Before we even begin with the announcements, how sad are we that “Scrubs” isn’t on the fall schedule?
Even telling us that it will return as a midseason replacement series doesn’t give me a happy face.
So what will we be seeing this fall on NBC?
NBC is loading its new 2006-07 primetime schedule with six new dramas and four new comedies. Sunday’s filled with football for those who care. Which isn’t me.
The new dramas are:
“Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” ( 9 p.m.Thursdays), Emmy
Award winner Aaron Sorkin’s (“The West Wing”) insider’s take on the backstage drama of a late-night comedy sketch show, with Matthew Perry, Amanda Peet and Bradley Whitford (“The West Wing”).
“Kidnapped” (9 p.m. Tuesdays), a serialized thriller about a teenaged boy’s kidnapping starring Jeremy Sisto (“Six Feet Under”) and Delroy Lindo (“The Core”).
“Friday Night Lights” (8 p.m. Tuesdays) inspired by the hit feature film that conveys the passion and sky-high expectations of a small Texas town for its top-ranked football team. Stars Kyle Chandler (“King Kong”).
“Heroes” (9 p.m. Mondays) centers on the radically changed lives of several ordinary people who find they possess extraordinary powers.
The two new comedies are:
“20 Good Years” (9 p.m.Wednesdays) starring John Lithgow and Jeffrey Tambor as two buddies facing a late-life crisis.
“30 Rock” stars Tina Fey (“Saturday Night Live”) as the head writer of a frenetic late-night television variety show (Fey is also the writer and an executive producer with Lorne Michaels). Alec Baldwin (“The Aviator”) and Tracy Morgan (“Saturday Night Live”) co-star.
Midseason shows include the drama “TheBlack Donnellys” from “Crash” Oscar winners Paul Haggis and Bobby
Moresco. The series is a gritty saga about four working-class
Irish brothers’ exploits in organized crime. It will debut at 10 p.m. Thursdays
and continue with consecutive original episodes. As a result, “ER” will premiere in its 13th season this fall at 10 p.m. Thursdays and will run with virtually continuous original episodes until its
cliffhanger in December. The Emmy-winning series will resume after “The
Black Donnellys” completes its first season.
After the NFL season concludes in January 2007, the new Sunday lineup will feature “America’s Got Talent” with host Regis Philbinpresiding over a wide-open national talent contest produced by Simon Cowell and a new cycle of “The Apprentice.”
We’re so over Trump’s folly, but maybe that’s just us.
After Trump will be the new drama “Raines,” starring Jeff Goldblum (“The Lost World: Jurassic Park”) as an eccentric police detective.
Also for mid-season are new comedies “The Singles Table,” depicting a group of witty and single strangers who meet, console
and befriend each other at a wedding, and “Andy Barker, P.I.,” starring Andy Richter. as an earnest CPA who embraces the unlikely chance to become a private detective.
Fan favorites “Crossing Jordan” and “Scrubs” will return to the NBC schedule at some point later in the season.
NBC PRIMETIME SCHEDULE FOR FALL 2006-07
MONDAY
8-9 p.m. “Deal or No Deal”
9-10 p.m. “HEROES”
10-11 p.m. “Medium”
TUESDAY
8-9 p.m. “FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS”
9-10 p.m. “KIDNAPPED”
10-11 p.m. “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”
WEDNESDAY
8-9 p.m. “The Biggest Loser”
9-9:30 p.m. “20 GOOD YEARS”
9:30-10 p.m. “30 ROCK”
10-11 p.m. “Law & Order”
THURSDAY
8-8:30 p.m. “My Name Is Earl” (new time)
8:30-9 p.m. “The Office” (new time)
9-10 p.m. “STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP”
10-11 p.m. “ER”/(“THE BLACK DONNELLYS” in January 2007)
FRIDAY
8-9 p.m. “Deal or No Deal”
9-10 p.m. “Las Vegas”
10-11 p.m. “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” (new day and time)
SATURDAY
8-9 p.m. “Dateline Saturday”
9-11 p.m. Drama Series Encores
SUNDAY
7-8 p.m. “FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA”
8-11 p.m. “SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL”