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NBC comedy ‘Abby’s’ about a San Diego backyard bar to debut in March

Actor Natalie Morales attends the NBC mid-season press junket at The Four Seasons in New York on Jan. 24, 2019
(ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images)
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Crack open a beer because the release date for the new NBC show “Abby’s,” set in a backyard San Diego bar, has finally been announced.

Will it have the staying power of “Simon & Simon” or the appeal of “Drake & Josh”? Or will it crash and burn like “Cavemen”? We’ll soon see.

From the producers of “The Good Place” and “Parks of Recreation,” the new comedy will premiere on March 28 at 9:30 p.m. Pacific Time.

Here’s everything we know about it.

“Abby’s” will revolve around an unlicensed backyard bar in San Diego run by a woman named Abby, played by Natalie Morales.

“This unlicensed, makeshift establishment in Abby's backyard is the perfect gathering place for locals to find camaraderie and sanctuary,” NBC’s description of the show says. “To maintain the perfect bar ecosystem, all patrons must abide by a specific set of rules. This includes no cellphones (not even to look something up), understanding that rising through the hierarchy to earn a seat at the bar takes time and knowing that losing a challenge may have some unpleasant and unpalatable drink-related repercussions.”

The show creators already have some major hits on their resumes. For example, you’ve probably seen some of executive producer Michael Schur’s work on “Saturday Night Live,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” or “The Office.”

His fellow executive producer David Miner has done the same job for “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” “Master of None” and “30 Rock.” Director Pamela Fryman has also directed “How I Met Your Mother” and “Two and a Half Men.”

Writer and producer Josh Malmuth's most recent projects include “New Girl” and “Superstore.” Better yet, Malmuth — who will serve as showrunner — lived in San Diego growing up, so he’s sure to have some good insight into what backyard and beer culture here is all about.

Another possible nod to San Diego is that the main character Abby is a Marine Corps veteran. And according to Buzzfeed, “Morales’ Abby is the first bisexual Latinx character to lead a network sitcom.”

One way the show is sure to be different from previous ones from this team is that NBC says it was shot “completely outdoors in front of a live studio audience, the first time a multi-camera comedy has done so.”

In addition to Morales, the show stars Neil Flynn, Nelson Franklin, Jessica Chaffin, Leonard Ouzts and Kimia Behpoornia.

We haven’t seen any evidence that the show has done any filming in San Diego, or anywhere beyond the Universal backlot, but it will be the first major show with local ties since “Pitch” in 2016, which chronicled a female pitcher who is called up to play for the Padres. And we all know how that show fared.

Will you be tuning in? Surely locals will be interested to see if the show’s tagline — “the best bar in San Diego is the opposite of annoying and it’s in Abby’s backyard” — turns out to be true.

Email: abby.hamblin@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @abbyhamblin

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