As far as TV show retools go, I’m usually an optimist. Especially when it comes to pilots that haven’t aired yet. If major changes need to be made, better they’re made before the public has the chance to form a negative opinion on the show. I haven’t seen the original pilot episode of Up All Night, but from the sound of it, the changes being made to it are for the better.
NBC’s Up All Night is among the shows I’m eagerly anticipating. I feel certain that the combination of Christina Applegate, Will Arnett, Maya Rudolph and former SNL writer Emily Spivey has all the makings of something truly fantastic. Sure, great combinations have flopped before (Sorry, Running Wilde), but I believe I can mentally will this one to be as good as I want it to be. While I work on that, Spivey is doing a bit of retooling on the pilot, in the hopes of finding a more fruitful story to work with.
Up All Night is still set to follow new parents (played by Applegate and Arnett) as they attempt to raise a baby while also juggling their work lives, however Applegate’s work situation has changed. The series originally had her working at a public relations firm. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the cast and Spivey talked about the show today at the TCA presentation and Applegate’s character Reagan will now be a producer on a talk show that stars Rudolph’s character.
"When people say daytime talk show, the first word is Oprah," Rudolph said. "Anyone that's doing daytime talk holds her in high esteem. ... This character's journey is trying to get there. She's got a long way."
Lorne Michaels, who played a role in the casting process for the pilot, says the dynamic “doesn’t change much” for Applegate and Rudolph’s characters. "The office part of it changes a great deal between Christina and Maya's character ... they're partners in a different way."
As I said, if they’re going to make major changes like this, best to do it before the series airs. I can’t remember an instance when I didn’t find Rudolph hilarious and I have no trouble picturing her as a talk show host. Spivey says the talk show idea is “just more fun” and I have to agree.
It doesn’t sound like this is going to be a work-place comedy as much as it is a “parenting” comedy, however given that there doesn't seem to be a high success rate for sitcoms that focus on new-baby-shenanigans and parenting humor (The two-season Notes From the Underbelly comes to mind), I like that they’re putting some emphasis on other aspects of the characters’ lives, if only to have something to fall back on in case the new-parent angle isn’t enough to carry the show. It certainly doesn't hurt to layer, anyway.
Up All Night premieres Wednesday, Sept. 14 at 10 p.m.. It’s set to move to 8:00 p.m. the following week.
