NEW YORK — NBC pulled the plug Friday on Eva Longoria’s “Telenovela,” a comedy spoof of the Spanish-language soap operas, after only a few months on the air.
It was one of five series cancellations made by the network, as it clears the deck for a new schedule to be announced on Sunday.
With the broadcasters all presenting next season’s schedules to advertisers next week, there’s been a flurry of pink slips delivered in Hollywood, along with the happier news that pilots are being picked up for the schedule. Between ABC, Fox and CBS, more than a dozen prime time shows were axed on Thursday.
“Telenovela” debuted in December. The comedy “Undateable,” which lasted longer than many thought it would, also was canceled. It premiered as a summer series in 2014 and earned two other seasons — the most recent one with the gimmick that the show aired live.
Three other NBC series that were barely around long enough for many people to know they existed learned they wouldn’t come back for second seasons. They are “Crowded,” a sitcom featuring a couple whose empty nest is filled again by adult children; “Game of Silence,” a drama that debuted last month featuring five friends who tried to keep a long-ago secret; and “Heartbeat,” about a female heart transplant surgeon working in a male-dominated field.
Meanwhile, NBC has ordered new comedies “Great News,” a Tina Fey-produced series about a young news producer whose mother comes to work at her television station; and “Marlon,” which stars Marlon Wayans and is loosely based on his life.
NBC has also ordered the new drama “Midnight, Texas,” based on the book series by Charlaine Harris.
CBS ordered four new dramas and two comedies for inclusion on next year’s schedule. They include a TV remake of the film “Training Day”; the medical drama “Pure Genius”; a remake of the TV series “Macgyver”; and “Bull,” a drama inspired by Dr. Phil McGraw and his trial consulting business.
The comedies are “Man With a Plan,” starring Matt LeBlanc of “Friends” as a dad taking care of his kids while his wife works, and “The Great Indoors,” with Joel McHale as an adventure writer learning how to deal with an office full of millennials.
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