TV Potpourri: Spinoff updates

Catch up on the latest and greatest in TV this week ... It's TV Potpourri! Mmmm, springtime fresh!

"Office" spinoff update: Discussing the new sitcom from Greg Daniels and starring Amy Poehler can be a lot like that scene in "Chinatown": "It's a spinoff!" SLAP! "It's a new concept!" SLAP! "A spinoff!" SLAP! "New concept!" For the longest time, we thought it was going to be "The Office 2," and would give an ancillary character his or her own show.

That rumor is pretty much dead, and now we have the beginnings of an inking of a hint of a confirmation as to what this blasted show is about. According to The Hollywood Reporter: "NBC's untitled Poehler project, from "The Office" masterminds Greg Daniels and Mike Schur, is set in the office of Amy (Poehler), deputy chairman of the department of parks and recreations in Pawnee, Ind." Finally, at long last, a sitcom about a department of parks and recreation! Cue the beaver humor!

Also, according to Jim Hibberd's Live Feed TV blog, NBC has already given "Untitled Amy Poehler Project" a premiere date and time slot: 7:30 p.m., April 9 (currently held by the god-awful "Kath and Kim.") You'd think putting a show on your schedule that doesn't even have a pilot yet, let alone a title, would be, I don't know, idiotic. But according to Hibberd, NBC has enough faith in the talent involved to go ahead with it. Yes, because that worked so well for "Studio 60."

"Gossip Girl" prequel? I'll admit it: I watch "Gossip Girl" every now and then. It's got pretty girls on it, isn't nearly as stupid as you'd think, and I've got crap else to do Monday nights. It's not a priority for me, but when it's on, I'll switch off the ol' Y chromosome for a hour and enjoy the backstabbing, the pop culture references, and the Leighton Meester.

Apparently there's been a "GG" spinoff in the pipelines for a while now, and according to Zap2It.com, some insider information about its plot has snuck through: "Executive producers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage have started work on an original series, based on the 1980s teenage life of wild child Lily Rhoades (who we know now as Lily van der Woodsen Bass)." Now, I'm no "GG" expert, but how will all the beautiful 80s socialites receive their Gossip Girl text messages in a pre-iPhone age? ColecoVision?

Side note: Lily is played on "GG" by longtime Adam crush Kelly Rutherford, whom I first came to know on the long-lamented sci-fi/western/comedy, "The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr."



-- Adam Reinhard, areinhard@greenbaypressgazette.com