NBC orders 5 new TV series, renews 'Parks'

[mister010]

Sean Hayes, Parker Posey, Minnie Driver and Gillian Anderson will have prominent roles in new TV series that NBC has decided to air next season, The Associated Press reports.

The network said it had ordered five new series, in advance of its annual schedule announcement Sunday. NBC also said that it had renewed "Parks and Recreation," the comedy that gets much critical respect but generally poor ratings. The network also said "Whitney," starring Whitney Cummings, and Matthew Perry's "Go On" would not be renewed. NBC also canceled the Brian Williams-hosted newsmagazine "Rock Center."

Hayes, the former "Will & Grace" actor, stars as a gay divorced dad in "Sean Saves the World," juggling work responsibilities with raising a 14-year-old girl.

Posey plays a divorced mom in "The Family Guide," with an 11-year-old son who had always been his blind father's guide but is replaced by a guide dog named Elvis.

The third comedy ordered by NBC is an adaptation of the Nick Hornby novel "About a Boy." Actor Will Freeman is the "ultimate man-child" who bonds with the 11-year-old son of a needy, vegan single mom played by Driver.

Brand-name producer J.J. Abrams ("Lost," "Alias") already has "Revolution" on the NBC schedule. The network said it will also add "Believe," about a young girl coming to grips with superpowers like levitation, controlling nature and predicting the future.

Anderson, who made her name on "The X-Files," is a featured actor on "Crisis," about a bus full of high school students who are the children of Washington elite and are kidnapped.