NBC has given full-season orders to the critically respected, but fairly low-rated “Up All Night,” as well as the critically reviled, but fairly high-rated “Whitney.”
The announcement came on Tuesday (October 4) and will carry “Up All Night” and “Whitney” through the rest of the 2011-2012 season. Not surprisingly, NBC made no mention of fellow freshman comedy “Free Agents,” which has been on death-watch since its premiere.
“We made comedy an important goal for us this season and I”m very pleased to be making full-season commitments to both ‘Whitney’ and ‘Up All Night,'” said Greenblatt. “We”re thrilled with the creative direction of both shows as well as the potential for them to continue to build loyal audiences over the coming months. We”re proud of all of the producers, writers, actors, and directors who have worked so hard to bring these shows to life.”
“Up All Night” stars Christina Applegate, Will Arnett and Maya Rudolph. After drawing a huge audience for its post-“America’s Got Talent” premiere, “Up All Night” has struggled on Wednesdays at 8 p.m., drawing 5.3 million viewers and a 2.1 rating among adults 18-49 in its most recent airing.
“Whitney,” featuring stand-up star Whitney Cummings, also had a big premiere airing after “The Office.” The second episode took a big drop, but remained NBC’s second highest rated comedy.