Colleen Hayes/NBCKnope we can!
Amy Poehler is clearly NBC's favorite child! Not only did the network just ink a three-year producing deal with the Golden Globes winner, but they just announced her beloved series Parks and Recreation will definitely be back next year.
"Parks and Rec is going to have a seventh season," network boss Robert Greenblatt announced at the 2014 Winter TCA Press Tour on Sunday morning.
Huzzah!
But wait, what about NBC's other Thursday night comedies, like Community, The Michael J. Fox Show and Sean Saves the World?
Community, which returned for its fifth season with creator Dan Harmon back as showrunner earlier this month, is a "strong" possibility for next season, Greenblatt said, with NBC entertainment president Jennifer Salke adding that just because Parks and Rec's renewal was confirmed on the panel "doesn't mean Community isn't" coming back.
It's no secret that Michael J. Fox and Sean Hayes' highly promoted returns to television haven't exactly brought in the big numbers NBC was hoping for, leading viewers and critics to wonder if they will be back for sophomore seasons.
While Greenblatt said NBC likes both shows " a lot," adding, "creatively, we think they're good showsm" he admitted, "We're really unhappy we can't find an audience for them in those time periods. We're still going to work hard to see what we can do on Thursday nights, but it's a real uphill battle."
As for The Michael J. Fox Show's future, Greenblatt spilled, "Obviously we're going to have to see how it plays out the next few months…but it's certainly not anywhere near where we expect it to be." He later continued that he doesn't know "what the chances are" of it coming back.
"I'm going to stop myself from anymore bullish remarks at this point. I'd love to figure out a way to bring it back and we may more it around the schedule a little bit," he explained. "I don't know if that's going to do much because a lot of the things on the schedule are working. We're looking at all the possibilities and talking about it, but we wish there was a bigger audience to grow."
And speaking with a small group of reporters after the panel, Greenblatt said he may be more cautious about choosing shows based purely on star power in the future, explaining. "It's hard to launch comedy even in the best of circumstances, so I guess I would say I'm more weary. It just means we have to work harder. Comedy is hard."
Looking at the drama side of things, Greenblatt is also hoping to see Parenthood back on the schedule, but wouldn't confirm its return. "It's a show we love, it's doing really well, creatively, and we love Jason Katims," he said. "Everything's relative, but it's actually done better on Thursday at 10 than several things we've had there. I'm hopeful that we can get it to another season."
(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)