks order more pilots than they actually pick up to series. They pick the ones they think are best. pilots that aren’t picked up to series aren’t considered canceled series.”
Thanks for the 411
NBC now has two midseason comedies to premiere. 30 Rock is done in 11 episodes and UAN is doing so horribly it is tough to imagine it getting additional episodes. Those slots are spoken for then, essentially.
Which leaves AP and GWK. If NBC pulls either of them, they will have to order additional episodes of Whitney and/or Community to fill* the year.
So take whatever additional income you would get from swapping from AP to Whitney. Now subtract the cost of making another Whitney. That margin seems slim enough that I increasingly think NBC will just let AP run through its order and go, say, Whitney/GWK (and keep Community in reserve) come January.
*Barring a wildcard like NBC turning the comedy hour to a drama hour (e.g. Parenthood).
@ Tom Thanks for the 411
I beginning to think the money from Animal Practice is running NBC.
And that monkey and show annoys me.
Well that just leaves Save Me and 1600 Penn (as well as Whitney and Community) on the comedy side. They have 30 Rock and Up All Night done after 13 eps, and Animal Practice and Guys with Kids don’t seem likely for the pickup. I wonder how they are going to deploy these. I would do Save me and 1600 Penn on Wednesdays (lets face it Thursdays are beyond saving and trying to launch a new series there this season is a death sentence). On Thursdays they could go Whitney and Community. They have numerous dramas they could put in the Thursday slot but I don’t think they are thematically a good fit for 8:00.
I think it’s funny that everybody is slamming NBC after it just had one if it’s best weeks in years. (or at least 3 great days). And, why is everybody saying that all new NBC shows suck. Go on is probably the best new show if the year (in my opinion, and obviously others too!)