NBC’s 2015-2016 Schedule: Thoughts & Predictions

MONDAY

SHILO: 8:00 The Voice; 10:00 Chicago Med
CRAIG: 8:00 The Voice; 10:00 Blindspot

SHILO: With Castle on the verge of death and CBS likely to put something action-y after Scorpion, Mondays at 10:00 is ripe for the picking for a female-skewing procedural. NBC won’t have to worry about accommodating a veteran like they did this season with the weird Blacklist/State of Affairs scheduling, so I think they’ll use one of their best time slots on one of their surest bets. Chicago Med will be inoffensive and episodic enough for the Voice viewership, while the show will get boosts from crossovers in the Chicago universe and comes into this season after being rumored about/hyped for quite a while. With the pilot rating well, look for this to get a comfy fall slot, thanks in part to NBC’s sterling relationship with Dick Wolf, and for NBC to get some noteworthy year-to-year gains on Mondays.

CRAIG: While I do have a place for Chicago Med on my fantasy schedule – and it would be a good counter-programming to the NCIS franchise on CBS unless they move NCIS: LA elsewhere – I’m going with Blindspot for what might be the best timeslot that NBC has available. It has some of the most sought-after actors this pilot season, and it might do well in the way that The Blacklist did well. At least, I’m sure that’s what NBC is hoping for.
 You also have no idea how tempted I’d be to move The Blacklist to Mondays where it had more impact, but it might be best to move forward rather than trying to rebuild past successes.

TUESDAY

SHILO: 8:00 The Voice; 9:00 Not Safe For Work; 9:30 Undateable; 10:00 Chicago Fire
CRAIG: 8:00 The Voice; 9:00 Telenovela; 9:30 Undateable; 10:00 Chicago Fire

SHILO: Another year, another new NBC comedy following The Voice. Considering how niche their single cams can be, I think another multi-cam is the right idea; multi-cams tend to have broader audiences than single cams and might attract more casual viewers from The Voice than another single cam would. In this case, I’d go with Not Safe for Work, a bawdy office comedy about two male friends whose relationship is upended when one begins dating the “perfect” woman. It’s broad enough in style to go with The Voice, male enough to go with Undateable, and edgy enough in content to attract a younger audience, with the office element harking back to some of the network’s past successes without feeling derivative. It might not be the breakout comedy NBC needs, but this would be a great step in the right direction for them.

CRAIG: Could this be the year Undateable gets a 22-episode season? I sure hope so. The Bill Lawrence series has an old-school multi-cam feel which I enjoy, even if it isn’t the highest-rated sitcom in the TV universe. It might be a weird match or fit with Telenovela, but hopefully both together could keep and maintain that Voice results audience. And, like you, I’m keeping Chicago Fire as is, because why not?

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