2012 Network Fall Preview Specials; The Office Ends This Season On NBC

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

2012 Network Fall Preview Specials; The Office Ends This Season On NBC

It's almost that time of year again...the start of the new TV season! So let's get ready for that with annual network preview specials to inform us on what is new and returning! See our Fall 2011 preview from last year.

First up we will look at ABC. ABC's Fall 2012 preview special is titled The Chew Presents ABC's Primetime Fall Preview Special. This year ABC will air two versions -- one in primetime and one for local ABC affiliates. The primetime version will be one-hour and air on Sunday, Sept. 2 at 7pm ET. The special showcases the new fall Primetime lineup, including new late news lead-ins 666 Park Avenue and Nashville and the new Wednesday comedy, The Neighbors. The special will also feature the new Shawn Ryan drama Last Resort. The preview show will be hosted by The Chew's Mario Batali, Michael Symon, Carla Hall, Clinton Kelly and Daphne Oz. A half-hour version will be airing on ABC Affiliates beginning Sept. 15, so check your local listings (WABC in NYC hasn't scheduled it yet). The primetime version will be reaired on ABC on Sunday, Sept. 23 from 3-4PM ET/1-2PM PT. The special usually airs on ABC-owned cable networks as well, but as of now networks like ABC Family have not scheduled it. And also as of now, it isn't on abc.com but it is still early.

Next is CBS. The CBS Fall 2012 preview special, simply titled CBS Fall Preview Sneak Peek will be a primetime special previewing CBS's new fall lineup, to be hosted by the stars of 2 Broke Girls - Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs - will be broadcast on Monday, Sept. 10 from 8:30-9:00 PM, ET/PT nationally on the CBS Television Network following an encore of How I Met Your Mother and leading into an encore of 2 Broke Girls. The preview will feature sneak peeks of the five new additions to CBS's primetime schedule this fall: the drama series Vegas, Elementary, and Made In Jersey, and the comedy series Partners. CBS.com doesn't usually post the preview, so you'll have to watch it on-air or if you miss that, your local CBS might air it on a weekend in the daytime -- but that is not confirmed.

Moving on to NBC, the NBC Fall 2012 preview special (titled once again The NBC Primetime Preview Show) has started airing on their cable owned networks & local NBC affiliates (such as USA, Syfy, Bravo, UniHD, Chiller, mun2, MSNBC, CNBC, Oxygen, Sleuth, Xfinity, E! Entertainment Television, mun2, NBC2Go, on-demand and broadband) since Aug. 8 and will continue to run through Sept. 30 (in NYC it is on next on WNBC Sat Sept. 1 at 7pm). The special will be hosted by Matthew Perry and the cast of NBC's new comedy Go On. The entertainment special will focus on NBC's new shows for the fall, including the dramas Revolution and Chicago Fire, along with the new comedies Go On, The New Normal, Animal Practice and Guys With Kids.

Onto Fox, the Fox Fall 2012 preview special starts airing on local Fox affiliates soon on weekends (in NY WNYW Sun Sept. 2 at 3pm) and is simply titled Fox Fall Preview Special. It will only run on local Fox affiliates again and not on Fox in primetime. No information is available as of this writing on who is hosting and what the special features, but it will of course feature their new programs: The Mob Doctor, Ben & Kate, and The Mindy Project. No idea yet also if it will be on fox.com, but check your local Fox listings for on-air showtimes.

And finally we conclude with The CW. The CW's Fall 2012 TV preview special is called The CW Fall First Look is airing on local CW affiliates as of this past weekend (such as NY's WPIX on Sat. Sept 8 at 8pm)! No word if it will also air nationally on The CW like it did last year. Series featured will be Arrow, Beauty and the Beast, and Emily Owens M.D. The affiliate special is a half-hour, and last year's primetime version had fifteen more minutes in primetime. Watch the half-hour special right now

NBC's comedy The Office will end after the upcoming ninth season, it was announced on a conference call by Greg Daniels to reporters on Tuesday. Executive producer Greg Daniels will return as showrunner for this final hurrah, taking over from Paul Lieberstein, who is developing a potential spinoff with Rainn Wilson. Daniels ran the show for the first five seasons. Here is what he had to say:

"This year feels like the last chance to really go out together and make an artistic ending for the show that pays off a lot of the stuff that matters most to fans. This will be the last season of The Office. And we're planning a very big exciting last season. We're going to have a lot of faces coming back. There are a lot of things that I've personally been wanting to do since season two. All questions will be answered this year. We're going to see who's behind the documentary. Now that we know we have an end date we can blow things up and take some chances and it will be very freeing, creatively."

The ninth and final season of The Office premieres Thursday, Sept. 20 at 9pm ET/PT on NBC.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Tuesday, December 7

Live in Front of a Studio Audience: The Facts of Life and Diff'rent Strokes - (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
In this one-night-only event, an all-star lineup of talent will tackle the roles first portrayed in the iconic television sitcom “The Facts of Life,” including Jennifer Aniston playing the role of Blair, Gabrielle Union taking on the role of Tootie, Allison Tolman who will play Natalie and Kathryn Hahn recreating the role of Jo. Previously announced “Diff’rent Strokes” cast member Ann Dowd is also set to appear as Mrs. Garrett in this recreation of “The Facts of Life.” The Sony Pictures Television special can also be viewed the next day on demand and on Hulu.

The live special event will feature reenactments of the hit series “The Facts of Life,” created by Dick Clair and Jenna McMahon, and “Diff’rent Strokes,” created by Bernie Kukoff and Jeff Harris, and will reunite executive producers Norman Lear, Jimmy Kimmel, Brent Miller, Kerry Washington, Will Ferrell, Justin Theroux and Jim Burrows. Previously announced cast members taking on the famed “Diff’rent Strokes” roles include John Lithgow, who will play Mr. Drummond; Kevin Hart, assuming the role of Arnold; and Damon Wayans and Ann Dowd, who will play Willis and Mrs. Garrett in “Diff’rent Strokes.”

Abbott Elementary - "Pilot" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
In this workplace comedy, a group of dedicated, passionate teachers — and a slightly tone-deaf principal — are brought together in a Philadelphia public school where, despite the odds stacked against them, they are determined to help their students succeed in life. Though these incredible educators may be outnumbered and underfunded, they love what they do — even if they don’t love the school district’s less-than-stellar attitude toward educating children.

The Last O.G. - "Know Thyself" (TBS, 10:30PM ET/PT)
Amira attends college presentations, and her quick decision surprises Tray, who then works to guide Amira toward a better understanding of her identity; while cleaning out Roberta's storage unit, Shahzad makes a discovery about her past.

Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "Wondering Prince" (BET, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Lisa helps Miranda set up her online dating proﬁle.

Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "What the Wellness" (BET, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Mr. Brown vows that he's finished eating meat until he's left alone with a lot of soul food.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 6)

Tuesday, December 7

Brandy (Zoe Ever After/The Game/Moesha/Thea) - Catch Brandy on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
J. B. Smoove (Curb Your Enthusiasm/Mapleworth Murders/Bent/'Til Death) - J. B. guest hosts Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Kristin Davis (And Just Like That.../Sex and the City) and Cynthia Nixon (And Just Like That.../Sex and the City) - Kristin and Cynthia are guests on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS. Kristin also talks about And Just Like That... on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am and on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
Chris Kattan (The Middle) - Chris will be on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Jane Levy (Suburgatory) - Jane appears on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Sterling K. Brown (Starved) - Sterling is a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Whoopi Goldberg (Harlem/Whoopi/Bagdad Cafe) - Whoopi talks about her new holiday collection on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.