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NBC dropped some good news to take us into the weekend.
The network unveiled its 2024 fall schedule, highlighting fan-favorite franchise dramas, two nights of laughs, huge unscripted hits and the biggest and best live specials and holiday programming.
If that seems like a mouthful, the details will probably help you see what’s what.
FALL SEASON
Three new series are set to premiere in the fall, including the drama Brilliant Minds, starring Zachary Quinto and inspired by the true story of a revolutionary, larger-than-life neurologist, Oliver Wolf, and his team of interns as they explore the last great frontier — the human mind — while also grappling with their own relationships and mental health.
St. Denis Medical, which stars Wendi McLendon-Covey, Allison Tolman, and David Alan Grier and is from co-creators Justin Spitzer and Eric Ledgin, brings the laughs with a mockumentary about an underfunded, understaffed Oregon hospital where the dedicated doctors and nurses try their best to treat patients while maintaining their own sanity.
Reba McEntire returns to comedy with multi-camera Happy’s Place, in which her character inherits her father’s bar and is less than thrilled to discover that she has a new business partner in the half-sister she never knew she had.
All new series will stream next day on Peacock along with the rest of NBC’s entertainment lineup.
MIDSEASON
The network’s highly anticipated, 10-part tentpole event series The Americas arrives on Feb. 23 with a special two-hour premiere. Narrated by actor, producer, and writer Tom Hanks with music by two-time Oscar winner Hans Zimmer, the natural history series is five years in the making and filled with extraordinary new discoveries.
It marks the first time North America and South America, home to the largest variety of life on the planet, are at the center of a wildlife documentary series. The series features many iconic locations in the United States, which viewers and their families will instantly recognize but experience like they’ve never seen before.
Also arriving in 2025 are two new pulse-pounding shows.
Reality competition series Destination X premieres, which combines a spectacular adventure with immersive gameplay and the ultimate guessing game, and procedural drama The Hunting Party starring Melissa Roxburgh (Manifest), which will see a team of investigators attempt to capture the country’s most dangerous killers.
Deal or No Deal Island returns a new set of contestants to the Banker’s private island for season two.
Saturday Night Live will mark its milestone 50th anniversary with a celebratory weekend culminating in a live, two-hour primetime special on Sunday, Feb. 16, beginning at 8/7c.
As part of NBC’s rolling development cycle, the following projects have been picked up to pilot, with decisions yet to be made on series pickup: Dramas Grosse Pointe Garden Society from Jenna Bans and Bill Krebs (Good Girls) and Suits: L.A. from the world of hit legal drama Suits and original creator Aaron Korsh.
With NBC’s 52-week scheduling strategy, these pilots – if picked up to series – could air later in the 2024-25 season or roll over to the 2025-26 season.
NBC FALL 2024-25 SCHEDULE
(New programs in UPPER CASE; all times ET/PT)
MONDAY
8-10 P.M. — The Voice
10-11 P.M. — BRILLIANT MINDS
TUESDAY
8-8:30 P.M. —ST. DENIS MEDICAL
8:30-9 P.M. — Night Court
9-10 P.M. — The Voice
10-11 P.M. — The Irrational
WEDNESDAY
8-9 P.M. — Chicago Med
9-10 P.M. — Chicago Fire
10-11 P.M. — Chicago P.D.
THURSDAY
8-9 P.M. — Law & Order
9-10 P.M. — Law & Order: SVU
10-11 P.M. — Found
FRIDAY
8-8:30 P.M. — HAPPY’S PLACE
8:30-9 P.M. — Lopez vs. Lopez
9-11 P.M — Dateline NBC
SATURDAY
7-7:30 P.M. ET— Big Ten Pregame / Notre Dame Pregame (also live on Peacock)
7:30-11 P.M. ET— Big Ten Saturday Night / Notre Dame Football (also live on Peacock)
SUNDAY
7-8:20 P.M. ET— Football Night in America (also live on Peacock)
8:20-11 P.M. ET— NBC Sunday Night Football (also live on Peacock)
NEW COMEDY SERIES
HAPPY’S PLACE
Bobbi (Reba McEntire) inherits her father’s bar and is less than thrilled to discover that she has a new business partner in the half-sister she never knew she had. (Multi-cam)
The series stars Reba McEntire, Belissa Escobedo, Melissa Peterman, Pablo Castelblanco, Tokala Black Elk and Rex Linn.
ST. DENIS MEDICAL
A mockumentary about an underfunded, understaffed Oregon hospital where the dedicated doctors and nurses try their best to treat patients while maintaining their own sanity. (Single-cam)
The cast includes Wendi McClendon-Covey, David Alan Grier, Allison Tolman, Josh Lawson, Mekki Leeper, Kahyun Kim and Kaliko Kauahi.
NEW DRAMA SERIES
BRILLIANT MINDS
Inspired by the extraordinary life and work of world-famous author and physician Oliver Sacks, Brilliant Minds follows a revolutionary, larger-than-life neurologist and his team of interns as they explore the last great frontier – the human mind – while grappling with their own relationships and mental health.
The cast includes Zachary Quinto, Tamberla Perry, Ashleigh LaThrop, Alex MacNicoll, Aury Krebs, Spence Moore II, Teddy Sears, and Donna Murphy.
THE HUNTING PARTY
A high-concept crime procedural about a small team of investigators who are assembled to track down and capture the most dangerous killers our country has ever seen, all of whom have just escaped from a top-secret prison that’s not supposed to exist. Melissa Roxrburgh will star.
NEW UNSCRIPTED SERIES
THE AMERICAS
From BBC Studios Natural History Unit, the creators of the critically acclaimed and multi-Emmy Award-winning Planet Earth and Blue Planet, in association with Universal Television Alternative Studio, comes the epic 10-part tentpole event series The Americas.
Marking the first time acclaimed actor, producer, and writer Tom Hanks will narrate an unscripted entertainment series, The Americas will also feature music by two-time Oscar winner Hans Zimmer.
This incomparable project will employ revolutionary filmmaking technology that will showcase the wonders, secrets, and fragilities of the Americas – Earth’s largest landmass and the only one to stretch between both poles – and reveal extraordinary, untold wildlife stories that deeply connect with millions around the world.
DESTINATION X
Merging fantasy with reality in this larger-than-life adventure competition series, viewers will follow contestants as they embark on the road trip of a lifetime but have no idea of their location. In order to win, they must figure out their mystery locations.
Once they’re on the blacked-out Destination X bus, the journey transforms into a real-life game board, with challenges designed to offer clever clues as to their location, along with a few misdirects to keep them guessing.
At the end of each episode, the contestant who places an X on a map furthest from the actual location packs their bags. The first participant to reach Destination X will be crowned the winner. With high stakes and mind-blowing, spectacular gameplay, the series will keep viewers engaged and playing along on all screens.
NEW SPECIALS
DEFYING GRAVITY: THE CURTAIN RISES ON WICKED
In celebration of the generation-defining cinematic event of the year, international superstars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande lead an all-star cast in a journey through a dazzling new vision of Oz created for Universal Pictures’ Wicked.
As they unveil some of the most spectacular sets ever created for the film, Wicked stars Erivo and Grande are joined by Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey, and more to host this thrilling behind-the-scenes special, sharing their personal memories, intimate video diaries and secrets of the making of Wicked, culminating in the debut of a world-exclusive scene from the film.
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She’s a member of the Critic’s Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.
