The most important thing to know about NBC's annual upfront presentation: Joey, Matt LeBlanc's Friends spinoff, doesn't suck.
The sitcom, which will take over the Must-See Thursday time slot Friends vacated earlier this month, was unspooled for advertisers and media members who attended the network's annual fall schedule presentation at Radio City Music Hall in New York Monday afternoon.
But though NBC--now referred to as NBC Universal, as the audience was reminded frequently throughout the upfront session--is breathing a big sigh of relief that Joey turned out to be a Must-See pilot, most of the network's 2004-05 season will be all about the drama.
Just two new comedies join three new hourlong dramas as the newest entries in NBC's lineup, a lineup that NBC Universal Television Group President Jeff Zucker admitted will continue to revolve around NBC's long-running domination of Thursday nights. That means big hopes for season two of Donald Trump's reality series The Apprentice, which was trumpeted in an appearance by The Donald himself, and NBC's new 8 p.m. anchor.
And about Joey...NBC is so confident in the show's potential that it showed the entire pilot episode to the Radio City audience, an especially strong show of support since upfront presentations usually only include snippets of upcoming series.
In the new series, LeBlanc's aspiring actor, Joey Tribbiani, heads off to Los Angeles when he gets a chance to star in a new prime-time TV series. He's greeted by his uptight sister, Gina (The Sopranos' Drea de Matteo), and her 20-year-old son, Michael (Road Trip's Paulo Costanzo), who tries to explain his complicated scientific project to his new roommie, Uncle Joey. "What are you, a rocket scientist?" Joey asks. "Yes," answers Michael, who obviously got the majority of Tribbiani family smarts.
The good: LeBlanc, who sat among the Radio City audience with his new castmates, was a frequent scene-stealer on Friends when dumb but pretty Joey flashed the occasional bit of insight...that continues in the spinoff; a reference to Friends' Chandler (Matthew Perry); de Matteo's Sopranos-esque accent and wardrobe, which seems just as in line with her new L.A. hairdresser character as it does on the mobster drama; and Costanzo, who not only bears a resemblance to LeBlanc, but whose smart, geeky character is a good compliment to his not-so-bright, but cool Uncle Joey.
The bad: Ashley Scott (Birds of Prey) as Joey's neighbor, a potential love interest who seems to have no spark with LeBlanc; and a running gag about Gina's boob job, which involves her making her brother feel her up. Creepy.
As for NBC's--sorry, NBC Universal's--other new series, the five new fall series will be joined midseason by another seven new shows, marking the network's strategy to introduce new programming throughout the entire year and air fewer repeats.
A brief rundown of NBC's other new series:
LAX (fall): Heather Locklear returns to the tube as a Los Angeles International Airport chief who's in competition for a promotion with the terminal manager, played by L.A. Law's Blair Underwood. The drama will revolve around action in the airport, "a world unto itself," each week.
Father of the Pride (fall): The creative team behind Shrek provides the movie-quality CGI and John Goodman, Cheryl Hines, Carl Reiner and Orlando Jones provide the voices for a comedy about a group of white lions who perform in the Siegfried & Roy show in Las Vegas. Roy Horn, who suffered a 2003 tiger attack during a performance, appeared at the presentation via satellite, his first public appearance since the mauling.
Hawaii (fall): A quirky cop drama set in--duh--Hawaii, and starring Michael Biehn (Terminator), Ivan Sergei (Jack & Jill) and Eric Balfour (Six Feet Under and The O.C.).
Medical Investigation (fall): Neal McDonough, who starred in NBC's critically acclaimed but canceled series Boomtown, is the not-by-the-book leader of a group of elite CSI-ish medical investigators who work for the National Institute of Health.
The Contender (midseason): Mark Burnett and Sylvester Stallone are producing the reality show that will follow the hunt for a new boxing champ, who will nab a million dollar prize.
Revelations (midseason): Bill Pullman stars in a biblical drama as a scientist who teams with a nun to try to stop Armageddon.
Law & Order: Trial by Jury (midseason): The fourth series in producer Dick Wolf's L&O stable will feature more ripped-from-today's-headlines plots and will star L & O's Jerry Orbach.
Crazy For You (midseason): An opposites-attract romantic comedy, starring Daytime Emmy winner Jennifer Finnigan (The Bold and the Beautiful), Tom Poston and Tammy Lynn Michaels (Popular).
The Men's Room (midseason): A guy buddy comedy starring Gilmore Girls' Scott Cohen.
Medium (midseason): A drama produced by Kelsey Grammer and starring Patricia Arquette as a suburban mom who uses her psychic abilities to help solve crimes.
The Office (midseason): Bruce Almighty's Steve Carell stars in what many belief to be the network's second consecutive failed attempt at adapting a fan favorite British comedy for U.S. audiences (following last season's woeful, but mercifully short-lived Coupling).
In other NBC news, the network confirmed another season of Average Joe and For Love or Money; Dennis Farina, the star of the cult NBC hit Crime Story, will take over Orbach's role on Law & Order; Carson Daly's Last Call has been reupped for three more seasons; and Scrubs will be in the NBC lineup for at least two more seasons.
And the series missing from NBC's future plans, i.e., those headed to that big cancellation heap in the sky: Ed, Miss Match, Whoopi, Happy Family and The Tracy Morgan Show.
The following is a night-by-night look at the network's fall schedule:
MONDAY: Fear Factor; Las Vegas; LAX
TUESDAY: Average Joe/The Contender; Father of the Pride; Scrubs; Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
WEDNESDAY: Hawaii; The West Wing/Revelations; Law & Order
THURSDAY: Joey; Will & Grace; The Apprentice; ER
FRIDAY: Dateline NBC; Third Watch; Medical Investigation
SATURDAY: NBC Saturday Night Movie
SUNDAY: Dateline NBC; American Dreams; Law & Order: Criminal Intent; Crossing Jordan