An NBC fall schedule that includes Conan O’Brien but not “Law & Order?”  Who’d have thought!  That’s because Conaco-produced “Outlaw” (formerly known as “Garza”) starring Jimmy Smits made it onto the schedule, albeit in an invisible timeslot, while “Law & Order” was officially given the axe.  Despite L&O going by the wayside, a new spin-off, “Law & Order: Los Angeles” made the schedule as expected.  That means Wednesdays will now include two full hours of L&O shows, with SVU being bumped back to 9 pm where it floundered last fall when Leno was acting as a ratings-suck in the 10 pm slot.  But hey, it’s NBC.  To their credit, they didn’t let the fact that they had five extra hours to fill stop them from canceling crap like “Mercy,” “Trauma,” and “Heroes.”  NBC programmers had but one season to make an impression on Comcast, so it was out with the old, in with the new.


One rumor had NBC opening up a second night of comedy, that was supported by the number of comedies pilots picked up.  Said rumor had the comedies going up against ABC Comedy Wednesday where only “Modern Family” is a truly solid success.  Why NBC considered putting comedies on the only night ABC had comedies, a bigger mystery.  In the end it didn’t matter, as comedy stays Thursdays-only, for now.  “30 Rock” is finally being yanked out of its post-”Office” time slot which it never deserved getting the ratings bleed.  “Parks and Recreation” is already filming season 3, due to Amy Poehler’s pregnancy.  Those episodes won’t be seen for nearly a year, however, as it is absent from the fall.  Given that “Community” is a black ratings hole, and “Outsourced” won’t be strong, P&R as well as other mid-season comedies could be seen sooner rather than later.  Also noticeable, NBC is keeping Thursday all-comedy, scheduling hour-long comedy “Love Bites” in the 10 pm timeslot.  That should be strong.  (sarcasm intended).

Mondays remains action-adventure night.  “Chuck” stays at 8 and actually gets a fall berth for once, leading into “The Event” at 9 and “Chase” at 10, where NBC is hoping to fill the void left by “24.”  Given how weak a performer the perennial bubble show “Chuck” is, it’s questionable using it as a lead-in, but its fans won’t complain.  Now if only they’d multiply.  That wasn’t a judgment on “Chuck’s” quality, just an eyebrow raise at how poor a performer it is yet is being used to prop up a troublesome night.

“Parenthood” is also a bit of a surprise.  The show was never intended as a 10 pm drama and it definitely doesn’t feel like one.  After the crash and burn of “The Jay Leno Show,” that’s just where “Parenthood” ended up, and while it has struggled with weak ratings in the total viewers column, given how small its overall audience is, it makes its above-average (for NBC) demo performance that much more impressive.  So, rather than shift too much around, NBC is taking the if-it-ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it approach and leaving it right where it is.

In summary, here is a list of shows canceled by NBC from the 2009-2010 season:
“Heroes,” “The Jay Leno Show,” “Law & Order” “Mercy,” “Trauma.”

And here is the NBC fall schedule, as you’ll probably be ignoring much of it, come September.

Sundays

7:00 – Football Night in America
8:15 – NBC Sunday Night Football

Sundays (starting in March)

7:00 – Dateline NBC
9:00 – Minute to Win It
10:00 – Celebrity Apprentice

Mondays

8:00 – Chuck
9:00 – The Event
10:00 – Chase

Tuesdays

8:00 – The Biggest Loser
10:00 – Parenthood

Wednesdays

8:00 – Undercovers
9:00 – Law & Order: SVU
10:00 – Law & Order: Los Angeles

Thursdays

8:00 – Community
8:30 – 30 Rock
9:00 – The Office
9:30 – Outsourced
10:00 – Love Bites

Fridays

8:00 – Who Do You Think You Are/School Pride
9:00 – Dateline NBC
10:00 – The Outlaw

Midseason: The Cape, Friends with Benefits, Harry’s Law, The Paul Reiser Show, Perfect Couples

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