NBC Adds Four Freshman Dramas & Four New Comedies to 2019-20 Slate

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NBC has unveiled its 2019-20 lineup, which includes dramas starring Jimmy Smits and Jane Levy, and comedies led by Bradley Whitford and Fran Drescher.

“We came into this season from the vantage point of extreme stability, but without any complacency,” said George Cheeks and Paul Telegdy, co-chairmen of NBC Entertainment. “Our 52-week schedule takes into account the seismic shift in viewing habits, balancing short-term wins with long-term potential. Comedy is at the heart of the NBC brand, and we’ve picked up four new comedies that we think viewers will love for generations to come. Our new dramas will compel audiences to tune in week after week to our network while also delivering binge-worthy storylines, and our unparalleled alternative programs continue to delight audiences of all ages, providing enviable launch pads for many of our new shows.”

Bluff City Law, a legal family drama, sees Smits return to the network as a father and an attorney taking on social injustice alongside his daughter, with whom he’s recently reconnected. From executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer, fellow new drama Council of Dads is centered on a father of four who asks a few friends to help him out as back-up dads following a personal health scare. Lincoln, based on The Bone Collector novel, follows a former NYPD detective and forensic genius and his new partner as they crack cases and hunt for a notorious serial killer. Starring Levy, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist centers on a computer coder who starts to hear people’s innermost wants and desires through songs.

NBC’s new comedies include Perfect Harmony, which features Whitford as a former music professor who finds himself supervising a small-town church choir. From Kal Penn and Michael Schur, Sunnyside follows a disgraced New York City councilman who ends up championing a group of hopefuls wishing to become American citizens. Indebted, starring Drescher and Adam Pally as mother and son in an unexpected living arrangement; and The Kenan Show, with Saturday Night Live’s Kenan Thompson as a dad trying to balance fatherhood, work and a difficult father-in-law, will be joining NBC’s comedy lineup later in the year.

NBC’s schedule of live events and specials includes the second season of Making It with Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman, as well as the new Ellen’s Greatest Night of Giveaways, which will feature three one-hour specials of DeGeneres and her celebrity friends delivering life-changing gifts to unsuspecting individuals. DeGeneres’ Ellen’s Game of Games is returning to NBC’s midseason schedule, as is America’s got Talent: The Champions, dramas Manifest and Blindspot and comedies Will & Grace and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

Sundays on NBC are set to be led by women following the football season, with Little Big Shots hosted by Melissa McCarthy, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist and the third season of Good Girls.

In conjunction with the Olympics, NBC’s summer 2020 schedule will be packed with entertainment programming such as the returning World of Dance, American Ninja Warrior and America’s Got Talent.

In addition to the aforementioned returning series at NBC are The Blacklist, Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, Chicago P.D., Dateline NBC, The Good Place, Hollywood Game Night, Law & Order: SVU, NBC Sunday Night Football, New Amsterdam, Superstore, This Is Us, The Voice and The Wall. Additional previously announced new series include Bring the Funny, Small Fortune, Songland, That’s My Jam and the return of Who Do You Think You Are? NBC has yet to announce decisions on Abby’s, A.P. Bio, The Enemy Within, The InBetween, The Titan Games and The Village.

Visit WorldScreen.com’s Fall Season Grid for all the details on the new and returning shows on the U.S. broadcast networks, and a listing of pickups by studio.