ABC Mid-Season Pilot Review: Notes from the Underbelly - Premieres April 12; More 'Fresh' This Weekend on Nick at Nite

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

ABC Mid-Season Pilot Review: Notes from the Underbelly - Premieres April 12; More 'Fresh' This Weekend on Nick at Nite

Notes from the Underbelly - Regular Airings Wednesdays at 8:30PM ET/PT on ABC
Premieres Thursday, April 12th at 10 and 10:30PM ET/PT

Director/producer Barry Sonnenfeld and producers Kim and Eric Tannenbaum ("Two and a Half Men") bring a comic take on life's greatest adventure -- parenthood. This ensemble comedy proves that surviving the politics of pregnancy and maintaining your relationships with family and friends can be just as demanding as raising a child.

Andrew (Peter Cambor) and Lauren (Jennifer Westfeldt, "Kissing Jessica Stein") have just found out they're going to have a baby, and they're having a difficult time following rule number one -- keeping it a secret. Suddenly switching to decaf, becoming a teetotaler at cocktail parties, and going to the OBGYN are all difficult to keep from family and close friends.

Surrounding Andrew and Lauren as they embark on their journey is a close-knit circle of friends -- all of whom have varying opinions, experience and advice on starting a family. Julie (Melanie Paxson) and Eric (Sunkrish Bala), also in the family way for the first time, are the overly excited, slightly obnoxious expectant parents that Andrew and Lauren never want to become. Lauren's best friend, Cooper (Rachael Harris), is a divorce attorney and career woman who is skeptical of marriage altogether, and will do her best to keep Lauren from becoming another member of the "mommy cult." Andrew's buddy, Danny (Michael Weaver), is an immature child in his own right, whose chief concern is meeting hot women. Can Andrew and Lauren juggle the freedom and spontaneity of their old lives and the responsibility of their new ones? Will they be able to straddle the worlds of their carefree single friends and the ever-changing world of their married ones?

Andrew will narrate each episode, giving his wry and often sarcastic interpretation of the events that are going on around him. Lauren may be getting the stretch marks, but Andrew has to pretend that he doesn't notice them. Through it all, Andrew and Lauren come to learn that what's best for the child could be the easiest part... maintaining your relationships with family and friends might be the real challenge.

Based on Risa Green's novel of the same name, "Notes from the Underbelly" was created by Stacy Traub ("Kitchen Confidential.") Traub, Barry Sonnenfeld, Kim Tannenbaum and Eric Tannenbaum serve as executive producers. The series is from The Tannenbaum Company, Hill Three Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television.

Cast: Jennifer Westfeldt as Lauren, Peter Cambor as Andrew, Michael Weaver as
Danny, Rachael Harris as Cooper, Melanie Paxson as Julie, and Sunkrish Bala as Eric

Read our review of the pilot and two other episodes here.

Discuss the show after you watch it on Thursday on our message board.

Related Links:

ABC.com Official Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

Notes from the Underbelly Photo Gallery

Turning to the news, yes, it is that time of the week again where Nick at Nite announces that they have changed their regular weekend line-up for the coming weekend. This time it will be three days of Fresh Prince with very early morning airings of Cosby Show, Growing Pains, Full House and Murphy Brown. to see the schedule for these three days click HERE. Hope you all enjoy all this Fresh Prince they keep airing. No Roseanne at least this weekend.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Tuesday, February 25

The Conners - "Bad Dads and Grads" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Dan starts to bond with his younger half-brother (guest star Noel Fisher), but he can’t get over the fact that their father paid for Ed Jr.’s college education, something he refused to do for Dan. Jackie hits it off with a fun married couple (guest stars and real-life husband and wife Clark Gregg and Jennifer Grey), so much so that they “invite” her into their relationship. Harris and Mark do not react well to the news that Darlene is trying to have a baby with Ben.

Bless This Mess - "Völsung and the Beef Boy" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When faced with choosing between meat judging (his dad Beau’s preference) or playing music (his shared bond with Mike), Jacob realizes he must figure out what his passions are on his own. Meanwhile, Rio takes driving lessons from Kay, but their friendship hits a bump in the road when Kay learns that Rio has secretly been getting lessons from other townspeople.

mixed-ish - "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT)
The Johnsons welcome an African American family that has just moved into their mostly white neighborhood. Santamonica doesn’t get along with the new neighbor’s daughter, until she gives Santamonica attitude. Meanwhile, Rainbow is excited to celebrate her one-month anniversary with Bryce, but he tells her some devastating news.

black-ish - "You Don't Know Jack" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Jack joins the robotics club and Dre worries it might be a detrimental failure for him after already being cut from the basketball team. Ruby embellishes a story for Diane’s school project.

Schitt's Creek - "The Presidential Suite" (Pop, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Johnny and Moira spend a night at the presidential suite in the new motel, while Alexis receives a surprise visitor.

Miracle Workers: Dark Ages - "Dark Ages: Holiday" (TBS, 10:30PM ET/PT)
Al and Prince Chauncley struggle to deal with their families over the holidays.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of February 24)

Tuesday, February 25

Nick Jonas (Jonas) - Catch Nick on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. He also talks about The Voice on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
Juliette Lewis (Camping/I Married Dora) - Juliette drops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. She will also be on the BUILD Series at 3pm.
Adam Pally (Indebted/Making History/The Mindy Project/Happy Endings) - Adam visits The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS. He will also be on Watch What Happens: Live at 11pm on Bravo.
Karen Gillan (Selfie) - Karen appears on A Little Late with Lilly Singh at 1:35am on NBC.
Tommy Davidson (Between Brothers) - Tommy is a guest on The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family/The Class) - Jesse stops by The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm/Son of Zorn/Suburgatory) - Cheryl appears on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Leslie Odom Jr. (Big Day) - Leslie is a guest on Access Live, so check your local listings.
Chris Spencer (Significant Others) - Chris appears on Access Live, so check your local listings.
Jason Ritter (The Class) - Jason talks about Frozen 2 on E!'s Daily Pop at 12pm.