2013 Fall Television Schedule Announcement (NBC)

NBC has announced a new lineup of primetime shows for the 2013-14 season that includes popular returning series, fresh new comedies, compelling new dramas and the latest season of "The Voice."

Highlights of the year-round schedule - which will be bolstered in February on the heels of the Winter Games in Sochi, Russia - include "Believe," a new drama from J.J. Abrams and Alfonso Cuaron; the return of three-time Emmy winner James Spader in action thriller "The Blacklist"; and a comedy lineup that includes new series from "Friday Night Lights" and "Parenthood" executive producer Jason Katims, Will Ferrell, Bill Lawrence, Sean P. Hayes, and a return to NBC of one of the biggest TV stars of any generation, Michael J. Fox.

The new comedy additions are "Welcome to the Family," "Sean Saves the World," and "The Michael J. Fox Show" as well as midseason comedies "The Family Guide," and "About A Boy."

The new dramas are "The Blacklist," "Ironside," and "Dracula," plus mid-season dramas "Believe," "Crisis" and "Crossbones."

NBC has also ordered dramas "Chicago PD" and "The Night Shift" and comedy "Undateable" as unscheduled midseason series.

New alternative series premiering during the 2013-14 season include "The Million Second Quiz" and "American Dream Builders." Returning to the schedule are "The Biggest Loser" and "The Sing-Off." "Food Fighters" has been ordered as an unscheduled midseason show.

Scripted series returning include "Grimm," "Parenthood," "Law & Order: SVU," "Revolution," "Chicago Fire," "Parks and Recreation" and "Community."

Pick-up decisions on "Celebrity Apprentice" and "Hannibal" are still to be made in the next few weeks.

"The Voice" will kick off its fifth season in September on Mondays (8-10 pm. ET). The current cycle of "The Voice" has been primetime's #1 show of the week on the Big Four networks, excluding sports, for four of six weeks thus far in adults 18-49.

The announcements were made by Robert Greenblatt, Chairman, NBC Entertainment.

"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. I'm pleased to say that our development groups - headed by Jennifer Salke (scripted) and Paul Telegdy (alternative/reality) - really delivered," Greenblatt said. "This is the most robust and highest-testing slate of new shows we have had in years."

Greenblatt continued, "And aside from our Olympics planning, we also wanted to create better flow and compatibility on each night, and deploy our strongest lead-in ('The Voice') to maximum effect.

"Sunday in the fall remains the night to beat with 'Sunday Night Football.' After football and the Olympics are over, we will launch two classy, attention-getting dramas in February: 'Believe' from J.J. Abrams, and 'Crisis' starring Dermot Mulroney and Gillian Anderson. We think it's time for big dramas again on Sunday nights. And leading into these dramas at 8 p.m. will be an exciting home renovation competition hosted by Nate Berkus called 'American Dream Builders.'

"Monday and Tuesday will again dominate with 'The Voice.' Our highly anticipated new James Spader drama 'The Blacklist' deserves to go into the 10 p.m. slot on Monday, and we're moving 'Chicago Fire,' a show we really believe in, to 10 p.m. on Tuesdays to benefit from 'The Voice' lead-in that will be at 9 p.m. in the fall. "

After the Olympics, however, 'The Voice' moves back to 8 p.m. on Tuesday so that we can launch two of our strongest new family comedies in the 9 p.m. hour: 'About a Boy' and 'The Family Guide.' Landing more comedy on the schedule is important and using 'The Voice' as a lead-in after the Olympics is the strongest way to do that.

"I believe we'll have a more compatible Wednesday line-up with three dramas: 'Revolution,' 'Law & Order: SVU' and 'Ironside,' starring Blair Underwood, which is another new show we've very high on.

"Thursday will have a family theme, starting with a two-hour comedy block from 8-10 p.m. anchored by strong stars: Amy Poehler in 'Parks and Recreation,' Mike O'Malley in 'Welcome to the Family,' Sean Hayes in 'Sean Saves the World' and the new 'Michael J. Fox Show.' Then at 10 p.m. 'Parenthood' moves in to top off the night with what I know is the best family drama on television.

"On Fridays, anchored by 'Grimm' at 9 p.m., we will have a more fun genre night with the limited-series 'Dracula,' starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers at 10 p.m. In the spring, 'Crossbones' - with John Malkovich as the infamous pirate Blackbeard - replaces 'Dracula,'" said Greenblatt.

Jordan Wertlieb, President of Hearst Television and Chair of the NBC Affiliate Board, commented, "This schedule is another example of NBC's continued commitment to restoring prime time to its traditional leadership position. I am sure the investment in partnering with some of the most recognizable names in television will be obvious and exciting to the affiliates."

NBC Fall 2013-14 schedule (New shows in ALL CAPS)

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. - "THE FAMILY GUIDE"
9:30-10 p.m. - "ABOUT A BOY"
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"

For information on NBC new shows, click here.

Fall TV Report: Freshman shows

I am WAY behind on a lot of my blogging. There's several things I could post, but I'll begin with a discussion of the few new shows that have caught my eye.

Elementary - I'm a big mystery fan and there's no greater sleuth than Sherlock. He's very hot right now with the Robert Downey Jr. film franchise and a successful BBC series as well. This latest entry, starring Johnny Lee Miller as Holmes and Lucy Liu as a female Watson has not been the slam dunk that I had hoped for and I think part of the problem is the network its on. CBS has a slew of succesful shows, but they are all very familiar and routine. In the first few episodes, the stories told haven't been anything that couldn't have been used on CSI, or NCIS, or The Mentalist, or... shall I go on? I want more brain-testing mysteries and more idiosyncrasies on display by Holmes. I do have some hope that things can improve as this past week's episode was the first one that felt like Holmes and Watson were an actual team instead of making Liu completely superfluous to the story. True Holmes fans will likely be disappointed, but for everyone looking for another solid crime series, this will do just fine. It's been picked up for a full season so look for this to stick around for a while.

Go On - It's the lone new sitcom that has appealed to me in the least and had any success (moderate though it may be) in the ratings. The premise for the show (Matthew Perry attends weekly group therapy sessions to deal with the death of his wife) is relatively fresh and unique. It's also has an amazingly talented cast of comedic actors including Julie White, Brett Gelman, John Cho, Bill Cobbs, and a few others who you'd likely recognize if you saw them. But for all that this show has going for it, I feel like it really hasn't maximized its potential. Some shows struggle initially until it finally finds its voice. I'm hoping that's the case here. I enjoy seeing these characters, I just don't laugh as much as with some of my other favorite sitcoms. Given the lack of other options, I'll stick with this one for now.

Revolution - I had some serious reservations about this one. I've been burned by one too many Lost clones in recent years and feared I would do the same with this one. Shows like this have great setups and no follow through. Then the audience erodes and the series gets cancelled before the viewers who stuck around can get any answers. Well I'm happy to report that thus far this show has bucked that trend. From a viewer standpoint, it's been a huge hit for NBC and has already received a full season order. From my perspective, the show is far from perfect, but solid enough to have captured my interest. Instead of having everything hinge on one singular mystery, the writers have created a lot of different stories that are each intriguing. I'm also pleased that I don't really hate any of the characters to the degree that I want them killed off each episode. The show has so far also done a decent job of keeping the story moving so that you feel like you learn or accomplish something new each episode. I think the success this show has seen will allow the people behind this show to have the confidence to continue to move forward at an appropriate pace and deliver quality entertainment that can last beyond just one season.

Those are the only new shows that I'm regularly watching. Last Resort is one that I still hope to catch, but I'll have to do so through On Demand because I have too many other things airing at the same time that it does. I watched the premiere of Animal Practice and it is disappointingly awful. Everyone else seemed to agree because NBC has already cancelled it. I've seen parts of The Mindy Project and Ben and Kate, but neither of those seemed to be targeted for me. If you've seen any other new show, feel free to chime in and offer your thoughts.

2012 Fall Television Schedule Announcements (NBC)

I could post all of the news here if I wanted the post to take up the entire length of the blog, so I'll instead make it easy for you guys and direct you to all of the information in the link below from Comingsoon.net:

2012 NBC Fall Lineup

I'll instead spend this space giving my thoughts on NBC's moves. Of all the major networks, I probably watch the most shows on NBC, yet for the past several years they have languished near the bottom of the ratings. I commend them for saving some of the shows that they did, despite less than stellar ratings. Namely keeping Community and Parks and Recreation Parks was given a full season pickup and remains on Thursdays, while Community gets a 13-episode order and gets shunted to Fridays. The Friday move is fine, but I question why they paired it up with Whitney. Those two shows seemingly have nothing in common other than they were both lucky to get renewals. In fact, that was a trend throughout most of NBC's schedule. They slotted several sitcoms, but I thought some of their pairings were odd. For instance, I felt they should have paired Up All Night, which focuses on being young parents with the new sitcom Guys With Kids, which also deals with parenthood. Meanwhile the show that they did pair it up with, Animal Kingdom seems better suited with the single-camera, laugh track free comedies on Thursday nights.

On the drama side of things, the only new show that caught my eye was Revolution, a drama dealing with people living on Earth 15 years after a blackout hit the entire planet. While the premise was intriguing, I feel like we've seen this type of 'event' drama over and over again ever since the success of Lost and none of them have been successful. I've become jaded, but I feel like this one may suffer the same fate: sizable audience for its premiere that vanishes in the subsequent weeks when impatient fans get frustrated when the show doesn't give them answers to the central mythology quickly enough.

Finally, with their reality slate, the biggest news is that NBC's one new hit The Voice will already be returning in the fall. I personally don't watch the show, but I don't blame NBC for wanting to schedule another season so soon given that it's about the only thing in their schedule that consistantly pulls in viewers. Let's just hope that they don't create an overkill backlash like they've done with some of their other hits like Deal or No Deal. If it can remain a hit, hopefully viewers will be willing to stick around and watch some of their other shows as well.