NBC Sets (Mostly) Strike-Proof Schedule for Fall 2023
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NBC will add three new scripted series to its primetime lineup for the start of the 2023-24 season — and since all three began production well before the writers strike, they’ll be ready to go right away even if writers (or other industry unions) are still on strike.
The network has done a significant amount of strike-proofing for its fall slate, such that six of seven nights will feature original programming even if the Writers Guild of America strike delays the usual summertime start of production on returning shows. NBC’s new series — dramas Found and The Irrational and comedy Extended Family — were all picked up outside the traditional development cycle and thus filmed several episodes each before writers struck on May 1. (Found was originally set to premiere in February before being pushed back to fall.) Unscripted shows The Voice and The Wall and sports on Saturday and Sunday nights will also help fill out the schedule.
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“We’re in a pretty good position with our schedule because over the last few years, we’ve moved into a year-round development and production cycle. A lot of the shows we have announced for the fall, we already have episodes produced,” Jeff Bader, president entertainment program planning strategy at NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, told The Hollywood Reporter. In addition to the three newcomers, Night Court and Quantum Leap — both of which scored early renewals — remained in production after wrapping their first seasons and will have new episodes ready for fall, Bader said.
The only exceptions to that on the fall slate are the five Dick Wolf-produced dramas on the fall slate: the three Chicago shows, which will remain on Wednesday nights, and the Law & Order/L&O: SVU block on Thursdays. Law & Order: Organized Crime is holding for later in the season and will run for 13 episodes, down from 22 for each of the past two seasons.
Should a prolonged strike delay the start of those series, Bader said NBC could move some programming set for midseason — including dramas Magnum P.I. and La Brea and game show Weakest Link — into the fall. Magnum and Weakest Link both have the second halves of 20-episode orders ready, and La Brea stayed in production after its second season concluded.
The missing-persons drama Found, from All American showrunner Nkechi Okoro Carroll, is set to follow SVU on Thursday nights in the fall. It stars Shanola Hampton (Shameless) as a PR specialist — who was once missing herself — who leads a team making sure that someone is always looking for forgotten missing people.
The Irrational, starring Jesse L. Martin, will follow The Voice on Monday nights. Extended Family, starring Jon Cryer and Abigail Spencer, will follow Night Court on Tuesday nights, with The Voice and season two of Quantum Leap rounding out the night. Wednesday remains the home of the three Chicago dramas. Game show The Wall will lead into Dateline on Fridays. NBC will also have a weekly slate of Big Ten or Notre Dame football games on Saturdays (which will also stream live on Peacock) and Sunday Night Football to close out the week.
Along with L&O: Organized Crime, the just renewed Lopez vs. Lopez, La Brea, Magnum P.I. and Canadian import Transplant are also set for later in the season, along with a second season of Password and a new iteration of the America’s Got Talent franchise (again, pending how labor actions in the industry play out). New shows for midseason and summer 2024 are Deal or No Deal Island — a twist on the game show that adds a dash of Survivor — and natural history series The Americas, produced by the BBC Studios Natural History Unit (Planet Earth, Blue Planet) and narrated by Tom Hanks.
NBC has yet to make a decision on renewals for three comedies — American Auto, Grand Crew and Young Rock — and its four pilots, comedies Non-Evil Twin and St. Denis Medical and dramas Wolf and an untitled murder-mystery show from Good Girls EPs Jenna Bans and Bill Krebs and starring Retta.
NBC’s schedule for the fall is below. All times are ET/PT unless noted, and new series are in italics.
Monday
8 p.m.: The Voice
10 p.m.: The Irrational
Tuesday
8 p.m.: Night Court
8:30 p.m.: Extended Family
9 p.m.: The Voice
10 p.m.: Quantum Leap
Wednesday
8 p.m.: Chicago Med
9 p.m.: Chicago Fire
10 p.m.: Chicago PD
Thursday
8 p.m.: Law & Order
9 p.m.: Law & Order: SVU
10 p.m.: Found
Friday
8 p.m.: The Wall
9 p.m.: Dateline
Saturday
7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT: Big Ten Saturday Night/Notre Dame Football
Sunday
7 p.m.: Football Night in America
8:20 p.m.: Sunday Night Football
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