NBC’s 2018-19 season got off to a bit of a rocky start thanks to the abrupt departure of network president Bob Greenblatt, who had guided the network from the bottom of the broadcast barrel to a very solid number one standing. Though key pieces such as The Voice and This Is Us started to show some weakness, the season as a whole was fairly decent for NBC, as they managed to launch two successful fall dramas in New Amsterdam and Manifest, found more good reality pieces in The Titan Games and America’s Got Talent: The Champions, and took advantage of the inherent synergy in the Chicago-verse to rule Wednesdays. But now that we’re in the thick of the first development season without Greenblatt, the network will have questions to answer internally about its identity sans its former president.
Just as in past years, KSiteTV’s Craig Byrne and Shilo Adams are examining the state of each of the five broadcast networks. Meant to be an amalgamation of what we think could, should, and will happen next season, the fantasy schedules in each of the next five articles are not constructed with any insider information; they’re just a product of two guys who follow the Hollywood trades and love talking about the world of television.
KSiteTV 2019-2020 Fantasy Schedule Articles: FOX | ABC | CBS | The CW
MONDAY
CRAIG: 8:00 The Voice; 10:00 Lincoln
SHILO: 8:00 The Voice; 10:00 Emergence
SHILO: The Voice remains one of the best launching pads on broadcast, so even though Manifest did well during the fall, it’s downward trajectory combined with The Voice‘s advancing age means that it’s moving to another slot and something else is getting sampled here. I know this isn’t the most tangible of arguments, but conspiracy thriller Emergence simply feels the most like something NBC would put here, especially in the wake of Manifest breaking the procedural/case-of-the-week pattern the network had established in this slot. The logline suggests that like The Blacklist and Blindspot, it’s got the potential to could cut a great trailer and gain some pre-season attention while standing out against the competition. It’s also a show that, in this television environment, would have less than 22 episodes, so it’s ready made to give way to another show circa February 2020.
CRAIG: I’m going for the Bone Collector-inspired Lincoln as NBC’s big new drama swing for the Fall (and the only one on my schedule, since their lineup is populated by sports and The Voice in the Fall). I could be wrong on this, like I was when I thought L.A.’s Finest would be big [and on NBC] and I was so wrong… but I’m trying it anyway.
