LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- NBC has unveiled the first scripted members of its 2011-12 freshman class.
Receiving series commitments this afternoon were dramas "Smash" and "Prime Suspect" and comedies "Up All Night" (formerly "Alpha Mom") and "Whitney." All four come from Universal Media Studios.
Christina Applegate toplines "Up All Night," which is billed as an irreverent look at parenthood through the point of view of an acerbic working mother. Lorne Michaels's Broadway Video Television is behind the half-hour, which also features James Pumphrey, Maya Rudolph and Will Arnett. Emily Spivey is the creator.
"Whitney" stars Whitney Cummings and Chris D'Elia as a young couple navigating the ups and downs of a committed relationship. Cummings herself penned the half-hour, which also stars Beverly D'Angelo, Maulik Pancholy, Rhea Seehorn and Zoe Lister.
Maria Bello stars in "Prime Suspect," about an iconoclastic female detective who has to make her bones in a tough New York precinct dominated by men. Director Peter Berg and writer Alexandra Cunningham are behind the project, a remake of the Helen Mirren-led U.K. series of the same name. Aidan Quinn, Brian O'Byrne, Joe Nieves, Kirk Acevedo, Tim Griffin and Toby Stephens also star.
Ensemble drama "Smash" is a show-within-a-show vehicle about a group of people who come together to put on a Marilyn Monroe-themed Broadway musical. Anjelica Huston, Brian d'Arcy James, Christian Borle, Debra Messing, Jack Davenport, Katharine McPhee, Megan Hilty and Raza Jaffrey co-star in the hour, from executive producers Steven Spielberg, Craig Zadan, Neil Meron and creator Theresa Rebeck.
Additional pickups are expected tomorrow when the network finalizes license fees with its outside suppliers.
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