NBCUniversal at TCA: Series Returns, "New Boots" and Epics Ruled the Day

"I was shocked that the show was going and confused," admitted star Jay Hernandez. "Shocked that it happened, and surprised it find found another home as [that’s] a rare thing. The online support was humbling and how they fought for it to find another home."

"It honestly started within minutes of us getting word that we weren’t back on CBS," added series showrunner and executive producer Eric Guggenheim. "I was on the phone with John Davis, one of our EPs, and John was like, 'Don't take another job or sign another deal. Let's find a home for this.' NBC stepped in immediately and that began a [few] weeks of limbo and discussions. I didn't personally want to get my hopes up because it's such a rare thing for this to happen, so it was incredibly exciting. Universal has been our partner since the pilot and they've been phenomenal. The transition felt, in a lot of ways, very seamless. We certainly realize the opportunity that we've been given and are grateful to the fans, and honestly to you [critics], as the coverage of our cancellation was amazing. CBS was terrific, but NBC has taken the lead and we appreciate the opportunity."

After nine years portraying Dan Fielding on Night Court for NBC (1984-1992), John Larroquette (pictured top right) reprises the role for what the cast and producers are calling a "new boot" of the series. It’s centered around Abby Stone (Melissa Rauch, top left), the daughter of Harold "Harry" T. Stone (Harry Anderson), who fills his robes as a newly appointed night court judge. Interestingly, Rauch (a massive fan of the original) had no intention of starring, wanting to only serve as an executive producer. "I started developing the idea with my husband Winston and the incredible Dan Rubin," she shared. "We were thinking about what the foundation for an organic story generator of these amazing people coming in the doors for this wonderful workplace comedy might be. I was excited about just producing it, then you have the great fortune of [Larroquette] coming on board. I started getting jealous of the lucky actor who would get to share scenes with him."

"It was brought to me by Melissa and Dan and Winston, and my initial reaction was, 'That's funny, talk to you later, bye,'" Larroquette recalled. "The idea of trying to revive something you did 35 years ago when you were young, agile, acrobatic and maybe funny, to try at 75 years-old -- let's not forget that -- to go back seemed a real error in judgment on my part. I didn't really think it was a great idea. Once Melissa told me that she’d decided she would like to be in it, I knew I was sort of stuck, as it were.

"My ego as an actor sort of perked up," he added. "How often does an actor get a chance to revisit some character that he played three-and-a-half decades ago? What was the length of that journey and what happened to him in his life? That became interesting; how he might appear in 2022 as opposed to 1992, when we last saw him. It became an exciting problem to solve as to how he can be funny at 75, even though he was still funny at 35 but in a different way. So, we worked on that, and you'll be the judge of whether it worked or not.”

Returning for second seasons on NBC are the comedies American Auto and Grand Crew (both on January 24). "What's so fun about season two, and this is always true of second season shows, is it's a workplace comedy, and we come together a little bit more as an 'us against them' in a really reliable way," revealed Auto star Ana Gasteyer. "So, we're more unified and less fractured as a community, I would say, in this season."

"We are ecstatic to have a season two," declared Grand Crew executive producer/creator/showrunner Phil Augusta Jackson. "We're so excited about the material that we put together. I think in viewing it, with some backstories and stuff that comes from elements that we haven't seen on screen, it's just a way to get deeper with these characters. We try that this season in a fun way."

Hollywood powerhouse Rian Johnson brings his talents to streamer Peacock as the creator/executive producer of Poker Face (debuting January 26). Starring Natasha Lyonne and Benjamin Bratt, the series follows Lyonne’s character Charlie Cale, a human lie-detector of sorts, as she solves a murder of the week. The series is very reminiscent of Colombo in design, a comparison Lyonne is content with. "It really is a chicken or the egg, isn't it?" she laughed. "I have a great love of Peter Falk. I just love the guy and his oil paintings. So, I think, as somebody that's essentially just self-taught based on my interests, I've always gravitated to him. I would love to go on Finding Your Roots and discover that Peter Falk was some sort of deep, distant relation."

The series boasts an incredible roster of guest stars, and Johnson revealed that while he didn’t write the guest spots for specific actors, he had a wish list. Lyonne was thrilled to have been able to share scenes with the likes of Nick Nolte and Cherry Jones. "I [co-wrote] an episode that I got to direct that they were in," she said. "Luis Guzman is also in it and that one really just stands out because of the way I got to work with them."

Syfy will premiere the epic 12-episode series The Ark on February 1. From creator and executive producer Dean Devlin, the series follows the journey of the crew of the Ark II, sent into space to colonize a planet only to find themselves awakened months earlier than the projected arrival date of their destination, and half of the Ark destroyed. For Devlin, doing the series was like time traveling. "Walking on the set, you're suddenly 12 years old again," he said. "It's like, ‘I'm on a spaceship!’ So, this tickled every creative bone I have."

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