NBC began the annual week of network upfronts, when broadcasters announce new shows and unveil fall schedules in hopes of locking down advertisers, in a manner that many networks will follow: With surprisingly few new shows.
Just three new series were announced for the fall, one comedy and two dramas. Another three dramas and one comedy is planned for midseason. The only new reality shows either originated in summer, such as “World of Dance” or are variations like “America’s Got Talent: The Champions.”
Some of the biggest news came in switching days for returning shows. With “Law & Order: SVU” moving to Thursdays, there will now be three of Dick Wolf’s Windy City series back to back on Wednesdays: “Chicago Med,” “Chicago Fire” and “Chicago P.D.” NBC also caused some attention by picking up “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” for its sixth season after Fox canceled it.
The new dramas are:
- “Manifest” – Talk about adjusting to a time change on a flight. Passengers on Montego Air Flight 828 are surprised to find that when they land, five years have gone by on the ground and they have to adjust accordingly. God knows what happened to their luggage. The cast includes melissa Roxburgh, Josh Dallas, Athena Karkanis and J.R. Ramirez from a production team that includes Robert Zemeckis. Mondays this fall.
- “New Amsterdam” – Ryan Eggold of “The Blacklist” stars as a charismatic new medical director who wants to shake up the oldest public hospital in America in this medical procedural. Freema Agyeman, janet Montgomery and Jocko Sims co-star. Peter Horton is part of the production team. Tuesdays this fall.
- “The Enemy Within” – Jennifer Carpenter of “Dexter” stars as a former CIA operative now imprisoned as a traitor, who is nonetheless enlisted to fight a specific foe. Morris Chestnut, Raza Jaffrey and Kelli Garner co-star. Midseason.
- “The In-Between” – In what looks like a variant of “The Medium,” Harriet Dyer stars as a woman who can communicate with the dead and helps solve crimes with detectives. Anne-Marie Johnson, Cindy Luna also star. Midseason.
- “The Village” – Multiple stories from a single apartment building in Brooklyn including a nurse, law student, military veteran. With Moran Atias, Dominic Chianese, Lorraine Toussaint and Grace Van Dien. Midseason.
The new comedies are:
- “I Feel Bad” – Sarayu Blue stars as a working wife and mother who ties to do it all and has problems. With Paul Edelstein, Aisling Bea, Zach Cherry and Jonny Pemberton. it’s from Amy Poehler’s production team. Thursdays this fall.
- “Abby’s” – In what sounds like Mike Schur’s stab at “Cheers,” a woman runs a backyard bar in San Diego. The cast includes Natalie Morales, Nelson Franklin, Jessica Chaffin, Kimia Behpoornia and Neil Flynn. Midseason.
Returning shows include “A.P. Bio,” “America’s Got Talent,” “American Ninja Warrior,” “The Blacklist,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” (which had been on Fox), “Chicago Fire,” “Chicago Med,” “Chicago PD,” “Dateline,” “Ellen’s Game of Games,” “”Good Girls,” “The Good Place,” “Hollywood Game Night,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “Little Big Shots,” “Marlon,” “Midnight, Texas,” “Superstore,” “Trial & Error,” ”This is Us,” “The Voice,” “The Wall,” “Will & Grace” and “World of Dance.”
Gone from the schedule are: “The Brave,” “The Carmichael Show,” “Law & Order: True Crime,” “Great News,” “The Night Shift,” “Rise” and “Taken.”
Fate is still to be determined for the second season of the comedy “Champions” and the third season of “Timeless,” the drama that found itself on the same precipice last year.
Other networks announce their 2017-18 schedules all week.