Upfronts: NBC's New Shows and 2015-16 Schedule
This article, Upfronts: NBC's New Shows and 2015-16 Schedule , originally appeared on Metacritic .
Updated 5/11
Our comprehensive coverage of the TV network upfront presentations this week in New York kicks off with a look at NBC's plans for the 2015-16 season. We'll have additional reports for the other networks each day this week. See more upfronts coverage...
Highlights and notes
The network once synonymous with TV comedy will air just two sitcoms (one new, one returning) this fall—both banished to Friday nights—and comedy will be completely absent from the network's Thursday night lineup for the first time in decades. Four additional comedies will join the lineup at midseason, including a revival of Coach that no one was clamoring for.
NBC is reviving one out-of-favor TV genre, however: the variety show, with a live weekly hour hosted by Neil Patrick Harris as well as the Ellen DeGeneres-produced, Steve Harvey-hosted Little Big Shots, featuring kid performers. (Another variety program with Maya Rudolph is reportedly in development.)
In addition to its five new comedies and at least one variety show, the network will launch seven dramas this season (including three at midseason). Highlights include a previously announced revival of Heroes called Heroes Reborn, and Greg Berlanti's thriller Blindspot. Details and trailers for all of NBC's new programs can be found below.
The new programs will be scattered throughout NBC's schedule, with only Wednesdays and (during football season) Sundays remaining intact from 2014-15.
After a successful one-time experiment this season, Undateable (NBC's only returning comedy) will be broadcast live for every episode in its 3rd season, becoming the first series to go to an all-live format in over 20 years.
NBC will once again air a live musical in the fall produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron. As previously announced, this year's selection is The Wiz. Stephanie Mills, who starred as Dorothy in the original Broadway production, is the only confirmed cast member so far.
The network also announced Coat of Many Colors, a new movie about the life of Dolly Parton expected to arrive during the holiday season, and The Reaper, a miniseries about American military sniper Sgt. Nicholas Irving and his deployment in Afghanistan.
Missing from NBC's 2015-16 schedule announcement were multiple previously announced projects. These include the just-ordered, Dick Wolf-produced reality series You the Jury, a new fitness series called S.T.R.O.N.G. from the creator of Biggest Loser, the Gavin Hood-directed crime anthology Manhunt, Ellen DeGeneres-produced reality hour First Dates, the Underground Railroad miniseries Freedom Run, a remake of Krzysztof Kieslowski's Ten Commandments-themed miniseries The Decalogue, and a revival of the network's canceled Wizard of Oz project Emerald City. Some or all of these projects could still wind up airing during the coming season. (More details may be coming on Monday during NBC's official upfront presentation.)
Renewed and canceled
NBC announced most of its renewals last week, canceling all but one (Undateable) comedy and several of its current dramas, including Constantine. However, several shows remain in limbo even after today's schedule announcement. Both A.D. The Bible Continues and American Odyssey will have one last chance to prove themselves, as the network will wait until their current seasons conclude before deciding whether to give each one another season, though renewal chances for the latter would appear to be slim. NBC also failed to announce the official status of The Slap, but since that program was billed as an "event series," it is presumed to be canceled. Note that The Mysteries of Laura is currently NBC's only newcomer from 2014-15 to survive to next season.
Scripted shows are in bold below.
Renewed
Canceled or Ended
Fate Uncertain
The Apprentice [Celebrity edition]
The Biggest Loser
The Blacklist
Chicago Fire
Chicago PD
Dateline NBC
Grimm
Law & Order: SVU
The Mysteries of Laura
The Night Shift
Undateable
The Voice
A to Z
About a Boy
Allegiance
Bad Judge
Constantine
Marry Me
Mission Control **
One Big Happy
Parenthood
Parks and Recreation
The Slap
State of Affairs
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt **
A.D. The Bible Continues
America's Got Talent*
American Ninja Warrior*
American Odyssey
Aquarius*
The Carmichael Show*
Food Fighters*
Hannibal*
Hollywood Game Night*
I Can Do That!*
The Island*
Last Comic Standing*
Mr. Robinson*
Running Wild with Bear Grylls*
Welcome to Sweden*
* Season debuts this summer; status will be determined after show airs.
** Canceled before airing any episodes (though Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt was moved to Netflix and renewed there).
NBC's 2015-16 primetime schedule
New programs are indicated in bold in the schedule below. All times are ET/PT unless otherwise indicated.
NBC Fall 2015 Schedule
8:00
8:30
9:00
9:30
10:00
10:30
SUN
Football Night in America (7:00p) **
Sunday Night Football (8:20p) **
MON
The Voice
Blindspot
TUE
The Voice (results)
Heartbreaker
Best Time Ever With Neil Patrick Harris †
WED
The Mysteries of Laura
Law & Order: SVU
Chicago PD
THU
Heroes Reborn
The Blacklist
The Player
FRI
Undateable *
People Are Talking
Grimm
Dateline *
SAT
Dateline Saturday Night Mystery
Saturday Night Live encores
* New day and/or time
** NBC's Sunday night NFL programming airs live nationwide beginning at 7 ET / 4 PT for the pre-game show.
† Chicago Fire will take over the Tuesday 10p timeslot beginning in November.
Midseason debuts that do not yet have a day/time:
The Biggest Loser, The Celebrity Apprentice, Chicago Med, Coach, Crowded, Game of Silence, Hot & Bothered, The Night Shift, Shades of Blue, Superstore, and You Me & The End of the World.
NBC's new shows at a glance
The 15 first-year series ordered for NBC's 2015-16 season are detailed below. Pilots that did not get picked up include UK comedy remake Cuckoo, an adaptation of the movie Problem Child, the Jimmy Fallon-produced workplace comedy Sharing, the modern relationship drama Love Is a Four Letter Word, and the supernatural dramas Unveiled and Warrior.
Best Time Ever With Neil Patrick Harris
VARIETY Tuesdays at 10p
This live weekly variety program (one of an usually high number of live entries in NBC's 2015-16 lineup, including the comedy Undateable and the one-time event The Wiz) is an Americanized version of the long-running British series Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway. The show, which will air only until November (when returning drama Chicago Fire will assume its Tuesday night slot), blends comedy sketches, pranks, stunts, musical numbers, and game show elements.
Blindspot
DRAMA Mondays at 10p
Given the prime post-Voice time period on Monday nights, fall's fourth hour of TV from producer Greg Berlanti (he also has Arrow, The Flash, and The Mysteries of Laura) is a conspiracy thriller that begins when a tattoo-covered woman is discovered naked in Times Square with no knowledge of who she is or how she got there. Things get more interesting when officials discover the name of an FBI agent tattooed on her back. Jaimie Alexander (Thor) and Sullivan Stapleton (Strike Back) head the cast, while Mark Pellington (Arlington Road) directs the pilot and produces. Blindspot is reportedly the one new NBC fall program that seemed to go over well at the network's upfront presentation, and the one the network itself seems to have the most optimism for.
Chicago Med
DRAMA tbd midseason
The third entry in Dick Wolf's growing Chicago empire (following Chicago Fire and Chicago PD) was already previewed in an episode of the former in April, which featured future Med stars Laurie Holden, Oliver Platt, S. Epatha Merkerson, Nick Gehlfuss, and Yaya Dacosta. Additional casting has not yet been announced.
Coach
COMEDY tbd midseason
Reuniting with series creator Barry Kemp, Craig T. Nelson reprises his Emmy-winning role of Hayden Fox in this 13-episode revival of the sitcom that aired on ABC for nine seasons beginning in 1989. NBC ordered the comedy without shooting a pilot or seeing a script, so there aren't any other names attached at this point, but Nelson is expected to be the only returning actor from the original series. The new show will pick up 18 years later, with Fox now retired and working as an assistant coach for his now-grown son, who has just taken a job coaching at an Ivy League school where athletics isn't exactly a priority.
Crowded
COMEDY tbd midseason
Mike and Martina (Patrick Warburton and Carrie Preston, reportedly great together in the pilot) star as new (and happy) empty nesters who lose their newfound freedom when their two adult daughters unexpectedly move back home and Mike's parents also come looking for a place to live. Miranda Cosgrove and Stacy Keach also star in this midseason multi-camera comedy from Hot in Cleveland creator Suzanne Martin.
Game of Silence
DRAMA tbd midseason
CSI producer Carol Mendelsohn and Parenthood and Friday Night Lights writer David Hudgins are behind this 10-episode drama adaptation of the award-winning Turkish series Suskunlar (which in turn was inspired by the novel Sleepers, which was previously adapted by Barry Levinson). Said to be a darker, cable-style series, the Atlanta-set Game of Silence centers on a promising young attorney (David Lyons, Revolution) whose career is suddenly threatened by the return of a dark secret from his past. Larenz Tate and Michael Raymond-James also star, while Niels Arden Oplev (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) directs the pilot.
Heartbreaker
DRAMA Tuesdays at 9p
Originally called Heart Matters, this new medical drama blends romance and heart surgery, as you no doubt have already guessed from the title and the photo. Melissa George (The Slap, Grey's Anatomy) stars as a world-famous heart-transplant surgeon—inspired by the true story of Dr. Kathy Magliato, one of the few women in her field—in a drama that also spends time focusing on her "racy personal life." Dave Annable, Don Hany, Shelley Conn, D.L. Hughley, and Jamie Kennedy also star for creator Jill Gordon (The Wonder Years, My So-Called Life).
Heroes Reborn
DRAMA Thursdays at 8p
Originally announced prior to the 2014-15 season, this revival of the one-time hit superhero drama Heroes from Tim Kring (who returns to write/produce) will finally appear this fall as a 13-episode event series. Jack Coleman (who played Noah Bennet), Masi Oka (Hiro Nakamura), and Jimmy Jean-Louis ("The Haitian") are the only confirmed stars reprising their roles from the original series, while new cast members include Zachary Levi (Chuck), Robbie Kay (Once Upon a Time), Pruitt Taylor Vince (True Blood), and Ryan Guzman (Step Up: All In).
Hot & Bothered
COMEDY tbd midseason
Formerly known as Telenovela, this Eva Longoria-starring comedy received a 13-episode order prior to shooting a pilot. Longoria, in her first regular TV role since Desperate Housewives, plays the star of a hit Latin American telenovela series where the on-screen craziness is no match for the antics behind the scenes and in her personal life. The series was created by Cougar Town's Chrissy Pietrosh and Jessica Goldstein (from an idea by Longoria), and will be produced by Happy Endings vets Josh Bycel and Jonathan Fener.
Little Big Shots
VARIETY tbd midseason
This eight-episode, Ellen DeGeneres-produced variety series will showcase talented children from across the country. In addition to the song and dance performances, the series will feature "hilarious" conversations between the kids and host Steve Harvey. (Hilarity not guaranteed.)
People Are Talking
COMEDY Fridays at 8:30p
NBC's lone new sitcom this fall comes from DJ Nash, creator of such middling, short-lived NBC fare as Growing Up Fisher, Guys With Kids, and Up All Night. The "unabashed" comedy centers on two "wildly outspoken" couples who are neighbors and friends and apparently like to talk about "sex and race." Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Tone Bell (Bad Judge), and and Bresha Webb (Grey's Anatomy) star, but the fourth part of the pilot's quartet, Meaghan Rath, will be replaced, as her other show, The Guide to Surviving Life, was ordered to series by Fox.
The Player
DRAMA Thursdays at 10p
Originally titled Endgame, The Player comes from Leverage and The Librarians creator John Rogers and shares producers with The Blacklist, which precedes it on Thursday nights. Wesley Snipes (United States v. Wesley Trent Snipes) and Philip Winchester (Strike Back) star in this Las Vegas-set action-thriller about a somewhat sinister organization of wealthy men who hire a former military operative (Winchester, who reportedly was terrific in the pilot) to prevent a series of major crimes from playing out, while wagering on his success. Oh, and he's also seeking revenge for the death of his wife.
Shades of Blue
DRAMA tbd midseason
Jennifer Lopez (yes, the one you're thinking of) takes on her first regular TV drama starring role as a single mother and police detective who is enlisted by the FBI for an undercover investigation of her own squad after she falls in with a group of dirty cops. Ray Liotta, Drea de Matteo, Vincent Laresca (24), and Dayo Okeniyi (The Hunger Games) also star for creator Adi Hasak (3 Days to Kill). NBC ordered 13 episodes—over a year ago—without shooting a pilot, and the series will finally make its way to the small screen sometime in 2016.
Superstore
COMEDY tbd midseason
This single-camera workplace comedy is set in a Wal-Mart-like megastore. America Ferrara (Ugly Betty) and Ben Feldman (A to Z) head an ensemble that also includes Mark McKinney (The Kids in the Hall) and Lauren Ash (Super Fun Night). The series comes from Justin Spitzer, a former producer on The Office whose numerous previous TV projects never made it to air.
You, Me & The End of the World
COMEDY/DRAMA tbd midseason
NBC's most promising new comedy(-ish) entry is actually a co-production with the UK's Sky 1 (it's titled Apocalypse Slough across the pond, where it will likely air first). The 10-episode dramedy event series is set in the days after it is revealed that a massive comet is on a collision course with Earth and will wipe out nearly all life on the planet. A diverse group of people—including a foul-mouth priest played by Rob Lowe, Jenna Fischer (as a mild mannered bank manager), Megan Mullally (playing an unhinged white supremacist), Mathew Baynton, and Patterson Joseph—hunker down in a bunker east of London to watch the end of the world on TV and eke out a new society. The series comes from Beaver Falls creator Iain Hollands.
More coverage of the 2015-16 upfront presentations ...
