NBC and Fox announced several pick-ups for new series yesterday, and there are some big names among them, including Casey Wilson, Katherine Heigl, and Taraji P. Henson. In the midst of the new series orders, Fox also announced that it had extended the order on Mulaney from Saturday Night Live’s John Mulaney from six to sixteen episodes. That sitcom also stars SNL’s Nasim Pedrad, so her days with the SNL cast seem to be numbered.
Here’s rundown of what’s been picked up (in addition to Gotham, which was picked up on Monday):
Marry Me (NBC) — Marry Me comes from Happy Endings‘ creator David Caspe, and it’s about a couple in a long-term relationship who have not yet married. It stars Caspe’s real-life new wife, Casey Wilson, also from Happy Endings, as well as Ken Marino. (Variety)
State of Affairs (NBC) — A CIA drama starring, ugh, Katherine Heigl, who plays a CIA attaché who counsels the president on high-stakes incidents around the world while balancing her intense political responsibilities with a complicated personal life. I give it six episodes before it’s cancelled. (TVLine)
Allegiance (NBC) — Allegiance sounds like a watered down, network version of Homeland crossed with The Americans. It centers on the O’Connor family and their son, Alex, a decorated American war hero and CIA analyst whose parents and sister, unbeknownst to him, are part of a dormant Russian sleeper cell that has just been reactivated. (TVLine)
Empire (Fox) — A drama described as a black-Dynasty crossed with The Sopranos centered around a family who runs a hip-hop empire. The drama comes from Lee Daniels, and stars Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson (who I assume based on this casting must have been killed off of Person of Interest?) (TVLine)
Red Band Society (Fox) — A Steven Spielberg drama, Red Band Society follows a group of teenagers who met as patients in the children’s wing of a hospital and become unlikely allies and friends. Octavia Spencer (The Help) is the biggest name in that cast. (TVLine)
Odyssey (NBC) — A Traffic-like drama that involves a female soldier, a corporate lawyer and a political activist as their lives unexpectedly collide after an international conspiracy explodes. Peter Facinelli, Anna Friel, and The Wire’s Jim True-Frost star. (Variety)
