No. 4 NBC offers new dizzying array of midseason changes
11/15/11 07:01 AM
By ED BARK
No night stays the same in No. 4 NBC's latest effort to bolster its bankrupt prime-time ratings.
The Peacock announced four new series and a collection of mid-season swap meets Monday. Benched are Community and the new Prime Suspect, both of which are scheduled to return at some point, NBC says.
Sunday is the only night NBC would dearly love to keep in place. But its only ratings juggernaut, Sunday Night Football and its pre-game show, will be giving way to a lineup of Dateline, The Celebrity Apprentice and a transplanted Harry's Law, relocating from Wednesdays.
NBC will say goodbye to NFL football with Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday, February 5th. Its followup act, as previously announced, is the return of The Voice, whose home otherwise will be on Mondays in place of The Sing-Off. NBC will conclude the night on another musical note with its already critically praised Smash, the scripted saga of a Broadway show in the making. The cast includes Anjelica Huston and ex-American Idol runnerup Katharine McPhee.
Thursdays also will receive a major makeover, with the season premiere of 30 Rock supplanting Community as the night's leadoff hitter. Remaining in place are Parks and Recreation and The Office, followed by the freshman comedy Up All Night (moved from Wednesdays) and the premiere of John Grisham's The Firm.
Wednesday's replacement troops are Whitney (arriving from Thursdays), Rock Center with Brian Williams (formerly on Mondays) and the new comedy Are You There, Chelsea?
The fourth announced new series, Fashion Star, is a reality-competition series hosted by former super model Elle Macpherson. It's scheduled to launch on Tuesday, March 13th after Parenthood has its season finale on Feb. 28th.
Chuck will go away for good after its two-hour series finale on Friday, Jan. 27th. Stepping in is the return of Lisa Kudrow's celebrity-driven genealogy series, Who Do You Think You Are?
On a busy Monday, NBC also announced that former First Daughter Chelsea Clinton will be a correspondent for NBC News, specializing in reports for the ongoing "Making a Difference" series. The Peacock already has another ex-First Daughter, Jenna Bush Hager, in the fold, while John McCain's daughter, Meghan McCain, draws checks from cable news arm MSNBC. Another prominent offspring, the late Tim Russert's son, Luke, also works for NBC News.
Here are NBC's night-by-night mid-season changes, with start dates included (all times are central):
MONDAY
7 to 9 p.m., Feb. 6th -- The Voice (following the previous night's Super Bowl launch).
9 to 10 p.m. Feb. 6th -- Smash
TUESDAY
7 to 9 p.m., Jan. 3rd -- new edition of The Biggest Loser
9 to 10 p.m. -- Parenthood, which continues through Feb. 28th before Fashion Star debuts on March 13th.
WEDNESDAY
7 to 7:30 p.m., Jan. 11th -- Whitney
7:30 to 8 p.m., Jan. 11th -- premiere of Are You There, Chelsea?
8 to 9 p.m., Feb. 8th -- Rock Center with Brian Williams
9 to 10 p.m. -- Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
THURSDAY
7 to 7:30 p.m., Jan. 12th -- 30 Rock
7:30 to 8 p.m. -- Parks and Recreation
8 to 8:30 p.m. -- The Office
8:30 to 9 p.m., Jan. 12th -- Up All Night
9 to 10 p.m., Jan. 12th after Sunday, Jan. 8th premiere -- The Firm
FRIDAY
7 to 8 p.m., Feb. 3rd -- Who Do You Think You Are? (following the Jan. 27th series finale of Chuck)
8 to 9 p.m. -- Grimm
9 to 10 p.m. -- Dateline
SATURDAY
7 to 8 p.m. -- Harry's Law reruns
8 to 9 p.m. -- The Firm reruns
9 to 10 p.m. -- Law & Order: SVU reruns
SUNDAY
6 to 7 p.m., Jan. 8th -- Dateline (initially with two-hour editions)
7 to 8 p.m., March 4th -- Harry's Law
8 to 10 p.m., Feb. 12th -- The Celebrity Apprentice
***Prosperous CBS in comparison announced just two midseason changes Monday.
Rob! is a sitcom starring Rob Schneider as a newly married, former lifelong bachelor who moves into a tight-knit Mexican-American family. It premieres on Thursday, Jan. 12th at 7:30 p.m. following The Big Bang Theory. Cheech Marin also is in the cast. CBS says that Rules of Engagement will return on this night and time later this season.
Undercover Boss will have its third season premiere on Sunday, Jan. 15th at 7 p.m. The Amazing Race is set to return later next year.