NBC Orders Sci-Fi Drama ‘La Brea’, Comedies ‘American Auto’ & ‘Grand Crew’
NBC has picked up their first new shows of the year as they announce as straight-to-series order to the wonderfully bonkers-sounding sci-fi ‘Le Brea‘, along with handing series orders to comedies ‘American Auto‘ from the team behind ‘Superstore’, and ‘Grand Crew‘ from a duo of ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ people following successful pilots.
From writer/exec producer David Applebaum (‘NCIS: New Orleans’) ‘Le Brea‘ see a massive sinkhole mysteriously opens in Los Angeles, tearing a family in half, separating mother and son from father and daughter. When part of the family find themselves in an unexplainable primaeval world, alongside a disparate group of strangers, they must work to survive and uncover the mystery of where they are and if there is a way back home.
The series stars Natalie Zea (‘Justified’, ‘The Following’, ‘The Unicorn’) as the mother, Zyra Gorecki as the daughter, and Chiké Okonkwo (‘Banshee’, ‘Being Mary Jane’). Further cast to be announced soon.
‘Grand Crew‘ stars ‘Arrow’s Mr Terrific Echo Kellum, Justin Cunningham (‘When They See Us’), Carl Tart (‘Rob Riggle’s Ski Master Academy’), Aaron Jennings (‘Pure Genius’) and Nicole Byer (‘Nailed It!’) as a group of Black friends unpack the ups and downs of life and love at a wine bar.
The series comes from ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ writer/producer Phil Augusta Jackson with ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ co-creator Dan Goor exec producing. Mo Marable (‘Brockmire’, ‘Woke’, ‘The Last OG’) directed the pilot.
‘American Auto‘ is a comedy set at the headquarters of a major American automotive company in Detroit where a floundering group of executives try to rediscover the company identity amidst a rapidly changing industry. Ana Gasteyer (‘The Goldbergs’), Jon Barinholtz (‘Superstore’), Harriet Dyer (‘No Activity’, ‘The Other Guy’), Humphrey Ker (‘Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet’), Michael B. Washington (‘Ratched’, ‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’), Tye White (‘NCIS: Los Angeles’, ‘American Crime Story’) and X Mayo (‘The Daily Show’) star.
The series comes from ‘Superstore’ creator Justin Spitzer, who writes and exec produces the comedy, with Aaron Kaplan and Dana Honor also exec producing.
“Our driving force has always been to seek out talented storytellers who have a strong point of view,” commented Lisa Katz, who was recently named President, Scripted Content for NBC. “While these shows are very different thematically, what they have in common is a unique voice, excellent world-building, and compelling storytelling. We can’t wait to share them with TV fans everywhere.”
All three shows will air on NBC in the USA. We don’t yet know where they will land in the UK, however, given NBC is a sister station to Sky, there is a good chance of seeing them somewhere on there when they do launch. We’ll let you know when we hear something.
