Wow! Not that the Upfront season isn’t usually an exciting time of year anyway. But NBC’s complete overhaul of their fall schedule yesterday sent shockwaves through the television industry that will be felt right into September. And all because of a former mid-season replacement called Grey’s Anatomy.
Basically, Aaron Sorkin wasn’t interested in the competition for his new drama Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. So Kevin Reilly, the President of NBC Entertainment, gave Mr. Sorkin his wish – moving Studio 60 to the much less vulnerable 10pm timeslot on Monday. Ironically, in the fallout of these sweeping changes, another NBC legend gets his feathers ruffled: Dick Wolf’s Law & Order moves to Friday. Ouch.
Predictably, though, the Studio 60 shift creates a domino effect that gives five nights of the week a facelift:
Monday
8 Deal or No Deal
9 Heroes
10 STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP (from Thursday)
Tuesday
8 Friday Night Lights
9 L&O: CI (from Friday)
10 L&O: SVU
Wednesday
8 20 GOOD YEARS (from 9)
8:30 30 ROCK (from 9:30)
9 THE BIGGEST LOSER (from 8)
10 KIDNAPPED (from Tuesday)
Thursday
8 My Name is Earl
8:30 The Office
9 DEAL OR NO DEAL (from Friday)
10 ER
Friday
8 CROSSING JORDAN (replacing Medium, from Monday)
9 Las Vegas
10 LAW & ORDER (from Wednesday)
Saturday
8 Dateline
9 Drama encores
Sunday
7 Football Night in America
8 Sunday Night Football
Strongest Night(s): Thursday
Weakest Night(s): Wednesday
First New Show to Go: Heroes
My Take: This really doesn’t change my opinion of their schedule as a whole. Thursday’s still NBC’s strongest night, and their weakest night becomes to Wednesday. It also reaffirms how desperately they need breakout hits.
