Will Arnett Takes The Lead In New CBS Series; ‘Up All Night’ Still In Limbo

It’s ironic, really, that many of us are paying more attention to Up All Night — now that it’s in the verge of cancellation — than we did when it was airing. In fact, I’d given up on the show before it’d even gone on hiatus. I think there’s a kind of glow around NBC Thursday night shows because of the nostalgic association with Must See TV and because, for most of us, Thursday nights in the only time any of us actually watch NBC. So, we inflate the importance of a lowly rated show that was already a mess to begin with.

Or, it could just be that NBC’s perpetual boneheadedness makes for good copy, especially when it involves actors, like Will Arnett and Christina Applegate, that we really like. And speaking of Arnett: He is jumping to CBS to take the lead in Greg Garcia’s (Raising Hope, My Name Is Earl) new sitcom, according to TV Guide.

The as yet untitled show follows Jack (Arnett), a recently divorced guy whose life gets more complicated when his parents have marital problems of their own. Garcia will write and exec produce, although I hope that doesn’t take too much of his attention away from Raising Hope, assuming it is renewed by Fox (and also assuming that Arnett’s sitcom goes to series). Hope is one of my favorite series, and there aren’t a lot of feel-good sitcoms around. I wonder, too, if Arnett’s new series will be set in a lower socioeconomic strata, which is where Garcia seems to excel?

At any rate, what does it mean for Up All Night? Arnett’s new show, unfortunately, is in the second position, meaning that if NBC were to move ahead with Up All Night, he’d be contractually obligated to it. But without Christina Applegate, and with a pregnant Maya Rudolph and a disinterested Arnett, NBC would have to be FOOLISH to continue. That said, I wouldn’t completely rule it out. After all, some are suggesting that NBC could reboot Smash again next season, despite toilet bowl ratings.

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