nbc, our problem child

NBC had quite a busy day at the Television Critics Association gathering yesterday. Thanks to religious Twittering and posting from the trusty critics, I was able to gather the top headlines, plus a few fun tidbits from other sources...

• As you've no doubt heard by now, The Jay Leno Show will be bumped from the 10:00 timeslot as of February 12 (Olympic opening ceremonies). Instead, Jay will shift to 11:35, pushing Conan to 12:05 and Fallon to 1:05. This obviously lets even more air out of Conan's tires. No word yet on his reaction or plan for the future.


• Plans to fill the 10:00 timeslot after the Olympics are still ongoing...most likely 2 hours of drama, a new reality hour, and more Dateline.


• Jerry Seinfeld's new reality series Marriage Ref will premiere right after the closing ceremonies of the Olympics. Aren't the closing ceremonies like 3 hours long? They'll probably bump Conan for that too.


• NBC is ordering 18 new pilots this year, which is a huge number (obviously, only a handful make it to air).


• Potential fall projects highlighted at TCA include: J.J. Abrams' espionage drama Undercovers (his first time directing a pilot since Lost), David Tennant-led legal dramedy Rex Is Not Your Lawyer, remakes of Prime Suspect and Rockford Files, David E. Kelley's legal drama Kindreds, Jerry Bruckheimer action-procedural drama Chase, an hour-long romantic comedy (since those always work) called Love Bites, and an untitled Adam Carolla comedy.


• They're also putting many eggs into the Parenthood basket, which will finally come to the small screen on March 1st.


• The future fate of Heroes is up for discussion, but it looks possible that Law & Order will have another season.


• David Hasselhoff's replacement on America's Got Talent will be Howie Mandel. Dislike. Is there something about this guy that I just don't see?


• According to Hollywood Reporter, NBC's new drama Day One, which was originally scheduled for a half-season run this spring, then cut to a four episode mini-series, is now relegated to a 2-hour backdoor pilot with no plans for further episodes. Oh well. They probably realized it looks too much like FlashForward, which isn't exactly killing in the ratings.


• Watch with Kristin has some fun scoop about The Office. Kathy Bates will be guest staring as the CEO of the company that bought out Dunder Mifflin. I love the idea of Kathy mixing with the Scranton folks.


• NBC's upfront presentation for fall 2010 will take place on May 17th. Mark you calendars!

Thanks to Televisionary for great updates from NBC's TCA presentation.