Like a slow-motion train crash, NBC’s Jay Leno-Conan O’Brien shakeup is leaving a trail of mangled victims in its wake (though oddly enough, not NBC executive Jeff Zucker, who could have cost his network $200 million).
But for a handful of shows, it’s potentially good news. NBC is going to have an extra five hours a week of programming to fill once the Winter Olympics are over. And five nights of “Dateline” probably won’t cut it. So here’s a look at what might fill the gaps (hint: Get ready for lots of “Law & Order”):
“Law & Order: SVU.” This is a given. The 11th season is about ready to go, and it’ll be a perfect fit at 10 p.m.
“Law & Order.” There are a bunch of regularly scheduled episodes in the can and ready to go.
“Law & Order: Criminal Intent.” NBC can use a handful of epiodes that aired on USA last season to plug a few holes.
“Friday Night Lights.” Here’s where it gets interesting. NBC was saving the fourth season (currently seen on DirecTV) for the summer. But the network has the right to air it starting March 1. Nice timing, eh? The one problem is, “FNL” got awful ratings on NBC last spring, so the network might be wary of putting it in a prime timeslot.
“Trauma.” The series that just won’t die. It still has six episodes yet to air, and shooting is still going on in San Francisco. So don’t be surprised if it gets a few more episodes added to pad out the season.
“Mercy.” A similar situation — no one’s watching it, but it’s still being made so it’d be an easy solution to just add some more episodes.
“Chuck.” It just barely survived renewal last season, but last night’s season premiere drew big ratings. And now that there’s more breathing room for hourlong series, it’s suddenly looking pretty good for a fourth season.
“Heroes.” Thought was, this would be the last season (the season finale apparently will work as a series finale). But like “Chuck,” that extra hour of programming might give it another chance. Though in this case it’s less deserved.
“Parenthood.” The upcoming drama starring Peter Krause and Lauren Graham already has good buzz and now has some room to breathe.
Meanwhile, “Southland,” which would have been perfect for NBC at 10 p.m. but got canceled because of the Leno logjam, kicks off on TNT starting Tuesday. Big fat “D’oh!” on that one. And remember “Day One,” about the survivors of a mysterious catastrophe that was first going to be an NBC series, then got downgraded to a miniseries? Well now it’s a two-hour movie. Whups.
Of course, there’s always Plan C, which would be more crappy reality shows. Knowing the brain trust at NBC, I wouldn’t put it past them.
