NBC Fall Schedule Shakeup Pushes 'One Chicago' And 'Law & Order' To Midseason
In exchange, ready-to-air programs like 'Transplant' and the back end of 'Magnum P.I.' gets the early callup
Unearned optimism led to panic for NBC regarding their fall schedule. As the dual strike of the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA kept on, the network has shifted seven series previously on their fall schedule to midseason, while announcing when everything starts rolling out.
Of the seven pushed series, six are returning series: the Night Court revival, all three Chicago series Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, and Chicago P.D., and Law & Order and Law & Order: SVU, presumably reuniting it with its previously-punted brethren Law & Order: Organized Crime. In fact, Organized Crime may be returning to the fall schedule, at least in reruns, as reruns of the three shows will share a single Thursday 8 PM slot, changing off for however many weeks necessary. In addition, the new series Extended Family, starring Jon Cryer and Donald Faison and originally set to follow Night Court on Tuesdays at 8:30 PM, is moving with it to midseason. They join Lopez vs. Lopez and La Brea as held scripted series, while Deal or No Deal Island, Password, and an America’s Got Talent spinoff await on the unscripted side.
In relief, the Magnum P.I. reboot’s fifth and final season, which wrapped filming in April, has been called up to take on Wednesdays in the Chicago franchise’s place, and taken the Quantum Leap revival from its Tuesday assignment to join it. Starting October 4 (because the week before is dedicated to wrapping up America’s Got Talent’s season) Quantum Leap airs at 9 and Magnum P.I. at 10 PM, following a rerun from the Chicago franchise at 8, identically to Law & Order. Mondays, with The Voice and The Irrational starting September 25, remains intact because the latter’s filming has log been complete. Its series premiere gets a rerun after the People’s Choice Country Awards on Thursday, September 28. On the following Thursday, airing after the Law & Order rerun is the Canadian import medical drama Transplant, which once served as pandemic programming supply, now in season 3. Dateline will seemingly be airing on Thursdays starting that night as well as Fridays from the week before. You may have noticed that Found is therefore no longer found on Thursdays as it takes the Tuesday 10 PM slot also after The Voice, starting October 3. The Voice’s second night will begin on the week before, September 26.
Two items left on opposite ends of the schedule. The NFL season kicks off on Thursday, September 7 with the first Sunday night game that weekend (September 10), both under the Sunday Night Football banner with Football Night In America accompaniment. The game show The Wall returns all the way on November 3. Saturday night college football is of course, unaffected as well. Oh, and the fates of Young Rock, American Auto, and Grand Crew? All canceled. They did pick up a new comedy in St. Denis Medical, starring Wendi McLendon-Covey and David Alan Grier.
Source: TVLine