Upfronts 04: NBC Shrinks ursday Comedy Lineup; Blacklist Gets Midseason Move, Post-Super Bowl Slot

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Following an unsuccessful attempt this season at overhauling its Thursday comedy lineup, NBC will phase out sitcoms on the night that was known for its Must See two-hour block.

NBC, in announcing its Fall 2014 schedule on Sunday, will lead off Thursdays with unscripted veteran The Biggest Loser, with freshman comedies Bad Judge and A to Z teaming up in the 9 p.m. slot. Drama Parenthood, which officially received a sixth and final season, will be the lone holdover from this season, airing at 10 p.m.

At midseason comedies will be off Thursday entirely, when The Blacklist moves to 9 p.m. on that night, leading into new drama Allegiance. Other sitcoms including the final season of Parks & Recreation, Tina Fey's Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Ellen DeGeneres One Big Happy, and Will Farrell-produced Mission Control will be held until midseason.

The Blacklist, which will air out of The Voice on Mondays until November, also gets the post-Super Bowl spot on Feb. 1, 2015. New drama State of Affairs will replace The Blacklist in the post-Voice slot.

Comedy is very important to this network, which is why we are launching new series on Tuesdays following The Voice and on Thursdays in the fall as CBS frees up some of the comedy audience when it turns to NFL football, said NBC Entertainment president Jennifer Saalke, in a statement. Furthermore, we have several of our strongest comedies by some of our best auspices being held for midseason.

The Voice, which will have new coaches Gwen Stefani and Pharrell Williams for its fall cycle, will continue to run on Mondays and Tuesdays. New comedy Marry Me gets the post-Voice slot on Tuesdays at 9 p.m., followed by the returning About a Boy at 9:30 p.m. Chicago Fire also returns to the night at 10 p.m.

Wednesday will feature one new and two returning dramas, with newcomer The Mysteries of Laura leading off at 8 p.m. followed by veteran Law & Order: SVU and sophomore Chicago P.D.

On Fridays, NBC will pair Constantine -- based on the DC Comics series Hellblazer -- with Grimm, leading out of the fairy tale drama at 10 p.m.

Sundays will again feature Sunday Night Football in the fall; NBC also airs Super Bowl XLIX from Arizona on Feb. 1.

Shows yet to be scheduled include drama Odyssey and Craig Robinson comedy Mr. Robinson. NBC also has event series Heroes Reborn, Aquarius, Bible-follow up A.D. and its live Wizard of Oz production, titled Emerald City.

NBC holds its upfront presentation Monday morning.

NBC FALL 2014-15 SCHEDULE

(New programs in UPPER CASE; all times ET)

MONDAY

8-10 p.m. - The Voice

10-11 p.m. - The Blacklist / STATE OF AFFAIRS (beginning Nov. 17)

TUESDAY

8-9 p.m. - The Voice

9-9:30 p.m. - MARRY ME

9:30-10 p.m. - About a Boy

10-11 p.m. - Chicago Fire

WEDNESDAY

8-9 p.m. - THE MYSTERIES OF LAURA

9-10 p.m. - Law & Order: SVU

10-11 p.m. - Chicago P.D.

THURSDAY

8-9 p.m. - The Biggest Loser

9-9:30 p.m. - BAD JUDGE ( The Blacklist beginning Feb. 5)

9:30-10 p.m. - A TO Z

10-11 p.m. - Parenthood

FRIDAY

8-9 p.m. - Dateline NBC

9-10 p.m. - Grimm

10-11 p.m. - CONSTANTINE

SATURDAY

8-11 p.m. - Encore programming

SUNDAY

7-8:20 p.m. - Football Night in America

8:20-11:30 p.m. - NBC Sunday Night Football

LINK:	http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/upfront-central/upfronts-2014-nb...
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