2013-14 Upfront Presentations: NBC

Posted May 14 2013 by Kyle Russell with 0 Comments

Yesterday I mentioned NBC‘s bold strategy to go into next season with only two veteran comedies, that being Parks & Recreation and Community. It’s definitely not unheard of (ABC launched Modern Family using a similar tactic) but it’s a relatively uncommon tactic because it’s a pretty big gamble since there’s no guarantee that the new show will do any better or be any better than the old show. That said, NBC is/was in a pretty tough spot because even Community and Parks & Recreation aren’t exactly ratings juggernauts (it’s telling that both have been on the bubble for the past couple of years).

Well, NBC released their schedule for the 2013-14 season to advertisers yesterday and it contained a few surprises. The first of which is the fact that for the second year in a row (despite being renewed), Community is nowhere to be found. Much in the same way that CBS has used Rules of Engagement the past few years (before canceling it this year), Community will be used as a utility player, to be plugged into the schedule whenever one of their new shows falter. It’s counterpart, Parks & Recreation, is also in for a bit of a change as it moves up to Community‘s usual stopping grounds at 8:00pm*, kicking off their brand new comedy block. The issue with this is the fact that it will now go head-to-head with the highest rated comedy on TV in CBS’s The Big Bang Theory. Perhaps the biggest move, however, is that of freshman hit-then-disappointment Revolution which is moving from Mondays to Wednesdays. That means the coveted spot preceding The Voice now belongs to arguably the buzziest pilot of the season, The Blacklist. As you can tell below, that isn’t the only change but it is the most significant.

* – For the purposes of ease, any time listed is in Eastern Standard Time.

Here is the complete weekly schedule for NBC’s 2013-14 season (new shows in ALL CAPS followed by a teaser/trailer):

FALL 2013-14

MONDAY

8-10 PM – The Voice

10-11 PM – THE BLACKLIST

TUESDAY

8-9 PM – The Biggest Loser (New Day and Time)

9-10 PM – The Voice (New time)

10-11 PM – Chicago Fire (New Day and Time)

WEDNESDAY

8-9 PM – Revolution (New Day and Time)

9-10 PM – Law & Order: SVU

10-11 PM – IRONSIDE

THURSDAY

8-8:30 PM – Parks and Recreation (New time)

8:30-9 PM – WELCOME TO THE FAMILY

9-9:30 PM – SEAN SAVES THE WORLD

9:30-10 PM – THE MICHAEL J. FOX SHOW

10-11 PM – Parenthood (New Day and Time)

FRIDAY

8-9 PM – Dateline NBC

9-10 PM – Grimm

10-11 PM – DRACULA

SATURDAY

Encore programming

SUNDAY

7:00-8:15 PM – Football Night in America

8:15-11:30 PM – NBC Sunday Night Football

MIDSEASON 2013-14

MONDAY

8-10 PM – The Voice

10-11 PM – THE BLACKLIST

TUESDAY

8-9 PM – The Voice

9-9:30 PM – ABOUT A BOY

9:30-10 PM – THE FAMILY GUIDE

10-11 PM – Chicago Fire

WEDNESDAY

8-9 PM – Revolution

9-10 PM – Law & Order: SVU

10-11 PM – IRONSIDE

THURSDAY

8-8:30 PM – Parks and Recreation

8:30-9 PM – WELCOME TO THE FAMILY

9-9:30 PM – SEAN SAVES THE WORLD

9:30-10 PM – THE MICHAEL J. FOX SHOW

10-11 PM – Parenthood

FRIDAY

8-9 PM – Dateline NBC

9-10 PM – Grimm

10-11 PM – CROSSBONES

SATURDAY

8-10 PM – Encore and specials programming

10-11 PM – Saturday Night Live (Encore)

SUNDAY

7-8 PM. – Dateline NBC

8-9 PM – AMERICAN DREAM BUILDERS

9-10 PM. – BELIEVE

10-11 PM – CRISIS

We’ll provide more information and previews regarding some of the midseason shows as we get them. In the mean time, be on the lookout for more information from the other networks as that becomes available.

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @kyle_igr and the site @igresponsibly!