TV News: NBC Orders Full Seasons of ‘Whitney,’ ‘Up All Night’; Cancels ‘The Playboy Club’

Submitted by TimBMartens on October 4, 2011 - 11:31am

CHICAGO- NBC has ordered full seasons for two of their new sitcoms: “Whitney” and “Up All Night.” “Whitney” has only aired two episodes and “Up All Night” has only aired three, but apparently the numbers and critical appeal was enough for NBC to give each show a shot at a full year.

“Up All Night” has averaged a 2.7 rating in the 18-49 year-old demographic and “Whitney” has tops among freshman NBC comedies with a 2.9. There is no word yet on the life of “Free Agents,” the sitcom that follows “Up All Night” on Wednesdays.

NBC Chairman Bob Greenblatt confirmed the news of the full season orders in a statement today: “We made comedy an important goal for us this season and I’m very pleased to be making full-season commitments to both ‘Whitney’ and ‘Up All Night’,” said Greenblatt. “We’re thrilled with the creative direction of both shows as well as the potential for them to continue to build loyal audiences over the coming months.”

“Up All Night” stars Christina Applegate and Will Arnett as the parents of a new born baby and the struggles they go through in parenthood. Maya Rudolph plays Applegate’s boss, Ava, who stars in her own television show.

“Whitney” is based off the life of comedian Whitney Cummings. The show revolves around the real life experiences of Cummings as well as playing out material from her comedy routine. Cummings plays a fictional version of herself and the show also centers on her relationship with her boyfriend of three years, Alex (Chris D’Elia).

With “Whitney” this may be the first time in many years that the Thursday night NBC lineup doesn’t have a show that gets cut after half a season, and the full season order of “Up All Night” brings even more comedy to the weekly NBC lineup.

In other NBC news, “The Playboy Club” has been cancelled after only hitting a 1.2 rating in last night’s third episode. The controversial show being cancelled is no surprise as NBC didn’t expect the show to survive and the ratings were never high, even for the premiere.