Upfronts: With Little New, NBC is First Out of the Gate with Fall Lineup
All aglow with another win among advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds -- its third in the last four seasons -- NBC again is adding just three new series to its latest fall lineup.
Only one of them is a bonafide newcomer, though. The Brave billed as “patriotic and riveting” in the Peacock’s Mother’s Day announcement, will dramatize the exploits of a Special Ops unit deployed to “some of the most dangerous places in the world.” It’s been chosen to close out NBC’s Monday prime-time lineup in a coveted slot following The Voice.
NBC otherwise is rebooting Will & Grace (top) for a “12-episode event” while also padding producer Dick Wolf’s wallet with another extension of his Law & Order franchise. Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders is an eight-episode answer to FX’s American Crime Story anthology series. Its principal star is Edie Falco of Nurse Jackie and The Sopranos fame.
The Peacock also added just three new series last fall. This Is Us became a critically-acclaimed hit while The Good Place and Timeless also will be returning. The latter drama was canceled and then uncanceled by NBC, which also has announced a trio of new scripted dramas and two freshman sitcoms for midseason launches.
Thursdays will be completely revamped in what NBC bills as “the return of Must See TV.” This includes moving This Is Us from Tuesdays.
Settling into the cancellation corral are Grimm, Trial & Error, The Blacklist: Redemption, Chicago Justice, Emerald City, Powerless and The New Celebrity Apprentice. Two new series originally announced as midseason replacements last May -- Midnight, Texas and Marlon, are set to premiere this summer, respectively on July 24th and Aug. 16th.
Here are NBC’s three new fall series -- more or less:
The Brave (drama) -- Anne Heche is the best-known cast member in the role of D.I.A deputy director Patricia Campbell. She orchestrates the Special Ops missions from afar, with daring Adam Dalton (Mike Vogel) in charge on the ground.
Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Brothers (drama) -- Back in 1994, both Fox and CBS dramatized the bloody exploits of Eric and Lyle Menendez in scripted May ratings “sweeps” presentations. NBC now takes its turn after ABC took the plunge in January of this year with a two-hour documentary titled Truth and Lies: The Menendez Brothers -- American Sons, American Murderers. There oughta be a law.
Will & Grace (comedy) -- Original stars Debra Messing, Eric McCormack, Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally are all reprising their roles in what was a breakthrough broadcast network series back in 1998. W&G ran until 2006, with all four principals winning at least one acting Emmy. Both McCormack and Hayes played openly gay characters. NBC has upped the number of episodes to 12 after originally announcing a 10-episode order.
Here is NBC’s night-by-night fall 2017 lineup:
Monday
The Voice
The Brave
Tuesday
The Voice
Superstore
The Good Place
Chicago Fire
Wednesday
The Blacklist
Law & Order: SVU
Chicago P.D.
Thursday
Will & Grace
Great News
This Is Us
Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders
Friday
Blindspot
Taken
Dateline NBC
Saturday
Dateline Saturday Night Mystery
Saturday Night Live encores
Sunday
Football Night in America
Sunday Night Football
These are NBC’s announced new midseason series:
Good Girls (drama) -- Three suburban moms rob a supermarket using toy guns. But the store manager recognizes one of them, and their haul is more than expected. So call the cops, and the chase is on in what NBC describes as a “comedy-infused drama that mixes a little Thelma & Louise with a bit of Breaking Bad.” There are no name-brand stars.
Reverie (drama) -- A former hostage negotiator turned college professor after an “unimaginable personal tragedy” returns to action to “save ordinary people who have lost themselves in a highly advanced virtual-reality program in which you can literally live your dreams.” Huh? Sarah Shahi and Dennis Haysbert star.
Rise (drama) -- Devoted teacher/family guy Lou Mazzuchelli (Josh Radnor) puts self-doubt behind him and starts running his school’s decayed theater department. Shades of Mr. Holland’s Opus, remarkable things start happening.
A.P. Bio (comedy) -- A philosophy scholar gets bypassed for a dream job and instead becomes a high school Advanced Placement biology teacher. Except he really doesn’t want to do that. Patton Oswalt stars.
Champions (comedy) -- Vince is a “charismatic gym owner” and his younger brother, Michael, a “gorgeous idiot.” Their regimen of womanizing and working out is altered when a teen son is dumped on them by Priya (guest star Mindy Kaling), who had a high school fling with Vince.
Ellen’s Game of Games (alternative/reality) -- Ellen DeGeneres hosts “super-sized versions” of the games played on her daytime show. NBC promises that she’ll be both “mischievous and hilarious.”
The Awesome Show (alternative/reality) -- Yeah, sure. Chris Hardwick, currently also hosting NBC’s The Wall, presides over a “rollercoaster ride through the world of innovation.”
Genius Junior (alternative/reality) -- This time it’s Neil Patrick Harris calling the shots in a game show celebrating “the smartest kids in America.” The winning team gets a “life-changing prize.”
The Handmade Project (alternative/reality) -- Co-hosts Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman present a “lighthearted competition celebrating the creativity and craftiness in all of us.”
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