NBC Announces 2009 Fall Lineup

NBC announced today its 2009-2010 schedule featuring more original programming than ever before and a shared time-period strategy around NBC’s Olympics platform that, along with The Jay Leno Show (Mondays-Fridays 10:00-11:00 PM/ET), allows the network to broadcast all-new content year-round.

In addition, NBC issued renewals to Law and Order and Chuck as part of its strong slate of new and returning shows announced recently at the network’s highly successful Infront.

NBC’s shared time period strategy will kick off this fall on Mondays with the premiere of Heroes (8:00 PM/ET) continuing with all originals before Chuck assumes the time period after the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, which will be a powerful launching platform with its broad, female appeal and strong ratings as the most-watched event of the year. Using NBC Sunday Night Football’s potent promotional platform, the new drama Trauma will debut Mondays (9:00 PM/ET) with the epic event series Day One taking over the time period following the Olympics.

NBC’s successful The Biggest Loser series continues Tuesdays (8:00 PM/ET) and will help launch the new Wednesday lineup this fall, with the new family drama Parenthood debuting (8:00 PM/ET) and the new hospital drama Mercy assuming the time period post-Olympics. Law and Order: Special Victims Unit will air 9:00 PM/ET following Parenthood.

NBC’s Thursday marquee comedy night will begin with the only live comedy between 8:00-10:00 pm on any network, Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday (8:00 PM/ET), followed by Parks and Recreation (8:30 PM/ET), The Office (9:00 PM/ET) and the new comedy Community (9:30 PM/ET). After Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday completes its multi-week run, Community will move to 8:00 pm and 30 Rock will debut at 9:30 pm, enabling NBC to feature more original comedy than ever before.

On Fridays in the fall, the enduring drama Law and Order will return for its record 20th season and will lead off at 8:00 PM/ET while Southland follows at 9:00 PM/ET, building a great crime block.

Saturdays will be a showcase for Dateline NBC (8:00 PM/ET) and encore episodes of Trauma (9:00 PM/ET) and Law and Order: Special Victims Unit (10:00 PM/ET). Football Night in America (7:00 PM/ET) and NBC Sunday Night Football (8:20 PM/ET) – the number one show of the fall – will return on Sundays in the fall with a fan-pleasing schedule of games to round out the fall season.

Utilizing the compatible demographics provided by the Olympics, NBC will launch the premieres of The Marriage Ref from executive producers Jerry Seinfeld and Ellen Rakieten on Sundays (8:00 PM/ET) and the third season premiere of The Celebrity Apprentice on Sundays with two-hour editions (9:00 PM/ET). In addition, the new comedy 100 Questions will debut on Tuesdays (9:30 PM/ET) following a 90-minute edition of The Biggest Loser (8:00 PM/ET).

And coming in the summer, NBC will telecast all original episodes of The Jay Leno Show, Friday Night Lights, America’s Got Talent, Breakthrough with Tony Robbins, Dateline NBC, with additional programs to be announced later.

Following is the NBC primetime schedule for 2009-2010:

Fall 2009 Primetime Schedule

Monday
Heroes, 8:00 PM/ET
Trauma, 9:00 PM/ET
The Jay Leno Show, 10:00 PM/ET

Tuesday
The Biggest Loser, 8:00 PM/ET
The Jay Leno Show, 10:00 PM/ET

Wednesday
Parenthood, 8:00 PM/ET
Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, 9:00 PM/ET
The Jay Leno Show, 10:00 PM/ET

Thursday
SNL Weekend Update (multi-episode run), 8:00 PM/ET
Parks and Recreation, 8:30 PM/ET
The Office, 9:00 PM/ET
Community, 9:30 PM/ET
(Moves to 8:00 PM/ET after SNL episodes and 30 Rock returns)
The Jay Leno Show, 10:00 PM/ET

Friday
Law and Order, 8:00 PM/ET
Southland, 9:00 PM/ET
The Jay Leno Show, 10:00 PM/ET

Saturday
Dateline NBC, 8:00 PM/ET
Trauma (Encore Broadcast), 9:00 PM/ET
Law and Order: Special Victims Unit (Encore Broadcast), 10:00 PM/ET

Sunday
Football Night in America, 7:00 PM/ET
NBC Sunday Night Football, 8:20 PM/ET

Winter 2010 Midseason Primetime Schedule

The 2010 Winter Olympics preempt regularly scheduled programming from February 12-28

Monday
Chuck, 8:00 PM/ET
Day One, 9:00 PM/ET
The Jay Leno Show, 10:00 PM/ET

Tuesday
The Biggest Loser, 8:00 PM/ET
100 Questions, 9:30 PM/ET
The Jay Leno Show, 10:00 PM/ET

Wednesday
Mercy, 8:00 PM/ET
Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, 9:00 PM/ET
The Jay Leno Show, 10:00 PM/ET

Thursday
Community, 8:00 PM/ET
Parks and Recreation, 8:30 PM/ET
The Office, 9:00 PM/ET
30 Rock, 9:30 PM/ET
The Jay Leno Show, 10:00 PM/ET

Friday
Law and Order, 8:00 PM/ET
Southland, 9:00 PM/ET
The Jay Leno Show, 10:00 PM/ET

Saturday
Dateline NBC, 8:00 PM/ET
Southland (Encore Broadcast), 9:00 PM/ET
Law and Order: Special Victims Unit (Encore Broadcast), 10:00 PM/ET

Sunday
Dateline NBC, 7:00 PM/ET
The Marriage Ref, 8:00 PM/ET
The Celebrity Apprentice” (Season Premiere; two-hour edition), 9:00 PM/ET

Summer 2010

America’s Got Talent
Breakthrough with Tony Robbins
Friday Night Lights

Not On The Schedule

Kath and Kim
Knight Rider
Medium
My Name Is Earl

My Name is Earl and Medium have been canceled by NBC. But neither show is dead quite yet. 20th Century Fox and Fox plan to hold meetings in the coming weeks to see if they can come to a deal on moving My Name is Earl there. And Medium may very likely move to CBS, where they could easily move the show to Friday nights, pairing it with the like-minded Ghost Whisperer.

New Series Synopses

Parenthood

From the executive producers of the box-office hit “Parenthood” — Ron Howard and Brian Grazer (Oscar winners for “A Beautiful Mind”), and writer/executive producer Jason Katims (”Friday Night Lights”) — this contemporary re-imagining of the blockbuster film depicts the colorful and imperfect Braverman family — four grown siblings sharing the headaches, heartaches and joy of being parents. The star-studded cast includes Peter Krause, Maura Tierney, Craig T. Nelson, Dax Shepard, Bonnie Bedelia, Monica Potter, Erika Christensen and Sarah Ramos. When Sarah Braverman (Tierney, “ER”), a financially strapped single mother, returns home to her parents and siblings in Berkeley, Calif. after packing up her Fresno apartment and uprooting her two inconvenienced kids, Amber (Mae Whitman, “In Treatment”) and Drew (Miles Heizer, “ER”), she is greeted by her opinionated father, Zeek (Nelson, “Family Stone,” “Coach”), and strong mother, Camille (Bedelia, “Heart Like a Wheel”), who are privately dealing with their own marital issues. As Sarah is reunited with her siblings — sister, Julia (Christensen, “Traffic”), and brothers Crosby (Shepard, “Baby Mama”) and Adam (Krause, “Six Feet Under”) — all struggling with issues of their own, it’s clear that the Braverman reunion is just what they need to face the everyday challenges of modern family life. “Parenthood” is a production from Imagine Entertainment and Universal Media Studios. Emmy winner Thomas Schlamme (”The West Wing”) directs the pilot.

Trauma

Executive producer Peter Berg (NBC’s “Friday Night Lights”) delivers “Trauma,” the first high-octane medical drama series to live exclusively in the field where the real action is. Like an adrenaline shot to the heart, “Trauma” is an intense, action-packed look at one of the most dangerous medical professions in the world: first responder paramedics. When emergencies occur, the trauma team from San Francisco General is first on the scene, traveling by land, by sea or by air to reach their victims in time. From the heights of the city’s Transamerica Pyramid to the depths of the San Francisco Bay, these heroes must face the most extreme conditions to save lives — and give meaning to their own existence in the process. Starring in “Trauma” are Derek Luke (”Notorious”), Cliff Curtis (”10,000 B.C”), Anastasia Griffith (”Damages”), Aimee Garcia (”George Lopez”), Kevin Rankin (”Friday Night Lights”) and Jamey Sheridan (”Law & Order: Criminal Intent”). “Trauma” is a production of Universal Media Studios and Film 44. Berg, Sarah Aubrey (”Bad Santa,” “Friday Night Lights”), Dario Scardapane and Jeffrey Reiner (”Friday Night Lights”) serve as executive producers. The pilot was written by Scardapane and directed by Reiner.

Mercy

“Mercy,” a new medical drama with a unique point of view, portrays the lives of the staff at Mercy Hospital as seen through the eyes of those who know it best — its nurses. Nurse Veronica Callahan (Taylor Schilling, “Dark Matter”) returns to Mercy from a military tour in Iraq — and she knows more about medicine than all of the residents combined. Together with fellow nurses Sonia Jimenez (Jamie Lee Kirchner, “Rescue Me”) and Chloe Payne (Michelle Trachtenberg, “Gossip Girl”), Callahan navigates through the daily traumas and social landmines of life and love both inside the hospital and out in the real world. The cast also includes: James Tupper (”Men in Trees”) as Dr. Chris Sands, a new doctor at the hospital who complicates Veronica’s life; Diego Klattenhoff (”Supernatural”) as Mike Callahan, Veronica’s husband; and Guillermo Diaz (”Weeds”) as Nurse Angel Lopez. “Mercy” is a production from Universal Media Studios and Berman Braun. Joining writer/executive producers Liz Heldens (NBC’s “Friday Night Lights”) and Gretchen Berg & Aaron Harberts (”Pushing Daisies,” “Pepper Dennis”) are executive producers Gail Berman and Lloyd Braun. Emmy Award winner Adam Bernstein (NBC’s “30 Rock,” “Rescue Me”) is the director.

Day One

From executive producer/writer Jesse Alexander (”Heroes,” “Lost,” “Alias”) and director Alex Graves (”Fringe,” “Journeyman”), “Day One” tells the story of life on earth following a global catastrophe that has devastated the world’s infrastructures. Beginning with the immediate aftermath of the cataclysmic event, an eclectic band of survivors — played by Adam Campbell (”Date Movie”), Catherine Dent (”The Shield”), Julie Gonzalo (”Eli Stone”), David Lyons (”ER”), Derek Mio (”Greek”), Carly Pope (”24″), Thekla Reuten (”Sleeper Cell”) and Addison Timlin (”Cashmere Mafia”) — strives to rebuild society as they unravel the mysteries of what happened and face their uncertain future. The group, all residents of one apartment building in suburban Van Nuys, Calif., embarks on a quest for survival and discovers that hope is found in small victories — and heroes are born every day. “Day One” is a Universal Media Studios production.

100 Questions

Emmy winner James Burrows (”Will & Grace,” “Friends”) directs “100 Questions,” a new comedy series written and executive-produced by Christopher Moynihan (”For Your Consideration”) that provides hilarious answers to 100 questions about love. Charlotte Payne (Sophie Winkleman, “Peep Show”) is looking for love and has rejected multiple marriage proposals — but she has yet to meet Mr. Right. When she joins a popular online dating site, she gets a little help from her dating counselor Ravi (Amir Talai, “The Ex List”) – who requires her to take a 100-question compatibility test. The questions aren’t easy for Charlotte to answer, and each one requires her to recount a poignant and humorous time in her life with friends Leslie (Elizabeth Ho, “Women’s Murder Club”), Jill (Joy Suprano, NBC’s “Law & Order”), Mike (Christopher Moynihan “For Your Consideration”) and Wayne (David Walton “Quarterlife”). The test becomes a journey of self-discovery for Charlotte who begins to realize what she truly wants in a relationship. Ron West (”Psych”), Kelly Kulchak (”Psych”) and Michelle Nader (”King of Queens”) join Moynihan as executive producers. The series is produced by Universal Media Studios and Tagline.

Community

From Emmy Award-winning directors Joe and Anthony Russo (”Arrested Development”) comes “Community,” a smart comedy series about higher education — and lower expectations. The student body at Greendale Community College is made up of high-school losers, newly divorced housewives, and old people who want to keep their minds active. Within these not-so-hallowed halls, “Community” focuses on a band of misfits, at the center of which is a fast-talkin’ lawyer whose degree has been revoked (Joel McHale, “The Soup”), who form a study group and end up learning a lot more about themselves than they do about their course work. In addition to McHale, the series also stars: Gillian Jacobs (”The Book of Daniel”); Yvette Nicole Brown (”Rules of Engagement”); Danny Pudi (”Greek”); Alison Brie (”Mad Men”); and comedy legend Chevy Chase (”Saturday Night Live”). “Community” is a Krasnoff Foster Entertainment, Harmonious Claptrap and Russo Brothers production in association with Sony Pictures Television and Universal Media Studios. Russ Krasnoff (”The Soloist”), Dan Harmon (”The Sarah Silverman Program”), Joe Russo (”Arrested Development”), Anthony Russo (”Arrested Development”) and Gary Foster (”The Soloist”) serve as executive producers. Joe and Anthony Russo directed the pilot that was written by Dan Harmon.