NBC orders 5 new series for next season

Sean Hayes, Parker Posey, Minnie Driver and Gillian Anderson have prominent roles in new television series that NBC will try next season.

The network said Thursday that it had ordered five new series, in advance of its annual schedule announcement Sunday. That's when it will become clear what current shows the network will cancel to make way for the new ones.

Former "Will & Grace'' actor Hayes stars as a gay divorced dad in "Sean Saves the World,'' one of three new comedies. Posey is a divorced mom in "The Family Guide'' and Driver is in an adaptation of the novel "About a Boy.''

As far as the dramas go, J.J. Abrams brings "Believe" about an unlikely relationship that develops between a young girl with a gift and a man sprung from prison who has been tasked with protecting her from the evil elements that hunt her power.

The network will also launch "Crisis," a Washington conspiracy drama starring Dermot Mulroney and Gillian Anderson.

As far as returning shows go, NBC has renewed "Parks & Recreation," but killed "Whitney" and "1600 Penn."