UPFRONTS 2013: NBC's Official Fall Schedule

Here it is! Check out trailers for the new fall shows here!

MONDAYS
8:00 The Voice (5th Edition)
10:00 THE BLACKLIST

NBC is giving its arguably best slot to a new show rather than sticking with Revolution and it is the highly anticipated new drama The Blacklist starring James Spader. This show is NBC's top priority for dramas and will get the chance to shine like Revolution did last fall before stumbling at midseason. Of course, we'll see if The Voice continues to be the mega lead-in that it is right now but airing a new drama after it is NBC's best bet and they are very high on The Blacklist. They are both listed for midseason as well which leads me to believe that NBC is planning to rest both shows in January and February (with the Olympics airing) with plans to return them together in March.

TUESDAYS
8:00 The Biggest Loser (15th Edition)
9:00 The Voice (5th Edition)
10:00 Chicago Fire (2nd Season)
After one cycle off last fall, NBC is bringing The Biggest Loser back in the fall but airing it for only an hour. They also, as of now, plan to only air the show in the fall. This is not a bad move because Tuesday at 8pm is tough for them if they want to move The Voice and airing a new show here would have been hard. This will be an adequate performer in its old slot. NBC has moved the second night of The Voice to 9pm for the fall which they must hope will mean a little bit of a halo effect at both 8pm and 10pm. At 10pm, NBC is trying to bolster an overperformer from this year as Chicago Fire moves over from Wednesdays and will get the benefit of a lead-in from The Voice. The show has been a self-starter this year but got its highest number when it aired after a special edition of The Voice. This is a good move by NBC as it will likely strengthen a show that already found a core audience. The plan for now is to move The Voice to 8pm at midseason and air comedies The Family Guide and About a Boy into the hopefully strengthened Fire.

WEDNESDAYS
8:00 Revolution (2nd Season)
9:00 Law & Order: SVU (15th Season)
10:00 IRONSIDE

NBC is boldly going with three straight dramas on Wednesday nights. Perhaps one of the toughest hours on the entire schedule for them is 8pm Wednesday where Revolution is getting thrown to the wolves. The show has already been declining as it has aired after The Voice and it could have a Smash-esque meltdown as the lead-off show on Wednesdays. NBC has ordered a full season of Revolution but they might regret that once the numbers start coming in. It shows that this has dropped on NBC's priority list big time. At 9pm is Law & Order: SVU once again. There are pros and cons to this. Wednesday 9pm is one of the toughest hours in all of TV with Modern Family on ABC, Criminal Minds on CBS, and American Idol/The X-Factor on FOX. NBC would have a very tough time competing with a new show here and they know SVU can not be completely embarrassing in this slot. I think that's why they kept it here. At 10pm, they launch a new procedural drama in the slot where Chicago Fire surprised. Ironside fits the procedural/police theme of its lead-in and might be able to carve out an audience. If it's going to work anywhere, this is probably it's best bet because of the tonal fit with SVU. This will likely be a night in the 1s demo for NBC but if Revolution can stay afloat and Ironside can do as well as Chicago Fire, I think NBC will take it.

THURSDAYS
8:00 Parks and Recreation (6th Season)
8:30 WELCOME TO THE FAMILY
9:00 SEAN SAVES THE WORLD
9:30 THE MICHAEL J. FOX SHOW
10:00 Parenthood (5th Season)
NBC is almost starting over on Thursday night and almost making it completely family-themed. I say almost to both because they have chosen Parks and Recreation to lead off the night. I love Parks but it seems like an odd partner to the rest of the night with new family sitcoms. I think the 8pm hour will be very tough for NBC to gain much traction which means it might be tough sledding for the 8:30pm culture clash newbie Welcome to the Family. Of NBC's three fall comedies, this one got the toughest slot and could have a hard time. The 9pm hour is occupied by former Must See TV stars - Sean Hayes in Sean Saves the World and Michael J. Fox in The Michael J. Fox Show. I thought Fox would get the 9pm anchor slot but NBC is instead giving it to Hayes. These might seem like a compatible pair but keep in mind that Sean is multi-camera while Fox is single-camera. I like the idea of this night, I'm just not sure I love the flow to it. I think they might have been better off with four brand new comedies together or at least an added multi-cam. Still, NBC is remaking its Thursday lineup which is long overdue so that is a good thing. They also have several comedies on the bench if anything quickly tanks here. At 10pm, NBC is moving Parenthood over from Tuesdays to fit their family theme. The Thursday 10pm slot has been tough for NBC since ER went off the air so NBC was smart to bring over an established show. The question is will Parenthood be able to find the same audience against (likely) tougher competition? It'll be hard but I think I like the move and I like the idea of the family night - the only question is why is workplace comedy Parks leading off an otherwise completely family themed night?

FRIDAYS
8:00 Dateline NBC (23rd Season)
9:00 Grimm (3rd Season)
10:00 DRACULA

Friday nights are getting a bit of a makeover. Dateline NBC moves back to 8pm where it is a solid option to lead into Grimm which will return to Fridays despite its brief Tuesday run this month. The show has always been a solid Friday performer and Dateline will provide a more stable lead-in than Fashion Star did this spring. NBC is finally pairing Grimm with another drama as the long delayed Dracula will launch in the 10pm slot. It's about time that NBC gave Grimm a partner and Dracula seems like the best choice of the newbies. This gives NBC a chance to carve out a real spooky niche on the night. The plan for now is to air another delayed show, the pirate drama Crossbones at 10pm in the spring. Does that mean Dracula and Crossbones both have shorter episode orders? Crossbones is a good fit too, I like where NBC is going on Fridays. 

SATURDAYS
8:00 Encores
10:00 Saturday Night Live Encores
NBC has gotten some decent mileage out of Saturday Night Live repeats at 10pm on Saturdays so that will continue as will encores/specials and maybe burnoffs from 8-10pm.

SUNDAYS
7:00 Football Night in America (8th Season)
8:30 Sunday Night Football
NBC will of course have football in the fall. As of now, the spring lineup is supposed to be all new shows from 8-11pm: reality show American Dream Builders at 8pm, sci-fi drama Believe at 9pm, and thriller Crisis at 10pm. Of course, NBC's midseason Sunday lineup changes almost every year so I wouldn't put too much stock into that.

MIDSEASON: Community, The Sing Off, ABOUT A BOY, AMERICAN DREAM BUILDERS, BELIEVE, CHICAGO PD, CRISIS, CROSSBONES, THE FAMILY GUIDE, THE MILLION SECOND, THE NIGHT SHIFT, QUIZ FOOD FIGHTERS, UNDATEABLE
NBC has mostly new shows on deck for midseason. I've already talked about where most are planned although that could (and probably will) change. So far, Chicago PD, Undateable, and The Night Shift have yet to get slots but, again, that will probably change. Community will likely be used as a filler when the first new comedy goes down. The Million Second, Quiz Food Fighters, and the returning The Sing Off are reality fillers.

FATES TBD: Betty White's Off Their Rockers, Celebrity Apprentice, Fashion Star, Hannibal
Surprisingly, NBC hasn't made a decision on these four shows and may not for a couple weeks. If I had to guess, I think Betty and Apprentice will be back and Fashion Star will be cancelled. Hannibal could go either way but NBC has plenty of dramas and some new Friday companions for Grimm so Hannibal could get the hook.

CANCELLED/ENDED: 30 Rock, 1600 Penn, Animal Practice, Deception, Do No Harm, Go On, Guys with Kids, The New Normal, The Office, Ready for Love, Rock Center with Brian Williams, Smash, Take it All, Up All Night, Whitney
The cancellation pile includes all of NBC's freshmen comedies from this year, the darling of the new class from two years ago (Smash), and the end of the long running comedies 30 Rock and The Office. It makes you wonder which of these new shows, which all seem at least somewhat promising now, will be on this list next year.