Three New Shows are Zooming to NBC (One I am ALREADY in love with)

Jason Ritter in The Event. Photo Credit: NBC

NBC has given series pickups for its 2010-11 season to three new shows: The Event, Outsourced and Love Bites. I’m most excited for Love Bites. The talent in these shows will include Jason Ritter, Ben Rappaport and Becki Newton.

Let’s break down each new series:

The Event: Jason Ritter (The Class, Joan of Arcadia) plays Sean Walker, a guy who is investigating the disappearance of his fiance Leila, played by Sarah Roemer (Disturbia). Turns out that this investigation ends up bringing to light one of the BIGGEST COVER UPS IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. “Sean’s quest will send ripples through the lives of an eclectic band of strangers, including: newly elected U.S. President Martinez (Blair Underwood, “Dirty Sexy Money”); Sophia (Emmy Award nominee Laura Innes, “ER”), who is the leader of a mysterious group of detainees; and Sean’s shadowy father-in-law (Scott Patterson, “Gilmore Girls”).” The future is in their hands, yadda, yadda.

Outsourced: Maybe you prefer comedies to dramas? Well – then you may like this show about a company (“Mid American Novelties”) whose call

The cast of Outsourced. Photo Credit: NBC

center has been outsourced to India. Uh oh! Does Kelly Kapoor know anyone cool there? The company sells whoopee cushions, foam fingers, wallets made of bacon…lots of things that for some odd reason, people like. I wonder if they make the Juno Hamburger phone? Or was it a Cheeseburger? Hm. Anyway, “Todd Dempsy (Ben Rappaport, off-Broadway’s “The Gingerbread House”) is the new company’s manager who learns that he’s being transferred to India to run the operation. Overwhelmed, Todd discovers that his new staff needs a crash course in all things American if they are to understand the U.S. product line and ramp up sales from halfway around the world. But as strange as America seems to his eclectic sales team, Todd soon realizes that figuring out India will be more than a full-time job.” Rizwan Manji (“Privileged”), Sacha Dhawan (BBC’s “Five Days II”), Rebecca Hazlewood (BBC’s “Doctors”), Parvesh Cheena (“Help Me Help You”), and Anisha Nagarajan (Broadway’s “Bombay Dreams”) also star as members of Dempsy’s off-shore team; Diedrich Bader (“The Drew Carey Show”) and Jessica Gower (Network Ten’s “The Secret Life of Us”) additionally star.

Love  Bites: Here’s the show that I’m pinning my money on to really stick and be loved (no pun)! It’s an hour-long show, but instead of a drama it’s a

Jordana Spiro and Becki Newtonin Love Bites. Photo Credit: NBC

rom-com type of deal. Yes! They managed to snag Becki Newton (Ugly Betty) for the lead! I adore Newton. She plays Annie and her best friend (ironically named) Frannie is played by Jordana Spiro (My Boys). In the game of musical chairs, they are the two girls not married in their circle of friends. I don’t envy them. Wait, I AM them… “Annie is an infectiously bubbly optimist and Frannie is an always-a-bridesmaid realist. Their story will anchor the series, while other romantically-challenged characters will come and go each week.” The show is from Cindy Chupack (Sex and the City) and will focus on, “three loosely connected, modern stories of love, sex, marriage and dating. Each episode contains multiple vignettes, all illuminating the theme of love with an edgy, irreverent spin.”

And if you wanted even MORE goodies to add to your plate, the guest cast for the Love Bites pilot includes: Jennifer Love Hewitt (“Ghost Whisperer”), Greg Grunberg (“Heroes”), Craig Robinson (“The Office”), Jason Lewis (“Sex and the City”), Lindsay Price (“Lipstick Jungle”), Larry Wilmore (“The Daily Show”), Charlyne Yi (“Knocked Up”), Pamela Adlon (“Californication”), Stacy Galina (“Hidden Hills”), Brian Hallisay (“Privileged”), Kyle Howard (“My Boys”) and Steve Howey (“Bride Wars”).