rejects and renewals: nbc

Upfronts start next week - that's when each of the networks present their fall schedules for the advertisers. Over the last couple of days, we started to hear news about which shows will return and which won't be back next year. Overall, there seemed to be a whole lot of cancellations across the board.

I'll go through each of the networks' existing shows before we tackle the new shows next week. Here's the body count at NBC:

Renewed:
30 Rock
The Biggest Loser
Chuck
Community
Harry's Law
Law & Order: SVU
The Office
Parenthood
Parks & Recreation
The Voice

Canceled:
The Cape
The Event
Friday Night Lights
Law & Order: Los Angeles
Outsourced
Undercovers
Perfect Couples
The Paul Riser Show
Outlaw
Chase

I'm not shedding too many tears for NBC cancellations this year, except of course for my beloved Friday Night Lights (I'm currently milking season 5 for all it's worth - not ready to say goodbye. At. All.)

As for the remaining shows, I'm really happy the Thursday comedy block will stay intact. Parks & Recreation turned out to be my favorite comedy this year. If you watched the first season and didn't love it, I really encourage you to take a second look. With the addition of Adam Scott and Rob Lowe and the writers really hitting their stride developing Leslie, Tom Haverford, Ron Swanson, etc. some of the recent episodes have been perfection. Community's second season was amazing too. Both of them have worked perfectly with 30 Rock and The Office.

On the drama side, I don't watch much on NBC anymore. I dropped Law & Order: SVU - just getting too repetitive and not enough time in the day. Sadly, I also dropped Chuck this year. I plan to catch up this summer, but the plots were starting to feel repetitive early on, and it just didn't seem as urgent to watch every week. The new one that still has my attention is Parenthood. It's not perfect, but damn that show for making me cry almost every week. Some great performances, especially among the young actors on the show.

So, that's NBC - the network that's struggling most these days with the lowest ratings. With some new leaders at the helm going into next season, let's hope they bring some much needed resuscitation to the peacock.