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NBC gets up after ‘bad fall’

Struggling NBC has ordered five pilots and given full season orders to series including 30 Rock as entertainment president Bob Greenblatt admitted the US network had “a really bad fall.”

The Peacock has given 22-episode orders to 30 Rock, Harry’s Law and Parks & Recreation, with the former due to air back-to-back installments beginning later this month.

NBC’s pick-up of five pilots include Beautiful People, a futuristic drama in which robots serve the human population, from Universal Television and ABC Studios. Cougar Town’s Michael McDonald is writer and exec producer.

The Munsters is a reinvention of the 1960s sitcom from writer/exec producer Bryan Fuller (Heroes) and Universal Television. John Wirth (Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles) is also an exec producer.

Isabel is a comedy about a middle-class family that includes a daughter with magical abilities. It is exec produced and written by Howard Busgang (Boy Meets World) and Tom Nursall (Single White Spenny). Todd Holland exec produces and directs the pilot, while Karey Burke (Free Agents), Aaron Kaplan (Terra Nova) and Jocelyn Deschenes also serve as exec producers. The show is produced by Universal Television, Kapital Entertainment and Sphere Media.

NBC has also ordered a pilot called Save Me, about a woman who transforms herself after the breakdown of her marriage, from Sony Television and Original Film & Television. John Scott Shepherd (The Days) is the writer-executive producer and Scott Winant (Breaking Bad) is the director and exec producer. Neal Moritzand Vivian Cannon (both The Big C) also are exec producers.

Comedian Sarah Silverman is also starring in a pilot in which she returns to her old life after a break-up to find everyone around her has moved on. The Sarah Silverman Project (working title) is from Twentieth Century Fox Television and Imagine Television, with Silverman, Dan Sterling (King of the Hill) and Jon Schroeder (Bob’s Burgers) writing and exec producing. Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon), Brian Grazer (A Beautiful Mind) and Francie Calfo (Scoundrels) also exec produce.

NATPE 2012Greenblatt told reporters at a news conference last Friday the network disappointed in the fall with low ratings and the early cancellation of several shows.

Nostalgic drama The Playboy Club was cancelled after three episodes, while comedy Free Agents fell flat and crime drama Prime Suspect was suspended.

However, fantasy detective series Grimm and freshman comedy Up All Night each received addition episode orders.

And Greenblatt said he was optimistic about upcoming Broadway-inspired musical drama Smash and the second season of reality singing competition The Voice.

He added that comedy series Community would return, though he did not give a specific timeslot.

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