NBC Announces Show Renewals and Additions

By Darlene Donloe

NBC announced the renewal of several shows today during a session at the Television Critics Association event held at the Langham Huntington Hotel in Pasadena today.

Paul Telegdy, chairman of NBC Entertainment kicked off the session by saying the network is "frequently the source" of some of everyone's favorite shows. 

"NBC is where you go if you want to be in the know and know what everybody’s talking about," he said. 

Ellen DeGeneres

Ellen's Greatest Night of Giveaways, the first-ever holiday special event series, has been renewed for a new season.  The show scored among this year’s top holiday specials. The Dec. 10 premiere earned a 1.2 rating in adults 18-49, according to “live plus same day” Nielsens, tying as the season’s #1 rated Christmas special. In total viewers, the three original “Giveaways” telecasts finished as the season’s #2-3-4 most-watched Christmas specials (6.8 million on Dec. 10, 6.0 million on Dec. 11 and 5.9 million on Dec. 12, L+SD). Ellen’s Greatest Night of Giveaways is executive produced by Ellen DeGeneres, Kevin A. Leman II, Mary Connelly, Ed Glavin, Andy Lassner, Derek Westervelt, Daniel Norris, and Jeff Kleeman. The special is produced by Warner Horizon Unscripted Television and A Very Good Production in association with Telepictures. 

Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman's crafts-making series Making It has been renewed for a third season. Poehler made the announcement herself as she took the podium to open up NBC's daylong sessions. Season 2 of Making It averaged a 0.7 rating and 2.6 million viewers overall in “live plus seven day” results from Nielsen Media Research, with delayed viewing on digital and linear platforms lifting the Dec. 2 season premiere to a 1.2 in 18-49 and 4.4 million viewers. A total of 20 million viewers watched at least a portion of Season 2 of “Making It” on those platforms. The show also delivered strong high-income and high-education audiences, indexing at a 123 among adults 18-49 in homes with $100K+ incomes (with 100 representing an average concentration of those homes) and a 126 among adults 18-49 with four or more years of college.  Making It is executive produced by Amy Poehler, Nick Offerman, Nicolle Yaron, Kate Arend, Dave Becky, and Pip Wells. The series is produced by Universal Television Alternative Studio in association with Paper Kite Productions and 3 Arts Entertainment.

The Peacock network has ordered The New World, an epic 10-part global event series from BBC Studios Natural History Unit, which is set to air in 2024.  For the first time ever, The New World will scale across North America, Central America, and South America to explore the vast landscapes, remote wilderness and mysterious creatures that inhabit the region.  

"The New World is a massive piece of four-quadrant commercial entertainment that has the capacity to capture the curiosity and minds of millions,” said Paul Telegdy, chairman, NBC Entertainment. “I believe that great storytelling told on a broad scale has the power to produce wide-sweeping cultural change, and this project has all the makings to deliver on that potential.”

The premium landmark series will take viewers on an unforgettable journey across Earth’s only super-continent, which is home to the greatest variety of life on the planet, from the largest rainforests, tallest trees, oldest living beings, and the most extreme elemental forces. From the creators of critically acclaimed and multi-Emmy Award-winning natural history series Planet Earth II and Blue Planet II, The New World is a groundbreaking odyssey that will showcase the wonders, secrets, and fragilities of the only landmass to have its head and toes in the poles and Earth’s largest landmass and reveal extraordinary, untold wildlife stories that deeply connect with millions around the world.

Through its best-in-class filmmakers, industry-leading technology and innovation in storytelling, the four-year project will result in an unprecedented series that marks the network’s first venture into the natural history space for a global audience. The New World is the first NBC commission for BBC Studios since it formed in 2017, and NBC has retained significant distribution rights globally and across platforms.

The show is executive produced by wildlife producer Mike Gunton (Life, Planet Earth II, and Dynasties) for BBC Studios Natural History Unit, the world’s largest production unit dedicated to wildlife filmmaking, in association with Universal Television Alternative Studio.

Dwayne Johnson

Dwayne Johnson whose wrestling name The Rock, and his partner Nahnatchka Khan, are bringing an 11-episode series order for Young Rock, a single-cam comedy inspired by Johnson himself. The series will be executive produced by Nahnatchka Khan, Dwayne Johnson, Jeff Chiang, Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia, Brian Gewirtz, and Jennifer Carreras. 

Dwayne Johnson, who was in Atlanta, called into TCA to talk about his new show. Due to a bad connection, he had to abandon his first attempt. He later sent a video explaining how we will see the younger version of himself in the show. He said several of the stories come out of his real-life story. For instance, he talked about how he was arrested several times, how his family was kicked off the island and moved to Nashville, bought his first car from a crackhead for $70, made $40 for wrestling matches and his regard for Andre the Giant, Muhammad Ali and Ronald Reagan. Johnson said he, himself will be weaved into each episode. 

Johnson's pitch ended with him saying he had to go "pick up Kevin Hart from soccer practice."

The show will be produced by Universal Television, Seven Bucks Productions, and Fierce Baby Productions. The pilot was co-written by Khan and Chiang. Johnson will appear in each episode as the focus and inspiration of the series will be about his formative years.

Johnson and Garcia’s Seven Bucks Productions is a global entertainment force with film revenues exceeding $10 billion worldwide. Johnson currently stars in Jumanji: The Next Level which has grossed over $600M worldwide and will next star in Disney’s Jungle Cruise. Johnson and Garcia will also return to executive produce the second season of NBC’s The Titan Games, Johnson also serves as host.   

Writer/director/showrunner Khan’s Fierce Baby Productions is a film and TV production company focused on amplifying new voices and perspectives in both comedy and drama. Khan is the creator and executive producer of the groundbreaking television series “Fresh Off the Boat,” currently airing its sixth and final season, and previously “Don’t Trust the B---- In Apartment 23,” which ran for two seasons on ABC.

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler will return to the Golden Globes as co-hosts for the 2021 telecast.

Fey and Poehler were critically applauded when they hosted the Globes from 2013-15, receiving universal praise for their witty on-stage banter and effortless rapport with one another.

Fey, along with Robert Carlock, is co-creator and an executive producer of NBC’s upcoming Universal Television-produced untitled comedy series starring Ted Danson as L.A.’s mayor. Holly Hunter also stars.

Fey has won two Golden Globes and six Emmys for writing and/or acting for the multi-Emmy Award-winning comedy 30 Rock and Saturday Night Live. Fey and Robert Carlock are also producers of the Netflix/Universal Television series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. The show was Emmy nominated four times for Outstanding Comedy Series and an upcoming interactive special is due out later this year.

Poehler is a Golden Globe and Emmy winner, well known for her portrayal of eternal optimist Leslie Knope on NBC’s beloved comedy Parks and Recreation. She is currently an executive producer of the Emmy-nominated Netflix comedy Russian Doll and executive producer/co-host of NBC’s Making It. She also is an executive producer and co-star of the upcoming animated series Duncanville on Fox.

Jimmy Fallon

Jimmy Fallon is set to host That’s My Jam, a new comedy variety event series inspired by the wildly popular, celebrity-fueled musical segments made famous on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

What is sure to be a high-energy hourlong party, That’s My Jam will premiere out of the Tokyo Olympics and mark Fallon’s first venture in primetime.

As host, executive producer, and music lover, Fallon brings his one-of-a-kind comedic style and feel-good energy to That’s My Jam, where America’s favorite celebrities who love to sing and dance will compete against each other. The show will feature a carousel of classic and brand new musical games ready for primetime.

Fallon is the late-night pioneer in viral celebrity games and moments. With over 20 million YouTube subscribers and over 6 billion views on YouTube and Facebook in 2019, his musical games, sketches, and challenges have made an indelible mark on late-night TV. From Wheel of Musical Impressions and Musical Genre Challenge to History of Rap, viewers around the globe love watching their favorite celebrities take part in some of these unforgettable music-infused moments.

The format was brought to Universal Television Alternative Studio by Fallon, a longtime Tonight Show producer Jim Juvonen and writer Josh Knapp. Gavin Purcell will executive produce.

NBC’s hit drama series “New Amsterdam” has been renewed for three years, through the 2022-23 season.

So far this season “New Amsterdam” is averaging a 1.7 rating in adults 18-49 and 9.8 million viewers overall in “live plus seven day” Nielsens, to dominate the Tuesday 10-11 p.m. demo race. Compared with its next-day “live plus same day” results, “New Amsterdam is adding 4.6 million viewers in L+7, for the third biggest lift on television and second-biggest for an NBC series.

“New Amsterdam” stars Ryan Eggold, Janet Montgomery, Freema Agyeman, Jocko Sims, with Tyler Labine and Anupam Kher.

David Schulner and Peter Horton executive produce with Michael Slovis and David Foster. “New Amsterdam” is produced by Universal Television, Pico Creek Productions, and Mount Moriah.