WEDNESDAY
CRAIG: This is where I get weird, and if I actually was a TV scheduler, I’d probably tick off a producer or two: I’d put Revolution on Wednesdays to lead off the night. Yes, it’s often a 10PM show, and there might have to be a little bit of violence toned down to be in the family hour, but I think the long-term benefits of such a thing might be worth it: Revolution is a show with a family at its core, and if that angle is explored, the show could actually maintain what it gets from its Voice lead-in. Maybe.
It wouldn’t be the first show that started in a later slot but took off when it came on earlier. I also think it would be ultimately beneficial to see how Revolution does without a Voice lead-in. If it does well, any critic who says Revolution wouldn’t succeed without that lead can eat crow. If it does poorly… might as well pull that bandage off.
The rest of the night, I’d keep as they’ve always been. Law & Order: SVU at 9, even though I think it deserves a 10:00 slot, and Chicago Fire at 10. If a Chicago Fire spin-off is indeed in the works, maybe that could sub in at repeat time. Who knows.
SHILO: NBC has tried to launch a comedy block on Wednesdays for the past couple of seasons to fairly poor results. However, unless they have a drama that they think could survive the early time slot and stiff competition, they should give it another go with a pair of multi-cams that will distinguish themselves from the ABC single-cams and NBC’s own comedy lineup on Thursdays. Kicking things off is Sean Saves the World, starring Sean Hayes as a divorced gay dad trying to find balance in his life at 8:00. With a face familiar to NBC audiences, it might not necessarily need a lead-in and could act as a booster for another multi-cam, as well as receive the sampling needed to lead off a night.
To go along with Sean Saves the World I have The John Mulaney Show, produced by Lorne Michaels and loosely based on the standup’s life. It fits with the Sean Hayes show a bit more than something like Undateable, another multi-cam pilot, does and keeps the network’s relationship with the Saturday Night Live honcho strong. Considering that Michaels productions 30 Rock and Up All Night are dead, the latter beginning its run on Wednesdays, it makes sense to pick up The John Mulaney Show, which will feature two active SNL cast members, for the fall. The only thing I worry about is the audience being slightly niche and won’t help the 9:00 show.
At 9:00, SVU’s position as Wednesday anchor is less about its performance and more about the state of NBC as a whole. Simply put, there’s nothing (scripted) that they have right now that could perform like SVU could in the slot (or that they’d want to try, lest the new occupant be damaged beyond repair), meaning that its stability and resilience will likely earn it another year of going up against Modern Family and Criminal Minds. If NBC can pick up another drama or two this season, they may have enough flexibility to where SVU can be shuffled off to another slot, but buoyed by off-network syndication and a loyal fanbase, the procedural will have to fend for itself once again.
Although I debated moving Chicago Fire to another night, it might too young to move just yet. Growing from its SVU lead-in, the show became the freshman success of NBC’s development last season and was regularly competitive with CSI and Nashville. Given how difficult it is to get a foothold in the 10:00 hour anymore, NBC might not want to mess with what could become a long-running staple on their network, at least until they know that the audience will follow it to season two. Should the show build next fall or become the clear champion of Wednesdays at 10:00, a move, likely forward an hour, might make more sense, but until then, it needs to stay put.
THURSDAY
SHILO: For the 8:00 hour on NBC Thursdays, I’d take a little piece of the network’s past and hope that interest was still there. Parks and Recreation creator Greg Daniels is executive producing a project with The Office alum Craig Robinson about a musician who becomes a music teacher at a middle school, something that is universal enough in concept that can counterbalance any niche humor the show might have. It’s a show that would fit in well with Parks, whch needs an airing partner, and it sounds like something that could conceivably survive 8:00, especially if CBS expands its comedy hours and ABC doesn’t find a Thursday lead-off show in its development.
Veteran Parks & Recreation has always done the best at 8:30 out of the Thursday slots NBC has tried it in, therefore it returns there for its sixth (and potentially final) season. A night with four new comedies may have worked for ABC in 2009, but that feels like more of an exception than the standard and NBC needs the security of having at least one veteran in the case that other parts of the night turn out to be a disappointment. Parks’ audience is Parks’ audience and NBC knows about what it’ll be getting on a weekly basis; add to that the continued critical support, awards attention, and pop cultural visibility of its cast, not to mention the death of nearly every other Thursday comedy from last season, and Parks should be able to rack up another 22 episodes for syndication this season.
For 9:00, if there’s a show that will keep the Must See TV lights on, it’s The Michael J. Fox Show, starring the Emmy winner as a fictionalized version of himself. NBC ordered 22 episodes of the show sight unseen last year and given its marketing potential (Fox’s return to NBC) and its pedigree both behind and in front of the camera, it looks like the network will go all in on it resurrecting what was once a proud night. It’s the only NBC comedy that looks to be big-tent enough in subject matter and possess a marketable enough star to anchor the night, so it could be the Modern Family of the network’s lineup and lift all boats around it.
After The Michael J. Fox Show, NBC could go one of two ways. They could put a risky-ish comedy that wouldn’t otherwise pop, in hopes of utilizing the lead-in, or they could decide on something a lot safer, making sure that the night doesn’t flounder. I would go with the latter, since NBC isn’t in the shape to go too risky, and slot Jason Katims’ About a Boy here. It’s based on a fairly popular book/movie, features a cast of TV veterans, and will get a lot of press for the association with Katims, who is coming off the most well-received season of Parenthood yet. Plus, it won’t be like anything else in the hour, something that can help how low-key its tone might end up being.
At 10, I’d put on Parenthood. It makes perfect sense to want to leave this Jason Katims dramedy in its Tuesday at 10:00 slot, especially since it just had its most critically noticed season yet and climbed in the ratings. However, NBC can’t launch another new show on Thursdays at 10:00, not with a mostly new lineup from 8:00-10:00 and not after diminishing returns from the shows its debuted there. SVU is an option, as is Chicago Fire, but I would move Parenthood. It doesn’t clash with the other network offerings, it has a strong enough audience of its own to where even if there’s drop off, it’d still be a big net gain, and it matches the tone of an all (single-camera) comedy night more than a night of The Voice and a new drama. Plus, it could off-set any losses in viewership that would result from the move by its position on a higher profile night.
CRAIG: I have to admit I cheated here… I saw your schedule, and the reason for running the shows in that particular order, and I agreed completely. Then NBC changed some things around and we have to rewrite this, but my brain is too fried to again agree completely. The only thing I would do differently, since I’ve already slotted Parenthood somewhere, is I would put Victor on at 10PM, assuming it is picked up. It wouldn’t be the first time John Stamos has done hit series duty on Thursday nights at 10 for NBC. Also, I think with it being the lightest of the drama pilots, it would go well with the comedies that precede it. Now, it’s possible that by the time anyone reads this, that NBC will have passed on Victor…. and if Craig Robinson isn’t picked up, we know Family Guide has been, so maybe it can go for Thursdays at 8. Unless they want to slot it for Sundays at 9 opposite Family Guy to really confuse people. Actually, you know what? Family Guide Thursday at 8. I will deviate.
FRIDAY
SHILO: Grimm has to air with other scripted programming. Since the show’s premiere in October 2011, it’s been surrounded by reality filler, newsmagazines, and scripted burn-offs, minus its few weeknight tryouts, but its performance with Mockingbird Lane earlier this season showed that, given the right scripted show, it could become even more powerful of a program and give them more of a Friday presence. I think that they should use the few international co-productions in their development (Hannibal, Dracula, Crossbones) to air with Grimm; they’re cheap genre programming that might not fit on other nights and could be used to bolster Grimm’s audience. As a result, I have Dracula leading off the night at 8:00. The 10-episode drama, following Dracula as he poses as an American entrepreneur in Victorian London, might have a tone too dark for the hour, but otherwise, it seems to be the best fit with Grimm. It’s cheap, it has name brand recognition, and it’ll help test how Grimm responds to being paired with something similar.
SHILO: For 9, I’d put on Grimm. The supernatural procedural is ending its second season on Tuesday nights due to Ready For Love’s cancellation, but I think that it’s a show that belongs (and can thrive) on Fridays for years to come. The weeknight tryouts that it’s had haven’t provided enough of a boost to suggest that it would take off on a more watched night and it gives them enough of a foothold on Fridays to where they’re competitive. If they’re serious about bringing scripted programming to Friday (and/or like their development), they’ll leave Grimm here and build around it; if their drama development is weak, though, the show might be forced into a weeknight slot, potentially shortening its life span.
CRAIG: Agreed on Grimm at 9. I’d assume Dateline would stay at 10PM, as well.
CRAIG’S SCHEDULE
MONDAY
8PM The Voice
10PM Ironside
TUESDAY
8PM The Voice
9PM Crisis
10PM Parenthood
WEDNESDAY
8PM Revolution
9PM Law & Order: SVU
10PM Chicago Fire
THURSDAY
8PM Family Guide
8:30 Parks & Recreation
9PM Michael J. Fox
9:30 About A Boy
10PM Victor (Formerly I Am Victor)
FRIDAY
8PM Believe
9PM Grimm
10PM Dateline
SHILO’S SCHEDULE
MONDAY
8PM The Voice
10PM Crisis
TUESDAY
8PM The Voice
9PM The Blacklist
10PM Revolution
WEDNESDAY
8PM Sean Saves The World
8:30 The John Mulaney Show
9PM Law & Order: SVU
10PM Chicago Fire
THURSDAY
8PM Craig Robinson
8:30 Parks & Recreation
9PM Michael J. Fox
9:30 About A Boy
10PM Parenthood
FRIDAY
8PM Dracula
9PM Grimm
10PM Dateline