NBC's fall schedule, upfront revealed

Exclusive: This fall, NBC will have an action-adventure Monday night, a crime drama Wednesday and an all-comedy Thursday. Despite expectations, NBC will not launch a new comedy block.

The network's Monday upfront presentation will begin with a taped message from Alec Baldwin as his "30 Rock" character Jack Donaghy praising advertisers as "the bright shining sun in our money universe." Baldwin throws to NBC's entertainment chairman Jeff Gaspin, who acknowledges that the network has made some mistakes this season, but is moving on with a strong new slate.* Entertainment president Angela Bromstad will walk media buyers through the schedule.

Bromstad will acknowledge that having several new and returning comedies tempted the network to expand beyond Thursdays, "but ultimately we decided that's where our audience expects them."

With the addition of hourlong comedy "Love Bites" to Thursdays at 10 p.m., NBC will be able to tout a pure comedy lineup on the evening. The move shifts "Parks & Recreation" to midseason, however, along with the rest of the network's new comedy pickups. Tina Fey will also appear at the presentation to give NBC executives some scripted grief about moving "30 Rock" to an earlier time period.

The network will show a full 15-minute segment from "Bites," along with trailers for "The Event," "Chase," "Undercovers," "Outsourced," "Outlaw" and "Law & Order: Los Angeles" ("LOLA" doesn't have any footage, just iconic Los Angeles imagery and substituting "Law & Order" for the Hollywood sign).

New midseason shows will include "The Cape," "Friends With Benefits," "Perfect Couples," "Harry’s Law"
and "Next" (now called "The Paul Reiser Show").

NBC's fall schedule is below:

***New shows in red

Executive quotes:

"This new schedule
brings NBC back to basics with its
commitment to quality scripted programming," said NBC Universal TV
Entertainment chairman Jeff Gaspin. 
"Our new shows are distinctive and
feature a combination of the biggest talent, the brightest new stars and
the
strongest auspices in television. With this new schedule, we're poised
to take
the next step toward our long-term goals with a lineup that has
stabilized and
has been building solid momentum through the second half of the
season." 

Added
NBC/Universal Media Studios primetime entertainment president Angela
Bromstad:  "Our
team has been working
tirelessly to achieve our
ambitious goals and we are so pleased to see that these new series
demonstrate
tremendous upside for NBC. We feel that this
development season introduces shows that will
become
part of the great programming legacy of our
network."

* Gaspin also intends to joke that having this year's NBC upfront at a Hilton hotel instead of a posh theater allows him to gain some Hilton Honors rewards points. The downside to having an upfront at the Hilton is it makes it easier for a reporter to crash your upfront's tech rehearsal.