Entertainment

Exciting News For 4 NBC Shows

by Alanna Bennett

Bless the Internet for its mighty bounty. Right now this includes many wonders from the Olympics, yes — but it also includes the ways in which the Internet can make up for that which the Olympics has taken. In other words: NBC's streaming mini Parks and Rec digital episodes throughout the Olympics, as well as the same for shows like Parenthood, Grimm, and Chicago Fire.

Let this be a sign from the television heavens that NBC is happy enough with both Parks and Rec and Parenthood that it will renew them from now until... well, until Amy Poehler decides to ascend into the annals of comedy history and/or focus on more film work.

Regardless of what this means for the future of the series in question, it's good news for their present. Parks and Rec, for its part, will have a digital series called "The Hapley Group," which will take on the format of one of inadvertently hilarious newscaster Perd Hapley's many shows, and will feature debates between notable residents of Pawnee. So maybe Kristen Bell's Ingrid De Forest or Aziz Ansari's Tom Haverford can go head to head with Darlene Hunt's angry "family values" activist Marcia Langman? Or maybe Patton Oswalt could just fillibuster the whole thing again.

That show will also welcome back memorable Pawnean characters like Mo Collins's Joan Calamezzo, and Crazy Ira and The Douche — played by, respectively, The League's Nick Kroll (who's also been dating Amy Poehler for quite a while now) and Matt Besser (who founded the Upright Citizens Brigade). They'll make up what's sure to be an interesting roundtable. You can expect "The Hapley Group" to make its appearance Feb. 20.

As for the rest, who knows what's in store for their digital series. Will Parenthood's just be Joel and Julia going through some much-needed marriage counseling? Adam and Kristina calling every parent in Berkeley and badgering them into listening to them talk about Max?

Time will tell.

Image: NBC