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NBC was light on new-series orders when it returned to New York City’s Radio City Music Hall on Monday to announce its 2022-23 broadcast schedule. Pickups include two reboots – Quantum Leap and Night Court – and new series Lopez vs. Lopez, starring comedian George Lopez and his daughter, Mayan.
On the unscripted side, NBC has picked up The Wheel, based on a British format, and Million Dollar Island, based on a Dutch one. Those shows are expected to premiere in midseason and summer.
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Otherwise, it’s largely business as usual at NBC, with all shows to stream next-day on Peacock.
NBC did offer attendees some live entertainment, however, with Kelly Clarkson, host of primetime’s American Song Contest and syndicated talker The Kelly Clarkson Show singing Whitney Houston’s “Queen of the Night” and Miley Cyrus, who will again host New Year’s Eve for NBC, belting out Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” in a drapey red dress. Late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon, who produces several reality shows for the network, and Seth Meyers also were on hand with some zingers, with Meyers poking fun at NBC’s lack of new series and tendency to reboot old ones.
Monday nights remain anchored at 8 p.m. by singing competition series The Voice, headed into its 22nd cycle. The Voice continues to be hosted by Carson Daly with judges Blake Shelton, John Legend, Gwen Stefanie and newest judge, Camila Cabello, who replaces Clarkson this go-round. Quantum Leap, starring Raymond Lee, will air following The Voice at 10 p.m.
Come mid-season, this lineup will be replaced by the tenth season of James Spader’s The Blacklist, along with the second seasons of comedies American Auto and Grand Crew and the debut of the reboot of Night Court, starring John Larroquette, reprising his role as D.A. Dan Fielding, and The Big Bang Theory’s Melissa Rauch as Judge Abby Stone.
The Voice’s results show kicks off Tuesday nights, followed by La Brea, which is headed into season two, at 9 p.m. New Amsterdam, in its fifth and final season, will air at 10 p.m.
Wednesday remains dedicated to Chicago, with Dick Wolf’s Chicago Med, Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D. (“anything that happens in Chicago,” according to Fallon) at 8, 9 and 10 p.m.
Wolf is also programming NBC’s Thursday night with Law & Order at 8 p.m., Law & Order: SVU at 9 p.m. and Law & Order: Organized Crime at 10 p.m. Additionally, Wolf has entered the unscripted space with docuseries LA Fire and Rescue, which follows the real-life heroes of the Los Angeles County Fire Department and has not been scheduled yet. (Wolf also produces CBS’ FBI block of programming, which we’ll hear about on Wednesday.)
Fridays are for football in the fall, with Peyton Manning anchoring 8 p.m. game show Capital One College Bowl, leading into Dateline NBC. Once regular-season football ends in November, Fridays will be for comedy with Lopez vs. Lopez and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Young Rock airing at 8 and 8:30 p.m.
Similarly, Sundays remain home to primetime’s top show, NBC Sunday Night Football, with 20 regular-season games scheduled for this NFL season.
“While leaning into our strong, stable schedule in the fall, we’re also rethinking legacy launch timing to give our shows the best chance for success,” said Frances Berwick, chairman, entertainment networks, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, in a statement. “With the huge reach that our affiliate partner stations provide, coupled with exclusive next-day availability on Peacock, our NBC shows will truly be accessible to audiences in any way that they want to watch.”
[Images courtesy of NBC]
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