Lots of news rolling out from NBC's mid-season schedule today, and we're likely going to have more from the other networks as they start to announce their mid-season stuff as well. But the biggest news at the moment is definitely NBC's decision to pull Community from its slot on Thursday at 8 to make room for the return of 30 Rock. Way to make Tina Fey the bad guy.
It's unclear what's going to happen with the episodes of Community that haven't been aired yet, but NBC is apparently stating that the remaining episodes of the season will be produced and aired at some point next year. It's important to note that this isn't strictly a "cancellation," but it is a pretty terrible vote of no confidence on the part of NBC for Community, and certainly makes it unlikely that it will return next season. That shouldn't be a terrific surprise: quality notwithstanding, it averages around 3.5 million viewers a week. For comparison's sake, Shit My Dad Says was still pulling in 10 million viewers or so a week when it was cancelled by CBS. NBC has apparently stated that Community is being "put on the bench" for a while, but will return to the schedule. Regardless, not a good sign.
Also disappearing from the schedule is Prime Suspect, another show that never quite seemed to find its niche; it'll be replaced with the pilot for The Firm, based on the John Grisham novel and film of the same name. Again, it might not technically be cancelled, but a sudden disappearance from the schedule isn't a good thing. Awake, the Jason Isaacs show that was supposed to be premiering in January or so, is also nowhere to be found; it recently shut down production to focus on scriptwriting, and now we have to wonder if that was the only reason they were shutting down production. If you haven't seen its trailer, you definitely should take a moment to do so.
Here's the full schedule that NBC put out:
MONDAYS
8-10PM 'The Voice' (season premiere Sunday, February 5; series resumes February 6)
10-11PM 'Smash' (beginning February 6)
TUESDAYS
8-10PM 'The Biggest Loser' (beginning January 3)
10-11PM 'Parenthood' (through February 28)
10-11PM 'Fashion Star' (beginning Tuesday, March 13, 9-11 p.m. ET with two-hour premiere; one-hour broadcasts resume March 20)
WEDNESDAYS
8-8:30PM 'Whitney' (beginning January 11)
8:30-9PM 'Are You There, Chelsea?' (beginning January 11)
9-10PM 'Rock Center with Brian Williams' (beginning February 8)
10-11PM 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'
THURSDAYS
8-8:30PM '30 Rock' (beginning January 12)
8:30-9PM 'Parks and Recreation'
9-9:30PM 'The Office'
9:30-10PM 'Up All Night' (beginning January 12)
10-11PM 'The Firm' (two-hour premiere Sunday January 8; Thursday time period premiere January 12)
FRIDAYS
8-9PM 'Who Do You Think You Are?' (beginning February 3)
9-10PM 'Grimm'
10-11PM 'Dateline NBC'
SATURDAYS
8-9PM 'Harry's Law' (encore broadcasts)
9-10PM 'The Firm' (encore broadcasts)
10-11PM 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit' (encore broadcasts)
SUNDAYS
7-9PM 'Dateline NBC' (beginning January 8)
8-9PM 'Harry's Law' (beginning March 4)
9-11PM 'The Celebrity Apprentice' (beginning February 12)
