Justin Spitzer Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Daniel D'Addario Chief TV Critic What’s NBC nowadays? Even before the ongoing writers strike scrambled the network’s fall schedule, its identity — historically quite strong as a place for chewy, grown-up dramas and chic, cerebral sitcoms — had seemed hazy. Promising comedies, the sort that might have grown to fulfill the role recently played by “30 Rock” or “Superstore,” got unceremoniously booted from the air after barely a chance to thrive; new dramas, from “Ordinary Joe” to “The Thing About Pam,” seemed painfully undistinguished.  It’s been a tough few years. And as much as the departure of former NBCUniversal chairman Susan Rovner, a career TV executive previously known for her work at Warner Bros. Television, is just latest bit of media industry consolidation, it’s also a moment to observe that the legacy network and its corporate siblings have struggled to find a way forward. (Rovner’s replacement, Donna Langley, will oversee both film and television for the company.) In the years since Rovner came into the job in 2020, there have been limited bright spots — the “Night Court” revival on NBC, “Poker Face” on streamer Peacock. But there’s been a general tone of a lack of faith in the core of what NBC is and does, one that makes today’s news feel like less of a surprise than it otherwise might.

EXCLUSIVE: The Good Girls reunion of Jenna Bans, Bill Krebs and Retta is not happening — at least not at NBC. The network has passed on the untitled drama pilot (fka Murder by the Book), starring Retta and written and executive produced by Bans and Krebs. The studio behind the pilot, Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, is expected to shop it.

American Auto fans are going to miss out on a world of Payne, creator Justin Spitzer posted today.

American Auto may be gone, but costar Ana Gasteyer will always remember it with gratitude.

Selome Hailu “American Auto” has been canceled after two seasons on NBC. Created by Justin Spitzer, “American Auto” was a workplace comedy following the executives of Detroit-based Payne Motors as they struggle to adapt to the changing times, all the while being led by the company’s first female CEO, Katherine Hastings (Ana Gasteyer). Along with Gasteyer, the cast included Harriet Dyer as Sadie Ryan, Jon Barinholtz as Wesley Payne, Humphrey Ker as Elliot Chisholm, Michael B. Washington as Cyrus Knight, Tye White as Jack Fortin and X Mayo as Dori Ovens. Season 2 was averaging 2.3 million total viewers and a 0.3 rating among adults 18-49 according to Nielsen’s Live + 7 data from late April.

EXCLUSIVE: NBC has opted not to proceed with a third season of its workplace comedy series American Auto, created and executive produced by Superstore creator Justin Spitzer.

“St. Denis Medical” Friday, which will bring the actress back to primetime shortly after wrapping a 10-season run on ABC’s “The Goldbergs.” The mockumentary-style show from “Superstore” writers Justin Spitzer and Eric Ledgin follows “an underfunded, understaffed Oregon hospital where the dedicated doctors and nurses try their best to treat patients while maintaining their own sanity,” per the show’s official logline.

NBC has canceled “Grand Crew” after two seasons and “Young Rock” after three seasons. “Grand Crew,” which comes from Phil Augusta Jackson and Dan Goor (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”), followed friends Noah, Nicky, Sherm, Anthony, Wyatt and Fay as they navigated the ups and downs of life and unpacked it all at their favorite wine bar.

It will be a quick return to network primetime for Wendi McLendon-Covey. NBC has picked up to series St. Denis Medical, its single-camera workplace comedy starring The Goldbergs alumna and veteran David Alan Grier.

Selome Hailu NBC has given a series order to “St. Denis Medical,” a comedy series hailing from “Superstore” and “American Auto” creator Justin Spitzer alongside Eric Ledgin, who also wrote and executive produced on both shows. Per the official logline, the series is “a mockumentary about an underfunded, understaffed Oregon hospital where the dedicated doctors and nurses try their best to treat patients while maintaining their own sanity.” Wendi McLendon-Covey stars as Joyce, St. Denis’ executive director and former oncological surgeon who has big dreams for the future of the hospital, though those dreams are not currently being realized. And as reported exclusively by Variety, Allison Tolman will play Alex, the supervising nurse in St. Denis’ emergency department who is dedicated to providing excellent care to her patients, often sacrificing her personal life to maintain her high standards.

NBC has yet to make decisions about three of its comedies.

EXCLUSIVE: Josh Lawson (Mortal Kombat), Kahyun Kim (Cocaine Bear) and Mekki Leeper (The Sex Lives of College Girls) have been cast in the NBC comedy pilot St. Denis Medical. They join previously announced leads Wendi McLendon-Covey and David Alan Grier.

EXCLUSIVE: Tony winner David Alan Grier is set as a lead opposite Wendy McLendon-Covey in NBC comedy pilot St. Denis Medical.

Selome Hailu Allison Tolman has been cast in “St. Denis Medical,” a comedy pilot at NBC from “Superstore” and “American Auto” creator Justin Spitzer. The pilot is described as a mockumentary about an underfunded, understaffed Oregon hospital where the dedicated doctors and nurses try their best to treat patients while maintaining their own sanity. Tolman will play Alex, the supervising nurse in St. Denis’ emergency department who is dedicated to providing excellent care to her patients, often sacrificing her personal life to maintain her high standards. Tolman recently held the recurring role of Winnie McLendon in “Gaslit,” the Starz limited series based on the Watergate scandal. She is also known for starring as Molly Solverson in Season 1 of FX’s “Fargo,” which earned her a Critics Choice Award as well as nominations for an Emmy and a Golden Globe. Her other TV credits include “Why Women Kill” on Paramount+ and ABC’s “Emergence” and “Downward Dog.” In film, she has appeared in “The House,” “The Gift,” “Krampus” and “Killing Gunther.”

EXCLUSIVE: As The Goldbergs is wrapping its 10-season run on ABC, series star Wendi McLendon-Covey has been tapped to lead another single-camera broadcast comedy, NBC pilot St. Denis Medical.

Selome Hailu “Non-Evil Twin,” a comedy written by and starring Amber Ruffin, has received a pilot order at NBC. The multi-cam follows a woman who is forced to step in to her sister’s role as the leader of a Fortune 500 company despite knowing little about business and even less about the way her sister has been running the corporation. Ruffin is best known for hosting “The Amber Ruffin Show,” a late-night talk show on Peacock that she created after years of writing and occasionally appearing on NBC’s “Late Night With Seth Meyers.” Her other writing credits include “A Black Lady Sketch Show,” the 75th Tony Awards, the 76th Golden Globe Awards, the 66th Emmys and “Detroiters,” which she also acted in.

NBC has handed out its latest comedy pilot to Non-Evil Twin, starring and written by Amber Ruffin.

NBC has given a pilot order to St. Denis Medical, a half-hour mockumentary-style workplace comedy from the Superstore and American Auto duo of Justin Spitzer and Eric Ledgin. The pilot is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, where both Spitzer and Ledgin have overall deals.

EXCLUSIVE: We have the first big sale of the 2022-23 broadcast development season. NBC has handed a pilot production commitment to St. Denis Medical, a half-hour mockumentary-style workplace comedy from the Superstore and American Auto duo of Justin Spitzer, who created both series, and Eric Ledgin as well as Universal TV, where Spitzer and Ledgin are under overall deals. Additionally, Spitzer’s Uni TV-based Spitzer Holding Company has hired NBC comedy executive Simon Heuer as Head of TV Development.

EXCLUSIVE: CBS has put in development JumpStart, a multi-camera comedy based on Robb Armstrong’s long-running comic strip. Wayne Conley (The Best Man) will pen the TV adaptation, which hails from Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment and CBS Studios.

Selome Hailu “American Auto” has been renewed for its second season at NBC.From “Superstore” creator Justin Spitzer, Season 1 of “American Auto” debuted in December 2021. The series is a workplace sitcom set in Detroit, where Payne Motors has just hired Katherine Hastings (Ana Gasteyer), its first female CEO, who found huge success in big pharma but doesn’t know the first thing about cars — not even how to drive them.

NBC has picked up a second season of comedy series American Auto, Deadline has learned. We hear the order is for 13 episodes.

ABC’s The Bachelor and CBS’ FBI were the standouts for Tuesday primetime, which also featured season finales and a series premiere for NBC.

Barinholtz, 42, who played Marcus White, the sophomoric, dim-bulb warehouse supervisor on the sitcom, created by Justin Spitzer (it ended its run last March). “Justin approached me about a show he was going to take out for pilot season — this was 2019 — and without even reading the script I knew it was going to be amazing.”That series was “American Auto” and Barinholtz snared a co-starring role, but COVID shut production down in 2020 just as shooting was about to begin.

Coming off a five-year run as writer-producer on NBC’s The Office, Justin Spitzer in August 2013 sold another single-camera workplace comedy, to NBC, with a put pilot commitment. The script did not go to pilot, and Spitzer went on to create Superstore. After he stepped down as Superstore showrunner in summer 2019 to focus on development under his Universal TV overall deal, he took a new stab at American Auto, which was redeveloped and went to pilot — and then to series — at NBC.

NBC will air original episodes of all five of its comedy series — returning shows Young Rock, Kenan and Mr. Mayor – and new series Grand Crew and American Auto — during the week of December 13, ahead of their regular 2022 season premieres.

K.J.

EXCLUSIVE: Superstore and American Auto creator Justin Spitzer has signed a big new four-year overall deal with the studio behind the NBC comedy series, Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.

The series finale of the NBC comedy series Superstore just aired and we’re so sad that the show is over!

SPOILER ALERT: This post includes details about the series finale of NBC’s Superstore.

Haley Bosselman editorIn today’s TV news roundup, NBC announced the date of the “Superstore” series finale, and National Geographic set the release date for “Genius: Aretha.” NBC’s “Superstore” will end on March 25 with a one-hour series finale at 8 p.m. The workplace comedy, executive produced by Justin Spitzer, Gabe Miller and Jonathan Green, follows the employees of “Cloud 9,” a fictional big-box store in St. Louis, Mo.

Denise Petski Senior Managing EditorEXCLUSIVE: Greenleaf alum Tye White, Michael Benjamin Washington (Ratched), Jon Barinholtz (Superstore) and Humphrey Ker (Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet) are set as series regulars opposite Ana Gasteyer and Harriet Dyer in NBC’s single-camera comedy pilot American Auto, from Superstore creator Justin Spitzer, Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment and Universal Television.Your Complete Guide to Pilots and Straight-to-Series ordersWritten by Spitzer, American Auto

By Denise Petski

“Cloud 9” is losing its manager.

By Nellie Andreeva

By Nellie Andreeva