TV Nerd News #5

Welcome to iGR‘s TV Nerd News number five. The biggest news this week was about another late night turnover but there’s also fun little look at what could’ve been with another show. Without further ado, the news:

3/18 - Nat Faxon cast in ABC’ SPY remake

It’s still incredibly disappointing that Fox canceled Ben & Kate because it was probably the best freshman show of the season. Nat Faxon (Beerfest) was the titular Ben and he was surprisingly great in his first standout role. Spy is the latest British comedy series to be adapted for US audiences. The success of The Office doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s a guarantee though as quite a few adaptations didn’t make it past the pilot stage. This one has potential with a cast that includes Rob Corddry (Hot Tub Time Machine), Paget Brewster (Criminal Minds) and Ken Jeong (The Hangover trilogy). It doesn’t hurt that ABC has room on their schedule for a couple new comedies so I wouldn’t be that surprised if this one makes it but only time will tell.

3/18 - Sign-in sheet reveals alternate casting ideas for THE OFFICE

Rainn Wilson (The Office) treated fans to a special treat after wrapping on shooting the series finale: a sign in sheet (as seen below) used during casting for the roles of Jim, Pam, Dwight and Michael. Notable names include Alan Tudyk (Firefly), Ben Falcone (Bridesmaids) and Wilson auditioning for Michael. Ann Dudek (Covert Affairs) and Mary Lynn Raskjub (24) for the role of Pam. The casting of Jim turned up a no-brainer in Adam Scott (Step Brothers) considering his role on Parks & Recreation. The only other notable name auditioning for Jim was Hamish Linklater (The New Adventures of Old Christine). I think a couple of those names could’ve been really good in the parts but I do ultimately think they cast it pretty right. I do think Tudyk would’ve made a terrific Michael though and almost wish he would’ve gotten the role instead of Steve Carell (The 40 Year Old Virgin).

3/19 - HBO cancels ENLIGHTENED, enrages the internet

I have to admit, I hadn’t gotten a chance to see Enlightened yet. Even though I wasn’t initially interested in it, I heard good things so I kept meaning to check it out at some point. I’m not sure it’d be worth it at this point because two seasons of a show that didn’t know it was getting canceled usually doesn’t end well. With the state of TV these days though, who knows if the Laura Dern (Jurassic Park) series is even dead. After all, between other cable networks, Netflix and stuff like Kickstarter it’s entirely possible it could still live on. I will say that I was pretty surprised by the outrage this generated on Twitter after it was announced. Like I said, I had heard good things but I didn’t quite think it would generate such a fervent fan base.

3/20 - Manu Bennett promoted to regular for Season 2 on ARROW

I called Ben & Kate the best freshman show of the season but Arrow is certainly a close second. It may alienate some hardcore Green Arrow fans because it does mess with the mythology a bit but in the end, I think the tweaks are done well and allow for the closest thing you’ll get to The Dark Knight: The TV Show. Manu Bennett (Spartacus) has been incredibly solid as Slade Wilson and it’ll be interesting to see when the dynamics change and he becomes a villain to Stephen Ammell‘s (Hung) Oliver Queen. The show may be in danger of creating too large of a cast (they’ve added 3 new regulars for Season 2 bringing the total to 10) but I feel confident they can manage, especially since it’s still possible one or two current regular characters may not be long for the world.

3/20 - NBC wants to replace Jay Leno again, this time with Jimmy Fallon

I guess NBC President Bob Greenblatt really didn’t like the jokes Jay Leno was making about NBC’s ratings. I’m mostly kidding because I think the idea of replacing Leno came before the news a couple weeks ago about Greenblatt not being pleased with Leno but it is funny timing. I like Jimmy Fallon and think he finally found his niche but I can’t help but feel a bit annoyed as a huge Conan O’Brien fan. Greenblatt wasn’t the President at the time of O’Brien’s departure but the move away from Leno so soon after O’Brien was forced out in favor of Leno just kind of sucks. Still, Fallon has done well on Late Night so I think he’ll do a fine job on The Tonight Show. I’m more interested in seeing who will replace him as the host of Late Night. I just really hope it’s somebody new and not the Seth Meyers (Saturday Night Live) rumor.

That’s all for this week’s edition of TV Nerd News. Be on the lookout for a brand new Trailer Tuesday because this week it features the trailer for a new show on AMC called Low Winter Sun! Oh and because that article is awesome too…that’s another good reason to check it out. Also, I have an editorial about the future of TV due later this week so keep your eyes peeled for that.

In the mean time, don’t forget to follow the site on Twitter @IGResponsibly and at my all-new, site exclusive Twitter account @kyle_igr!