NBC’s ‘Coach’ Revival Officially Benched, Okay Then

Well, that was fast. Amid the current crop of unexpected TV revivals, NBC’s Coach redux with Craig T. Nelson certainly ranked among the more baffling, and while the network continues barreling forward with Heroes Reborn, Coach has officially been taken off the field.

Despite emerging at the behest of Parenthood alum and original series star Craig T. Nelson, displaying some key art and details from Upfronts, and even returning Bill Fagerbakke to his sidekick role as Michael “Dauber” Dybinski, NBC has officially shelved the project. So says The Hollywood Reporter:

Insiders say the comedy, which had just begun production, was not going well and multiple people inside NBC were not optimistic about the project from the start.

Well, duh. So read the official (and wonderfully sitcom-y) synopsis for Coach:

Craig T. Nelson (“Parenthood”) reprises the iconic role that earned him an Emmy in this follow-up to the beloved series that ran for nine seasons. With original creator Barry Kemp at the helm, Hayden Fox’s story picks up 18 years later when the retired coach gets back in the game to assist his son, who was just hired as head coach at an Ivy League university in Pennsylvania… where they know nothing about sports. Between dealing with the eggheads on campus and his hostile daughter-in-law at home, Coach will soon learn that he’s not in Minnesota anymore. Talk about a Hail Mary!

Previous reports also suggested that Jerry Van Dyke could reprise his role as Fox’s other assistant coach Luther Van Dam, while Shelley Fabares (Fox’s wife Christine) would sit out for health issues. The 13-episode order also saw Andrew Ridings as Hayden Fox’s son, with original writer Barry Kemp on board.

We’d doubt if very many will end up disappointed by NBC’s decision to abandon a Coach reboot, but what does it say about the network’s current state of affairs?