NBC is sticking with stability for the fall schedule.
The network on Sunday revealed a new lineup for the 2016-17 TV season that adds just three new series and moves several more to new nights or time slots, including the sophomore thriller “Blindspot,” which will shift from Mondays to Wednesdays.
The network will also return comedy to Thursday with an hourlong sitcom block at 8 p.m.
“We’re feeling very good and bullish about what we’re doing for the fall and what we have coming down the road for midseason,” Robert Greenblatt (pictured), chairman of NBC Entertainment, told reporters in a conference call. “We have a solid schedule, not a lot of churn.”
“For the first time we’re not running around throwing shows at the wall, hoping for the best,” Greenblatt added.
NBC picked up a number of new shows last week that it will hold for midseason. Those include the dramas “Taken,” “Emerald City” and a spin-off, “Blacklist: Redemption.” New comedies “Marlon,” “Great News,” “Trial & Error” and “Powerless” will also be held for later.
The network’s fall schedule may benefit from promotion during the Rio Olympics, which NBC will carry in August. But executives did not feel compelled to load up on new shows for fall.
“We just feel like if we needed to launch eight or 10 new shows, we would have,” Greenblatt said. “We just didn’t need to do that.”
“This is one of the best development seasons we’ve ever had, at least in the five years I’ve been here,” Greenblatt added.
The new schedule emphasizes a heavy reliance on work from producer Dick Wolf, who will have four series in the lineup, including three under his “Chicago” banner: “Chicago Fire,” “Chicago Med” and “Chicago P.D.”
Greenblatt noted that the shows have significant audience overlap but are still different creatively. “‘Med’ is very different from P.D.’,” Greenblatt said.
To make way for the new shows, NBC did cancel a number of underperforming series, including “The Mysteries of Laura,” the crime drama with Debra Messing.
Left up in the air was the family sitcom “The Carmichael Show,” which is about to wrap its second season.
“We’re just going back and forth with the studio over the number of episodes,” Greenblatt said. “Hopefully we’ll resolve it soon.”
Also left off the fall schedule: “The New Celebrity Apprentice,” which will see Arnold Schwarzenegger taking over Donald Trump’s reality franchise. Greenblatt said the network is eyeing a premiere in late 2016 or early 2017. “I think production is going well,” he added.
NBC’s fall schedule follows; new series are in bold.
MONDAY
8 p.m. “The Voice”
10 p.m. “Timeless”
TUESDAY
8 p.m. “The Voice”
9 p.m. “This is Us”
10 p.m. “Chicago Fire”
WEDNESDAY
8 p.m. “Blindspot”
9 p.m. “Law & Order: SVU”
10 p.m. “Chicago P.D.”
THURSDAY
8 p.m. “Superstore”
8:30 p.m. “The Good Place”
9 p.m. “Chicago Med”
10 p.m. “Blacklist”
FRIDAY
8 p.m. “Caught on Camera with Nick Cannon”
9 p.m. “Grimm”
10 p.m. “Dateline NBC”
SATURDAY
8 p.m. “Saturday Dateline Mysteries”
10 p.m. “Saturday Night Live (encores)”
SUNDAY
7 p.m. “Football Night in America”
8:20 p.m. “NBC’s Sunday Night Football”