Stars: Chris D'Elia, Brent Morin, Matthew Wilkas, Rick Glassman, Ron Funches, Briga Heelan, Bianca Kajlich
Team: Adam Sztykiel, Bill Lawrence, Jeff Ingold
A young ensemble centering on a group of friends dubbed the "Undateables" whose lives are altered when a more confident character enters their world. Based on the book by Ellen Rakieten and Anne Coyle.
Justin Lubin/NBCNBC has slotted The Night Shift, Crossbones, Undateable and four more series for summer.
Medical drama The Night Shift will premiere Tuesday, May 27, at 10 p.m., while Bill Lawrence‘s Undateable will air back-to-back episodes beginning Thursday, May 29, at 9 p.m.
Crossbones, starring John Malkovich as Blackbeard, will premiere on Friday, May 30, at 10 p.m.
PHOTOS: Broadcast TV’s Returning Shows 2014-15
Acquired series Taxi Brooklyn, starring Chyler Leigh, debuts Wednesday, June 25, at 10 p.m. Half-hour comedy Welcome to Sweden from Greg Poehler premieres Thursday, July 10, at 9 p.m., followed by Working the Engels at 9:30 p.m.
Unscripted offering Food Fighters will launch Tuesday, July 22, at 8 p.m.
They join a summer slate that includes Last Comic Standing (Thursday, May 22, at 9 p.m.), America’s Got Talent (Tuesday, May 27, at 8 p.m.) and American Ninja Warrior (Monday, May 26, at 9 p.m.).
NBC’s summer schedule comes on the heels of Fox’s release earlier Wednesday and as broadcast networks continue to bulk up their summer slates with original and acquired series in a bid for year-round programming. Several series debuting this summer on NBC are acquisitions (Taxi Brooklyn, Welcome to Sweden and Working the Engels).
Find synopses of NBC’s summer scripted series below.
The Night Shift
“The Night Shift” focuses on the men and women who work the overnight shift at San Antonio Memorial Hospital. They are an irreverent and special breed, particularly adrenaline junkie T.C. Callahan (Eoin Macken, “Merlin”). After three grueling tours of duty in Afghanistan, T.C. is about to learn that his toughest battles will be fought right here at home. He and his team of late-night docs, including best friend Topher (Ken Leung, “Lost”) and protégé Drew (Brendan Fehr, “Roswell”), know how to let off steam with the casual prank or two, but when lives are at stake, they are all business. Unfortunately, the night shift is now under new senior management and boss Michael Ragosa (Freddy Rodriguez, “Six Feet Under”), who has to balance the real-world pressures of cutting costs while battling the stigma that he is more interested in saving money than helping people.
Undateable
Whether it’s due to a lack of style, the wrong job, or even just a bad haircut, everyone goes through a time in their lives when they’re undateable. Most of us eventually grow out of it, but some people need a little more help than others. Enter Danny Burton (Chris D’Elia, “Whitney”). Confident, attractive and impervious to outside opinions, 29-year-old Danny — who may be in a state of arrested development himself — decides to help out his new roommate, Justin Kearney (comedian Brent Morin), the owner of an unsuccessful bar and a chronic overthinker, and Justin’s group of oddball friends — Shelly (comedian Ron Funches), Burski (comedian Rick Glassman) and Brett (David Fynn, “Game of Thrones”). Danny introduces the gang to his recently divorced older sister, Leslie (Bianca Kajlich, “Rules of Engagement”), who immediately bonds with this group of guys, as she feels a little stuck in her own life as well. The gang spends most of their time at Justin’s bar, helping solve each other’s respective problems over beers, and while they love to give each other a hard time, they always have each other’s back.
Crossbones
It’s 1715 on the Bahamian island of New Providence where the diabolical pirate Blackbeard (John Malkovich) reigns over a rogue nation of thieves, outlaws and miscreant sailors. Part shantytown and part marauder’s paradise, New Providence is a mounting threat to international commerce. To gain control of this fearsome society, assassin Tom Lowe is sent to the buccaneers’ haven to take down the brilliant and charismatic Blackbeard. But the closer Lowe gets, the more he ?nds that his quest is not so simple. Lowe can’t help but admire the political ideals of Blackbeard, whose thirst for knowledge knows no bounds, and no law. But Lowe is not the only danger to Blackbeard’s rule. He is a man with many rivals and one great weakness — a passionately driven woman whom he cannot deny.
Taxi Brooklyn
An action-comedy police procedural centered on the fractious, closely bonded partnership between a streetwise Marseilles-born New York City taxi driver and an intensely driven NYPD detective for whom this immigrant cabbie becomes chauffeur, insider on the streets and unofficial partner.
Welcome to Sweden
Bruce Evans (Greg Poehler) and Emma Wiik (Josephine Bornebusch) seem to be the perfect couple, so when she makes the life-changing decision to move back to her native Stockholm to accept a prestigious banking position after a year together, she is surprised and thrilled that he agrees to move with her. Moving halfway around the world with a new love is a huge step and Bruce, with no job, friends or real clue about what he is getting himself into, is quick to face the many unique challenges and culture clashes that living in a foreign land presents — most notably, how to win over Emma’s strange and very Swedish family.
Working the Engels
The series centers on a family who must band together to keep their heads above water when their father and breadwinner passes away, leaving them a mountain of debt. The Engels must all go to work running Dad’s storefront law firm, with one minor problem — daughter Jenna is the only one who is qualified to practice law.
