NBC adds six new fall series, saves several high profile ones until later
05/11/15 08:17 AM
By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
NBC’s autumn colors are muted in terms of recognizable star power but highlighted by the return of a Heroes restart and a limited-run variety hour hosted by Neil Patrick Harris.
The Peacock has a half-dozen new series scheduled for the fall, with other newcomers starring the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Eva Longoria, Rob Lowe and America Ferrara awaiting midseason berths. Also in storage for now is the return of Coach with star Craig T. Nelson and Chicago Med in league with Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D.. There are just two comedy series in the new fall prime-time mix, both on Fridays.
NBC’s surprise returnee, The Mysteries of Laura, will remain on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. (central). The cancellation bin otherwise is crowded with these casualties, some announced earlier: Marry Me, One Big Happy, State of Affairs, About a Boy, Bad Judge, A to Z, Constantine, Parenthood, The Slap and Allegiance.
Two other newcomers, A.D. The Bible Continues and Odyssey, are still in progress and awaiting their fates, NBC says. Other NBC series announced last fall have yet to get on the air. The Tina Fey-produced Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt instead wound up on the streaming service Netflix, where it already has been renewed for a second season. Mission Control and Emerald City still have no announced air dates while the comedy series Mr. Robinson is scheduled for a late-breaking Aug. 5th premiere. Aquarius gets a May 28th start, with David Duchovny playing a cop coming to grips with Charles Manson.
NBC also has announced a series of movies produced by Dolly Parton, with her autobiographical Coat of Many Colors the first in line. Undateable will return on Fridays in the fall with live episodes every week. And next season’s holiday musical event is The Wiz Live!.
“We’re attacking the new season with the same programming strategy that successfully turned NBC around -- a slate of provocative and innovative series and events that cut through the clutter and will continue to build on our momentum,” NBC entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt says in a publicity release. NBC will finish this season as the runner-up in total viewers to CBS while remaining “on track” to win for the second consecutive year among advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds.
Here are NBC’s six new fall series:
Blindspot (drama) -- A heavily tattooed “Jane Doe” is discovered naked in Times Square with no memory of who she is or how she got there. But one of her tats is the name of FBI agent Kurt Weller. Lo, behold, each of her other markings represent an unsolved crime. Starring Sullivan Stapleton and Jaimie Alexander, the series is from producer Greg Berlanti, who helms both Arrow and The Flash for The CW.
Heartbreaker (drama) -- A medical hour starring Melissa George as real-life heart transplant surgeon Dr. Kathy Magliato. She also has a “racy” personal life and of course “pushes the boundaries of medical science.” The supporting cast includes D.L. Hughley.
Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris (variety) -- It’s adapted from the “wildly popular” British gambit, Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway. Host Harris will preside over stunts, pranks, musical numbers, gift giveaways, etc. Scheduled through November as a placeholder for Chicago Fire.
Heroes Reborn (drama) -- NBC squandered the original’s pulling power with long off-the-air breaks. Now it’s deemed time to try again with a “fresh crop of inspiring heroes who take on the ultimate struggle between those with extraordinary abilities and those with nefarious motives to hunt and harness their powers.” Executive producer Tim Kring is still at the wheel.
The Player (drama) -- Look who’s back. It’s Wesley Snipes in an “action-packed Las Vegas thrlller about a former military operative turned security expert.” From the executives producers of The Blacklist.
People Are Talking (comedy) -- Mark-Paul Gosselaar is the name-brand participant in this laugher about “two diverse couples who are both neighbors and best friends.” NBC’s tagline: “If you can think it, they will say it.”
Here is NBC’s night-by-night fall prime-time lineup:
MONDAY
The Voice
Blindspot
TUESDAY
The Voice
Heartbreaker
Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris (to be replaced by Chicago Fire after November)
WEDNESDAY
The Mysteries of Laura
Law & Order: SVU
Chicago P.D.
THURSDAY
Heroes Reborn
The Blacklist
The Player
FRIDAY
Undateable
People Are Talking
Grimm
Dateline
SATURDAY
Dateline Saturday Night Mystery
“Classic” Saturday NIght Live episodes
SUNDAY
Football Night in America
Sunday Night Football
NBC also has a flotilla of midseason replacement troops. Let’s roll.
Coach (comedy) -- Craig T. Nelson heads new episodes of the series that made him famous. Now he’s helping his son, the new head coach at an “egghead” Ivy League university.
Crowded (comedy) -- Empty nesters Mike and Martina (Patrick Warburton, Carrie Preston) are beset by their two grown daughters, both of whom move back in.
Hot & Bothered (comedy) -- Eva Longoria stars as a “sizzling” telenovela superstar battling “pesky network execs, drunken script writers, narcissistic co-stars,” etc.
Superstore (comedy) -- Former Ugly Betty star America Ferrara returns in another workplace comedy. Her co-star is Ben Feldman, on the rebound from NBC’s canceled A to Z.
You, Me and the End of the World (comedy-drama) -- A comet is headed toward Earth, prompting “apocalyptic chaos.” Rob Lowe heads the cast, with Megan Mullally and Jenna Fischer adding support. Lowe also will star in a new Fox series, The Grinder.
Chicago Med (drama) -- Producer Dick Wolf, architect of the onetime three-pronged Law & Order franchise, now has a Chicago threesome of Fire, P.D. and this one. Oliver Platt and S. Epatha Merkerson top the cast.
Game of Silence (drama) -- An Atlanta attorney is suddenly revisited by long-lost childhood friends. Then a “dark secret” resurfaces. Starring David Lyons from NBC’s Revolution.
Shades of Blue (drama) -- J Lo will continue to be a judge on the announced 15th and last season of American Idol. She’ll also play a New York detective and single mom who used to be a dirty cop until being trapped by the FBI and turned into a reluctant informant. Ray Liotta and Drea De Matteo from The Sopranos are among the co-stars.
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