Fans of “Chuck” may have to wait a little longer to see if the show survives.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the death of NBC vice-president of drama development, Nora O’Brien Wednesday evening has led to a delay in the network screening pilots for potential pick-up next year.
Sources said O’Brien, a six-year NBC Universal veteran, died of a brain aneurysm. She was 44.
“Our hearts go out to the family and friends of our beloved colleague Nora, who was respected and cherished by so many people in the entertainment community,” NBC’s top execs Ben Silverman, Marc Graboff and Angela Bromstad said in a joint statement. “She’ll truly be missed by all of us.”
The scheduled Thursday screenings of the pilots for “Mercy,” “Off Duty” and “State of Romance” were postponed to Friday, when the network brass also is slated to see “Parenthood,” on whose set O’Brien died, as well as “Day One,” “100 Questions for Charlotte Payne” and “Trauma.”
The only pilots seen by NBC’s executives are “Community,” “Legally Mad” and “Lost & Found,” which screened Wednesday. Of those, the early front-runner “Community,” starring Chevy Chase, is said to have received a very good reception, with David E. Kelley’s “Mad” and the Dick Wolf-produced procedural “Found” getting mixed-to-cold reaction.
Both dramas have something going for them. Although the pilot for “Mad” is said to have problems, the project’s hefty series commitment and the fact that it has one of TV’s top showrunners, Kelley, at its helm, weigh in its favor. Meanwhile, “Found” comes from another heavy hitter, Wolf, who has a long-standing relationship with NBC. It is considered the type of lower-cost 8 p.m. show that the network needs after deciding to strip a Jay Leno-fronted talk show at 10 p.m., and it has a promotable star in Katee Sackhoff.
“Parenthood,” a new take at the 1989 movie boasting an A-list cast led by Peter Krause, continues to be a front-runner on the drama side, with the action-packed “Trauma” also tracking strong.
The chances of “Mad,” “Found,” “Day One” and “Mercy” will depend on how many of its bubble drama series NBC will bring back. The midseason cop show “Southland” looks very likely to return, possibly for midseason. And to the delight of staunch “Chuck” supporters, the chances of survival for the quirky soft-rated series have improved slightly. And “Law & Order” is looking good to match “Gunsmoke’s” record 20-season run, possibly with a partial order.
NBC is set to announce its schedule two weeks before any other network does, so the network does have some leeway. It is unknown if the network will still go with the Monday presentation or postpone it.
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