NBC, Fox, ABC share when your favorite TV shows are returning

Lindsay Lowe and Liz Calvario
·6 min read
4

Hollywood actors are getting back to work.

After 118 days on strike, the national board of SAG-AFTRA, the union representing more than 150,000 film and television performers, voted to approve a deal with Hollywood studios on Nov. 10 — meaning actors were able to resume working and return to productions that had been stopped.

SAG-AFTRA went on strike in mid-July after failing to reach a deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), a group that represents major Hollywood studios. (Comcast — the corporation that owns TODAY’s parent company, NBCUniversal — is one of the entertainment companies represented by the AMPTP.)

The SAG-AFTRA strike overlapped with the Writers Guild of America strike, which began in May and ended in September, resulting in a rare "double strike."

Both groups had similar demands, including higher pay, updated contracts and protections around the use of artificial intelligence.

The tentative agreement between SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP includes compensation increases, protections for performers “from the threat of AI,” among other provisions, the guild’s negotiating committee said in a statement on Nov. 8.

During both the actors and writers strikes, the production of movies and television series ground to a halt. Now, with both strikes over, here’s what to know about the return of fall TV shows.

When are TV shows coming back?

Broadcast series are likely to be the first projects to go back into production. Many shows will resume filming in late November or early December, according to Deadline.

In a release on Nov. 16, ABC confirmed many of its shows will return in early 2024. NBC also released its midseason schedule on Nov. 20 and FOX confirmed its premiere dates on Nov. 21.

Saturday, Dec. 23

  • 8:00 p.m. — "Extended Family" (Series premiere)

  • 8:30 p.m. — "Night Court" (Special holiday episode)

Monday, Jan. 1

Tuesday, Jan. 2

  • 8:00 p.m. — "Night Court" (Time period premiere)

  • 8:00 p.m. — “Celebrity Name that Tune”

  • 8:30 p.m. — "Extended Family" (Time period premiere)

  • 9:00 p.m. — "The Floor"

Wednesday, Jan. 3

  • 8:00 p.m. — "I Can See Your Voice"

  • 9:00 p.m. — "We Are Family"

Sunday, Jan. 7

  • 5:00 p.m. PT/8:00 p.m. ET — "Grimsburg" (Live to all time zones)

  • 5:30 p.m. PT/8:30 p.m. ET — "Krapopolis" (Live to all time zones)

  • 9:00 p.m. — "Bob’s Burgers"

  • 9: 30 p.m. — "The Great North"

Tuesday, Jan. 9

  • 9:00 p.m. — "La Brea" (Season premiere)

  • 10:00 p.m. — "Found" (Final two episodes of season)

Wednesday, Jan. 17

  • 8:00 p.m. — "Chicago Med" (Season premiere)

  • 9:00 p.m. — "Chicago Fire" (Season premiere)

  • 10:00 p.m. — "Chicago P.D." (Season premiere)

Thursday, Jan. 18

  • 8:00 p.m. — "Law & Order" (Season premiere)

  • 9:00 p.m. — "Law & Order: SVU" (Season premiere)

  • 10:00 p.m. — "Law & Order: Organized Crime" (Season premiere)

Friday, Jan. 19

  • 8:00 p.m. — "Transplant" (Time period premiere)

Monday, Jan. 22

  • 8:00 p.m. — “The Bachelor”

  • 8:00 p.m. — "TMZ Investigates"

  • 9:00 p.m. — "America’s Most Wanted"

  • 10:01 p.m — “20/20”

Sunday, Jan. 28

  • 7:00 p.m. PT/10:00 p.m. ET — "Next Level Chef" (Season Three special preview)

Monday, Jan. 29

  • 10:00 p.m. — "The Irrational" (Final four episodes of season)

Thursday, Feb. 1

  • 8:00 p.m. — “Next Level Chef” (Time period premiere)

  • 9:00 p.m. — "Farmer Wants a Wife"

Wednesday, Feb. 7

  • 8:00 p.m. — “The Conners”

  • 8:30 p.m. — “Not Dead Yet”

  • 9:00 p.m. —“Abbott Elementary” (One-hour premiere)

  • 10:00 p.m. — “Judge Steve Harvey”

Sunday, Feb. 18

  • 8:00 p.m. — “American Idol” (Two-hour premiere)

  • 8:00 p.m. — "The Simpsons"

  • 8:30 p.m.— "Krapopolis"

  • 9:00 p.m. — "The Great North" (Time period premiere)

  • 9:30 p.m. — "Grimsburg" (Time period premiere)

  • 10:00 p.m. — “What Would You Do?”

Tuesday, Feb. 20

  • 8:00 p.m. — “Will Trent”

  • 9:00 p.m. — “The Rookie”

  • 10:00 p.m. — “The Good Doctor”

Monday, Feb. 26

  • 8:00 p.m. — "The Voice" (Season premiere, part 1)

  • 9:30 p.m. — "Deal or No Deal Island" (Season premiere)

Tuesday, Feb. 27

  • 8:00 p.m. — "The Voice" (Season premiere, part 2)

Monday, Mar. 4

  • 10:00 p.m. — “Deal or No Deal Island” (Time period premiere)

Tuesday, Mar. 5

  • 8:00 p.m. — "The Cleaning Lady"

  • 9:00 p.m. — "Alert: Missing Persons Unit"

Wednesday, Mar. 6

  • 8:00 p.m. — "The Masked Singer"

  • 9:00 p.m. — "Animal Control"

  • 9:30 p.m. — "Family Guy"

Thursday, Mar. 14

  • 8:00 p.m. — “9-1-1”

  • 9:00 p.m. — “Grey’s Anatomy” (A possible shortened 10-episode season)

  • 10:00 p.m. —“Station 19”

Many shows are heading back to production

Wolf Entertainment, which produces the “Law & Order” and “One Chicago” franchises on NBC, and the “FBI” franchise on CBS, is set to begin production on Nov. 27, Deadline reported. This means that the shows could still have 13-episode seasons.

Warren Leight, the former longtime showrunner of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” shared his prediction about the return of “Law & Order: SVU.”

“My guess, #SVU fans, is that SVU manages to salvage a 13 episode season,” Leight wrote on the X platform on Nov. 8. “So glad the entire SVU cast and crew can get back to work. Congratulations @SagAftra for walking these many months. #Solidarity.”

Other shows will likely begin filming in early 2024.

Mike White, the creator of HBO’s “White Lotus,” told Entertainment Weekly in an Nov. 7 interview that the show’s third season would begin filming “at the beginning of the year.”

“It’s going to be a supersized ‘White Lotus,’” he added. “It’s going to be longer, bigger, crazier.”’

While studios prioritize existing shows, new series may take longer than planned to see the light of day. According to Deadline, many new scripted shows that were scheduled for release in the 2023/2024 season will be pushed to fall 2024.

How long have Hollywood writers been back at work?

The Writers Guild of America strike ended on Sept. 27, 2023, marking the end of a five-month strike.

When writers returned to work this fall, many networks prioritized projects that had already been close to finished before the strike began, according to Vanity Fair.

For instance, the writers room for Season Four of Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building” reopened on Oct. 9, the show’s co-creator, John Hoffman, told TVLine.

Craig Mazin, the showrunner of HBO’s “The Last of Us,” also shared his excitement about resuming writing on the series as soon as the WGA strike ended.

“Very proud of the WGA and its membership, and excited to get back to work on The Last of Us Season 2,” he wrote on the Threads platform in late September. “The strike has not yet been officially lifted, but the second it is, we will spring into action!”

Writing for the Showtime series “Yellowjackets” also resumed in early October.

“Celebrating the official return of the Yellowjackets writers’ room at the Magic Castle, NATURALLY,” one of the drama’s creators, Ashley Lyle, wrote on the X platform on Oct. 5.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com