NBC's 2013-14 Season: Michael J. Fox and Sean Hayes Back (in New Series) on Thursday Nights

NBC is not only trying to return to its Thursday night comedy glory next season, but the network has called on two former Thursday night comedy champs -- "Family Ties" star Michael J. Fox and "Will and Grace" star Sean Hayes -- to help.

[Related: See Which New Shows Are Joining the CBS Lineup This Fall]

NBC, which makes its presentation to advertisers and the media Monday morning in New York City, officially announced its fall 2013-14 over the weekend, and while Fox and Hayes lead NBC's new comedies, the network also called on stars from its past for a pair of high-profile dramas, including former "Office" star James Spader in "The Blacklist" (which will air Mondays at 10 PM after "The Voice") and "L.A. Law" alum Blair Underwood in an "Ironside" remake.

[Related: See Which New Shows Are Joining the Fox Lineup This Fall]

In all, NBC adds 14 new scripted series -- eight dramas and six comedies -- to its new-season roster, along with new reality series "The Million Second Quiz" and "American Dream Builders."

[Related: See Which New Shows Are Joining The CW Lineup This Fall]

Among the network's biggest scheduling switcheroos: "The Biggest Loser" moves to Tuesdays (from Monday); "Parenthood" moves from Tuesdays to Thursdays, where, along with the comedy lineup, NBC is pitching the schedule as a family-themed night; "Revolution" moves from Mondays to Wednesdays, with the goal of leading off an evening of strong dramas; and "Chicago Fire" -- which earned its own spinoff series in its freshman season -- moves from Wednesdays to Tuesdays at 10 PM, where NBC hopes it will benefit from lead-in "The Voice."

[Related: See Which New Shows Are Joining the ABC Lineup This Fall]

A description of the new NBC series, along with our first impressions about which ones might make our must-see list next fall:

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"Believe" (Drama)

Stars: Kyle MacLachlan, Delroy Lindo, Jake McLaughlin ("Crash"), Jamie Chung ("The Real World: San Diego," "Once Upon a Time"), and Johnny Sequoyah

Producers: Alfonso Cuaron, J.J. Abrams, and Bryan Burk

Plot: A young girl named Bo (Sequoyah) with special powers forms a friendship with Tate (McLaughlin), a man just released from prison, who travels with her from city to city (like "Kung Fu"? Or "Highway to Heaven"?) while they try to avoid the evil forces who want to control Bo's powers.

First Impression: "Children of Men" Oscar nominee Cuaron and frequent futuristic-themed project collaborators Abrams and Burk are the go-to guys in this arena, but between this and "About a Boy," NBC may have one too many series involving pseudo-creepy relationships between adults and children on its fall schedule.

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"The Blacklist" (Drama)

Stars: James Spader, Diego Klattenhoff ("Homeland"), Harry Lennix ("Dollhouse" and "24"), Ryan Eggold ("90210"), and Megan Boone ("Law & Order: LA")

Producers: John Eisendrath ("Alias"), while the pilot was directed by Joe Carnahan ("The A-Team")

Plot: Spader is Red Reddington, one of the FBI's most wanted fugitives, who has spent years helping other criminals get their evildoing done. Suddenly, he decides to turn himself in to the FBI, with the offer of helping the agency catch a terrorist and assorted other baddies, but only if he can work with newbie FBI agent Liz Keen (Boone). What are his real motivations, and why has he chosen Keen as his contact?

First Impression: Spader as a complicated bad guy (or is he?!) who's supposed to be a little creepy? Our only question is, what took the networks so long to cast him as such?

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"Chicago PD" (Drama)

Stars: "Chicago Fire" stars Jason Beghe, and Jon Seda

Producer: "Law & Order" papa Dick Wolf

Plot: The "Chicago Fire" spinoff revolves around the Chicago cops -- both the unformed patrol officers and the Intelligence Unit detectives -- who watch over the citizens of District 21.

First Impression: You just can't keep Wolf away from the legal dramas … but are viewers looking for yet another Dick Wolf/NBC cop show?

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"Crisis" (Drama)

Stars: Dermot Mulroney, Gillian Anderson, Max Martini ("Revenge"), Michael Beach ("The Client List"), Rachael Taylor ("666 Park Avenue"), and James Lafferty ("One Tree Hill")

Producers: "Life" producers Rand Ravich and Far Shariat; Phillip Noyce ("Salt") directed the pilot.

Plot: Washington's most powerful players, including the president, are pulled into an international conspiracy when a group of kids from a D.C. prep school are kidnapped.

[Related: Dylan McDermott vs. Dermot Mulroney -- Do You Know Who Is Who?]

First Impression: We love a good conspiracy drama, and it'll be great to see Mulroney on TV every week, though we can't help but think this is the exact sort of situation Jack Bauer would be all over. Does Mulroney have Bauer-esque chops?

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"Crossbones" (Drama)

Stars: John Malkovich

Producers: Neil Cross ("Luther"), Walter F. Parkes and Laurie MacDonald ("Men in Black"), and Ted Gold ("Three Rivers")

Plot: It's 1715 on the Bahamian island of New Providence, and the pirate Blackbeard (Malkovich) rules! But he's got an undercover assassin hot on his trail and a "passionately driven woman whom he cannot deny."

First Impression: It's a limited series -- it will replace "Dracula" at midseason -- which only adds to the vibe that it's going to make for fun, event programming-type viewing.

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"Dracula" (Drama)

Stars: Jonathan Rhys Meyers ("The Tudors"), Victoria Smurfit ("About a Boy"), Thomas Kretschmann ("King Kong"), Jessica De Gouw ("Arrow"), Oliver Jackson-Cohen ("Mr. Selfridge"), Nonso Anozie ("Game of Thrones"), and Katie McGrath ("Merlin")

Producers: Daniel Knauf ("Carnivale"), Tony Krantz ("24,"), and Colin Callender and Gareth Neame ("Downton Abbey")

Plot: Rhys Meyers is Dracula, who travels to London and pretends to be an American businessman in the late 19th century. But he has another agenda for his trip: revenge! He wants payback from the people who cursed him with immortality, and all seems to be going according to his plan, until he falls for a woman who might be the reincarnation of his dead wife.

First Impression: See "Crossbones"; we love the idea of two extended miniseries, each airing half the season. Let's hope it becomes a regular part of NBC's programming plans, especially if it would continue to attract great stories and fine stars like John Malkovich and Rhys Meyers to primetime.

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"Ironside" (Drama)

Stars: Blair Underwood, Pablo Schreiber ("The Wire"), Spencer Grammer ("Greek"), Neal Bledsoe ("Smash"), Brent Sexton ("Justified"), and Kenneth Choi ("Sons of Anarchy")

Producer: Michael Caleo ("The Sopranos" and "Rescue Me")

Plot: Underwood is the titular wheelchair-bound Robert Ironside, who does not allow his wheelchair to affect his work as a top police detective.

First Impression: It's about time someone remade this classic 1967-75 Raymond Burr series (which also aired on NBC), and "L.A. Law" alum Underwood is a great choice for playing the tough, and now sexy, detective.

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"The Night Shift" (Drama)

Stars: Freddy Rodriguez ("Six Feet Under"), Ken Leung ("Lost"), Brigid Brannagh ("Army Wives"), Eoin Macken ("Merlin"), Jeananne Goossen ("The Following"), Jill Flint ("The Good Wife"), Brendan Fehr ("Roswell"), and Robert Bailey, Jr. ("Wanda at Large")

Producers: "Freaks and Geeks" producers Gabe Sachs and Jeff Judah; pilot directed by Pierre Morel ("Taken").

Plot: Follows the medical staff who work the night shift at a San Antonio hospital.

First Impression: The "Freaks and Geeks" connection is interesting, but otherwise … eh.

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NEXT: Preview the new comedies from Fox and Hayes, and see NBC's full fall 2013 schedule.

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"About a Boy" (Comedy)

Stars: David Walton ("Bent," "New Girl"), Minnie Driver, and Benjamin Stockham ("1600 Penn")

Producers: Jason Katims ("Parenthood") and Robert De Niro, with the pilot directed by Jon Favreau.

Plot: Based on the Nick Hornby novel and Hugh Grant movie, the series revolves around the friendship between an immature man and the young boy who lives next door with his crazy single mom.

First Impression: Walton could justifiably be included on a list of showkiller actors, and we wonder how interested viewers will be in a TV show based on a movie that's more than a decade old and not exactly all over the pop culture radar. On the other hand, Katims has the successful movie-to-TV adaptations of "Friday Night Lights" and "Parenthood" on his resume, so there is certainly the possibility that he'll wring a fresh new drama out of this story, too.

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"The Family Guide" (Comedy)

Stars: J.K. Simmons ("The Closer"), Ava Deluca-Verley ("Southland"), and Eli Baker. NOTE: Parker Posey starred in the pilot episode, but The Hollywood Reporter reports she has since quit the series and producers are looking for a new female lead.

Producers: DJ Nash ("Guys With Kids" and "Up All Night") and Jason Bateman; "Friends" star David Schwimmer directed the pilot.

Plot: TBD lead actress and Simmons are quirky parents -- she's decided to redo the adolescence she feels she missed out on, and he's blind, but still plays football and teaches his daughter how to drive -- who shake up their kids' lives and ultimately make the family closer when they get divorced. Producer Bateman provides narration (the story's told in flashbacks) as the adult version of the couple's son, who's 11 years old in the series.

First Impression: It seems like a pretty straightforward coming-of-age comedy (even a bit "Wonder Years"-y with the narration), which, with Posey and Simmons as the leads and Bateman's voiceover, sounded just fine to us. But will producers find the perfect actress to replace Posey as the quirky mom?

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"The Michael J. Fox Show" (Comedy)

Stars: Michael J. Fox, Betsy Brandt ("Breaking Bad"), Wendell Pierce ("The Wire"), Conor Romero ("Person of Interest"), Jack Gore, Juliette Goglia ("Vanished"), Katie Finneran ("I Hate My Teenage Daughter"), and Ana Nogueira ("Blue Bloods")

Producers: Sam Laybourne ("Cougar Town"), Will Gluck ("Easy A"), and Michael J. Fox

Plot: Beloved New York City news anchor Mike (Fox) retired to spend more time with his family and focus on his health after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Five years later, the kids are growing up, his health is stable, and he's gotten restless, so he returns to work.

[Related: See Photos of Michael J. Fox on the Set of His New NBC Comedy]

First Impression: Nothing happening in the new fall season makes for happier news than Michael J. Fox's return as the star of a primetime comedy, and, as the above preview clip promises, he's bringing his comedy A game.

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"Sean Saves the World" (Comedy)

Stars: Sean Hayes, Linda Lavin ("Alice"), Thomas Lennon ("Reno 911!"), Lindsay Sloane ("Weeds"), Sami Isler, and Vik Sahay ("Chuck")

Producers: Hayes, Victor Fresco ("Mad About You"), and Todd Milliner ("Hot in Cleveland"), with James Burrows directing the pilot.

Plot: Hayes is Sean, a divorced gay dad whose 14-year-old daughter moves in with him, just as he gets a demanding new boss, forcing him to deal with work pressures and the interference of his pushy mother (Lavin) while he's trying to be the perfect dad.

First Impression: Jack McFarland will be the most fun dad ever!

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"Undateable" (Comedy)

Stars: Chris D'Elia ("Whitney") and Bianca Kajlich ("Rules of Engagement")

Producer: Bill Lawrence ("Cougar Town" and "Scrubs")

Plot: D'Elia is a slacker whose new roommate enters his life with a group of friends who are romantically challenged.

First Impression: It's too easy, we know, but D'Elia's last sitcom -- the mercifully canceled "Whitney" -- was unwatchable, which could also end up being the title of this comedy unless, say, Channing Tatum signed on to play the roommate (spoiler alert: he didn't).

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"Welcome to the Family" (Comedy)

Stars: Mike O'Malley ("Glee" and "Justified"), Justina Machado ("Six Feet Under"), Mary McCormack ("In Plain Sight"), Richard Chavira ("Desperate Housewives"), Ella Rae Peck ("Deception"), and Joey Haro ("Glee")

Producers: Mike Sikowitz ("Rules of Engagement")

Plot: Two college-bound high school seniors find out they're about to have a baby, which causes disappointment, culture clashes, and forced blending among their families.

First Impression: NBC execs have said they want to focus on broad comedies, which doesn't exactly spark confidence that this one will avoid devolving into cultural clichés. On the other hand, O'Malley was wonderful on "Glee" and guest star Emmy-worthy on "Justified," so "Family" can't be written off.

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"Smash," "The New Normal," "Rock Center with Brian Williams," "Whitney," "Up All Night," "Guys With Kids," "Go On," "Animal Practice," "Deception," "Do No Harm," "Mockingbird Lane," "Ready for Love," and "1600 Penn" were canceled, while "The Office" ends its nine-season run on May 16 and "Celebrity Apprentice" and "Hannibal" remain in limbo for renewals.

[Related: Shows That Won't Be Back This Fall]

NBC FALL 2013-14 SCHEDULE

(All times ET)

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

NBC MIDSEASON 2013-14 SCHEDULE

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY