Quick Takes: NBC’s prime time redone

Struggling mightily in the ratings this fall, NBC plans to overhaul its prime-time schedule at midseason, adding four series, moving four others to new time slots and benching “Community” and “Prime Suspect.”

Joining the NBC schedule in January will be returning series “30 Rock” and newcomers “The Firm,” based on John Grisham’s novel but set 10 years after the events of the book and its movie adaptation, and “Are You There, Chelsea?,” a comedy inspired by comic Chelsea Handler.

Returning in February will be “The Voice,” “The Celebrity Apprentice” and “Who Do You Think You Are?” A new drama, “Smash,” set behind the scenes of a Broadway musical, also arrives that month. Planned for March is “Fashion Star,” a reality comedy hosted and executive-produced by Elle McPherson.

—Greg Braxton

Getty will end parking perk

The free evening parking perk at the Getty Museum in Brentwood and the Getty Villa in Malibu will vanish after Sunday, when parking after 5 p.m. will cost $10.

The charge also will apply for evening events such as lectures, screenings and performances at the museum and the villa. Daytime parking remains $15 at both venues. Admission remains free.

“Just like all other public institutions, the Getty’s operating costs continue to go up. Free parking in the evenings was just no longer feasible,” a museum spokesperson said after Monday’s announcement.

—Mike Boehm

Rob Schneider heads to CBS

Rob Schneider, star of “Big Stan,” “Grown Ups” and the “Deuce Bigelow” films, will take the lead in a CBS comedy set to premiere Jan. 12, “¡ROB!”

He plays a lifelong bachelor who marries into a tightknit Mexican American family. The series also stars Cheech Marin, Claudia Bassols and Lupe Ontiveros.

It will air Thursdays at 8:30 p.m., replacing “Rules of Engagement.”

—Greg Braxton

A Diamond at Macy’s parade

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year and will be among those saluted at the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington next month. So why not a parade for Neil Diamond too?

Well, almost. The parade isn’t for the singer-songwriter, but Diamond will be performing on South Dakota’s float in this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York.

The South Dakota Department of Tourism’s “Mount Rushmore’s American Pride” float will feature Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Black Hills National Forest and Badlands National Park to drive more visitors to the state.

—Associated Press

Mancuso bridges playhouse eras

Following the recent death of Gil Cates, the Geffen Playhouse founder and producing director, the Westwood theater has named its board chairman, Frank Mancuso, to assume the role of interim producing director while a committee studies what to do next regarding leadership.

“I am assuming this position to preserve the spirit, passion and unparalleled work that my dear friend Gil put into the Geffen Playhouse,” Mancuso said.

Mancuso has had a four-decade career in the entertainment industry, including stints at the helm of

Paramount Pictures Corp. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.

—Reed Johnson