GREAT NEWS — Season:1 — Pictured: (l-r) Nicole Richie as Portia, John Michael Higgins as Chuck, Andrea Martin as Carol, Briga Heelan as Katie, Adam Campbell as Greg, Horatio Sanz as Justin — (Photo by: Chris Haston/NBC)

Tonight on NBC, GREAT NEWS from Tina Fey, Robert Carlock, and Tracey Wigfield (who created the show) premieres at 9/8c with back to back episodes.  

Briga Heelan is Katie Wendelson, a news producer struggling to make an impression on her uptight boss (Adam Campbell); Andrea Martin is her mom, Carol. No longer content to sit at home, Carol gets a job as an intern at the station and immediately throws Katie’s life into turmoil. The duo has great chemistry as the put-upon daughter who doesn’t realize how much she does still need her overly-doting mother; Andrea Martin is just SO GOOD it’s unfair.

As Katie gets more confident and Carol connects with Chuck (John Michael Higgins, always sublime), the show throws joke after joke at the wall to see what sticks. It settles into a good rhythm by episode 2, and it has potential to be something of a 30 ROCK for the new PeakTV generation.  It’s not there yet, but it could be.

Also, who knew Nicole Ritchie had it in her?  Her Portia, the young anchor threatening Chuck’s presence on the air, is hilarious.