Animated Upfronts 2014 Preview: NBC

It’s been a little under a decade since we had a prime-time animated series on NBC (Father of the Pride) and for years we’ve wondered if one of television’s oldest broadcast networks would one-day have the balls to jump back in and challenge FOX in the animated television circle. With their Thursday Night comedy block pretty much a disaster and with no chance of moving anything dramatic over to Thursdays, animated television could be the final piece in NBC’s puzzle in being a fantastic all-around television network.

Despite the fact that NBC features some of the best animated talent in the world already like Parks and Recs’ Greg Daniels (King of the Hill), Communtiy’s Dan Harmon (Rick and Morty), and Dino Stamatopoulos (Moral Orel), we don’t really have a whole bunch in the animated pipeline other than the Community specials and an upcoming Christmas musical. However, one unlikely hero COULD emerge in the form of Ed Helms.

Late last year it was reported that Ed Helms and Graham Wagner were developing an animated pilot for NBC called Mystery Island. At that point the pilot was only in the presentation stage, but you would think by now that thing would’ve been done and at the very least green-lit, but we haven’t heard anything as of yet. Could that change at NBC’s Upfront presentation next week in NYC? Let’s see. If anything, NBC should take note of Gary Newman’s constant touting of the financial success for Family Guy and The Simpsons so that maybe they could aspire to do something similar.