NBC’s Strike-Protected Fall Lineup Includes 3 New Series

Writers strike? What writers strike?

On Friday, NBC unveiled its fall lineup, including several new series, Tuesday night comedies and lots of football. And the broadcaster is adamant that its fall shows will launch on schedule, despite the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike.

“We have a lot of unscripted because we do have The Voice, and we have Saturday night football and Sunday Night Football, so that is a nice security blanket to have. But the truth is the business has changed so much in the last few years, and we are really on a year-round development cycle and production cycle,” Jeff Bader, president, entertainment program planning strategy, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, told Adweek. “So we’re in the fortunate position that many of the shows that we’ve announced for the fall, we will have them even if there’s a prolonged strike.”

According to Bader, new episodes of Night Court, Quantum Leap, The Wall and new shows The Irrational and Extended Family would all be available “even if the strike goes on for an extended period.”

Dick Wolf’s shows, such as the Chicago lineup of shows and the Law & Order franchise, “at some point” could get pushed to the second half of the season. However, the broadcaster has a contingency plan.

“We also have ready to go for the fall if we need it, La Brea, Magnum P.I., Transplant, Weakest Link—so those are also available for the fall if the strike does go to the point where we need to start replacing shows,” Bader said. “We’re in very good shape.”

NBCUniversal will tout NBC’s new lineup during its upfront presentation Monday morning at Radio City Music Hall. The event will no longer feature Linda Yaccarino on stage, as the longtime ad sales chief departed the company Friday morning to take over for Elon Musk as Twitter’s new CEO.

Regarding the schedule, Bader noted that the “core schedule” was so strong that many series are coming back in their time periods.

The Voice kicks off its 24th cycle in the fall on Mondays at 8 p.m., with new drama The Irrational, starring Jesse L. Martin, coming in at 10 p.m.

Based on author Dan Ariely’s Predictably Irrational, the series follows a world-renowned leader in behavioral science who uses his unique expertise on a variety of high-stakes cases involving everything from governments to law enforcement.

Bader told Adweek the broadcaster is “very excited” about the series, which is why it’s launching in the coveted post-The Voice slot, which successfully propelled previous NBC hits including Quantum Leap.

NBC’s comedy-filled Tuesdays start with Night Court at 8 p.m., which is followed by Jon Cryer’s new series, Extended Family.

Extended Family follows a divorced couple raising their kids at the family home, all the while taking turns on who gets to stay with them. The cast includes Cryer, Donald Faison, Abigail Spencer, Sofia Capanna and Finn Sweeney, with Mike O’Malley writing and executive producing.

Following Extended Family, The Voice takes the 9 p.m. slot, and Quantum Leap closes out the night.

On Wednesday, NBC is all about the city of Chicago, bringing back its One Chicago lineup, with Chicago Med, Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D.

Meanwhile, Thursday also doesn’t have many changes, with Season 23 of Law & Order at 8 p.m., followed by the 25th season of Law & Order: SVU.

Following the Law & Order shows, the new Shanola Hampton-led missing persons drama, Found, will close out Thursday night.

The series follows a public relations specialist, once herself a missing person, making sure lost persons, especially those of color, are not forgotten. In addition, she hides a secret of her own. Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Kelli Williams, Brett Dalton, Gabrielle Walsh, Arlen Escarpeta and Karan Oberoi join Hampton in the series.

The Wall returns on Friday at 8 p.m. and leads into Dateline NBC. Then, on Saturday, NBC brings Big Ten Football to its primetime schedule.

NBC Sunday Night Football, the No.1 primetime TV show for 12 consecutive years, airs on Sundays in the fall, broadcasting 20 regular-season NFL games.

Tom Hanks waits in the wings

Among the other highlights, NBC will debut a 10-part tentpole event series The Americas in spring, with narration by Tom Hanks and music by two-time Oscar winner Hans Zimmer. The show comes from BBC Studios Natural History Unit, the creators of the critically acclaimed and multi-Emmy Award-winning Planet Earth and Blue Planet.

“That is a spectacular series that’s coming on in the second quarter,” Bader said. “You have to see the footage from this project to understand just how spectacular it is. It’s really going to be special.”

The midseason schedule brings two new unscripted series: an untitled America’s Got Talent spinoff and Deal or No Deal Island, which brings the game to the banker’s private island and promises the biggest prize in series history.

NBC is also renewing Lopez vs. Lopez for Season 2. The series is slated to return midseason, along with Law & Order: Organized Crime, La Brea, Magnum P.I., Password and hospital drama Transplant.

There are no decisions made yet for projects picked up to pilot, including Non-Evil Twin, St. Denis Medical, Wolf and an untitled Jenna Band and Bill Krebs series. If picked up, the shows could premiere later in the 2023-2024 season or roll over to the next season. Decisions also haven’t been made for American Auto, Grand Crew and Young Rock.

And for anyone looking to catch up on shows, NBC’s programming is available the next day on Peacock.

Next season’s schedule “is about stability,” said Steve Kern, svp, program planning and scheduling, NBC Entertainment,

“We’ve had a very stable fall schedule for many, many years, and we continue to have a stable schedule,” Kern said. “We use our biggest shows to help launch our newest shows, something that’s worked successfully for us for many years, and it’s something that we’re focused on doing again this season.”

NBC’s fall 2023-24 schedule 

(New programs in ALL CAPS)

MONDAY
8-10 p.m. — The Voice
10-11 p.m. — THE IRRATIONAL

TUESDAY
8-8:30 p.m. — Night Court
8:30-9 p.m. — EXTENDED FAMILY
9-10 p.m. —The Voice
10-11 p.m. — Quantum Leap

WEDNESDAY
8-9 p.m. — Chicago Med
9-10 p.m. — Chicago Fire
10-11 p.m. — Chicago P.D.

THURSDAY
8-9 p.m. — Law & Order
9-10 p.m. — Law & Order: SVU 
10-11 p.m. — FOUND

FRIDAY
8-9 p.m. — The Wall
9-11 p.m. — Dateline NBC

SATURDAY
7-7:30 p.m. — BIG TEN PREGAME/Notre Dame Pregame (also live on Peacock)
7:30-11 p.m. — BIG TEN SATURDAY NIGHT/Notre Dame Football (also live on Peacock)

SUNDAY
7-8:20 p.m. — Football Night in America (also live on Peacock)
8:20-11 p.m. — Sunday Night Football (also live on Peacock)

MIDSEASON/SUMMER
UNTITLED AMERICA’S GOT TALENT SERIES, DEAL OR NO DEAL ISLAND, Law & Order: Organized Crime, La Brea, Lopez vs. Lopez, Password, THE AMERICAS, Transplant