"Up All Night"
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Premieres: September 21, 8pm on NBC. Series preview: September 14 at 10pm
Stars: Christina Applegate, Will Arnett, Maya Rudolph, Nick Cannon. (more)
Plot: Reagan Brinkley (Christina Applegate) and her husband Chris (Will Arnett) struggle to navigate life with a newborn. While Chris stays at home with their bundle of love, Reagan has returned to work, battling sleep deprivation and other unexpected surprises that come with raising a baby while tending to the needs of her childless, self-serving boss Ava (Maya Rudolph).
Why We're Excited: If there were ever a cast list that made us excited to see a show before even watching the final pilot, it's this one. Fortunately the preview presentation delivered - although it was almost completely scrapped. Arnett, in particular, stands out with a more even-keeled persona than the over-the-top characters we've gotten used to seeing from him. It's refreshing. (We love Gob Bluth, but please...enough!) We're even more excited to see Rudolph as a talk show host with a bloated ego. Comparisons to Alec Baldwin's Jack Donaghy are inevitable, and clearly there's room for two odd bosses on the NBC schedule. May the biggest ego win!
Why We're Not: Due to a recent change in Reagan and Ava's workplace situation - they used to work at a PR firm as opposed to a talk show - the version of "Up All Night's" premiere airing on NBC is one few people have seen ahead of time. Additionally, Nick Cannon has joined the cast. Based on early reports, our concern than Rudolph would draw inspiration from her "Saturday Night Live" impersonation of Oprah, and make her talk show host too broad and annoying to sit through on a weekly basis, was not unfounded. Then again, there's quite a track record of sitcoms that stumbled out of the gate with nearly unwatchable pilots but went on to achieve greatness. (Yes, "30 Rock", we're talking about you.)
Trivia: Rudolph was 7 months pregnant with her son Jack when she completed filming the original pilot.
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