NBC News: Heroes, Parks and Recreation Renewed; Joel McHale Pilot Picked Up

What other shows are or aren't safe? Get the latest news on NBC's "infront" presentations

Update, 12:21 p.m.: NBC has officially canceled Life.

Good morning, TV fans! Today is the first day of NBC's "infront" presentations to advertisers where it shows off its new shows and tries to convince the big corporations to buy ad time in advance of the new season. What was announced? Where are Chuck and Life? Here's the news on NBC's pilot pickups and renewals:

What Just Got Picked Up This Morning?

On the drama side, Heroes got the expected renewal, and as we reported Saturday, Southland got a season two order.

On the comedy side, NBC announced renewals for Parks and Recreation and Saturday Night Live: Weekend Update Thursday. Don't remember SNL Thursday? Well you should, because that's the show that brought you a lot of the Tina Fey-as-Sarah Palin highlights during the election. For example, remember this gem where Will Ferrell reprised as George W. Bush? SNL Thursday is that.

What Already Got Picked Up?

What about 30 Rock? Don't panic, because that's on the list of series NBC already ordered that we don't have to worry about, along with fellow comedy The Office; the Peacock's top-rated drama, Law & Order: SVU; critically acclaimed Friday Night Lights (thank you, Jeebus!); and reality series The Biggest Loser and Celebrity Apprentice.

What's Still Up in the Air?

The remaining bubble shows are Chuck, Law & Order, Life, Medium and My Name Is Earl.

As we told you on Saturday (through the good offices of Zachary Levi and Josh Schwartz), there's every reason to "stay positive" about Chuck. 

Also on the sunny side of the street, the Hollywood Reporter reports that Medium will eventually get an order for 13 to 18 episodes. Our guess is Medium (if it is truly renewed) would launch again in the winter and run through May sweeps. It seems like perhaps they're running it on more of a cable-series model? Short run, big impact.

Law & Order is a likely renewal; Life, on the other hand, is not looking good, but we're rooting for a miracle, just the same.

Why Do We Have to Wait?

One theory on the delayed announcements is that NBC wants to see what the other networks do with their pilots and programming before making any final picks. And one theory derivative of that theory is that there's some defensive strategy involved: Cancel Fox-studios-produced My Name Is Earl now and you might see it picked up by Fox-network president Kevin Reilly on May 18. Drop Chuck today and maybe you get a courtesy call from CW boss Dawn Ostroff next week informing you that she's taking it to the See-Dub to hang out with Gossip Girl...

When Will We Know About the Bubble Shows?

The remaining series pickups (or cancellations) are now due out during upfronts week. Look for news from NBC on May 19, which is combining some final decisions with a "Night of Comedy featuring appearances by some of its biggest comedy stars including Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Rainn Wilson and Tracy Morgan on Tuesday, May 19 in New York City."

What New Shows Have Been Ordered?

Want to see video previews of 100 Questions, Community, Mercy, Parenthood, Trauma and The Jay Leno Show? We've got the hookup!

COMEDY:

• 100 Questions is about a young single woman who learns about love by taking a 100-question "compatibility test" as part of her search for Mr. Right.

• Whoo hoo for E!'s own Joel McHale! Community, Joel's pilot about a group of losers trying to improve themselves at community college, has been picked up to series. Congrats, dude. Couldn't happen to a more awesome guy.

DRAMA:

• Mercy focuses on the lives and loves of nurses, and stars Michelle Trachtenberg (Gossip Girl), James Tupper (Men in Trees) and Guillermo Diaz (Weeds).

• Parenthood, based on the Steve Martin movie, has a great cast including Peter Krause, Maura Tierney and Mae Whitman.

• Trauma comes from Peter Berg, aka the genius who brings us Friday Night Lights. Like TNT's Saved before it, Trauma focuses on the world of first-responder paramedics. Think of it as ER without walls...

MINISERIES:

Apocalypse TV, baby! Following in the footsteps of this summer's upcoming (and quite entertaining) Meteor TV movie, Day One follows a ragtag band of Van Nuys, Calif., apartment dwellers coming to grips with a "cataclysmic event...that has devastated the world's infrastructure." Look for it to premiere right after the Winter Olympics.

TALK:

The Jay Leno Show is the great white shark of NBC right now, and it's eating all the little endangered-species fish. With Conan O'Brien taking over The Tonight Show in the fall, Jay's getting the next best thing: an hour at 10 p.m., every single night, Monday through Friday. That leaves very little room on the NBC schedule for, well, anything.

REALITY:

Breakthrough With Tony Robbins is possibly going to be amazing. How could it have taken Tony this long to get a reality show?! Also look for The Marriage Ref and Who Do You Think You Are?

So, what looks good to you? Can you be patient about Chuck, Law & Order, Life, Medium and My Name Is Earl, or do you want to know right now?