George Lopez Comedy Pilot ‘Lopez vs. Lopez’ Ordered to Series at NBC

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorThe broadcast network upfront presentations returned to New York last week, although they’re not really about broadcast — or networks — anymore. The media buyers were back, executives were back, talent returned, and members of the press were also there.But here’s what wasn’t back: The shows.

untouched for two centuries in South London and it's full of famous landmarks from Big Ben to the London Eye. But it's extremely busy, too. We've all been there, rushing to get on a boiling-hot tube full to the brim with tired commuters.

EXCLUSIVE: The single-camera teen comedy Wild Life from Imagine Kids+Family has received a pilot order at HBO Max with rising star Izabella Alvarez (Euphoria, The Casagrandes) set as the show’s lead.

S. Epatha Merkerson‘s jaw dropped when she saw just what Taylor Kinney had his jacket lined with while attending the 2022 NBCUniversal Upfront held at Mandarin Oriental Hotel on Monday (May 16) in New York City.

Fox is finalizing a straight-to-series order to a black comedy about a meteorologist whose life unspools after a freak injury at work. Cindy Snow, from The Flight Attendant creator Steve Yockey and Warner Bros TV, was teased by Call Me Kat star and EP Mayim Bialik during Fox’s upfront presentation.

Raymond Lee and Camila Cabello are among the handful of fresh faces on NBC’s upcoming schedule, with the network once again leaning heavily on its “Law & Order” and “Chicago” series franchises.Cabello will join “The Voice” singing contest as a coach, NBC said Monday in announcing its fall schedule. The pop star, whose hit singles include “Havana” and who starred in the 2021 film musical “Cinderella,” will join returning coaches John Legend, Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani.Lee stars in “Quantum Leap,” which NBC described as a “reimagining” of the network’s 1989 to 1993 sci-fi drama with Scott Bakula.

Comedy is back on NBC’s fall schedule with an hourlong Friday block — comprised by Dwayne Johnson’s Young Rock and new George Lopez series Lopez vs. Lopez — but The Blacklist is not, put on the bench until midseason only for the second time in its 10-season run. As expected, the Quantum Leap reboot, starring Raymond Lee, landed the post-Voice Monday slot while La Brea is back in the Tuesday 9 PM slot where it launched with a bang last fall.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterNBC revealed its fall 2022-2023 lineup Monday, which includes “La Brea” occupying the current Tuesdays at 9 p.m. home of “This Is Us,” as well as the “Quantum Leap” reboot series taking the coveted post-“The Voice” launchpad.

The broadcast networks have largely made their new series pickups for next season. The picks include several IP-based shows, ABC’s Rookie spinoff, Quantum Leap for NBC, True Lies for CBS, Supernatural spinoff The Winchesters, Walker: Independence and Gotham Knights. There are also a couple of starring vehicles, ABC’s drama Alaska, which had been set up originally with Hilary Swank as the lead, Max Thieriot’s CBS drama Fire Country, The Rookie: Feds, starring Niecy Nash, and NBC comedy Lopez vs. Lopez with George Lopez. Pending is Fox’s straight-to-series order to John Eisendrath’s missing person procedural drama Alert, which is expected by Monday.  (Fox also has on tap for fall country music dynasty series Monarch left over from this season as well as straight-to-series anthology drama Accused, originally ordered last May.)

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterABC has passed on placing series orders for the “LA Law” sequel and Jo Koy comedy “Josep” after both pilots were reviewed by the network, Variety has learned.The Disney-owned broadcaster is interested in potentially redeveloping the Koy project in the future, but “LA Law” will not be moving forward. On Friday, ABC picked up dramas “Alaska” and “The Rookie” spinoff “The Rookie: Feds” to series, as well as comedy “Not Dead Yet.” Four other drama pilots, “Will Trent,” “The Company You Keep,” the Untitled Kay Oyegun drama and an untitled National Park Service project, are all still in contention and will be up for consideration going into July.Starring returning cast members Blair Underwood and Corbin Bernsen reprising their original roles as Jonathan Rollins and Arnie Becker, the pilot for the new iteration of the Emmy-winning series “LA Law” features familiar characters working alongside new ones on the most hot button issues of the day.

ABC has passed on its half-hour pilot Josep, starring comedian Jo Koy. While ABC is not proceeding with the existing pilot, the network brass want to get a comedy headlined by Koy on the air. The hope is to redevelop the idea, which is built around Koy playing a character loosely based on himself. It is too early to say whether that will happen and whether the current creative team will remain involved but the intent is to stay in business with Koy.

NBC is not moving forward with Hungry.

Young Rock will be back for a third season.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterNBC has opted not to move forward with its comedy pilot “Hungry,” which originally starred Demi Lovato who pulled out of the project and was replaced by “Modern Family” star Ariel Winter, Variety has learned.The multi-cam follows friends who belong to a food-issues group as they help each other look for love, success and the perfect thing in the fridge that’s going to make it all better.Lovato had been attached to the Universal television-produced “Hungry” as executive producer and star for almost a year while it was in development at NBC, but exited for scheduling reasons just as the pilot was about to start shooting in March. She was quickly replaced by Winter.Along with Winter, the “Hungry” pilot also starred Valerie Bertinelli, Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias, Ryan McPartlin, Alex Brightman and Ashley D.

NBC has ordered a second season of comedy series Grand Crew.

“Lopez vs. Lopez,” a working-class comedy starring George Lopez and real-life daughter Mayan Lopez, is heading to NBC.The network has picked up the comedy from Universal Television to series.

George Lopez and his daughter Mayan are making NBC their home.