RENEWAL ALERT: Revolution, Chicago Fire, Parenthood, Grimm, Law & Order: SVU

As May nears, the renewals/pickups/cancellations season is upon us and NBC renewed five dramas today, none of which were in any serious danger of cancellation.

Two freshman dramas were picked up for a second season - Revolution and Chicago Fire. Revolution was the most highly touted of NBC's new shows with constant promotions during NBC's Summer Olympics coverage. The sci-fi drama got off to a real hot start. Its 4.1 demo for the premiere was the biggest drama debut since 2009 and the biggest NBC drama debut since 2007. It held up well during the fall and was a big gainer in DVR. NBC decided to not let it fly without The Voice and instead held it off the air for three months so it could return with The Voice at the end of March. Its return hasn't been as strong as the show has been dropping this spring and hit a series low this week with a 2.0 demo. It is still a solid show for NBC but after seeing what happened to Smash and the Tuesday comedies without The Voice this year, it's hard to trust that this show could fly on its own. It'll be interesting to see where NBC slots it next year.

Also renewed was Chicago Fire. The ensemble drama was not nearly as heavily promoted as Revolution or NBC's Tuesday comedies and it had a late premiere against the much more touted Nashville in the Wednesday 10pm slot. It lost out to Nashville on premiere night which was to be expected but then things started to change. Chicago Fire first showed signs of life but not taking big drops. Then it started to grow out of its Law & Order: SVU lead-in. Then it started to beat Nashville. Then it even beat CSI once. While it hasn't been as strong in the last couple episodes, it is a surprise success story for NBC this year. It's not getting incredible ratings but it's one of the more stable shows on a network that has seen horrific numbers for many shows. However, NBC is already getting a little greedy and plotting a police themed Chicago Fire spinoff.

Three veteran dramas joined the rookies. Parenthood was renewed for a fifth season, Grimm for a third season, and Law & Order: SVU for a 15th (!) season. Parenthood was only given half a season but it managed to hold its own on Tuesdays at 10pm. That became even more clear when Smash crashed and burned in the same slot. It has been given a full season for only the second time in its five year history. Grimm continues to be a solid performer on Fridays and will be given a chance in that Tuesday 10pm slot for four weeks. However, I expect it to be back on Fridays next season. Law & Order: SVU is reliable even if it is nowhere near what it once was. 15 seasons is pretty impressive regardless of how needy a network is. NBC renewed SVU without securing star Mariska Hargitay for another year so that is their next priority.

These renewals join The Voice as official pickups for next year. NBC has many shows still up in the air. The Biggest Loser, Celebrity Apprentice, and Parks and Recreation are sure bets to return while 1600 Penn, Deception, Up All Night, and Smash are sure to join the cancellation pile. Despite bad ratings, the jury is still out on several others including Community, Guys with Kids, Go On, The New Normal, Whitney, and Hannibal. All of those shows have hit a 1.0 demo this year but all have a chance at a renewal. Yikes.