NBC Entertainment chief Ben Silverman unveiled the network’s programming lineup for the full 2008/09 television season, with distinct schedules for Fall 2008, Winter/Spring 2009 and Summer 2009 . By announcing a 52-week schedule in early April, NBC has positioned itself as being better able to meet client needs, engaging in dialogs with advertisers and agencies earlier than normal.
Using the 2008 Summer Olympics as a key promotional platform, NBC will kick off the fall season with four new series, with an additional four series added to the schedule in the Fall/Spring 2009 season and four more in the Summer of 2009.
Based on the current political and economic climate facing the country today, NBC’s programming slate will feature comedies, dramas and alternative series that are aspirational and escapist, featuring real and fictional heroes. In addition, NBC will attempt to revive the 8-9PM time period as family hour, featuring programming that the entire family can enjoy together.
NBC is relying less on expensive pilots and is developing programs based on their success in other countries, going straight from script to series and by using “backdoor pilots”, where movies are turned into series (Knight Rider)
Fall 2008 NBC Prime Schedule
(CAPS DENOTE NEW PROGRAMS, DESCRIPTIONS FOLLOW SCHEDULE)
Monday
8-9P Chuck
9-10P Heroes
10-11P MY OWN WORST ENEMY
Tuesday
8-9:30P The Biggest Loser (Family Edition)
9:30-10P KATH & KIM
10-11P Law and Order SVU
Wednesday
8-9P KNIGHT RIDER
9-10P Deal or No Deal
10-11P Lipstick Jungle
Thursday
8-8:30P My Name is Earl
8:30-9P 30 Rock
9-9:30P The Office (Hour long episodes)
9:30-10P The Office / 4 Saturday Night Live Primetime Election Specials
10-11P ER (Final Season)
Friday
8-9P CRUSOE
9-10P Deal or No Deal
10-11P Life
Saturday
8-9P Dateline
9-10P Knight Rider (encore)
10-11P Law and Order SVU (encore)
Sunday
7-8P Football Night in America
8-11P Sunday Night Football
Winter/Spring 2009 NBC Prime Schedule
(CAPS DENOTE NEW PROGRAMS)
Monday
8-9P Chuck
9-10P Heroes
10-11P THE PHILANTHROPIST
Tuesday
8-9:30P The Biggest Loser (Couples Edition)
9:30-10P KATH & KIM
10-11P Law and Order SVU
Wednesday
8-9P KNIGHT RIDER
9-10P Deal or No Deal
10-11P Law & Order
Thursday
8-8:30P My Name is Earl
8:30-9P 30 Rock
9-9:30P The Office
9:30-10P THE OFFICE SPIN-OFF
10-11P ER (Final Season) / Celebrity Apprentice
Friday
8-9P Deal or No Deal
9-10P Friday Night Lights
10-11P Life
Saturday
8-9P Dateline
9-10P Law and Order SVU (encore)
10-11P Law and Order (encore)
Sunday
7-8P Dateline
8-9P MERLIN
9-10P Medium
10-11P KINGS
Summer 2009 NBC Prime Schedule
(CAPS DENOTE NEW PROGRAMS)
Monday
8-9P American Gladiators
9-10P AMERICA’S TOUGHEST JOBS
10-11P Dateline
Tuesday
8-9:30P Most Outrageous Moments
9:30-10P America’s Got Talent
10-11P Law and Order SVU (encore)
Wednesday
8-9P SHARK TAGGERS
9-10P America’s Got Talent (results)
10-11P Law & Order (encore)
Thursday
8-8:30P The Office (encore)
8:30-9P The Office Spin-Off (encore)
9-10P Last Comic Standing
10-11P THE LISTENER
Friday
8-9P CHOPPING BLOCK
9-11P Dateline
Saturday
8-9P Drama encore
9-10P Drama encore
10-11P Drama encore
Sunday
7-8P Dateline
8-9P Monk
9-10P Nashville Star
10-11P KINGS (encore)
New Show Descriptions
My Own Worst Enemy
Studio: Universal Media Studios
Executive Producer: Jason Smilovic (Bionic Woman)
Genre: Drama
Synopsis: A dramatic series described as THE BOURNE IDENTITY meets DR. JEKYL AND MR. HYDE, centering on a mild mannered suburban dad who learns that his alter ego is a spy
Cast: Christian Slater (television series debut)
Kath & Kim
Studio: Universal Media Studios / Reveille
Executive Producer: Michelle Nader (King of Queens)
Genre: Comedy
Synopsis: Based on the hit Australian sitcom about a divorced woman, KATH, with a married daughter out of the house who dating a great guy and looking terrific. Just as things are about to get really serious with her boyfriend, KATH's daughter KIM leaves her perfectly nice husband and moves in with her mother, upending her life.
Cast: Molly Shannon, Selma Blair
Knight Rider
(Aired as a two-hour movie on NBC on 2/17/08)
Studio: Universal Media Studios / Dutch Oven
Executive Producer: Matt Pyken (Las Vegas) , Gary Scott Thompson (Las Vegas)
Genre: Drama
Synopsis: A dramatic series based on the iconic 1980's hit television series. As the original story resumes, the new KITT (Knight Industries Three Thousand) is absolutely the coolest car ever created: its supercomputer capable of hacking almost any system; its weapons systems efficient; and its body -- thanks to its creator's work and nanotechnology -- is capable of actually shifting shape and color. Plus, its artificial intelligence makes it the ideal good cop partner: logical, precise and possessing infinite knowledge. It is the ultimate car -- and someone will be willing to do anything to obtain it.
Cast: Justin Bruening, Bruce Davison, Wayne Kasserman, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Deanna Russo, David Hasselhoff as Michael Knight (Recurring Role), Val Kilmer as KITT (Voice Talent)
Crusoe
Studio: Universal Media Studios / Power
Executive Producer: Stephen Gallagher
Genre: Drama
Synopsis: A dramatic series based on the Daniel Defoe novel first published in 1719, which is a fictional autobiography of an English castaway who spent 28 years marooned on a remote tropical island. This version is updated and adrenaline-charged for a 21st-century audience and will explore the challenges facing the world's most famous castaway as he and his native friend Friday struggle to survive on a desert island.
Cast: TBD
The Philanthropist
Studio: Universal Media Studios / Original Media / Levinson-Fontana Company
Executive Producer: Barry Levinson (Oz, Homicide: Life on the Street, Films Analyze This, Bandits, Donnie Brasco, Wag the Dog), Tom Fontana (Oz, Homicide: Life on the Street)
Genre: Drama
Synopsis: A dramatic series about an iconoclastic billionaire who looks for ways to distribute his wealth and help people by using all of his resources, regardless of the risk.
Cast: TBD
The Office Spin-off
Studio: Universal Media Studios / Reveille
Executive Producer: Greg Daniels (The Office)
Genre: Comedy
Synopsis: Spin-off of original series. Will debut following Super Bowl XLIII.
Cast: TBD
Merlin
Studio: Shine / FreeMantle Media
Executive Producer: TBD
Genre: Drama
Synopsis: Fantasy series set in the mythic city of Camelot, but inspired by 21st Century storytelling
Cast: TBD
Kings
Studio: Universal Media Studios
Executive Producer: Michael Greene (Heroes)
Genre: Drama
Synopsis: "Kings" is an inspiring exploration of the timeless David vs. Goliath struggle. The show is set in a modern metropolis under siege where the fighting has gone on for too long and cost far too many lives
Cast: Ian McShane (Deadwood), Christopher Egan (Vanished), Sebastian Stan (Gossip Girl)
America’s Toughest Jobs
Studio: Berman Braun Original Productions / Rocket Science Labs
Executive Producer: Chris Cowan (Trading Spouses, Joe Millionaire)
Genre: Reality
Synopsis: From working on the windswept deck of an Alaskan crab boat to being an ice road trucker, contestants will see if they have what it takes to handle the toughest jobs in the country
Cast: TBD
Shark Taggers
Studio: Berman Braun Original Productions / Rocket Science Labs
Executive Producer: Thom Beers (Deadliest Catch)
Genre: Reality
Synopsis: In the vein of DEADLIEST CATCH, this is a reality series that follows the Department of Fish and Game’s (DFG) volunteer shark tagging program. The program’s objectives are to use the data obtained from the tag and release of pelagic sharks to estimate the local distribution and abundance, and to track the shark’s long-term migrations within and beyond the Southern California Bight.
Cast: TBD
The Listener
Studio: Shaftesbury Films
Executive Producer: Michael Amo
Genre: Drama
Synopsis: "The Listener" tells the story of a young man who can read people's thoughts, and act on them. In "The Listener," Toby Logan is a young, big-city paramedic with the power to listen to people's thoughts. With his paramedic partner Osman Bey as his sidekick, Toby juggles life as a telepathic sleuth with that of an urban twenty-something
Cast: Ennis Esmer, Craig Olejnik
Chopping Block
Studio: Granada America
Executive Producer: David Barbour
Genre: Reality
Synopsis: A reality series featuring celebrated chef and restaurateur Marco Pierre White (UK's "Hell's Kitchen") in a new original cooking competition series "The Chopping Block," in which the British Michelin star chef will offer neophyte hopeful chefs/restaurateurs working in couples a chance to compete in America's greatest restaurant challenge for their chance to open their own Manhattan restaurant.
Cast: Marco Pierre White
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