2014 Upfront Answers, NBC

Last week, I asked "Upfront Questions" to preview each network's fall 2014 schedule. With the schedule now official, here are the "Upfront Answers"!

NBC's upfront previews: True Power Rankings | Upfront Questions

Other Upfront Answers: NBC | Fox | ABC | CBS | CW

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MONDAY

Fall 2014 Schedule
8-10 p.m. — “The Voice”
10-11 p.m. — “The Blacklist” / “STATE OF AFFAIRS” (beginning Nov. 17)

My Question: Which drama gets the best slot on the network?

During the strongest part of The Voice's season, it's... the same one that had it all of last season. It's a move seemingly designed to keep The Blacklist away from CBS' Thursday Night Football (even if it will still face ESPN's Monday Night Football). And when it does head off to try to save NBC's biggest trouble night, it'll do so just four days after a post-Super Bowl airing.

At this point, The Blacklist may be more worth servicing than even the network's #1 new drama, and that's clearly the idea here. But it should be noted that it's not a very good deal for said #1 new drama. It catches the tail end of The Voice's season, which can be up to 25% weaker than the early weeks, and it then runs into holidays and a Voice hiatus after being on the air for about a month.

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TUESDAY

Fall 2014 Schedule
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”

My Question: How dedicated is NBC to getting comedies sampled?

Still pretty dedicated! Not only does a comedy block get The Voice as a lead-in, but it also scores the somewhat respectable The Biggest Loser lead-in on Thursday. As a fan of the abstraction that is "comedy," I like that. But the bottom line is this won't be worth it unless Marry Me becomes something more worthwhile than About a Boy or Go On.

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WEDNESDAY

Fall 2014 Schedule
8-9 p.m. — “THE MYSTERIES OF LAURA”
9-10 p.m. — “Law & Order: SVU”
10-11 p.m. — “Chicago PD”

My Question: Will NBC mess with modest Wednesday success again?

Not really. SVU and PD were a classic "good not great" pairing, and that should continue in 2014-15. I said that the only way to improve 8/7c was with a slightly off-kilter drama, and The Mysteries of Laura would appear to fit that bill. Still, even maintaining Revolution numbers would be a win, and it could bomb pretty hard. The good news is that this hour is relatively low-stakes, much like Thursday 8/7c is for ABC; even if the 8/7c show is a disaster, the 9/8c show should be OK.

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THURSDAY

Fall 2014 Schedule
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” (ed. note: Allegiance joins at midseason)

My Question: Will NBC be scared away from making a real effort on Thursday?

Yes, but only while football is in town. I'd rather see The Biggest Loser held for the February 5 schedule, giving The Blacklist the stablest support possible. Bad Judge and A to Z feel like place-holders whose chances won't be drastically improved with that lead-in, and The Blacklist will probably end up getting some comedy hour in the winter.

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FRIDAY

Fall 2014 Schedule
8-9 p.m. — “Dateline”
9-10 p.m. — “Grimm”
10-11 p.m. — “CONSTANTINE”

My Question: How much money does NBC want to spend on a Grimm lead-out?

They want to spend a "full" amount of money, meaning it would seem we'll have to judge Constantine in this slot by "normal" standards, not by the Dracula/Hannibal co-production ones. They'll expect improvement here. But it's a compatible pairing, so bring it on.

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SUNDAY

Fall 2014 Schedule
7-8:20 p.m. — “Football Night in America”
8:20-11:30 p.m. — "Sunday Night Football”

My Question: Can NBC make Sunday in the spring more of an event than Believe and Crisis did?

All we really know is that The Bible follow-up A.D. will be on this night starting on Easter, which likely already puts it ahead of Believe and Crisis.

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GENERAL IMPRESSIONS

In the press release, Jennifer Salke says, "Comedy is very important to this network," and she ain't kidding. Comedies didn't have to go in the second post-Voice slot. The Biggest Loser won't be much of a lead-in on Thursday, but it's definitely a better deal than they could have gotten. If Marry Me settles in the About a Boy "face-saving" range and Bad Judge / A to Z are classic NBC megabombs, they'll probably not feel too good about these shows of faith. But it says something that they at least have the confidence to try.

Otherwise, this went pretty much how it appeared to be headed, with the exception of NBC's fall plan for The Blacklist. It's a much better deal for the show than throwing it on Thursday in September would've been... and given what that show may end up with lead-in and competition-wise on Thursday, scheduling the episodes more strategically seems smart. Something else to note with respect to competition: even if ABC does end up with Scandal in this 9/8c hour, The Blacklist is likely to premiere during its hiatus. Dueling with wild cards on CBS/Fox, plus something filler-y like The Taste on ABC seems very manageable.