Back in October 2012, we brought you the news that NBC was revamping Up All Night as a multi-camera sitcom. We pointed out then that this worried us because the network basically wanted to make a completely new show, and this one might not be what the show's creator and executive producer Emily Spivey wanted to make. Her original vision had already been changed a number of times, most notably taking out the workplace element of the "woman struggling to balance work with new motherhood" concept. Now Spivey has stepped down from Up All Night. Spivey has stepped down from her own show.
If NBC no longer wanted the Up All Night they originally bought, we strongly believe they should have just canceled it and started again with a new concept and a new show. We understand them wanting to keep Will Arnett, Christina Applegate, and Maya Rudolph on their network, and doing it this way keeps them under contract. However, we have to wonder just how much these three want to be involved in this new show. It is not what they originally signed on for, just the way it is not the show that Spivey originally signed on to make.
NBC Entertainment President Jennifer Salke spoke only briefly about this revamp debacle during the network's TCA tour today in Los Angeles:
"That was a show that wasn't performing the way we needed it to. We are not fools; we know that talented cast of actors, they're not growing on trees. They still felt there were stories to tell, and they were very passionately [interested] in telling."
Salke continued to say that they sat down to collectively decide what the best format for the show would be going forward, "given they felt a little tied-down by the format and the creative direction of the show." Yet sitcom television, on a soundstage, in front of a live audience, might be even more limiting for some actors-- and some audience.
"Yes, it's a bit of an experiment, but we think it's one worth taking," Salke answered.
Do you agree?
Up All Night will resume production in February 2013.
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