The New Normal

The series was created and principally written by Ryan Murphy and Ali Adler, with NBC officially ordering the project to pilot on January 27, 2012, and Murphy directing the pilot himself.

Bryan Collins' job as showrunner of a hit TV series called 'Sing' is a thinly veiled spoof of series creator Ryan Murphy's real-life show Glee.

Andrew Rannells was the first actor cast, followed by Ellen Barkin, then Justin Bartha and Georgia King, with Bebe Wood joining next and NeNe Leakes being the last actor cast in the series.

Jayson Blair originally signed on in a recurring role as Clay Clemmons, but was promoted to series regular after the pilot was picked up to series.

The Halloween-themed episode 'Para-New Normal Activity' was originally scheduled to air on October 30, 2012, but was preempted by NBC's coverage of Hurricane Sandy and did not air until March 2013.

KSL-TV, the NBC affiliate in Salt Lake City owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, refused to carry the series, citing content deemed inappropriate for the family hour; the local CW affiliate KUCW picked it up instead and aired it on Saturday nights.

The show received mixed reviews, scoring 61/100 on Metacritic and 51% on Rotten Tomatoes, and was criticized for perpetuating racial stereotypes and for using a person born intersex as an object of derision.

NBC released the pilot episode online as a preview on August 29, 2012, ahead of its official premiere on September 11, 2012, using the same marketing strategy as its time-slot companion Go On.