| Chime in: WNBC, KNBC, WMAQ, WCAU, KXAS, KNTV, WHDH, WXIA, WRC, KPRC, et al... |
| The peacock is clearly throwing things into the minefield and seeing what doesn't blow up. They are all over the place, except for Sunday. Nice and tidy and most likely their only Top 10 show, Sunday Night Football at around 8:20ish. (Gotta pass that quarter hour, eh?) The night starts with the pre-game of Football Night in America at 7. They'll take the night. (Midseason changes it all with a Sunday edition of Dateline NBC, two new dramas and one returning one. If either Merlin or Kings (my bet is on the latter) clicks, NBC might finally be digging itself out of the crapper.
NBC Monday, like several night on the fall sked are split into early and "regular." Until the middle/end of September, there's another edition of Deal or No Deal at 8, followed by America's Toughest Jobs and at the end of September for just two weeks, additional first-runs of the strike-bubble show Life. When the season really begins (September 22, according to Nielsen), NBC rolls out the true sked. Heroes is at back at 9 with a clip show preceding it. A week later Chuck returns (and has already been given a full-season order) at 8. My Own Worst Enemy waits until mid-October to launch. If folks return to Heroes, NBC's got a shot at gaining a little ground.
It's not on the grid, but trust me, before The Biggest Loser: Families bows in a two-hour slot on September 16, the Hoff and America's Got Talent sits there. Law & Order: SVU starts Season 10 appropriately at 10. America's Got Talent is doing surprisingly well and for some reason televised weight loss is a draw as well. I think The Biggest Loser is going to take a hit this season -- there are too many other things in both the 8 and 9pm slots. SVU will be in a fight with Without A Trace.
I'll just say it: NBC Wednesday is going to be a disaster. The updated Knight Rider is going to, well...suck. Which isn't a good thing for the whole night. Howie, his lovely ladies and the briefcases click in at 9 in a good shot of counterprogramming. Lipstick Jungle returns from its abbreviated first season at 10 and is a clear sign of two things: that NBC's development process is dead and the strike is still hurting the viewing audience. I see many, many changes on NBC Wednesday, probably before Thanksgiving.
Thursday used to be Must See TV, but those days are gone. Now it's more like, "Ok, sure. Why not? TV" Thursday is actually a decent night. It all kicks off with My Name is Earl and in mid-October is all-new Kath & Kim. The waiting is over and The Office is in NBC's comedy flagship slot at 9, followed by three weeks of Primetime Saturday Night Live leading right up to the election. 30 Rock debuts at the end of October. Yes, County General is still around and the 15th and final season of ER is back in the only slot it's ever known at 10pm. That slot is really up in the air and there's a possibility that the folks at County could go out winning their slot. Note to NBC, do not move Kath & Kim to Tuesday in midseason, you will kill it.
With Survivor, Grey's Anatomy and CSI opposing it, the chances that NBC would win the night are non-existent. They do have the counterprogramming option going for them and lots of buzz (not quite numbers) with The Office and 30 Rock. It's not Must See TV, but it's arguably NBC's best night.
One new show will enjoy(?) its second and third time slots in less than two months. Clearly someone in NBC programming missed the How To Build An Audience for a New Show Class. The night with start with America's Toughest Jobs at 8, from mid-September just until late October. Deal or No Deal stays at 9, but just for most of October. Life returns to its regular slot at 10, but not before confusing the hell out of viewers by having two runs on Monday while still having airings on Friday as well. Midseason, or more accurately, mid-October sees Crusoe debut at 8, Toughest Jobs moves to 9 and Life continues at 10. Anyone still wondering why NBC is in 4th place?
With the exception of Dateline NBC at 8, Saturday on NBC is like CBS: encore plays of some dramas from the week.
Since the musical Wicked is actually owned by NBCU (really!), I'll pull a word from it to describe the NBC schedule: confusifying. I simply don't get how the network can continually program what they are programming, but also how they are programming it. I'm also a bit surprised no one has mentioned that Ben Silverman, co-President, NBC Entertainment, is a principal in the production company Reville and greenlights for NBC programming his own company is producing. Nice gig. I don't see any salvation for NBC with this sked. Quite sad. |
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