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NBC fall looking for more laughs and return of fan favorites
Three new series include “Brilliant Minds,” which is inspired by the life and work of world-famous author and physician Oliver Sacks, and stars Zachary Quinto as the larger-than-life neurologist and his team of interns exploring the last great frontier of the human mind.
“St. Denis Medical,” which stars Wendi McLendon-Covey, Allison Tolman and David Alan Grier, brings the laughs with a mockumentary about an underfunded, understaffed Oregon hospital where the dedicated doctors and nurses try their best to treat patients while maintaining their own sanity.
There’s much more to Reba McEntire than a country singer who was dubbed the “Queen of Country Music” for all the singles on the “Billboard” magazine chart of “Hot Country Songs.”
As an actress, Reba has appeared in numerous TV movies and series, most notably starring in the eponymous sitcom “Reba” as a single mom of three, navigating life in a Houston suburb for six seasons on network television.
Reba McEntire returns to comedy with multi-camera “Happy’s Place,” in which her character inherits her father’s bar and is less than thrilled to discover that she has a new business partner in the half-sister she never knew she had.
Best-known for the “Law & Order” franchise, producer and writer Dick Wolf remains the King of the NBC schedule, with his series taking almost the entirety of two nights.
Thursday night is network television’s top-rated evening with the flagship “Law & Order” returning for its fiftieth (okay it just seems like that) season, followed by “Law & Order: SVU.” Concluding the night is the return of “Found.”
Dick Wolf’s “#OneChicago” franchise lineup takes up the entire Wednesday night, kicking off with “Chicago Med,” followed by “Chicago Fire” and concluding with “Chicago P.D.” All the first responders are covered, except there is no “Chicago Medical Examiner.”
Come to think of it, we should pitch the idea of a medical examiner or coroner series to Wolf. Jack Klugman had a nice run with “Quincy, M.E.,” for which he earned four Primetime Emmy Award nominations.
A series on the Los Angeles County Coroner could be good because of celebrity cases. After all, Thomas Noguchi was known as the “coroner to the stars” for high profile autopsies on Robert F. Kennedy, Natalie Wood, Sharon Tate, John Belushi, and Marilyn Monroe, among many others.
A new drama series set for midseason is “The Hunting Party,” a high-concept crime procedural about a small team of investigators who are assembled to track down criminals.
The targets for the sleuths are the most dangerous killers our country has ever seen, all of whom have just escaped from a top-secret prison that’s not supposed to exist. As of now, the only announced cast member is Melissa Roxburgh.
A new series also not on the fall schedule is “The Americas,” an epic 10-part tentpole event series that marks the first-time acclaimed actor, producer and writer Tom Hanks will narrate an unscripted entertainment series.
Featuring music by Oscar winner Hans Zimmer, “The Americas” will employ revolutionary filmmaking technology to showcase the wonders, secrets and fragilities of the Americas – Earth’s largest landmass and the only one to stretch between both poles, revealing untold wildlife stories.
“Destination X” merges fantasy with reality in a larger-than-life adventure competition series. Viewers will follow contestants as they embark on the road trip of a lifetime but have no idea of their location.
In order to win, the contestants must figure out their mystery locations. Once they’re on the blacked-out Destination X bus, the journey transforms into a real-life game board, with challenges designed to offer clever clues to their location, along with a few misdirects to keep them guessing.
At the end of each episode, the contestant who places an X on a map furthest from the actual location packs their bags. The first participant to reach Destination X will be crowned the winner. With high stakes and spectacular gameplay, the series will keep viewers engaged and playing along on all screens.
A holiday special arrives with “Defying Gravity: The Curtain Rises on Wicked,” which will be a celebration of the cinematic event of the year with Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.
The international superstars lead an all-star cast in a journey through a dazzling new vision of Oz, created for Universal Pictures’ upcoming film “Wicked,” as they unveil some of the most spectacular sets ever created for film.
The “Wicked” stars are joined by Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey and more to host this thrilling behind-the-scenes special, sharing their personal memories, intimate video diaries and secrets of the making of “Wicked.”
For the second year in a row, NBC comes to the Opry, now featuring a new master of ceremonies with “Little Big Town’s Christmas at the Opry,” a festive two-hour music special from the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, with country music group Little Big Town.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
