Nellie Andreeva

NBC To Give ‘Harry’s Law’ Full-Season Order; ‘Prime Suspect’ Gone?

After a pretty dismal fall, NBC is shaking things up in midseason with several scheduling changes. Gone from the lineup is struggling freshman Prime Suspect (NBC says it hasn’t made a final decision on its cancellation), while four series — Whitney, Up All Night, Harry’s Law and Rock Center With Brian Williams — are on the move. NBC is creating a multi-camera comedy block in the 8-9 PM Wednesday hour with Whitney and midseason comedy Are You There, Chelsea (formerly Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me Chelsea; No alcohol-flavored title in the family hour.) The block, which will debut January 11, brings together two female comedians with similar sensibility in Whitney Cummings and Chelsea Handler, on whose books Chelsea is based. A month later, the two comedies will be followed by low-rated newsmagazine Rock Center With Brian Williams. It will take over the Wednesday 9 PM slot from Harry’s Law, which is moving to Sundays. Rock Center had to move out of the Monday 10 PM slot to make room for NBC’s highest-profile new series this season, Broadway drama Smash, which will premiere on February 6 and run in the post-The Voice slot as originally scheduled. NBC’s other changes for midseason include new comedy Up All Night moving to Whitney‘s Thursday 9:30 PM slot; 30 Rock replacing Community on Thursdays at 8 PM; and the John Grisham adaptation The Firm, originally slated for a Sunday midseason run, sliding into Prime Suspect‘s Thursday 10 PM slot. The order for Community has not been reduced, so it’s unclear what NBC will do with the remaining episodes of the college-set comedy. Missing from the midseason lineup is NBC’s ambitious new drama series Awake, which recently took an unplanned break to work on scripts. Here is NBC’s midseason schedule (with premiere dates) that also includes new reality series Fashion Star on Tuesdays at 10 PM and the return of Celebrity Apprentice on Sundays:

MONDAYS

8-10 PM – The Voice (season premiere Sunday, February 5; series resumes February 6)

10-11 PM – SMASH (beginning February 6)

TUESDAYS

8-10 PM – The Biggest Loser (beginning January 3)

10-11 PM – Parenthood (through February 28)

10-11 PM – FASHION STAR (beginning Tuesday, March 13, 9-11 p.m. ET with two-hour premiere; one-hour broadcasts resume March 20)

WEDNESDAYS

8-8:30 PM – Whitney (beginning January 11)

8:30-9 PM – ARE YOU THERE, CHELSEA? (beginning January 11)

9-10 PM – Rock Center with Brian Williams (beginning February 8)

10-11 PM – Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

THURSDAYS

8-8:30 PM – 30 Rock (beginning January 12)

8:30-9 PM – Parks and Recreation

9-9:30 PM – The Office

9:30-10 PM – Up All Night (beginning January 12)

10-11 PM – THE FIRM (two-hour premiere Sunday January 8; Thursday time period premiere January 12)

FRIDAYS

8-9 PM – Who Do You Think You Are? (beginning February 3)

9-10 PM – Grimm

10-11 PM – Dateline NBC

SATURDAYS

8-9 PM – Harry’s Law (encore broadcasts)

9-10 PM — THE FIRM (encore broadcasts)

10-11 PM – Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (encore broadcasts)

SUNDAYS

7-9 PM – Dateline NBC (beginning January 8)

8-9 PM – Harry’s Law (beginning March 4)

9-11 PM – The Celebrity Apprentice (beginning February 12)

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