NBC's Fall Schedule Confirmed After Network Canceled 5 Shows
NBC has announced part of its fall line-up after the cancellation of five scripted television shows.
On May 12, Deadline reported that NBC has made some significant changes to make room for its partnership with the NBA.
"NBA is a huge priority for us, that is our biggest new show in the fall," Jeff Bader, President, Program Planning Strategy, NBCUniversal Entertainment said on a pre-upfront press call on May 10.
“There’s a three-part rollout to the fall schedule, given the NBA comes on in the middle of October,” Steven Kern, SVP, Program Planning & Scheduling, NBCUniversal Entertainment, added.
Per the new schedule, The Voice will air on Mondays and Tuesdays from 8 p.m. until 10 p.m. ET for the month of September. Come October, however, NBA games will take that timeslot on Tuesdays. Following the Monday night episode of The Voice, NBC will run Brilliant Minds, which has been renewed for a second season.
On Wednesdays, NBC will air Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, and Chicago P.D. back to back, beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
A similar schedule has been released for Thursdays, with Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, and The Hunting Party.
Jimmy Fallon's new show On Brand With Jimmy Fallon will air twice a week in September; on Tuesdays and Fridays. However, once the NBA season gets underway, the show will only air on Fridays at 8 p.m. ET.
Weekends will be reserved for sports, with Notre Dame pre-game coverage followed by in-game coverage beginning on Saturdays at 7 p.m., while Sundays will be reserved for NFL coverage.
By November, NBC's schedule will change again, with The Voice dropping to just one hour on Monday nights to make room for St. Denis Medical. To see NBC's full lineup for November, click here.
The news comes after NBC confirmed the cancellation of five popular shows; Found, The Irrational, Suits LA, Night Court and Lopez vs Lopez.
"We had a lot of shows that we had to pass on in order to put our schedule together,” Bader said. “We are losing seven hours of our prime time schedule over the course of the season to the NBA.”
Related: George Lopez Breaks Silence as NBC Cancels His Show After 3 Seasons