NBC Is Counting On Live Programming And New Dramas As Comedies Move To Fridays

Who's in it: Neil Patrick Harris and guests

Who created it: Neil Patrick Harris, Orly Adelson, Siobhan Greene, David A. Hurwitz, Anthony McPartlin, Declan Donnelly

What's it about: NPH will host a live one-hour variety show each week, filled with "stunts, skits, pranks, audience interaction, musical numbers, giveaways, and unlimited surprises," according to the press release. Because he can't stop, won't stop.

Who's in it? Sullivan Stapleton, Jaimie Alexander, Audrey Esparza, Rob Brown, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Ukweli Roach, Ashley Johnson

Who created it? Martin Gero, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Mark Pellington

What's it about? A young, naked tattooed woman (Jaimie Alexander) turns up in Times Square (!!!) and has no idea who she is (!!!!). Plus, she's in Times Square (!!!!). Among the tattoos is an FBI agent's name, and when she gets in with him, they realize each tattoo is a clue.

First impression? "Greg Berlanti has had success on The CW with Arrow and The Flash, and he had a quasi-success for NBC with The Mysteries of Laura, which he executive produces. Now, they're hoping he can do the same with Blindspot, but if the trailer is any indication, they should have their fingers firmly crossed. For those of us who were first introduced to Jaimie Alexander on ABC Family's Kyle XY (Bueller?), this is basically the same concept: Someone who appears to be a human is found naked in the middle of Times Square (instead of the woods) with tattoos all over her body (instead of no belly button on her body) and though she has no memories, she has some serious martial arts skills and can speak Chinese." —Jaimie Etkin (in Jaimie solidarity)

Who's in it: Jack Coleman, Jimmy Jean-Louis, Masi Oka, Zachary Levi, Ryan Guzman, Robbie Kay, Danika Yarosh, Judith Shekoni, Kiki Sukezane, Henry Zebrowski, Gatlin Green

Who created it: Tim Kring, Peter Elkoff, James Middleton

What's it about: A reboot of the 2006-2010 series Heroes that follows regular people discovering they have extraordinary powers.

Who's in it? Wesley Snipes, Philip Winchester, Charity Wakefield, Damon Gupton

Who created it? John Rogers, John Davis, John Fox, Bharat Nalluri

What's it about? This Las Vegas-set thriller centers on a security expert (and former military operative) who enters a circle of the rich who bet on whether he's able to prevent massive crimes from happening. All he wants is revenge for his wife's death.

First impression? "This one could be enticing (Wesley Snipes!), but it'll depend on how creative the writers can get with a man who is hired to literally kill someone week after week." —Emily Orley

Who’s in it? Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Meaghan Rath, Tone Bell, Bresha Webb

Who created it? DJ Nash, Will Packer, Pam Fryman

What’s it about? A comedy about two couples who live next door to one another and can’t help but over-analyze every detail of their daily lives (for example, according to the press release: “the fact that the trusted new babysitter might just be a porn star").

First impression? "The babysitter catches the couples at the center of this show watching her porno in the driveway, and it's all downhill from there. Despite the presence of the oh-so-charismatic Zack Morris, this is just another quirky cohabitation comedy that feels like it could quickly go the same way of One Big Happy and Marry Me." —Emily Orley

Who's in it? Melissa George, Dave Annable, Don Hany, Shelley Conn, D.L. Hughley, Jamie Kennedy, Maya Erskine, J. Louis Mills, Joshua Leonard

Who created it? Jill Gordon, Amy Brenneman, Brad Silberling, Robbie Duncan McNeill

What's it about? George plays Dr. Kathy Magliato, a real person and heart transplant surgeon. I enjoyed this bit of the logline: "She revels in a racy personal life that's a full-time job in itself." Sounds House-y.

First impression? "Just what television needs. Another doctor show! This one's about a kickass cardiothoracic surgeon who is a lone lady in a man's world. Presumably, she's great in the operating room and doesn't have it together when it comes to bedroom matters. Scrub life didn't work out for Melissa George on Grey's Anatomy nor did it for Dave Annable on last season's Fox failure Red Band Society. But maybe this could fill a hole for those of us who miss TV's best female cardiothoracic surgeon, Cristina Yang? #optimism." —Jaimie Etkin

Who's in it? "Some of the smallest talent," according to NBC's press release

Who created it? Ellen DeGeneres, Steve Harvey, Jeff Kleeman, Gerald Washington

What's it about? Harvey will host eight hour-long episodes of this new variety show featuring extraordinary young musicians, singers, dancers, and other artists from all over the country.

Who's in it? David Lyons, Michael Raymond-James, Larenz Tate, Bre Blair, Conor O'Farrell, Deidrie Henry, Demetrius Grosse, Claire Van Der Boom

Who created it? David Hudgins, Carol Mendelsohn, Julie Weitz, Niels Arden Oplev

What's it about? A successful Atlanta lawyer (Lyons) is surprised to encounter his former childhood friends, 25 years after they parted ways. And with them comes the a long buried dark secret they share, forcing the long lost friends to reunite in an effort to right their wrongs. So… Dude Revenge?

Who's in it: Will change weekly

Who created it: Dick Wolf, Dan Cutforth, Jane Lipsitz, and Tom Thayer

What's it about: A reality series that shows court cases in real time and lets viewers decide the verdict.

Who's in it? Patrick Warburton, Carrie Preston, Stacy Keach, Carlease Burke, Mia Serafino, Miranda Cosgrove

Who created it? Suzanne Martin, Sean Hayes, Todd Milliner

What's it about? A couple (Warburton and Preston) finally have their house all to themselves after raising their children, but then two of their adult daughters move back in and crowd that empty nest.

Who’s in it? Jennifer Lopez, Ray Liotta, Drea de Matteo, Vincent Laresca

Who created it? Adi Hasak, Jack Orman, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Barry Levinson, Jennifer Lopez, Benny Medina, Ryan Seacrest, Nina Wass

What’s it about? This Lopez vehicle, in which she plays a cop who goes to work for the FBI, was first announced as a straight-to-series pickup by NBC in Feb. 2014.

Who’s in it? Eva Longoria

Who created it? Christine Pietrosh & Jessica Goldstein, Eva Longoria, Ben Spector, Steve Pink

What’s it about? Longoria plays a telenovela star — with a crazy life — in this single-camera comedy. Robert Greenblatt, the entertainment chairman of NBC, announced this pickup in January.

Who's in it? America Ferrera, Ben Feldman, Mark McKinney, Lauren Ash, Colton Dunn, Nichole Bloom, Nico Santos

Who created it? Justin Spitzer, David Bernad, Ruben Fleischer

What's it about? A workplace comedy from the co-executive producer of The Office — but instead of a paper company, this focuses on the employees at a Target-like store.

Who's in it: Rob Lowe, Megan Mullally, Jenna Fischer, Mathew Baynton, Joel Fry, Paterson Joseph, Gaia Scodellaro, Pauline Quirke, Fabian McCallum, Kyle Soller.

Who created it: Juliette Howell, Lynn Horsford, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Cameron Roach, Lizzie Gray, Andrew Conrad

What's it about: A comedy about a group of strangers in a near-apocalyptic world (a comet is on track to crash into Earth) who become connected as they try to find shelter in an underground bunker and then try to reinvigorate the human population after the disaster. (If you're wondering how Lowe can be on both You, Me and the End of the World and on Fox's new comedy The Grinder, the NBC show is a limited series and a UK co-production.)