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Fall TV previews 2011: Sneak a peek at NBC's "Up All Night" pilot

NBC kicked off the beginning of the end of Upfront Week today by presenting its new fall lineup of shows.

Here's a look at Up All Night, scheduled for 8 p.m. Wednesdays in Fall 2011. Starring Christina Applegate, Will Arnett, Maya Rudolph, and James Pumphrey. Arnett's a stay-at-home dad while Applegate's character works for Rudolph's character. Pumphrey plays Applegate's assistant. Written by SNL scribe Emily Spivey and executive produced by Lorne Michaels.

Roll the clips!

Dear FOX: Please allow Will Arnett and Peter Serafinowicz to keep running wild on "Running Wilde"

Look. I get it. We all get it. Running Wilde is not Arrested Development. Even though both shows feature the same creator, two of its stars, a voiceover narration and a love for ridiculousness, they're not the same. They're not going to be the same. And we should all be OK with that.

In fact, we should just let Mitch Hurwitz, Will Arnett, Peter Serafinowicz and company see where their crazy train is heading and follow their own titular advice. Run wild!

After watching the first four episodes -- which, if you haven't seen yet, you can do so at the show's site or on Running Wilde's Hulu page -- you can see that whatever stretch you had to make to make sense of the pilot episode, there's something endearingly silly about where this series is heading. That is, if I even could tell you where it's heading. But it's worth finding out.

I could go back decades to cite Seinfeld or Cheers as examples of shows that found their footing and then some, but even just going back to Parks and Recreation may do the trick. P&R started as a blind spin-off of The Office that attempted to spin its entire first season around a literal hole in the ground. Once they got that storyline out of the way, P&R soared in its second season by focusing on its characters.

FOX stuck with 'Til Death through four seasons, based on Brad Garrett. FOX sticks with seemingly any animated series til death, based on who knows what, exactly. Seth MacFarlane? With such talents as Hurwitz, Arnett and Serafinowicz, not to mention David Cross, Keri Russell, Mel Rodriguez, Robert Michael Morris and Stefania Owen, why not keep Running Wilde?

Just see what Serafinowicz did in real life earlier this week when asked to ring the opening bell on NASDAQ! Roll the clip:

 

Will Arnett & Amy Poehler meet their U.K. dopplegangers?

Did you know they have a Funny or Die in the U.K.? Even more alarming, did you know that in the U.K., they also have funny couplings of comedic actors and actresses to match wits with the likes of our beloved Amy Poehler and Will Arnett? Yes, and yes. And here is a video demonstrating what may happen when comedy worlds collide, as Poehler and Arnett cross paths on a sidewalk with Britcom happy couple Peter Serafinowicz and Sarah Alexander (from Spaced (him), Coupling (her), and Look Around You (together!)). Have we all made our proper introductions? Alrighty then!

Great To See You Feat. Will Arnett, Amy Poehler, Peter Serafinowicz and Sarah Alexander from Will Arnett