NBC’s Post-Olympics/Leno Schedule Looks Solid


NBC has released their post-Olympics/post-primetime Leno schedule and it looks pretty solid, doesn’t appear they had to scramble much to fill the newly opened slots.

Here’s a glance at the schedule, which includes the premieres of new drama Parenthood and reality shows The Marriage Ref and Who Do You Think You Are? as well as the broadcast premiere of Friday Night Lights (April 30th!).

MONDAYS
8-9 p.m. – “Chuck”
9-10 p.m. – “Trauma” (beginning March 8)
10-11 p.m. -“Law & Order” (returns March 1 with two-hour episode, 9-11 p.m. (ET); resumes in regular time slot March 8)
TUESDAYS
8-10 p.m. – “The Biggest Loser”
10-11 p.m. – “PARENTHOOD” (premieres March 2)
WEDNESDAYS
8-9 p.m. – “Mercy”
9-10 p.m. – “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (encores beginning March 3)
10-11 p.m. – “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (originals beginning March 3)
THURSDAYS
8-8:30 p.m. – “Community”
8:30-9 p.m. – “Parks and Recreation”
9-9:30 p.m. – “The Office”
9:30-10 p.m. – “30 Rock”
10-11 p.m. – “THE MARRIAGE REF” (premieres March 4; sneak preview February 28)
FRIDAYS
8-9 p.m. – “WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?” (premieres March 5; “Friday Night Lights” returns on April 30)
9-11 p.m. – “Dateline NBC” (begins March 5)
SATURDAYS (all beginning March 6)
8-9 p.m. – “The Biggest Loser” (encore episode)
9-10 p.m. – “Law & Order” (encore episode)
10-11 p.m. – “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (encore episode)
SUNDAYS (all beginning March 14)
7-8 p.m. – “Dateline NBC”
8-9 p.m. – “MINUTE TO WIN IT” (premieres March 14)
9-11 p.m. – “The Celebrity Apprentice” (season premiere March 14)

Law & Order back to 10pm is good news and Mondays have been a tough slot to fill, so original flavor in the timeslot could do very well. Law & Order: SVU meanwhile slides to 10pm on Wednesdays with SVU repeats filling the 9pm slot. SVU will do well anywhere it gets slotted, save for 8pm. That leaves open SVU‘s old Tuesday at 10pm slot, probably the cushiest timeslot on NBC’s entire schedule thanks to The Biggest Loser, to launch the highly-anticipated Parenthood.

Jerry Seinfeld’s The Marriage Ref gets plucked from its original Sunday timeslot before Celebrity Apprentice and finds a home on Thursdays after NBC’s comedies at 10pm. A good fit. Lisa Kudrow-produced Who Do You Think You Are? where celebrities trace their heritage gets Fridays at 8pm until Friday Night Lights season 4 makes its broadcast debut on April 30th. Who Do You Think You Are? was in production last year for a summer debut but was pulled from the schedule. Meanwhile trusty Dateline fills the other two-hours on Friday.

Friday Night Lights returning late-April should help boosts its Emmy visibility and maybe sneak-in some nominations! *crosses fingers*

The canceled, but not yet Trauma returns March 8th to Mondays at 9pm, and may benefit being sandwiched between a stronger lead-in in Chuck and established lead-out in Law & Order: New York. The last new series is Minute to Win It, a game show that will air before Celebrity Apprentice on Sundays.

So it looks like NBC didn’t have a problem finding shows to fill empty slots in primetime. All of these series have been waiting to go for a while already. Their only immediate problem right now is the late night mess courtesy of Jeff Zucker. That drama is ongoing.

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