Just ahead of its 5/17 upfront presentation in NYC 5/17, NBC announced Sunday its 2010-11 primetime schedule that features five new comedies, seven new dramas and one new alternative program, including shows from J.J. Abrams, Jerry Bruckheimer and David E. Kelley, among others. Shari Anne Brill, Industry Analyst and former SVP/Director of Programming and Strategic Audience Analysis for Carat, is attending the NBC upfront, along with others this week and reporting exclusively for RBR-TVBR.
The NBC series include new comedies such as “Outsourced,” “Love Bites,” “Perfect Couples,” “Friends With Benefits” and “The Paul Reiser Show.” The new dramas are “The Cape,” “Harry’s Law,” “Outlaw,” “Undercovers,” “The Event,” “Chase” and “Law & Order: Los Angeles (see related story).”
The schedule also features all-drama lineups on Mondays and Wednesdays and five comedies on Thursdays. Tuesdays will continue to combine the similar appeal of “The Biggest Loser” with “Parenthood,” and Fridays will team “Who Do You Think You Are?” and the new series “School Pride” with “Dateline NBC” and the new legal drama “Outlaw.”
NBC will broadcast a 35th anniversary “Saturday Night Live” special that will celebrate the iconic late-night series’ long and eventful run on NBC since 1975.
The announcements were made by Jeff Gaspin, Chairman, NBC Universal Television Entertainment, and Angela Bromstad, President, Primetime Entertainment, NBC and Universal Media Studios.
“This new schedule brings NBC back to basics with its commitment to quality scripted programming,” said Gaspin. “Our new shows are distinctive and feature a combination of the biggest talent, the brightest new stars and the strongest auspices in television. With this new schedule, we’re poised to take the next step toward our long-term goals with a lineup that has stabilized and has been building solid momentum through the second half of the season.”
On Mondays (all times ET), NBC leads off with “Chuck” from 8-9 p.m., followed by two new and intense hour-long dramas – “The Event” (9-10 p.m.) and “Chase” (10-11 p.m.—see related story for more detail). Then on Tuesdays, NBC returns with its powerful stories from the hit alternative series “The Biggest Loser” (8-10 p.m.) and finishes the night with the acclaimed family drama “Parenthood” (10-11 p.m.).
NBC’s Wednesday night features three hours of drama programming beginning with the new series “Undercovers” from J.J. Abrams (8-9 p.m.), “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (9-10 p.m.) and the new “Law & Order: Los Angeles” at 10-11 p.m. concludes the night.
Primetime Thursdays feature wall-to-wall comedy as this season’s freshman sensation “Community” continues at 8-8:30 p.m. followed by the Emmy Award-winning “30 Rock” (8:30-9 p.m.). The Emmy-winning “The Office” continues 9-9:30 p.m. and will be followed by the new comedy “Outsourced” (9:30-10 p.m.). Now NBC’s comedy fans get an extra round of laughs when the new, hour-long comedy “Love Bites” debuts at 10-11 p.m. “Parks and Recreation” will return to Thursdays later in the season to give the night more original programming.
Fridays come alive with a fresh mix of reality, news and a new scripted drama as the popular “Who Do You Think You Are?” returns at 8-9 p.m. where it shares the time period with “School Pride” — a new, proactive and inspiring series about rebuilding a community’s schools. “Dateline NBC” continues at 9-10 p.m. with its compelling personal stories. The workweek ends with “Outlaw,” a new courtroom drama featuring Emmy winner Jimmy Smits as a former U.S. Supreme Court justice.
“NBC Sunday Night Football” reigns supreme again on Sundays (8:15-11:30 p.m.) preceded by “Football Night in America” (7-8:15 p.m.). Sundays beginning March 2011, the popular competition series “Minute to Win It” returns (8-9 p.m.) followed by “The Celebrity Apprentice” (9-11 p.m.)
The new series “The Cape,” “Friends With Benefits,” “Perfect Couples,” “Harry’s Law” and “The Paul Reiser Show” (see related story) will premiere later in the season along with a new version of “The Apprentice” “The Marriage Ref” and the new series “America’s Next Great Restaurant” — starring acclaimed celebrity chef/restaurateur Bobby Flay.
NBC FALL 2010 SCHEDULE
*New programs in UPPER CASE; all times ET
MONDAY
8-9 p.m. – “Chuck”
9-10 p.m. – “THE EVENT”
10-11 p.m. – “CHASE”
TUESDAY
8-10 p.m. – “The Biggest Loser”
10-11 p.m. – “Parenthood”
WEDNESDAY
8-9 p.m. – “UNDERCOVERS”
9-10 p.m. – “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”
10-11 p.m. – “LAW & ORDER: LOS ANGELES”
THURSDAY
8- 8:30 p.m. – “Community”
8:30-9 p.m. – “30 Rock”
9-9:30 p.m. – “The Office”
9:30-10 p.m. – “OUTSOURCED”
10-11 p.m. – “LOVE BITES”
FRIDAY
8-9 p.m. – “Who Do You Think You Are?”/”SCHOOL PRIDE”
9-10 p.m. – “Dateline NBC”
10-11 p.m. – “OUTLAW”
SATURDAY
Encore programming
SUNDAY
7- 8:15 p.m. — “Football Night in America”
8:15-11:30 p.m. — “NBC Sunday Night Football”
SUNDAY (beginning March 2011)
7-8 p.m. – “Dateline NBC”
8-9 p.m. – “Minute to Win It”
9-11 p.m. – “The Celebrity Apprentice”
