'Mockingbird Lane' may be re-animated

Around this time of year, TV fans hear an awful lot of news emanating from the TCA (Television Critics Association) semi-annual press tour. They might ask themselves: What, exactly, is this hallowed event? In a nutshell, a bunch of people who write about TV gather in rooms with folks who create and star in actual series, and the former contingent takes notes on whatever the latter says. Like, for instance, indications that NBC refuses to fully quit on an eventual, successful "Munsters" revival. 

Deadline reports that, during a TCA roundtable this past weekend, NBC Entertainment Chair Bob Greenblatt addressed the recent cancellation of much-belabored "Mockingbird Lane," saying, “I won’t say we won’t do another version of 'The Munsters' again.” He also directly commented on why "Mockingbird" didn't last beyond an isolated Halloween broadcast, elaborating that, “We just decided it didn’t hold together well enough to yield a series. It looked beautiful and original and creative, but it just all ultimately didn’t come together…. We tried to make it an hour, which ultimately has more dramatic weight than a half-hour. It’s hard to calibrate how much weirdness vs. supernatural vs. family story. I just think we didn’t get the mix right.”

This is, of course, only mild consolation to the cast. Although, Jerry O'Connell has already landed a CBS pilot and Portia de Rossi is busy filming new "Arrested Development" episodes, so they'll survive. Our advice for Mr. Greenblatt if he eyes another resurrection of Herman and family's hijinks? Go the "Neighbors" route and deliver a quirky-conventional sitcom a la what the original "Munsters" helped define. 

Whatever he and NBC decide, we pledge to continue updating you on its glacial progress.