To no one’s surprise, NBC has announced midseason sitcom launches that try to take maximum adventage of the upcoming Winter Olympics–and The Voice. Starting on February 25, the first Tuesday after the Olympics ends, ABOUT A BOY and GROWING UP FISHER will air in the 9PM hour, running directly after the Tuesday edition of The Voice. (Both shows will first “preview” in slots after Olympics coverage, a move that proved successful–in the short term, at least–for last year’s Go On, with About A Boy on Friday Feb 21 and Fisher taking the post-Closing Ceremonies slot on Sunday Feb 23.) Unless one of the other networks blinks, this will create the same Tuesday 9PM 3-way pile-up of sitcoms that seemed to hurt everyone last season, with FOX and ABC also airing single-camera comedies in the same hour. Obviously, this time NBC thinks the so-so competition is ripe for the picking, especially since The Voice will dominate the 8PM hour.
NBC also confirmed that its new dramas BELIEVE and CRISIS will run on Sunday nights beginning on March 16. Both shows have had their share of trouble behind the scenes (departing showrunners, unplanned hiatuses), so the way they’ve ended up is an open question. On March 23, they’ll be joined at 8PM by the reality show AMERICAN DREAM BUILDERS.
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