TV Upfronts 2014: What to Watch on NBC!

By Maureen Martin | May 14, 2014 | Entertainment

At the NBC Upfront 2014, we learned all about music, mysteries and meeting the one. Here are the shows we’ll be DVR-ing in the upcoming season.

A to Z (Thursdays)
WHAT ITΓÇÖS ABOUT. This half-hour romantic comedy stars Mad Men‘s Ben Feldman and How I Met Your Mother’s Cristin Milioti, who are accidentally mismatched in love.
OUR DIVALICIOUS TAKE. It’s a little post-HIMYM (there’s even a narrator!). Still, the series is executive produced by Rashida Jones (Community) and writing partner Will McCormack. What do we expect? The romance to be smart, quirky, funny and bitter sweet because Rashida “gets it.”

State of Affairs (Midseason)
WHAT ITΓÇÖS ABOUT. If Scandal, Homeland and Revenge had a baby, State of Affairs would be it. Katherine Heigl plays CIA analyst Charleston Tucker, who was once engaged to the son of U.S. President Constance Payton — the incomparable Alfre Woodard — before he died in a terrorist attack. Scandalous, indeed!
OUR DIVALICIOUS TAKE. What we love about this is its two strong female leads, the action and the promise of intrigue. It will be a blast to watch romantic comedy queen Katherine expand her wings opposite one of the most prolific African-American actresses of our time.

Mr. Robinson (Midseason)
WHAT ITΓÇÖS ABOUT. Starring The Office alum Craig Robinson, Craig plays a musician who gets a job as a substitute music teacher at a middle school. He may not be the “best man for the job” but he is the man who “gets the job,” much like Jack Black in hit film School of Rock.
OUR DIVALICIOUS TAKE. What’s not to love about Craig Robinson and a bunch of pre-teens surrounded by song? We’re hoping that this little gem whose cast/class includes Amandla Stenberg, the cutie who played Rue in Hunger Games, gets an encore.

Also looking forward to the live productions of Peter Pan and The Music Man. And we’d love to see NBC be diverse again in the production’s casting.