NBC Pairs This Is Us, Will & Grace Revival for “Must-See TV” Thursdays

NBC has revealed its 2017-18 schedule, which sees the breakout hit This Is Us moving to Thursday nights, paired with the return of Will & Grace to revive the “must-see TV” franchise.

Monday nights will see The Voice leading into the freshman drama The Brave, in which a team of highly trained analysts and Special Ops forces in Washington, D.C., work together to execute missions in some of the most dangerous places in the world.

On Tuesdays, The Voice will provide a lead-in for the returning comedies Superstore and The Good Place. The night wraps with Chicago Fire returning to its 10 p.m. time slot.

The Blacklist moves to the 8 p.m. slot on Wednesdays, a night packed with returning dramas: Law & Order: SVU at 9 p.m. and Chicago P.D. at 10 p.m.

Thursdays will be the anchor of the new schedule, leading off with the return of Will & Grace. This will be followed by the sophomore season of the comedy Great News, and This Is Us moves into the 9 p.m. slot on its new night. Dick Wolf’s new true-crime event series Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders will cap off the evening. Also, This Is Us has landed the coveted post-Super Bowl slot on February 4, 2018.

Blindspot moves to Fridays at 8 p.m., followed by the returning drama Taken. The long-running Dateline NBC holds down the 10 p.m. hour.

Saturdays continue to feature Dateline Saturday Night Mystery and Saturday Night Live encores. Sundays will be dominated by football. After the NFL season, Sundays will feature Little Big Shots, Ellen’s Game of Games from Ellen DeGeneres and the return of Jennifer Lopez’s Shades of Blue.

New dramas that will launch in midseason include Rise, from Parenthood and Friday Night Lights producer Jason Katims and Hamilton producer Jeffrey Seller. It stars Josh Radnor (How I Met Your Mother), Rosie Perez (Oscar nominee) and Auli’i Cravalho (Moana). Also coming midseason, Good Girls is from executive producer Jenna Bans (Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal). The show is billed as a mix of Thelma & Louise with Breaking Bad. Reverie, starring Sarah Shahi, is also set for midseason. Timeless, which was previously thought to be canceled, will return.

In the way of comedies, premiering later this season are A.P. Bio from executive producers Lorne Michaels and Seth Meyers, and Champions, from Charlie Grandy (The Office) and Mindy Kaling (The Mindy Project).

New alternative series include The Awesome Show, from executive producers Chris Hardwick (The Wall), Mark Burnett (The Voice) and Silicon Valley’s Singularity University; Genius Junior, hosted by Neil Patrick Harris; and The Handmade Project, from executive producers Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman.

“We have very promising new series that will join one of our strongest returning lineups to date,” said Jennifer Salke, the president of NBC Entertainment. “We’re proud of our roster of distinctive dramas that includes original concepts such as The Blacklist or Blindspot, not to mention the enduring legacy of Dick Wolf, who will also bring a new true-crime series to the network next fall. This Is Us has quickly become a defining moment for the NBC brand, and we look forward to launching bold new series such as The Brave, Rise, Reverie and Good Girls. Our comedy profile, too, is starting to hit its stride, and we’re thrilled to welcome new comedies with sought-after producers such as Mindy Kaling, Lorne Michaels and Seth Meyers.”

“With the number one ratings of The Voice plus consistent Sunday leadership of Little Big Shots along with television’s top-rated prime-time game show The Wall, NBC remains number one in alternative programs for a fourth straight season,” said Paul Telegdy, the president of the alternative and reality group at NBC Entertainment. “We look forward to finishing out the broadcast year with the perennial number one summer series America’s Got Talent, last summer’s top new broadcast series Better Late Than Never and American Ninja Warrior, which delivered its most-watched season ever. And the alternative momentum continues next year with a slate of inventive new projects from some of the most desirable names in the industry—Amy Poehler, Nick Offerman, Ellen DeGeneres, Neil Patrick Harris, Chris Hardwick and Mark Burnett.”