Change is the name of the game at NBC, which shouldn’t be surprising when you look at the spring numbers for the network.
The 2013-2014 schedule announced by NBC on Sunday (May 12) afternoon is, once again, anchored by the returning smash “The Voice” — judging panel TBA — and perennial success Sunday Night Football, but otherwise, NBC is turning things upside-down, with six new shows premiering in the fall and several of its biggest new names waiting for midseason.
“The overriding strategy this year was to develop enough strong comedies and dramas to take advantage of the promotional heft of the Winter Olympics and devise two schedules for the upcoming season: one for fall and a slightly different one for midseason,” blurbs NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblat. “I”m pleased to say that our development groups – headed by Jennifer Salke (scripted) and Paul Telegdy (alternative/reality) – really delivered. This is the most robust and highest-testing slate of new shows we have had in years.”
You’ll notice one of the biggest moves at the top of the week, where the two-hour installment of “The Voice” will now lead into the James Spader drama “The Blacklist,” leaving “Revolution” packing for a new home. We’ll get there in a second.
Tuesday finds “The Biggest Loser” leading into “The Voice” and then the second season of the freshman success “Chicago Fire” taking over the 10 p.m. hour, leaving “Parenthood” packing for a new home. We’ll get there in a second.
“Revolution,” which producers have always maintained is a family show, will get the chance to prove that by taking over the Wednesday 8 p.m. hour leading into “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” which NBC continues to view as a 9 p.m. show. The 10 p.m. hour will go to the new version of “Ironside,” starring Blair Underwood.
“Parks and Recreation,” one of only two returning NBC comedies, moves into the challenging 8 p.m. slot on Thursday, leading into the Mike O’Malley comedy “Welcome to the Family” and the Sean Hayes comedy “Sean Saves the World.” In a minor surprise, “The Michael J. Fox Show” won’t lead-off an hour and will, instead, try to boost “Parenthood,” which occupies the recently cursed 10 p.m. Thursday slot.
On Fridays, “Dateline” will lead into “Grimm,” which apparently didn’t prove itself worthy of a different time period during its spring run on Tuesday. Instead, “Grimm” is being used as a topically compatible lead-in for Jonathan Rhys Meyers’ “Dracula. NBC has already set the Friday 10 p.m. slot aside for “Crossbones,” featuring John Malkovich, in the spring.
With the Winter Olympics in February, NBC hopes to have a midseason platform for several midseason shows beyond “Crossbones.”
The plan is to have “Biggest Loser” off the schedule in the spring and to shift “The Voice” to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays, leading into the launch of comedies “About a Boy” and “The Family Guide.”
The architectural reality show “American Dream Builders” has been given the Sunday 8 p.m. slot after football, setting up the Alfonso Cuaron/J.J. Abrams drama “Believe” at 9 p.m. and the Dermot Mulroney and Gillian Anderson drama “Crisis” at 10 p.m.
Still waiting for timeslots at midseason are the “Chicago Fire” spinoff “Chicago PD,” the hospital drama “The Night Shift” and the Bill Lawrence comedy “Undateable,” as well as the return of “Community.”
NBC also has “The Million Second Quiz” and “The Sing-Off,” as well as “Food Fighters” on its unscripted slate.
NBC wants to make it that the fate of “Celebrity Apprentice” and “Hannibal” has yet to be determined, promising it’ll happen “in the next few weeks.”
Alan Sepinwall will have analysis of the schedule for HitFix.
Here’s the night-by-night breakdown:
NBC FALL 2013-14 SCHEDULE
(New programs in UPPER CASE; all times ET)
MONDAY
8-10 p.m. – “The Voice”
10-11 p.m. – “THE BLACKLIST”
TUESDAY
8-9 p.m. – “The Biggest Loser” (New Day and Time)
9-10 p.m. – “The Voice” (New time)
10-11 p.m. – “Chicago Fire” (New Day and Time)
WEDNESDAY
8-9 p.m. – “Revolution” (New Day and Time)
9-10 p.m. – “Law & Order: SVU”
10-11 p.m. – “IRONSIDE”
THURSDAY
8-8:30 p.m. – “Parks and Recreation” (New time)
8:30-9 p.m. – “WELCOME TO THE FAMILY”
9-9:30 p.m. – “SEAN SAVES THE WORLD”
9:30-10 p.m. – “THE MICHAEL J. FOX SHOW”
10-11 p.m. – “Parenthood” (New Day and Time)
FRIDAY
8-9 p.m. – “Dateline NBC”
9-10 p.m. – “Grimm”
10-11 p.m. – “DRACULA”
SATURDAY
Encore programming
SUNDAY
7:00-8:15 p.m. – “Football Night in America”
8:15-11:30 p.m. – “NBC Sunday Night Football”
NBC MIDSEASON 2013-14 SCHEDULE
(New programs in UPPER CASE; all times ET)
MONDAY
8-10 p.m. – “The Voice”
10-11 p.m. – “THE BLACKLIST”
TUESDAY
8-9 p.m. – “The Voice”
9-9:30 p.m. – “ABOUT A BOY”
9:30-10 p.m. – “THE FAMILY GUIDE”
10-11 p.m. – “Chicago Fire”
WEDNESDAY
8-9 p.m. – “Revolution”
9-10 p.m. – “Law & Order: SVU”
10-11 p.m. – “IRONSIDE”
THURSDAY
8-8:30 p.m. – “Parks and Recreation”
8:30-9 p.m. – “WELCOME TO THE FAMILY”
9-9:30 p.m. – “SEAN SAVES THE WORLD”
9:30-10 p.m. – “THE MICHAEL J. FOX SHOW”
10-11 p.m. – “Parenthood”
FRIDAY
8-9 p.m. – “Dateline NBC”
9-10 p.m. – “Grimm”
10-11 p.m. – “CROSSBONES”
SATURDAY
8-10 p.m. – Encore and specials programming
10-11 p.m. – “Saturday Night Live” (Encore)
SUNDAY
7-8 p.m. – “Dateline NBC”
8-9 p.m. – “AMERICAN DREAM BUILDERS”
9-10 p.m. – “BELIEVE”
10-11 p.m. – “CRISIS”