Edit: Schedule Grid updated on 5/27/08 for NBC’s recent announcements.
Robert posted earlier about NBC’s entire new 2008-9 schedule. I wanted to compare the schedule just announced for Fall 2008 with the schedule for Fall 2007. For all the talk of change after the writers strike, they are surprisingly similar in structure. NBC’s Fall 2008 schedule doesn’t look all that different from its Fall 2007 schedule, in terms of new shows or reality shows.
Four new shows (and four hours of shows) (Chuck, Journeyman, Bionic Woman and Life) were introduced in Fall 2007 and four shows (and hours) will be introduced in Fall 2008 (My Own Worst Enemy, Kath & Kim, Knight Rider, Crusoe). I’m not going to count the 3 special SNL episodes to be broadcast on Thursdays as “new”.
There were 9 hours of unscripted programming in Fall 2007 (The Biggest Loser, Singing Bee, Deal or No Deal, Dateline, NFL Sunday Football). All our readers worried about a tsunami of reality shows can breath easier, there will be only 8.5 hours of unscripted programming in Fall 2008 with Singing Bee not returning.
Let’s not forget, NBC got absolutely crushed last Fall in the ratings, falling to nearly 20% below its Fall 2006 season to date ratings by early November . They actually began recovering once the writer’s strike began to have an effect. I don’t see anything in the announced schedule that would lead me to believe it will perform any differently and I would expect NBC to suffer badly again in Fall 2008. Good thing for Jeff Zucker he’s got the #1 primetime cable network.
Update: Stuart Elliot at the NY Times, writes that NBC Entertainment’s co-chair Ben Silverman is touting the family friendly nature of their schedule. It’s lots of nice words from Silverman, but it all boils down to only one change to NBC’s schedule from 8-9p in Fall 2008: Deal or No Deal gets moved to 9-10p, that’s it. But it all sounds so lovely when it’s couched as “Family Friendly”.
Update 2: And it’s also ‘adult themes at 10‘. The net result of that change? Nothing! Unless substituting My Own Worst Enemy for Journeyman is substantially more “adult”. More talk with no action from NBC!
NBC Fall 2007 Schedule Shows vs. Fall 2008 Schedule Shows
|
|
2007 |
2008 |
| Monday | ||
| 8-9p | CHUCK | Chuck |
| 9-10p | Heroes | Heroes |
| 10-11p | JOURNEYMAN | MY OWN WORST ENEMY |
| Tuesday | ||
| 8-9:30p | The Biggest Loser | The Biggest Loser (8-10p) |
| 9:30-10p | Singing Bee | |
| 10-11p | Law & Order:SVU | Law & Order:SVU |
| Wednesday | ||
| 8-9p | Deal or No Deal | KNIGHT RIDER |
| 9-10p | BIONIC WOMAN | Deal or No Deal |
| 10-11p | LIFE | Lipstick Jungle |
| Thursday | ||
| 8-8:30p | My Name Is Earl | My Name Is Earl |
| 8:30-9p | 30 Rock | 30 Rock |
| 9-9:30p | The Office | The Office |
| 9:30-10p | Scrubs | KATH & KIM |
| 10-11p | ER | ER |
| Friday | ||
| 8-9p | Deal or No Deal | CRUSOE |
| 9-10p | Friday Night Lights | AMERICA’S TOUGHEST JOBS |
| 10-11p | Las Vegas | Life |
| Saturday | ||
| 8-9p | Dateline NBC | Dateline NBC |
| 9-10p | Drama repeats | KNIGHT RIDER (repeats) |
| 10-11p | Drama repeats | Law & Order:SVU (repeats) |
| Sunday | ||
| 7-8pm | Football Night in America | Football Night in America |
| 8-11p | Sunday Night Football | Sunday Night Football |
Shows in BOLD CAPS are/were new, shows in italics are unscripted, 2007 shows in strikethrough did not return.
I didn’t think it was worthwhile to compare the announced Winter 2009 and future schedules to this years for two reasons. One, this years Winter and Spring schedules were somewhat cobbled together in response to the writers strike. Two, schedules announced so far in advance have a habit of changing.
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:58 pm
“Family Friendly” is the new black. And it’s Nielsen itself who seems to be pitching it. Bizarre.
I’d ask you to compare NBC’s viewers per screen to the other networks, but OF COURSE it will still be last. Unless you count the CW.
April 3rd, 2008 at 7:11 am
Glad to see Heroes is coming back. I read one article though that speculated an actor strike might actually do that series in. Hope that doesn’t happen. I’d really like to see that show get back some of the magic that made Season One so cool.
I’m also a bit surprised to see that NBC decided to bank on Knight Rider. The TV movie apparently got great ratings, but it wasn’t really that good. I wonder if they aren’t mistaking viewer curiosity for enthusiasm?
April 3rd, 2008 at 8:07 am
Heroes started to suck the moment Mr. Bryan Fuller left. Season 2 was a complete waste of time. But I watched it, and will continue to watch. But if they don’t get their act together…
FNL and Life in friday night deathslots. The two shows are NBC’s best 2 hours of quality TV in the schedule.
April 3rd, 2008 at 9:17 am
@Jack, Heroes, while #36 overall on a season-to-date basis, is #8 overall on an 18-49 basis with a 5.0 rating in that demo.
Other than Sunday Night Football (#5 in 18-49 demo), it was NBCs highest rated demo show.
April 3rd, 2008 at 9:37 am
Prediction: Knight Rider is the next Bionic Woman.
April 3rd, 2008 at 9:48 am
Bill, I agree. 100%. It’ll get canceled after the first 13 episodes. Maybe even before.
April 3rd, 2008 at 9:49 am
My big question - how bad would it be for those of us who like TSCC to have that show air against either Heroes or The Ford Commercial Hour a/k/a Knight Rider? I assume, of course, that Fox renews Terminator - and it had better. (Robert, if you have any new news or insights on TSCC’s renewal prospects, hook us up!)
I’d hate for the “baby” to get “split” and for TSCC to get canned in its second season because 1/3 of its core audience gets purloined by frickin’ Knight Rider….
April 3rd, 2008 at 9:50 am
Heroes key demo has always been its strong suit. Hopefully Season 3 wont be as bad as Season 2 (no more time wasting Hiro trips back in time please). Or even it could be in trouble. Its the same thing with Prison Break, even though its overall ratings are low it has a strong 18-49 demo. Also the same reason why Sarah Conner Chronicles will likely get another shot.
April 3rd, 2008 at 9:58 am
@Bill, I think you might be right, but they had to try with Knight Rider.
Outlander, I have no updates re: TSCC since last writing about it a couple of months ago. Our speculation is they bring it back, there’s some numeric basis for our conclusions, but it it is still speculation nonetheless.
While I didn’t love season two of Heroes, beyond the premiere, the ratings largely were consistent overall and across the demos. See:
http://tvbythenumbers.com/2007/11/18/heroes-ratings-2007-2007/1812
April 3rd, 2008 at 11:55 am
Is LAW & ORDER coming back ?
April 3rd, 2008 at 12:00 pm
yes, Wednesdays at 10p sometime in early 2009.
http://tvbythenumbers.com/2008/04/02/nbc-2008-2009-schedule-announced/3171
April 3rd, 2008 at 2:25 pm
I have to wonder if Knight Rider will even last as long as Bionic Woman. Has anyone seen any real positive buzz for it? I haven’t found one person who actually liked the movie.
April 3rd, 2008 at 2:51 pm
I think this will be like the reverse of Jericho. Nobody will admit they liked the show, you won’t be able to find anyone who claims to watch or like it, but the numbers will be good (at least at first).
not only did people watch the movie, it grew viewers as it sped along. But that was the movie and I think the Bionic Woman comparison apt. I won’t be surprised if KR has a similar fate as BW starting out good to strong and fading fast. But I think it will outlast BW and doubt anyone will try to create any controversy about what it airs against (BW aired against fellow newcomer Private Practice)
Though unlike BW, I don’t think there is any mystery at all about what the plots are going to be like.
April 4th, 2008 at 1:42 am
The thing I noticed about KR is that KITT is already using his full potential, no learning mode so no actual character development because he’s already capable of everything he will ever do. Not good for longevity. I think they should air TSCC in 2009 alongside 24. It will compete mostly against Chuck which I think it will eat alive. If they air it in the fall it will go up against Heroes which has similar fans but has more fans due to it’s longer run. Also it will have to grow out of Prison Break again and that show won’t help TSCC at all.
April 20th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
What about Las Vegas. That was a great show. Not having a series end show shows NBC has there heads up their A$$.
May 10th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
I am very disappointed in NBC for taking off Journeyman. I think that was one of the best 2007 shows.
May 13th, 2008 at 8:43 am
Where is the original Law and Order franchise in this lineup?
May 13th, 2008 at 10:26 am
Ellen, the original Law & Order is currrently slated to return in mid-season. To keep things relatively simple, I created the chart with only the proposed Fall schedule. Also, anything beyond the Fall start is subject to change based on results.
May 14th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Why did they cancel Las Vegas? It was a quality show that filled a friday slot.
May 14th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
What happened to Las Vegas? It was one of the very few shows I watched! Will we have an ending to the last show? If it does not come back I have no reason to watch NBC!!!
May 14th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
Las Vegas is done, sorry to the fans.
May 14th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
will nbc be renewed for 08
May 14th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
will medium be renewed on nbc for 08
what about womens murder club on abc
August 6th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
Why have Deal or no Deal only on once per week?
August 22nd, 2008 at 9:28 pm
law & order svu and law & order are returning but thank god er is going to be in its final season and las vegas got canceled
August 29th, 2008 at 11:28 pm
i was a viewer of nbc for many many yearsfrom their daytime dramas (dool,santa barbara,another world)
to family ties, cosby , cheers, frasier seinfeld, friends,law and order, and a host of others. More recently, scrubs, my name is earl , LIFE, HEROES, MEDIUM ,AND JOURNEYMAN. When i found out that Journeyman was cancelled i stopped watching nbc altogether. honestly it was rough but I cant support a network that would cancel such a great great show . Ionly watched the first episode because i had watched heroes and wanted to give Chuck and Journeyman a try. Chuck was at best so so and it was only so so because of the blonde leading lady, take her out and it sucks. Journeyman ,I thought at first would be predictable and boring . Boy was i wrong, I am glad i didnt change the channel .NBC as it turns out did that for me , way way way prematurely. It was truly a clever show kept you thinking and,for me reminising(sorry if its spelled wrong).Anyway , I guess I should thank NBC for reminding me that there are 3 other networks out there that want me to watch there shows too. thanks nbc
September 23rd, 2008 at 10:59 pm
I am also very disappointed that Journeyman didn’t make it back. That was my favorite show of last year. I put it above any program on any other network. I even liked it better than Smallville and I am a big Superman fan and have watched every episode of every season since it began. Do you hear that NBC? I liked Journeyman better. Do what you can, bring it back.
October 4th, 2008 at 9:53 am
They need to bring Las Vegas back!
October 4th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
Eliminate Las Vegas was a big mistake. It was one of the few shows that kept the high ratings of NBC. Many fans of Las Vegas no longer watch NBC programs as protest.
We ask only one final series, is the least that NBC can do for us fans who have faithfully followed this show for 5 years.
October 4th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
The NBC should bring back Las Vegas and something will change for the better. If so they will always worse.
October 5th, 2008 at 1:46 am
NBC reaped what they deserved ! Cancelled Las Vegas was a terrible mistake and now they see the result. To avoid another ill-advised decision and to make up a little, NBC ought to give an end to Las Vegas. It will attract the audience anew !
October 5th, 2008 at 2:27 am
Las Vegas mérite un dernier volet
French Fans : http://lasvegas.laserie.xooit.com/
October 7th, 2008 at 11:34 am
bring back Las Vegas please