I wanted to go over NBC's schedule for next year and add a few of my thoughts.
NBC FALL 2011-12 SCHEDULE
*New programs in UPPER CASE; all times ET)
MONDAY
8-10 p.m. – “The Sing-Off”
10-11 p.m. – “THE PLAYBOY CLUB”
NBC is finally changing up its Monday schedule after toiling at the bottom for the past few years. First off is The Sing-Off, the singing competition. It got good ratings last season, so it should do well full time. Coming after a family-friendly show like The Sing-Off, the tawdry-sounding The Playboy Club should spice up the night. We'll see if this works.
TUESDAY
8-10 p.m. – “The Biggest Loser”
10-11 p.m. – “Parenthood”
NBC's stablest night remains the same
WEDNESDAY
8-8:30 p.m. – “UP ALL NIGHT”
8:30-9 p.m. – “FREE AGENTS”
9-10 p.m. — “Harry’s Law”
10-11 p.m. — “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”
THURSDAY
8-8:30 p.m. – “Community”
8:30-9 p.m. — “Parks and Recreation”
9-9:30 p.m. – “The Office”
9:30-10 p.m. – “WHITNEY”
10-11 p.m. – “PRIME SUSPECT”
The comedy block remains intact, with 30 Rock held for the midseason due to Tina Fey's pregnancy, replaced by Whitney. NBC's remake of the British show Prime Suspects comes after, so NBC is putting a lot of hope into the night.
FRIDAY
8-9 p.m. – “Chuck”
9-10 p.m. – “GRIMM”
10-11 p.m. – “Dateline NBC”
Chuck's final season will be spent on Friday nights, where it probably belonged the past few seasons. The placement of Grimm after Chuck and against Fringe means that NBC wants to sink Fringe for good and/or is fine letting Grimm out to dry.
SATURDAY
Encore programming
SUNDAY
7- 8:15 p.m. — “Football Night in America”
8:15-11:30 p.m. — “NBC Sunday Night Football”
NBC 2012 MID-SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
*New programs in UPPER CASE; all times ET)
SUNDAY
7-8 p.m. – “Dateline NBC”
8-10 p.m. – “The Celebrity Apprentice”
10-11 p.m. – “THE FIRM”
The Firm seems like an odd show, a sequel to a film made almost 2 decades ago, but I can see it working after Celebrity Apprentice
MONDAY
8-10 p.m. – “The Voice”
10-11 p.m. – “SMASH”
NBC's only breakout hit, The Voice, will help Smash, a musical drama, greatly.
Showing posts with label NBC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NBC. Show all posts
Monday, May 16, 2011
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Recapping last week's cancellation bloodbath
Mid-May is an important time for television executives, producers, and viewers alike. Upfronts are coming up and some shows just have to go. With natural expectations that a show should continue until a proper, definitive ending, most television fanatics end up disappointed. This year in particular was very bloody and almost assuredly left many irate fans. But among the shows left on the side of the road, there were glimmers of hope.
NBC
The network in the deepest hole the past few years has been NBC. There was the Leno debacle and many failed shows or shows that declined greatly over time. Most notable, NBC did not have a new scripted show that was a hit. Even its comedy lineup, while critically acclaimed, did not have a legitimate hit other than The Office, which is in its seventh season. NBC again tried to make its scripted lineup, ordering several shows which could have succeeded. But alas things did not work out again. Chase was initially given extra episodes but was shuffled off to Saturday, The Cape flopped quickly, Outsourced started strong but faltered, and Perfect Couples was DOA. NBC’s big thrust, though, was The Event.
The Event was this year’s FlashForward. It was supposed to be the next Lost, NBC pouring in advertising money and giving it a big budget; instead, it flopped. People attributed the demise to a number of things—the wonky flashbacks, among others. In my opinion, it was simply because the writers couldn’t sustain the energy of the better episodes and didn’t develop the characters enough to make us care when the plot was not going full-speed ahead. But that’s just conjecture. One factor that assuredly did not cause the demise of The Event, however, was the long hiatus. It’s easy for fans to blame networks for a show not working (“Fox only cancels good shows!” “You moved it to Monday!”), but the facts are facts—The Event was doing badly before the hiatus. The last episode before the hiatus, airing on November 11, was already down to 1.9 in the demo, a far-cry from the 3.6 which began the series. Sometimes shows just don’t work.
Law & Order: LA was one of those shows that had disaster written all over it. It was picked up for a 13-episode season even before the pilot was done. All the series had was the Law & Order tag and Los Angeles name. Unlike other L&O iterations—Special Victims Unit, Criminal Intent, and Trial by Jury—this one was pretty vague. The show was retooled, returning on April 11, but the ratings was even lower than where they were. Despite Dick Wolf’s best efforts, another Law & Order was unable to flourish, and with the original cancelled, Criminal Intent in its final season, and SVU on its last legs, the franchise may well be becoming to an end soon.
The notable renewal was Chuck, which renewed for a fifth and final 13-episode season to my delight. It’s not that I particularly like Chuck or was too surprised by the renewal, but its run has been nothing short of amazing. Chuck was renewed for a third season after a vigorous fan campaign—which may or may not have been a big contribution to the renewal, though NBC executives claimed it was. The ratings for the season started decently, but begun to drop. But NBC, as a whole, was doing terribly. What would be low ratings on another network was the norm on NBC, and Chuck was doing fine.
Now in its third season, Chuck’s ratings are again down—to the low 1s, quite a bit lower than the previous season—but lo and behold, NBC’s primetime ratings are even lower. Suddenly, Chuck looks pretty good compared to the likes of The Event and LOLA. In each renewal, Chuck was only given a 13-episode season—accounting for the numerous potential series finale episodes. However, NBC, in its misery, actually gave Chuck additional episodes in both instances. We don’t know the specifics of this new deal—how low WB offered to get Chuck to syndication, whether there are budget cuts—but the saga of Chuck continues for at least one more season.
Looking ahead, NBC remains in trouble, but we shouldn’t count it out just yet. Its Thursday comedy lineup remains fairly robust, especially for NBC standards, the cancellation of Outsourced and 30 Rock returning at midseason allows for the new blood of Whitney to be injected in there. Parenthood, which hung in there against such competition as The Good Wife and Body of Proof, was renewed and should remain stable given its adverse situation this season. Harry’s Law proved to be a surprise, hanging in against Castle and Hawaii Five-0, and was given a renewal even though it skews quite old. NBC’s biggest new show, The Voice, was not only a hit compared to the network’s other paltry shows, but also a hit in general. Debuting with an astounding 5.1 (my reaction: “People choosing to watch NBC?!?), it represents the perfect opportunity for NBC to launch new shows next season.
Fox
Fox has been having troubles lately as well. Outside of perennial stalwarts American Idol, the Sunday animated comedy lineup, Bones, and newcomer Glee, the network hasn’t had much success. Comedies failed and new scripted content during the summer just didn’t work. However, the network renewed several dramas last year—Fringe, Human Target, Lie to Me—beyond their first season (in the case of Human Target) and even into their third (Fringe and Lie to Me). After a retooling of Human Target and Shawn Ryan’s departure from Lie to Me, the two did not meet ratings expectations and were canceled earlier this week. And of the new comedies—Raising Hope, Traffic Light, Breaking In, and Running Wilde—only Raising Hope survived.
The Chicago Code was one of those shows, like Lone Star, which critics liked but television viewers didn’t necessarily gravitate to. The ratings started decently and appeared to stabilize in the low 2 range, before dropping off into the 1s. The reason for the failure of The Chicago Code is hard to pinpoint. Its creator, Shawn Ryan, is undeniably a master when it comes to popularity and quality, as he helmed The Shield to unprecedented heights. But that was on cable, where the standards of behavior were more lax. The Chicago Code was not about tough, head-bashing cop/vigilante work but the police department tackling city corruption. I guess viewers didn’t see the appeal.
Out of the canceled dramas came one survivor, Fringe, which was renewed several weeks ago. Moved to Friday nights, Fringe was in a tough spot and many people predicted it would not survive. Along those same lines, lots of people blamed Fox for putting it in the time slot, going back to the same complaints we’ve heard through the decade about Firefly, Wonderfalls, Dollhouse, and Dark Angel. It’s hard to have too much animosity against Fox, though. Fringe was given great chances at the beginning—plum post-Idol slots and post-House slots, but the ratings kept falling. As the show became more serialized, viewers dropped off. Still, Fox renewed the show for a fourth season and everyone should be grateful for that.
Fox may not have as many problems as NBC, with several strong shows and only two hours of primetime to fill per night, but its inability to get a comedy block and launch new dramas is certainly troubling. Fox has not released its 2011-2012 schedule yet, so I won’t be able to comment too much on future prospects yet.
ABC
In the current television climate, ABC is doing reasonably well compared to the other networks. It launched the hit Modern Family last season, which led to great stability in ABC’s Wednesday comedy block with The Middle and Cougar Town reaping the benefits, not to mention the usual rocks—Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Dancing With the Stars, Castle, and Desperate Housewives. Despite this, ABC has its own share of growing pains, My Generations and The Whole Truth getting cancelled almost instantly. In terms of total cancellations, the numbers alone look ugly. Off The Map, Better With You, No Ordinary Family, V, Mr. Sunshine, Detroit 1-8-7, and Brothers & Sisters (without a proper conclusion)—all gone.
Of these, No Ordinary Family stands out. I remember watching the pilot at Comic-Con and the loud reception it got. I wasn’t entirely sure why people liked it (I think it was the jokes I found clichéd), but clearly people liked it. The ratings started quite strong and waned over time. For those who watched the show, it seemed like the writing was the biggest problem, with the plot going in every which direction and the sheer weight of teenage clichés that weighed everything down. By the end of the season, the show was all but forgotten.
Between these cancellations, only two shows have survived—Body of Proof and Happy Endings, the latter of which was somewhat of a surprise. ABC has not released next season’s schedule, but I have a couple things on my mind. (1) Could Castle be moved off Monday so a new show can reap DWTS’s lead-in? Castle has been steady 3.0s in the past few months while other shows in the same timeslot have declined. Surely ABC wants Castle to succeed, but maybe the show can survive on its own while a new show is bolstered by DWTS into ratings success. (2) Could the The Middle get the slot after Modern Family? Anyone who’s looked at Wednesday ratings would notice how small Cougar Town’s ratings look compared to Modern Family while The Middle does just fine by itself. I don’t want to be a stringent retentionista (as TVBTN coins it), but that’s something to consider.
CBS
CBS is currently the most stable network, and for good reason. It has the CSI franchise, the JAG/NCIS franchise, the burgeoning Criminal Minds franchise, a solid comedy lineup on Monday, and The Big Bang Theory to anchor Thursday. But like the other networks, it has had its share of problems this year. Although CBS has not released too much information about cancellations or renewals, here’s what we definitely know: Mad Love, $#*! My Dad Says, and The Defenders are cancelled. Those should not be a surprise to anyone and the writing has been on the wall for a while. The definite renewals that have not been announced yet are The Mentalist, CSI, Criminal Minds, Mike & Molly, NCIS: Los Angeles, Rules of Engagement, CSI: Miami, Hawaii Five-0, and Two and a Half Men.
The fate of a number of shows remain up in the air, however, and it is hard to say what CBS will do. In the forefront of my mind is The Good Wife. It has been doing poorly, garnering ratings in the low 2s, far from the 3s of its lead-in, NCIS: LA. Still, The Good Wife is the only drama on the network that gets any attention from the award shows and the critics love the show. Does this publicity make up for a lack of ratings? A pair of spin-offs, CSI: New York and Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, are also in trouble. They each have a saving grace, with CSI: NY not performing horribly and CBS’s desire to turn Criminal Minds into another big franchise. While almost every major TV site says that Blue Bloods is a lock for renewal, I have to question that. The ratings are decent for Fridays, but an absolute lock?
At the end of the day, CBS will remain in good shape even if it cancels all the aforementioned shows (which it probably won’t). The network remains as strong as ever and NCIS, in its eight season, was actually growing at the beginning of the season. There are warning signs on the horizon, however, as CSI dropped perilously low in recent weeks while the Monday comedy block as a whole has been hitting lows.
To wrap up, this season of television has been horrible for new shows. We can literally count the number of new shows that survived the season on our hands while our hands and feet wouldn’t even cover all the canceled shows. With the networks gearing up a new development slate, we’ll be seeing a lot of new shows in the next week, and yes, most will be canceled by this time next year.
NBC
The network in the deepest hole the past few years has been NBC. There was the Leno debacle and many failed shows or shows that declined greatly over time. Most notable, NBC did not have a new scripted show that was a hit. Even its comedy lineup, while critically acclaimed, did not have a legitimate hit other than The Office, which is in its seventh season. NBC again tried to make its scripted lineup, ordering several shows which could have succeeded. But alas things did not work out again. Chase was initially given extra episodes but was shuffled off to Saturday, The Cape flopped quickly, Outsourced started strong but faltered, and Perfect Couples was DOA. NBC’s big thrust, though, was The Event.
The Event was this year’s FlashForward. It was supposed to be the next Lost, NBC pouring in advertising money and giving it a big budget; instead, it flopped. People attributed the demise to a number of things—the wonky flashbacks, among others. In my opinion, it was simply because the writers couldn’t sustain the energy of the better episodes and didn’t develop the characters enough to make us care when the plot was not going full-speed ahead. But that’s just conjecture. One factor that assuredly did not cause the demise of The Event, however, was the long hiatus. It’s easy for fans to blame networks for a show not working (“Fox only cancels good shows!” “You moved it to Monday!”), but the facts are facts—The Event was doing badly before the hiatus. The last episode before the hiatus, airing on November 11, was already down to 1.9 in the demo, a far-cry from the 3.6 which began the series. Sometimes shows just don’t work.
Law & Order: LA was one of those shows that had disaster written all over it. It was picked up for a 13-episode season even before the pilot was done. All the series had was the Law & Order tag and Los Angeles name. Unlike other L&O iterations—Special Victims Unit, Criminal Intent, and Trial by Jury—this one was pretty vague. The show was retooled, returning on April 11, but the ratings was even lower than where they were. Despite Dick Wolf’s best efforts, another Law & Order was unable to flourish, and with the original cancelled, Criminal Intent in its final season, and SVU on its last legs, the franchise may well be becoming to an end soon.
The notable renewal was Chuck, which renewed for a fifth and final 13-episode season to my delight. It’s not that I particularly like Chuck or was too surprised by the renewal, but its run has been nothing short of amazing. Chuck was renewed for a third season after a vigorous fan campaign—which may or may not have been a big contribution to the renewal, though NBC executives claimed it was. The ratings for the season started decently, but begun to drop. But NBC, as a whole, was doing terribly. What would be low ratings on another network was the norm on NBC, and Chuck was doing fine.
Now in its third season, Chuck’s ratings are again down—to the low 1s, quite a bit lower than the previous season—but lo and behold, NBC’s primetime ratings are even lower. Suddenly, Chuck looks pretty good compared to the likes of The Event and LOLA. In each renewal, Chuck was only given a 13-episode season—accounting for the numerous potential series finale episodes. However, NBC, in its misery, actually gave Chuck additional episodes in both instances. We don’t know the specifics of this new deal—how low WB offered to get Chuck to syndication, whether there are budget cuts—but the saga of Chuck continues for at least one more season.
Looking ahead, NBC remains in trouble, but we shouldn’t count it out just yet. Its Thursday comedy lineup remains fairly robust, especially for NBC standards, the cancellation of Outsourced and 30 Rock returning at midseason allows for the new blood of Whitney to be injected in there. Parenthood, which hung in there against such competition as The Good Wife and Body of Proof, was renewed and should remain stable given its adverse situation this season. Harry’s Law proved to be a surprise, hanging in against Castle and Hawaii Five-0, and was given a renewal even though it skews quite old. NBC’s biggest new show, The Voice, was not only a hit compared to the network’s other paltry shows, but also a hit in general. Debuting with an astounding 5.1 (my reaction: “People choosing to watch NBC?!?), it represents the perfect opportunity for NBC to launch new shows next season.
Fox
Fox has been having troubles lately as well. Outside of perennial stalwarts American Idol, the Sunday animated comedy lineup, Bones, and newcomer Glee, the network hasn’t had much success. Comedies failed and new scripted content during the summer just didn’t work. However, the network renewed several dramas last year—Fringe, Human Target, Lie to Me—beyond their first season (in the case of Human Target) and even into their third (Fringe and Lie to Me). After a retooling of Human Target and Shawn Ryan’s departure from Lie to Me, the two did not meet ratings expectations and were canceled earlier this week. And of the new comedies—Raising Hope, Traffic Light, Breaking In, and Running Wilde—only Raising Hope survived.
The Chicago Code was one of those shows, like Lone Star, which critics liked but television viewers didn’t necessarily gravitate to. The ratings started decently and appeared to stabilize in the low 2 range, before dropping off into the 1s. The reason for the failure of The Chicago Code is hard to pinpoint. Its creator, Shawn Ryan, is undeniably a master when it comes to popularity and quality, as he helmed The Shield to unprecedented heights. But that was on cable, where the standards of behavior were more lax. The Chicago Code was not about tough, head-bashing cop/vigilante work but the police department tackling city corruption. I guess viewers didn’t see the appeal.
Out of the canceled dramas came one survivor, Fringe, which was renewed several weeks ago. Moved to Friday nights, Fringe was in a tough spot and many people predicted it would not survive. Along those same lines, lots of people blamed Fox for putting it in the time slot, going back to the same complaints we’ve heard through the decade about Firefly, Wonderfalls, Dollhouse, and Dark Angel. It’s hard to have too much animosity against Fox, though. Fringe was given great chances at the beginning—plum post-Idol slots and post-House slots, but the ratings kept falling. As the show became more serialized, viewers dropped off. Still, Fox renewed the show for a fourth season and everyone should be grateful for that.
Fox may not have as many problems as NBC, with several strong shows and only two hours of primetime to fill per night, but its inability to get a comedy block and launch new dramas is certainly troubling. Fox has not released its 2011-2012 schedule yet, so I won’t be able to comment too much on future prospects yet.
ABC
In the current television climate, ABC is doing reasonably well compared to the other networks. It launched the hit Modern Family last season, which led to great stability in ABC’s Wednesday comedy block with The Middle and Cougar Town reaping the benefits, not to mention the usual rocks—Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Dancing With the Stars, Castle, and Desperate Housewives. Despite this, ABC has its own share of growing pains, My Generations and The Whole Truth getting cancelled almost instantly. In terms of total cancellations, the numbers alone look ugly. Off The Map, Better With You, No Ordinary Family, V, Mr. Sunshine, Detroit 1-8-7, and Brothers & Sisters (without a proper conclusion)—all gone.
Of these, No Ordinary Family stands out. I remember watching the pilot at Comic-Con and the loud reception it got. I wasn’t entirely sure why people liked it (I think it was the jokes I found clichéd), but clearly people liked it. The ratings started quite strong and waned over time. For those who watched the show, it seemed like the writing was the biggest problem, with the plot going in every which direction and the sheer weight of teenage clichés that weighed everything down. By the end of the season, the show was all but forgotten.
Between these cancellations, only two shows have survived—Body of Proof and Happy Endings, the latter of which was somewhat of a surprise. ABC has not released next season’s schedule, but I have a couple things on my mind. (1) Could Castle be moved off Monday so a new show can reap DWTS’s lead-in? Castle has been steady 3.0s in the past few months while other shows in the same timeslot have declined. Surely ABC wants Castle to succeed, but maybe the show can survive on its own while a new show is bolstered by DWTS into ratings success. (2) Could the The Middle get the slot after Modern Family? Anyone who’s looked at Wednesday ratings would notice how small Cougar Town’s ratings look compared to Modern Family while The Middle does just fine by itself. I don’t want to be a stringent retentionista (as TVBTN coins it), but that’s something to consider.
CBS
CBS is currently the most stable network, and for good reason. It has the CSI franchise, the JAG/NCIS franchise, the burgeoning Criminal Minds franchise, a solid comedy lineup on Monday, and The Big Bang Theory to anchor Thursday. But like the other networks, it has had its share of problems this year. Although CBS has not released too much information about cancellations or renewals, here’s what we definitely know: Mad Love, $#*! My Dad Says, and The Defenders are cancelled. Those should not be a surprise to anyone and the writing has been on the wall for a while. The definite renewals that have not been announced yet are The Mentalist, CSI, Criminal Minds, Mike & Molly, NCIS: Los Angeles, Rules of Engagement, CSI: Miami, Hawaii Five-0, and Two and a Half Men.
The fate of a number of shows remain up in the air, however, and it is hard to say what CBS will do. In the forefront of my mind is The Good Wife. It has been doing poorly, garnering ratings in the low 2s, far from the 3s of its lead-in, NCIS: LA. Still, The Good Wife is the only drama on the network that gets any attention from the award shows and the critics love the show. Does this publicity make up for a lack of ratings? A pair of spin-offs, CSI: New York and Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, are also in trouble. They each have a saving grace, with CSI: NY not performing horribly and CBS’s desire to turn Criminal Minds into another big franchise. While almost every major TV site says that Blue Bloods is a lock for renewal, I have to question that. The ratings are decent for Fridays, but an absolute lock?
At the end of the day, CBS will remain in good shape even if it cancels all the aforementioned shows (which it probably won’t). The network remains as strong as ever and NCIS, in its eight season, was actually growing at the beginning of the season. There are warning signs on the horizon, however, as CSI dropped perilously low in recent weeks while the Monday comedy block as a whole has been hitting lows.
To wrap up, this season of television has been horrible for new shows. We can literally count the number of new shows that survived the season on our hands while our hands and feet wouldn’t even cover all the canceled shows. With the networks gearing up a new development slate, we’ll be seeing a lot of new shows in the next week, and yes, most will be canceled by this time next year.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
NBC midseason schedule and thoughts
MONDAYS
8-9 p.m. – “Chuck”
9-10 p.m. – “THE CAPE” will premiere with a two-hour episode on Sunday, January 9 (9-11 p.m.). New episodes start in its regular time period on January 17 (9-10 p.m.)
10-11 p.m. – “HARRY’S LAW’ (beginning January 17)
9-10 p.m. – “The Event” (returns on February 28, 9-11 p.m.; resumes in its regular time slot March 7)
10-11 p.m. — “Parenthood” (debuts in this slot March 7 with all originals)
Parenthood moving nights doesn't bode well since The Event won't work well as a lead in and it was doing fine on Tuesday (relative to the rest of NBC). On the other hand, Parenthood won't be going up against The Good Wife now.
TUESDAYS
8-10 p.m. — “The Biggest Loser: Couples” (beginning January 4)
10-11 p.m. – “Parenthood” (beginning January 4 for four episodes)
10-11 p.m. — “Law & Order: Los Angeles” (beginning February 8 )
With American Idol moving nights, The Biggest Loser should have an easier time. We'll see if that carries over to LOLA.
WEDNESDAYS
8-9 p.m. — “Minute to Win It” (beginning January 5)
9-10 p.m. –“Chase” (beginning January 12)
10-11 p.m. – “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (originals beginning January 5 with two-hour episode, 9-11 p.m. ET)
9-10 p.m. – “AMERICA’S NEXT GREAT RESTAURANT” (beginning March 16)
Chase is going right up against Criminal Minds, so it won't do better than it already is. Law and Order: SVU takes back the 10 o'clock hour, so its ratings should go up.
THURSDAYS (all beginning January 20)
8-8:30 p.m. – “Community”
8:30-9 p.m. – “PERFECT COUPLES”
9-9:30 p.m. – “The Office”
9:30-10 p.m. – “Parks and Recreation”
10-10:30 p.m. – “30 Rock”
10:30-11 p.m. – “Outsourced”
NBC adds the 10 PM hour to its comedy block, replacing The Apprentice. NBC's hope is that The Office will bolster Parks and Rec. while 30 Rock will keep Outsourced from falling too much. Will is work?
FRIDAYS
8-9 p.m. — “Who Do You Think You Are?” (beginning January 21)
9-11 p.m. – “Dateline NBC” (beginning January 7)
SUNDAYS
7-8 p.m. – “Dateline NBC”
8-9 p.m. – “The Marriage Ref” (beginning March 6)
9-11 p.m. – “The Celebrity Apprentice” (beginning March 6)
8-9 p.m. – “Chuck”
9-10 p.m. – “THE CAPE” will premiere with a two-hour episode on Sunday, January 9 (9-11 p.m.). New episodes start in its regular time period on January 17 (9-10 p.m.)
10-11 p.m. – “HARRY’S LAW’ (beginning January 17)
9-10 p.m. – “The Event” (returns on February 28, 9-11 p.m.; resumes in its regular time slot March 7)
10-11 p.m. — “Parenthood” (debuts in this slot March 7 with all originals)
Parenthood moving nights doesn't bode well since The Event won't work well as a lead in and it was doing fine on Tuesday (relative to the rest of NBC). On the other hand, Parenthood won't be going up against The Good Wife now.
TUESDAYS
8-10 p.m. — “The Biggest Loser: Couples” (beginning January 4)
10-11 p.m. – “Parenthood” (beginning January 4 for four episodes)
10-11 p.m. — “Law & Order: Los Angeles” (beginning February 8 )
With American Idol moving nights, The Biggest Loser should have an easier time. We'll see if that carries over to LOLA.
WEDNESDAYS
8-9 p.m. — “Minute to Win It” (beginning January 5)
9-10 p.m. –“Chase” (beginning January 12)
10-11 p.m. – “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (originals beginning January 5 with two-hour episode, 9-11 p.m. ET)
9-10 p.m. – “AMERICA’S NEXT GREAT RESTAURANT” (beginning March 16)
Chase is going right up against Criminal Minds, so it won't do better than it already is. Law and Order: SVU takes back the 10 o'clock hour, so its ratings should go up.
THURSDAYS (all beginning January 20)
8-8:30 p.m. – “Community”
8:30-9 p.m. – “PERFECT COUPLES”
9-9:30 p.m. – “The Office”
9:30-10 p.m. – “Parks and Recreation”
10-10:30 p.m. – “30 Rock”
10:30-11 p.m. – “Outsourced”
NBC adds the 10 PM hour to its comedy block, replacing The Apprentice. NBC's hope is that The Office will bolster Parks and Rec. while 30 Rock will keep Outsourced from falling too much. Will is work?
FRIDAYS
8-9 p.m. — “Who Do You Think You Are?” (beginning January 21)
9-11 p.m. – “Dateline NBC” (beginning January 7)
SUNDAYS
7-8 p.m. – “Dateline NBC”
8-9 p.m. – “The Marriage Ref” (beginning March 6)
9-11 p.m. – “The Celebrity Apprentice” (beginning March 6)
Sunday, May 16, 2010
NBC 2010-2011 Schedule and Thoughts
MONDAY
8-9 p.m. Chuck
9-10 p.m. The Event
10-11 p.m. Chase
Chuck is paired with two freshman dramas. There are those out there who complain about NBC not giving Chuck a fair chance, and the show staying in the same timeslot is more proof. Let's be realistic here. It'll take more than a Cheers-like miracle for Chuck to become a hit. It'll be in its fourth season and NBC has given it more than enough promotion in the first few seasons. If it's not a hit now, it'll never be. Still, I'd like to see what would happen if Chuck was given a decent lead-in, but The Event and Chase both don't seem like 8pm shows.
TUESDAY
8-10 p.m. The Biggest Loser
10-11 p.m. Parenthood
One of the few pairings that actually works (subjectively when compared to the rest of NBC) will stay intact for the fall.
WEDNESDAY
8-9 p.m. Undercovers
9-10 p.m. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
10-11 p.m. L&O: Los Angeles
Undercovers is J.J. Abrams's child and NBC doesn't want to mess that up. Wednesday is a relatively competition-free night, so sticking it at 8 would be a safe choice. Despite a pretty substantial ratings decline, Law & Order: SVU is staying at 9, where is was hurt the most, and becoming a lead-in for Law & Order: LA. With CSI: NY plummeting against SVU, it's not a terribly bad idea.
THURSDAY
8- 8:30 p.m. Community
8:30-9 p.m. 30 Rock
9-9:30 p.m. The Office
9:30-10 p.m. Outsourced
10-11 p.m. Love Bites
Most notable is the absence of Park and Recreations, which has been move to midseason, and the move of 30 Rock from 9:30 to 8:30 to make room for the new comedy Outsourced.
FRIDAY
8-9 p.m. Who Do You Think You Are?/School Pride
9-10 p.m. Dateline NBC
10-11 p.m. Outlaw
Outlaw looks like a goner.
SATURDAY
Reruns
SUNDAY
7- 8:15 p.m. Football Night in America
8:15-11:30 p.m. NBC Sunday Night Football
SUNDAY (beginning March 2011)
7-8 p.m. Dateline NBC
8-9 p.m. Minute to Win It
9-11 p.m. The Celebrity Apprentice
8-9 p.m. Chuck
9-10 p.m. The Event
10-11 p.m. Chase
Chuck is paired with two freshman dramas. There are those out there who complain about NBC not giving Chuck a fair chance, and the show staying in the same timeslot is more proof. Let's be realistic here. It'll take more than a Cheers-like miracle for Chuck to become a hit. It'll be in its fourth season and NBC has given it more than enough promotion in the first few seasons. If it's not a hit now, it'll never be. Still, I'd like to see what would happen if Chuck was given a decent lead-in, but The Event and Chase both don't seem like 8pm shows.
TUESDAY
8-10 p.m. The Biggest Loser
10-11 p.m. Parenthood
One of the few pairings that actually works (subjectively when compared to the rest of NBC) will stay intact for the fall.
WEDNESDAY
8-9 p.m. Undercovers
9-10 p.m. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
10-11 p.m. L&O: Los Angeles
Undercovers is J.J. Abrams's child and NBC doesn't want to mess that up. Wednesday is a relatively competition-free night, so sticking it at 8 would be a safe choice. Despite a pretty substantial ratings decline, Law & Order: SVU is staying at 9, where is was hurt the most, and becoming a lead-in for Law & Order: LA. With CSI: NY plummeting against SVU, it's not a terribly bad idea.
THURSDAY
8- 8:30 p.m. Community
8:30-9 p.m. 30 Rock
9-9:30 p.m. The Office
9:30-10 p.m. Outsourced
10-11 p.m. Love Bites
Most notable is the absence of Park and Recreations, which has been move to midseason, and the move of 30 Rock from 9:30 to 8:30 to make room for the new comedy Outsourced.
FRIDAY
8-9 p.m. Who Do You Think You Are?/School Pride
9-10 p.m. Dateline NBC
10-11 p.m. Outlaw
Outlaw looks like a goner.
SATURDAY
Reruns
SUNDAY
7- 8:15 p.m. Football Night in America
8:15-11:30 p.m. NBC Sunday Night Football
SUNDAY (beginning March 2011)
7-8 p.m. Dateline NBC
8-9 p.m. Minute to Win It
9-11 p.m. The Celebrity Apprentice
Monday, September 14, 2009
Why fans of television should hope for a Jay Leno failure
Whether or not you think Leno is the funniest guy in the world or the most boring person in the world, there is a clear and present danger posed when NBC gives him the 10 o'clock slot 5 nights a week. Television has always been a 3 hour primetime event. The comedies are in the 8 o'clock hour, 9 has something more dramay (pronounced drama-ee), and 10 has the serious dramas. While there are deviations in the format, no network has ever embarked on something so radical as putting late-night talk instead a scripted show.
Echoing George Kennan, we must contain this invasion of late-night talk onto our sacred ground (I'm being facetious). If Leno succeeds, could we see Letterman or Kimmel at 10? ABC is struggling with their programming, and 5 hours a week they don't have to worry about sounds like a godsend. Could networks' really have 5 less shows a week because a late-night guy wants a piece of the action?
I expect the numbers for the first week to be great, probably over 3.5 in the 18-49 demo, but I don't think it'll last. That may just be my wishes projected onto my thoughts, but I am genuinely worried. The Jay Leno Show represents a danger to all television, scripted or unscripted, and I hope all those who share my view do not watch.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Predictions For New Fall 2009-2010 TV Shows, part 3 (NBC)
NBC has a huge slate of new shows after their apparent failures of the last few years, and has filled the 10 PM slot with all Leno. NBC is clearly the weakest of the broadcast networks, and has to do a lot to get back to the top or even approach. Will it's new shows survive? Let's find out.
Trauma
NBC has been playing promo after promo of this and we get the deal. Helicopter crashes, car crashes, Crash Bandicoot crashes. There is going to be a huge accident every episode and the paramedics rush in to save people risking there own lives in the process. While the premise gives chance that there will be some depth to the show, so far it looks like explosions and people screaming. I expect this to fall flat on its face. There are plenty of other shows with the same quality already out there and I don't think people care about a medical-action show. It's airing after Heroes whose fans aren't exactly the brightest when it comes to knowing what constitutes a good show so Trauma has a chance to take the reins of the sheeple and run with it.
Parenthood
Maura Tierney's medical condition pushed this to midseason, so all the buzz it was receiving might not be there. I haven't watched the film this is based off, but the premise seems great and the cast is fairly strong. Assuming it will stay in the 8 PM Wednesday slot, which doesn't have much going on other than American Idol. If it can pick up the people wanting scripted programming, this could succeed, but I really don't know what to expect. This is a wildcard for me.
Mercy
We get it. Nurses are smarter, more caring, know more medicine, and better human beings than doctors. Didn't you already know that? Other than Michelle Trachtenberg doing her crying routine, this shows looks stupid. There is nothing that differentiates this from other nurse shows, so why watch? I know I won't and neither will most people. Expect a resounding failure here.
Day One
The description of the show was released months before we saw an actual preview, so we were wondering, is this Jericho, Lost, The 4400? Well it turns out that this is more NBC's answer to ABC's remake of V. It's an alien invasion story involving a group of residents at an apartment complex, put there specifically to save humanity. The preview was highly impressive and it actually looked better than Flash Forward to me. Later, there was some bad news. NBC executives seemed to be planning for failure, saying this might be a single-event deal, so it may be planned to last for a season or two. It has the 8 PM Monday midseason spot before Chuck, so the competition is heavy. I expect this to do fairly well, and get a renewal.
Community
I already reviewed the pilot so there's not much else to say. I give some good info on the show so if you have to know more, check out my review. Community is leading off NBC's comedy block which doesn't get many viewers before The Office. Parks and Recreations is stupid (yes, I actually watched 4 episodes) and the ratings tanked as the season progressed. The show is after The Office so it should get a considerable lead-in, and since people that watch The Office like funny, they should enjoy Community too. It moves the 8 PM slot after the Olympics which worries me. Hopefully it will gain a sizable following by then that will continue to watch at a different time.
100 Questions
Dumb all around. It seems like NBC is trying to do some How I Met Your Mother deal, but whole marriage proposal thing is absurd and ludicrous. The promo wasn't funny and I'm not expecting the show to be funny. I expect this to be NBC's biggest failure.
Predictions For New Fall 2009-2010 TV Shows, part 5 (ABC)
Predictions For New Fall 2009-2010 TV Shows, part 4 (CBS)
Predictions For New Fall 2009-2010 TV Shows, part 3 (NBC)
