NBC Drops All-Comedy Thursday, Spreads Laughs Throughout Week

NBC is dropping the all-comedy experiment on Thursdays, holding "30 Rock" for several months and switching "Chuck" to Fridays this fall. It is also launching a new 8 p.m. comedy hour on Wednesdays, as new entertainment chief Bob Greenblatt said a key goal is to establish comedies on a night other than Thursdays.

New drama "Prime Suspect," about a New York female homicide detective working to solve cases and adapt to a mostly male force, will take the Thursday 10 p.m. spot that housed NBC drama hits for years. It will follow the new "Whitney" at 9:30, a comedy about a "happily unmarried couple."

"The Office," minus Steve Carell, stays as a Thursday anchor at 9. "30 Rock" will not return until mid-season, since star Tina Fey is pregnant.

On Wednesday at 8 p.m. comes new comedy "Up All Night" starring Christina Applegate, which spins around balancing work, marriage and a new baby. Then right after, at 8:30 p.m., will be "Free Agents," a workplace comedy with Hank Azaria, based on a British show by the same name.

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NBC will launch six new series in the fall, with six more set for mid-season.

The much-anticipated comedy "Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea," based on the popular book by late-night E star Chelsea Handler, does not have a launch date. Emerging hit "The Voice" will return early next year on Mondays from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. and serve as a lead-in for new musical drama "Smash," focusing on creating a Broadway musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe.

A new prime-time news hour with Brian Williams is in development.

Mondays in the fall will start with "The Sing-Off" for two hours, followed by new drama "The Playboy Club" from producer Brian Grazer. That show enters the roiling world of Chicago's Playboy Club in the 1960s.

Tuesdays will look similar, with a two-hour "The Biggest Loser" followed by "Parenthood."

Following the new comedies on Wednesday will be a second season of "Harry's Law" and "Law & Order: SVU," likely the last of the "Law & Order" franchise for however long the show lasts.

"Chuck" moves to Fridays for its final season of 13 episodes, followed by new drama "Grimm," inspired by the Grimm fairy tales and involving a homicide detective and evil supernatural creatures.

The shift of "Chuck," which always seems to be on the brink of cancellation, is intended to bring its loyal audience to Friday to help jump-start the night.

Greenblatt assumed the chairman's role at NBC entertainment earlier this year when Comcast took control of NBCUniversal. He said he arrived just as NBC had to decide which drama pilots to pick up and placed his stamp on the new shows.

"I'll take ownership of these projects and am happy to do so," he said Sunday.

He said his two priorities for the season are to assure the continued success of "The Voice," where it would be a multi-year "juggernaut," and to expand to a second night with comedies.

The schedule fall schedule is as follows: New programs in UPPER CASE, all times EST

Monday

8-10 p.m. - "The Sing-Off"

10-11 p.m. - "THE PLAYBOY CLUB"

Tuesday

8-10 p.m. - "The Biggest Loser"

10-11 p.m. - "Parenthood"

Wednesday

8-8:30 p.m. - "UP ALL NIGHT"

8:30-9 p.m. - "FREE AGENTS"

9-10 p.m. -- "Harry's Law"

10-11 p.m. -- "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit"

Thursday

8-8:30 p.m. - "Community"

8:30-9 p.m. -- "Parks and Recreation"

9-9:30 p.m. - "The Office"

9:30-10 p.m. - "WHITNEY"

10-11 p.m. - "PRIME SUSPECT"

Friday

8-9 p.m. - "Chuck"

9-10 p.m. - "GRIMM"

10-11 p.m. - "Dateline NBC"

Saturday

Encore programming

Sunday

7- 8:15 p.m. - "Football Night in America"

8:15-11:30 p.m. - "NBC Sunday Night Football"

NBC 2012 Mid-season Highlights

*New programs in UPPER CASE; all times ET

Sunday

7-8 p.m. - "Dateline NBC"

8-10 p.m. - "The Celebrity Apprentice"

10-11 p.m. - "THE FIRM"

Monday

8-10 p.m. - "The Voice"

10-11 p.m. - "SMASH"

3 comments about "NBC Drops All-Comedy Thursday, Spreads Laughs Throughout Week".
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  1. Douglas Ferguson from College of Charleston, May 16, 2011 at 8:21 a.m.

    All-comedy night was such an epic failure for ABC on Wednesday nights in the 1991-92 season that no one ever tried it again, until NBC learned the hard way: half-hour comedies simply don't work after 10 p.m. Eastern time.

    (ABC did run sitcom repeats last December, as a stop-gap until a drama was available to replace The Whole Truth, but not original shows. Their memories are apparently longer than NBC's.)

  2. Paula Lynn from Who Else Unlimited, May 16, 2011 at 9:32 a.m.

    So according to this report, the don of self-love egos will be back. So that means neither companies nor country will have a hare running for office. And what a great SNL skit - equal time running Celebrity Apprentice like Ron Paul where everyone can do whatever anybody wants to do however they want it also known as Chaos Gone Wild, making the Jersey Shore looks like child's play. He'll have guns, "spreading laughs throughout the week".

  3. Aaron B. from AnimationInsider.net, May 16, 2011 at 5:11 p.m.

    Didn't Comedy Central pick up the syndication rights to 30 ROCK? By the time the series returns with new episodes, new/additional viewers will likely have caught wind of it.

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