Wed 20 May 2009
NBC and their 2009/2010 Schedule
Posted by Nick C under NBC
[104] Comments
When NBC announced their 2009/2010 TV Schedule my first thought was “This makes as much sense as Bristol Palin’s Abstinence Tour,” but I’ve since had some time to think about all the crazy stuff BS has in store for us in 2009/2010:
HEROES moving to 7/8pm. The move up by an hour places HEROES up against HOUSE, DANCING WITH THE STARS, The CBS comedy block of BIG BANG THEORY and HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, and GOSSIP GIRL. They also gave us the information that HEROES would run 19 consecutive episodes off (and I’m guessing 2 weeks off during the Holiday Season). Bryan Fuller is going to have to work a miracle. This will be a fun ratings fight to witness, and I’m convinced HEROES fans will be blaming the move on their likely ratings drop. I’d also take the over on Tim Kring making another stupid comment about the people who watch his show.
CHUCK getting 10 months off. Every one’s favorite Nerd Herder quit his job and learned Kung Fu. We know Subway is going to be playing a big part in the new season. I think Josh and Chris will actually improve upon this series if they keep Chuck out of the Buy More. I also suggest more Scott Bakula. However will it survive the 10 month hiatus?
Sure. CHUCK fans need to keep the hype alive. TV BY THE NUMBERS commentor Rick Holy suggests giving friends and family a CHUCK Christmas. Buy them DVD sets of Season 1 and Season 2. This will give your friends and family plenty of time to get hooked. The Olympics are likely to make a big bruha about CHUCK season 3 and CHUCK is lucky that it will be the first scripted show to air on NBC after the Olympics ends. Subway, NBC, and CHUCK fans can help make this work. I’m going to bet on CHUCK making it and…
CHUCK getting a summer run in 2010. BS said he’d like to air new CHUCK over the summer if they could pull it off and combine it with FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS. I really like this idea. I really like this idea if they take FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS off of Friday. This is NBC’s top critically acclaimed show after THE OFFICE and 30 ROCK but they keep it on Friday where it goes to wilt away every season. Just because the show has the name Friday in it doesn’t mean it has to air on Friday. A CHUCK/FNL combo would be an entertaining package and might actually help both grow new viewers. Viewers don’t have summer viewing habits and there for CHUCK could actually grow over the summer. This has worked in the past for FOX and 90210 in the 90s.
The biggest change seems to be that NBC is going to “seasonal programming.” The new shows premiering in the Fall are not scheduled for the Spring with the exception of the comedy COMMUNITY. You also have a new 90 minute version of THE BIGGEST LOSER which is being used as a launching pad for 100 QUESTIONS. I like the idea of seasonal programming it has worked for Cable now for years. If shows like TRAUMA make it and only air in the Fall, that’s not a bad thing. I also believe this is going to open up some more programming for the summer.
We all knew about LENO. LENO will rule the airwaves from 9/10pm five nights a week! ABC is celebrating and I think the Mouse might just send BS a thank you gift for giving them 2nd place guaranteed for the 9/10pm time slot.
I like a lot of what NBC is doing, but I also shake my head at their line up. The pilots aren’t as good as the pilots that FOX, ABC, and CBS have. They are better than what the CW has, but then again PBS has a better line up than the CW.
Check out TV BY THE NUMBERS and their take on the schedule plus commentary.
Chorgan, for one the network average is going to drop like a rock. There will be no SUPERBOWL to inflate the numbers. There will be LENO to drag the numbers down. So CHUCK would have to do substantially better than the average. The 1.05 it did on:
http://tvbythenumbers.com/category/renewcancel-index
The TVBTN Index is going to have be improved upon. I’d guess 1.20+ which will be easier than people think.
I am really worst case scenario-ing it right now.
I believe that with a proper promtional campaign, both fan-based and company based, that you’ll see the numbers improve. So let’s say hypothetically that Chuck’s viewing levels remain the same, and then slightly improves as the first few episodes air, then can you forsee a solid pick-up for season 4?
Chorgan, I can’t begin to guess until I see how the other new shows do. CHUCK is in a good spot because I think BS wants to turn the hype into something bigger than it was. That is what he says he’s good at. We’ll see.
Hey I am not trying to pin you down, I just like talking in hypotheticals
At any rate I am intrigued by the NBC schedule as a whole, I am curious to see how it does with the split season. I have my predictions about Leno being over exposed by the middle of October, off the air by November, and then NBC scrambling for filler. I see a myraid of cheap reality TV, then them rebooting the 10PM hour with more drama.
I guess the reason that I keep zeroing in on Chuck, is for lack of other options, that it might be a tentpole on their schedule. It is unfortunate, but other than a couple of their comedies and biggest loser they have nothing else. I’m not feeling it on L & O like I used to.
HEROES is a dead man walking.