Kenan, Law & Order: Organized Crime, Mr. Mayor, NBC, Small Fortune, That's My Jam, Transplant, Transplant and Who Do You Think You Are, True Story, TV, TV Upfronts, Young Rock
June 16, 2020
by Carla Hay
NBC has officially announced its 2019-2020 schedule, which traditionally takes place during parent company NBCUniversal’s upfront presentation at New York City’s Radio Music Hall. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the event was cancelled and the schedule was announced online on June 16, 2020. Most of the existing shows had previously been announced as renewed. However, the announcement made it official that these shows have been cancelled: “Bluff City Law,” “Perfect Harmony,” “Sunnyside,” “The Good Place,” “Blindspot,” “Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector,” “Indebted,” “The InBetween,” “The Village” and “Will & Grace.”
NBC has not yet decided the fates of “America’s Got Talent: The Champions,” “World of Dance,” “Songland,” “The Titan Games,” “Bring the Funny,” “Hollywood Game Night,” “Council of Dads,” “Little Big Shots” and “The Wall.” Meanwhile, “A.P. Bio” moves from NBC to Peacock, the NBCUniversal-owned streaming service that expands from the Comcast Xfinity subscriber base to a more comprehensive launch on July 15, 2020.
New scripted shows include “Young Rock,” “Mr. Mayor,” “Kenan,” “Transplant” (which previously aired in Canada on CTV) and “Law & Order: Organized Crime.” Unscripted/alternative shows include “True Story,” “Small Fortune,” “That’s My Jam” and “Who Do You Think You Are?,” a celebrity ancestry show that originally aired on NBC from 2010 to 2012, then on TLC from 2013 to 2018. Several familiar names in television will have new shows on NBC as stars and/or executive producers, including “Mr. Mayor” star Ted Danson (formerly of “Cheers” and “The Good Place”); “Law & Order: Organized Crime” star Christopher Meloni (formerly of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”); “Kenan” star Kenan Thompson (“Saturday Night Live”); and “True Story” hosts Ed Helms (formerly of “The Office”) and Randall Park (formerly of “Fresh Off the Boat”).
Fall premiere dates will be announced at a later time. Please note that shows picked up but not listed on the schedule below will have their season premieres at other times in the 2020-2021 season. They include new shows “Kenan,” “Mr. Mayor,” “Small Fortune,” “Transplant,” “That’s My Jam,” “True Story,” “Who Do You Think You Are?” and “Young Rock,” as well as renewed shows “American Ninja Warrior,” “Good Girls,” “America’s Got Talent,” “Making It” and “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist.”
The following is an excerpt from an NBC press release:
NBC FALL 2020-2021 SCHEDULE
All times listed are Eastern Time only.
MONDAY
8-10 p.m. “The Voice”
10-11 p.m. “Manifest”**
TUESDAY
8-9 p.m. “The Voice”
9-10 p.m. “This Is Us”
10-11 p.m. “New Amsterdam”**
WEDNESDAY
8-9 p.m. “Chicago Med”**
9-10 p.m. “Chicago Fire”**
10-11 p.m. “Chicago P.D.”**
THURSDAY
8-8:30 p.m. “Superstore”*
8:30-9 p.m. “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”
9-10 p.m. “Law & Order: SVU”**
10-11 p.m. “Law & Order: Organized Crime”**
FRIDAY
8-9 p.m. “The Blacklist”**
9-11 p.m. “Dateline NBC”**
SATURDAY
8-10 p.m. “Dateline Saturday Night Mystery”**
10-11 p.m. “Saturday Night Live” (encores)
SUNDAY
7-8:20 p.m. “Football Night in America”
8:20-11 p.m. “NBC Sunday Night Football”
**=New episodes available on Peacock
NEW DRAMA SERIES
“LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME”
The drama features Christopher Meloni reprising his beloved “Law & Order: SVU” role as Elliot Stabler, who returns to the NYPD to battle organized crime after a devastating personal loss. However, the city and police department have changed dramatically in the decade he’s been away, and he must adapt to a criminal justice system in the midst of its own moment of reckoning. Throughout the series, we will follow Stabler’s journey to find absolution and rebuild his life, while leading a new elite task force that is taking apart the city’s most powerful criminal syndicates one by one.
“TRANSPLANT”
(previously aired on CTV)
The 13-episode series centers on Dr. Bashir “Bash” Hamed, a Syrian doctor with battle-tested skills in emergency medicine who fled his country with his younger sister, Amira. Together they struggle to build a new life in Canada as Bash strives to rebuild his career in medicine.
“Transplant” stars Hamza Haq (“Quantico”), Laurence Leboeuf (“The Disappearance”), John Hannah (“Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”), Jim Watson (“Mary Kills People”) and Ayisha Issa (“Polar”).
Creator Joseph Kay serves as executive producer along with Jocelyn Deschenes, Bruno Dube, Randy Lennox, Virginia Rankin, Jeremy Spry and Tara Woodbury.
Developed at CTV, “Transplant” is produced by Sphère Média Plus in association with CTV and NBCUniversal International Studios, a division of NBCUniversal Content Studios. NBCUniversal Global Distribution handles worldwide distribution for the series.
NEW COMEDY SERIES
“KENAN”
In this family comedy, Kenan Thompson strives to be a super dad to his two adorable girls while simultaneously balancing his job and a father-in-law who “helps” in the most inappropriate ways.
The cast includes Kenan Thompson, Punam Patel, Dani Lockett, Dannah Lockett and Andy Garcia.
Jackie Clarke will write and executive produce. Chris Rock will direct and executive produce. Kenan Thompson, Lorne Michaels and Andrew Singer will executive produce.
“The Kenan Show” is produced by Universal Television in association with Broadway Video.
“MR. MAYOR”
“Mr. Mayor” follows a wealthy businessman (Ted Danson) who runs for mayor of Los Angeles for all the wrong reasons. Once he wins he has to figure out what he stands for, gain the respect of his staff, and connect with his teenage daughter, all while controlling the coyote population.
From Universal Television, Tina Fey and Robert Carlock (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”, “30 Rock”), and 3 Arts Entertainment. Ted Danson, Holly Hunter, Bobby Moynihan, and Vella Lovell are set to star.
“YOUNG ROCK”
From Nahnatchka Khan and Dwayne Johnson, NBC has given an 11-episode series order to “Young Rock,” a single-cam comedy inspired by Johnson himself.
The series will be executive produced by Nahnatchka Khan, Dwayne Johnson, Jeff Chiang, Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia, Brian Gewirtz and Jennifer Carreras. The show will be produced by Universal Television, Seven Bucks Productions and Fierce Baby Productions.
The pilot was co-written by Khan and Chiang. Johnson will appear in each episode as the focus and inspiration of the series will be about his formative years.
Johnson and Garcia’s Seven Bucks Productions is a global entertainment force with film revenues exceeding $10 billion worldwide. Johnson currently stars in “Jumanji: The Next Level” which has grossed over $600M worldwide and will next star in Disney’s “Jungle Cruise.” Johnson and Garcia will also return to executive produce the second season of NBC’s “The Titan Games,” Johnson also serves as host.
Writer/director/showrunner Khan’s Fierce Baby Productions is a film and TV production company focused on amplifying new voices and perspectives in both comedy and drama. Khan is the creator and executive producer of the groundbreaking television series “Fresh Off the Boat,” currently airing its sixth and final season, and previously “Don’t Trust the B—- In Apartment 23,” which ran for two seasons on ABC.
NEW ALTERNATIVE SERIES
“SMALL FORTUNE”
NBC is offering contestants the opportunity to amass a “Small Fortune” as the network has nabbed a six-episode order of Youngest Media’s unscripted competition series. The U.S. series will be based on the popular U.K. format that launched on ITV in February.
“Small Fortune” will see teams of three friends compete in the tiniest of challenges for a chance to win big money. From a shrunk down Oval Office (“The Waste Wing”) to a mini Arc de Triomphe (“Arc de Wee-Omph”) each team must prove their skills on playing fields that have been squeezed down to the size of a dollhouse. Challenges will require considerable dexterity and intense focus because with games this small, there’s no room for error as the slightest miscalculation or tremble may result in elimination.
To take home the ultimate Small Fortune, teams that make it to the end must tackle one last teeny-tiny but epic game. If players can control their nerves and avoid the slightest mistake they will walk away with a big cash prize.
As the saying goes, good things come in small packages.
“Small Fortune” will be co-produced by Universal Television Alternative Studio and entertainment studio Youngest Media, which created and produced the U.K. format. Lucas Church and David Flynn will serve as executive producers for Youngest Media alongside Michael Binkow, who will serve as executive producer and showrunner for the series.
“THAT’S MY JAM”
It turns out Jimmy Fallon’s viral smash “Wheel of Musical Impressions” was only the beginning. Drawing inspiration from the wildly popular, celebrity-fueled musical segments made famous on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” NBC has hit play on a 10-episode order for the new unscripted series “That’s My Jam.”
Executive produced by Jimmy Fallon, the hourlong competition series will be infused with Fallon’s one-of-a-kind comedic style, feel-good energy, and a carousel of his classic and brand-new music-based games, featuring a new group of celebrities each week.
The format was brought to Universal Television Alternative Studio by Fallon, longtime “Tonight Show” producer Jim Juvonen and writer Josh Knapp. Jeff Apploff will serve as showrunner.
“TRUE STORY”
“True Story” is a hilarious new series co-hosted by award-winning actor-comedians Ed Helms (“The Office,” “The Hangover”) and Randall Park (“Fresh Off the Boat,” “Always Be My Maybe”). Helms will also executive produce.
Based on the critically acclaimed Australian megahit “True Story with Hamish & Andy,” “True Story” is a six-episode hybrid alternative-scripted series in which everyday Americans sit down with Helms and Park to share their most extraordinary and unbelievably true stories for the first time.
As the stories unfold, events are humorously brought to life by a star-studded cast of comedians and actors in heightened, dramatized re-enactments of cinematic proportions. In a first-of-its-kind format, “True Story” will give real people their very own biopic with well-known celebrities cast in the title role.
Each hourlong episode will feature two real-life stories. A premiere date will be announced in the future.
“True Story” is executive produced by Tim Bartley, Hamish Blake, Andy Lee, Ryan Shelton, Ed Helms, Mike Falbo and Nicolle Yaron, who will also serve as showrunner. The series is produced by Warner Horizon in association with Pacific Electric Picture Co. and Universal Television Alternative Studio.
“WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?”
The Emmy Award-winning documentary series “Who Do You Think You Are?” returns to celebrate all new journeys of self-discovery, connection and diversity on NBC with 13 episodes. A new group of celebrities will celebrate culture and set sail on their mission to connect with their personal history.
From executive producers Lisa Kudrow, Dan Bucatinsky and Ancestry, the global leader in family history and consumer genomics, the series returns to NBC at a time when ancestral and genealogical exploration is enjoying unprecedented popularity. Cutting-edge research tools and billions of digitized records from Ancestry will provide remarkable insights into the star’s background and illustrate the cultural mosaic that connects us all together.
Each week a different celebrity will go on a poignant search to trace their family tree with the help of historians and experts, unlocking past mysteries and unbelievable real-life stories across the world and through time.
“Who Do You Think You Are” will be produced by Shed Media and Is or Isn’t Entertainment. Lisa Kudrow, Dan Bucatinsky, Pam Healey and Stephanie Schwam will executive produce.