NBC’s 2018-2019 Schedule: Thoughts & Predictions

Months before the 2017-18 season was to kick off, NBC was already sitting pretty, as their schedule was to feature both the 2018 Winter Olympics and Super Bowl 52 within the same month. In a television environment where live viewing has become a far more precious commodity, it was the type of ratings shot that networks dream of and something that, at least theoretically, should’ve generated serious momentum for NBC to finish the season on. However, the months leading up to that February 2018 double whammy were tough for NBC thanks to a 13% decline in the Sunday Night Football demo and poor returns from newbies The Brave and Law & Order True Crime. The arrival of midseason might’ve given the nework some major ad dollars and demo ratings due to their sports programming, but they again failed to find a scripted breakout and saw Will & Grace end its season with a ratings whimper. The network is still in possession of the enviably sturdy Chicago franchise, as well as one of the top scripted shows on television in This Is Us and several solid pieces that kept their schedule from completely withering in 2017-18. But will they be able to land a new hit show to broaden out their scripted slate in 2018-19? How can they best use the assets they have to keep their scripted bench from becoming too thin?

That’s what KSiteTV’s Craig Byrne and Shilo Adams will be trying to figure out. Just like the past several years, the two have combed through the Hollywood trades and utilized their years of following TV news to put together a fantasy fall schedule for every network. Meant to be an amalgamation of what we think could, should, and will happen, the schedules are not constructed with any insider information; they’re just a product of two guys who love talking about the TV industry. If you don’t see a show you like mentioned, or a show you like gets mentioned disparagingly, take note that we don’t mean anything by it. We’re just trying to figure these schedules out. And, of course, inevitably we’ll have shows on our schedules that may not already be picked up, and may not even live to see another day. But that’s the fun of this, right?

KSiteTV 2018-2019 Fantasy Schedule Articles: FOX | ABC | CBS | The CW

MONDAY
CRAIG: 8:00 The Voice; 10:00 L.A.’s Finest
SHILO: 8:00 The Voice; 10:00 L.A.’s Finest

CRAIG: The Voice seems to continue to work for NBC on Mondays even though eventually they’re going to have to give it a rest. (But then again, look at how people care about American Idol even less after it got a rest of its own). To follow The Voice, I figure NBC’s Bad Boys spinoff L.A.’s Finest starring Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba would be a perfect fit. It’d promise diversity, a broad appeal, and it might be a decent alternative to The Good Doctor which will surely continue to win the Monday at 10PM slot for ABC.

SHILO: It looks like we’re in agreement here, as I also have L.A.’s Finest as the next post-Voice drama. Where this is one of NBC’s best live lead-ins, if not the very best, and neither The Brave nor Good Girls did enough to secure this spot for a second time, The Voice will have something new after it in the fall. I went L.A.’s Finest because it’s already drawn a lot of buzz in the trades, it feels fairly on-brand for NBC (and broad enough to help the 10:00 affiliates), and I think NBC will want a major roll out for a show that stars Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba. I wonder about going up against The Good Doctor, which also skews female and has a strong live lead-in, but tonally the two seem like they’re trying to do different things.