NBC TV:: What's New This Season?

This week, all the major networks will be unveiling their schedules for next season. NBC is up first, and for the second year in a row they're launching a TON of new shows. Here's a quick summary of the 12 new shows:

• "Awake": Drama. Starring British actor Jason Isaacs ("Harry Potter" series) & Wilmer Valderrama ("That 70's Show")... Isaacs plays a police detective who finds himself in two realities after a car accident on the job. You'd know Isaacs as Draco Malfoy's dad in the "Harry Potter" movies.


• "Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea": Comdey. Starring Laura Prepon ("That 70's Show")... The story is loosely based on Chelsea Handler's life. Prepon plays Chelsea, and Chelsea will have a recurring role as her own sister.


• "Bent": Sitcom. Starring Amanda Peete. It's about a recently divorced mom and her relationship with the contractor she hired to redo her kitchen.


• "BFFs": Comedy. The title, of course, stands for Best Friends Forever. It's about "a woman and her live-in boyfriend who wind up taking in her distraught and pushy best girlfriend after a divorce."


• "The Firm": Drama. It's based on the 1991 John Grisham novel, which was made into a Tom Cruise movie back in 1993. The series will take place 10 years after the movie left off.


• "Free Agents": Sitcom. Starring Hank Azaria ("The Simpsons") and Kathryn Hahn ("Crossing Jordan")... P.R. execs on "romantic rebounds." It's based on a British show of the same name.


• "Grimm": Drama... about cops who protect innocent people from the kinds of evil beasts that were described in Grimm's Fairy Tales.


• "The Playboy Club": Drama. Starring Amber Heard ("Pineapple Express") and Eddie Cibrian ("CSI: Miami")... about a Chicago Playboy club set in the 1960s. (--There's been talk that it might push the envelope, nudity-wise, for a show on a broadcast network.)


• "Prime Suspect": Crime Drama. Starring Maria Bello ... A remake of a British crime show that starred Helen Mirren. Bello you may know from "A History of Violence", "Coyote Ugly" and "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor".


• "Smash": A "musical drama". Starring Debra Messing ("Will & Grace"), Katherine McPhee ("American Idol" loser), Anjelica Huston ("Medium", "Adams Family"). Some people are saying it's like "Glee" for adults.


• "Up All Night": Sitcom. Starring Christina Applegate ("Married, With Children"), Will Arnett ("30 Rock"), Maya Ruldolph ("SNL")... Applegate plays a working mother and Arnett is her stay-at-home husband. It also stars .


• "Whitney": A "relationship comedy". Based on the standup comedy of Whitney Cummings.

You can check out preview videos of all NBC's new shows HERE

NBC TV:: Who's back & who got axed??

Cancelled
"Chase"
"The Event"
"Law & Order: Los Angeles"
"Outsourced"

Coming Back
"30 Rock".
"The Biggest Loser"
"Chuck"
"Community"
"Harry's Law"
"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit"
"The Office"
"Parks and Recreation"
"Parenthood"
"The Sing-Off" "
"The Voice"

30 Rock" won't be back on the schedule until winter because of TINA FEY'S pregnancy. And although NBC is bringing "Chuck" back, this will be the show's final season.

Word has it that JENNIFER LOVE-HEWITT is in the running to land a lead role on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit". She'd be taking MARISKA HARGITAY'S spot. Deadline.com says Mariska wanted a decreased workload, so producers agreed to give her character a promotion halfway through the upcoming season, which would cut down on her screen time.

And NBC will bring "Sunday Night Football" back, assuming there IS football this fall. If there isn't, or if the season is delayed a few weeks, NBC has some, quote, "high-quality, live entertainment reality-type shows that would fill the gap."

Also, "Celebrity Apprentice" will return, with or without DONALD TRUMP. If he DOES run for president, they'll get someone to take his place. NBC has not said who that would be.

Boss Button

NBC Sports has installed a 'Boss Button' on their Website so sports fans can watch the Olympics at work without getting in trouble. Much like CBS's Boss Button for March Madness, once hit, the button silences the video feed and displays a fullscreen image that makes it look like you are at a Windows 7 PC with an empty Excel spreadsheet open. iMac users have asked NBC to create a button for them.