'Tis the Midseason

While I was on hiatus (fancy term for 'too lazy to write a blog post'), NBC and FOX announced their midseason schedules, both of which contain quite a bit of shaking up.

Let's start with NBC. NBC apparently thinks you have a DVR. The Cape will have a two hour premiere on Sunday, January 9th before moving into a Monday slot at 8 (all of these times will be Central Standard, by the way). All of these episodes will be burned off before the end of February, which would lead me to believe that NBC does not have much faith in it. Harry's Law is getting the same burn- off treatment. The Event is on a three month hiatus (because it worked so well for Flashforward...?) and will resume its original time slot once The Cape is done. Parenthood will move to Harry's Law's timeslot once it finishes, which does not bode well for either show.

The most interesting thing about NBC's schedule is the extention of the three- hour Thursday night comedy block. Community will remain where it is now, followed by Perfect Couples (which is apparently the only midseason comedy NBC has any faith in, as the status of the other two have not been announced). The Office will remain where it is now because it's the only success NBC currently has and they can't risk moving it. Parks and Recreation will now have the coveted post- Office timeslot it was always supposed to have. 30 Rock will start the 9'O'Clock hour, followed by Outsourced. What happens to these shows' ratings is wildly unpredictable as comedy doesn't typically do well after 9. NBC renewed 30 Rock as a symbol of good faith for the show and I think 30 Rock will stay constant at that time slot. Outsourced, however, I think will flop without the Office lead-in.

FOX seems done with putting up with mediocre ratings. Lie to Me and Human Target will both be burned off by February (Human Target is doomed to be canceled and Lie to Me could only be renewed as a summer series) and Fringe has been moved to Fridays. Fringe will only be renewed if it can maintain the ratings it has now or only drops slightly, as FOX has never had anywhere near a successful show on Fridays. I don't know how likely this is (it's called the death-slot for a reason) but if the audience is dedicated enough, it's a possibility. FOX also moved the second night of American Idol to Thursday, almost mocking NBC by pitting its only successful night against the number one show on television.