USA TODAY — NBC is adding two new dramas and a lone new comedy to its largely steady fall schedule, which again relies on anchors This Is Us, The Voice, Sunday Night Football and a trio of Chicago dramas, which will now air back-to-back on Wednesdays.
The new dramas are Manifest, a mystery thriller about plane passengers who discover when their flight lands that the world around them has aged five years, while they've been presumed dead; and New Amsterdam, a medical drama starring Ryan Eggold (The Blacklist) that's inspired by New York's Bellevue Hospital. Manifest will follow The Voiceon Mondays, while Amsterdam will get a plum berth behind This Is Us, TV's top-rated young-adult drama.
Fall's new comedy is I Feel Bad, about an imperfect mom, boss, friend and wife (Sarayu Blue), to follow Will & Grace on Thursdays in NBC's only comedy block, which also includes the returning Superstore and The Good Place.
The full lineup will be unveiled to advertisers Monday, but there's still no word on whether cult favorite Timeless will return. In all, the network picked up five new dramas and two new comedies for the 2018-19 season, along with Brooklyn Nine-Nine, the NBC-owned cop comedy starring Andy Samberg that Fox canceled Thursday after five seasons.
Brooklyn will return with 13 episodes early next year. "We think it fits into our brand of comedy in many ways better than it fit into Fox's brand of comedy," NBC Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt said Sunday, citing an "explosion" of aggrieved fan reaction and the network's interest in the series led by its star, formerly of Saturday Night Live. "We hope that translates to more and more viewing."
NBC has a comfortable lead among young adults this season — and a razor-thin edge over CBS among all viewers — thanks to the Super Bowl, the Winter Olympics and a stable schedule that includes This Is Us, The Voice, a Will & Grace revival and the Chicago franchise.
Among questionable series, NBC this week renewed Blindspot, which returns on Fridays, along with The Blacklist and comedy AP Bio; the latter two series are benched until midseason, along with Good Girls. But it canceled Taken, The Brave, Great News and musical drama Rise.
Greenblatt said he will "honor producers" by making renewal decisions on Timeless, which led USA TODAY's Save Our Shows poll for a second year, and midseason comedy Champions after both shows complete their runs. Both are considered long shots; Timeless airs its two-hour season finale Sunday night.
Also for midseason, NBC has three more dramas and the comedy Abby's, about a backyard-bar owner and her customers; and anAmerica's Got Talent champions spinoff, expected on Mondays in January.
NBC's fall schedule (all times ET/PT; new shows in bold; new time slots in italics):
MONDAY: 8, The Voice; 10, Manifest
TUESDAY: 8, The Voice; 9, This Is Us; 10, New Amsterdam
WEDNESDAY: 8, Chicago Med; 9, Chicago Fire; 10, Chicago P.D.
THURSDAY: 8, Superstore; 8:30, The Good Place; 9, Will & Grace; 9:30, I Feel Bad;10, Law & Order: SVU
FRIDAY: 8, Blindspot; 9, Midnight, Texas; 10, Dateline NBC
SATURDAY: 8, Dateline Saturday Night Mystery; 10, Saturday Night Live (repeats)
SUNDAY: 7, Football Night in America; 8:20, Sunday Night Football
