Up All Night (NBC) — Series premiere. Will Arnett and Christina Applegate star as a hip married couple who struggle to maintain their hip lifestyle as new parents; Maya Rudolph co-stars as Applegate’s boss, a self-involved Oprah-like talk show host. NBC is trying to give this a viewing bump by placing it after the season finale of “America’s Got Talent” (Nick Cannon, unfortunately, is in both shows); next week, the show moves to its new home on Wednesday nights. Watch an extended preview below.
Free Agents (NBC) — Series premiere. Read my review here. This will be paired with “Up All Night” on Wednesdays, and it will be interesting to see if either survives on a night where NBC has had no comedy foothold for years. Both shows have received reviews that can be called “cautiously optimistic” — there’s a lot of comedic talent in each, but neither pilot was a true home run (not that that’s common for comedy pilots). Let CANCELLATION WATCH 2012 begin!
Survivor/Big Brother (CBS) — Season premiere/season finale. The beginning of Season 23 of CBS’s stalwart reality franchise leads into the finale of Season 13 of CBS’s stalwart reality franchise.
Necessary Roughness (USA) — Season finale. I really hope this gets renewed, not because I like the show (I’ve never seen it), but because Callie Thorne is great and deserves to play a character who’s more than just a buzzkill love interest (see: “The Wire,” “Californication,” “Rescue Me”). It’s the least she deserves after being so cool about getting naked on other shows.
America’s Next Top Model (CW) — Season premiere. Fourteen contestants from previous editions compete in this “all-star” cycle, for lack of a better word. Man, I’d be super excited about this if I were gay.
H8R (CW) — Series premiere. Celebrities — I use the term loosely — like Kim Kardashian and Snooki confront their online critics. Hosted by Mario Lopez. Ugh.
