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Fall 2003-2004 NBC TV Network Programming Schedule

 Descriptions and Analysis

New Series in blue.

Click on underlined titles for information.

Here's the link to NBC's own 2003 Schedule website.

New Series

Coupling:  The very funny, very British series about sex and dating makes its way across the pond to American TV.  With hopes that it will become the new Friends, and a protected berth after Will & Grace and before ER, Coupling has already been the object of much harrumphing and tittering over its sexual content.  If you are familiar with the original, or even with the tradition of bedroom farce, which makes much of misunderstood conversations, inopportune opportunities and other broadly comic conventions, you'll know that Coupling isn't a sitcom in the traditional American sense.  It relies a great deal on clever visual editing juxtapositions and has a general air of lunacy that doesn't show up on U.S. TV very often.  At least NBC has assembled an attractive cast for the show, including Rena Sofer (who was great in SciFi's series The Chronicle), Colin Ferguson (We Were The Mulvaneys), Jay Harrington (The Division), Christopher Moynihan (The Hughleys), Lindsay Price (Beverly Hills 90210), and Sonya Walger (The Mind of the Married Man).  Although it's easy to see why NBC would glom onto this format -- six attractive mid-30s professionals getting romantically entangled with each other -- the original Coupling, in addition to being essentially loony in the best British tradition, is also so much more matter-of-fact about sex than we ever are over here.  We still have a big complex about sex on TV; if it's in a dramatic context with the proper atmosphere U.S. viewers have been trained to accept it, but casual references to penis size, dildos, spanking lesbians and masturbation will quite probably sound forced and probably much more offensive than they do in Britain.  We'll see.  If it doesn't work, it won't be for lack of publicity or buzz.  I highly recommend checking out the original Coupling which is currently running on BBC America.  Premiere Date:  9/25/03.  Review 10/3/03:  With two airings now under its belt, Coupling is looking like it's going to be NBC's biggest disappointment this year, considering all the hopes going in.  Unable to hold onto its Will & Grace lead-in, but of course still getting pretty good numbers because of Thursday night momentum, the series isn't helping NBC fight back against CBS' growing Thursday night presence.  Creatively, any fan of the British Coupling will find watching this U.S. version to be like watching a 3-D movie without the glasses -- identical images, but set slightly askew, rendering the whole thing nearly unwatchable.  What makes the British show appealing and this version hollow and forced?  Lightning doesn't usually strike twice in the same place or for the same concept, and that's certainly true here.  It's not for lack of trying, and it doesn't seem fair to lay the blame on an inadequate cast -- they're pretty much okay -- or any other tangible reason.  That certain something, namely charisma, doesn't infuse this show the way it does in the original.  It's not that Colin Ferguson is a bad Steve, it's just that when you watch Brit Coupling's Jack Davenport...well, he's positively inspired and hilarious.  And while Christopher Moynihan tries his darndest to make his Jeff a creature of whimsy, one look at the one and only Richard Coyle shows how far off this American version is from the Coupling across the pond.  It's not out of the question to get lucky if you play Dr. Frankenstein with a partially pre-assembled concept; many years ago NBC managed to cobble together a synthetic rock band for TV and it became the Monkees, so, hey hey, it's possible.  It's actually kind of intriguing and sweet to think of them wanting so much to take this kooky British trifle and bestow the Friends legacy on it, and you can't blame NBC for trying, what with that imminent loss on the horizon.  No doubt folks at the network fell in love with the British Coupling as viewers, and if the take-away on this probably ultimately unhappy series experiment is that somebody's enthusiasm overruled their TV cynicism, I think that's a victory in itself.  They loved not too wisely, but too well, when they brought Coupling over here.  I just hope our version doesn't put people off the show on BBC America.  Update 10/15/03:  In addition to announced November sweep pre-empt on 10/30 for elongated eps of other Thursday shows, NBC will replace Coupling with Whoopi (which is also getting some Tuesday pre-empts of its own) on 10/16.  Disappointing performance for Coupling -- failure to hold onto Will & Grace's lead-in -- is giving the network nightmares as they look ahead to a Friends-less Thursday next year.  Bets seem to be that the show won't run during sweeps at all.  Update 10/21/03:  Coupling is definitely off until at least December, with double Friends at 8p and Scrubs moving into the 9:30p Thursday slot.  Update 10/31/03:  Well, it's official -- NBC has cancelled Coupling effective immediately.  Update 11/7/03:  NBC will move Good Morning Miami into the departed Coupling's timeslot effective the beginning of December.

Happy Family:  NBC is banking on the sterling comedy pedigrees of John Larroquette and Christine Baranski to make this sitcom a winner.  It's the story of a long-married couple whose three grown children have finally left the nest -- or have they?  Happy Family is obviously concocted to appeal to both younger viewers and their older brethren, but no matter the recipe it does seem like a match made in heaven to pair Larroquette and Baranski.  They're both highly individualistic performers with a distinct edge to their personas, and that, if nothing else, could make this show worth catching.  The rest of the cast includes Hamish Linklater, Melanie Deanna Moore (who played Joyce DeWitt in the recent Three's Company TV-movie), and Susan Gibney, a frequent TV series guest star.  They'll be in direct competition at 8:30pm with ABC's new I'm With Her, and a lot will be riding on the success of the 8pm shows and the lead-ins they provide.  ABC has the advantage of a proven hit at 8pm, and Happy Family will be hoping that Whoopi carves out a piece of the action and passes it along.  Update 6/23/03:  Casting change -- Hamish Linklater is out as the number one son, and Jeff Davis is in.  Premiere Date:  9/23/03.  Updated Info 8/20:  Happy Family will now get an early preem date of 9/9.  Review 10/3/03:  Despite Larroquette and Baranski, this is yet another forgettable concept, neither entirely stinky nor in the least bit remarkable.  You've seen this all before, even if you haven't, and while those experiencing this same situation in real life will no doubt love the opportunity to see their war stories portrayed oncreen, it's no more fascinating than non-parents listening to friends telling baby stories.  It's not helping that ABC's enjoying -- if that's truly the word -- the positive ratings halo brought about by 8 Simple Rule's John Ritter's death.  NBC doesn't have a chance, and neither does Happy Family.  Update 10/17/03:  NBC has given Happy Family an order for five more scripts.  Update 10/30/03:  Received its full season order.  Update 11/7/03:  Happy Family will slip into the 9:30pm time slot effective 12/2/03, when Good Morning Miami returns to its old Thursday night slot, replacing Coupling.  Happy Family should benefit from the probably more-appropriate Frasier lead-in, and how nice for HF that Frasier is enjoying something of a creative and ratings revival so far this season.

Las Vegas:  The exciting thing about this drama, set guess where, is the presence of James Caan, who's been in quite a few TV movies but this is his first time headlining a series of his own.  He's Big Ed Deline here, boss of a surveillance company, ex-CIA agent, and all tough-guy as he grabs his piece of the unique and dynamic landscape that is Las Vegas.  Can primetime TV handle two Vegas-based shows?   This one won't have quite the dead body count as CSI, but we can expect lots of high stakes gambling, crooked wannabes and beautiful ladies of the night.  Sounds like place that might suit James Caan rather well, doesn't it?  He might be almost a senior citizen, but Caan could lend a nice grizzled touch to Monday night, though he'll be up against the strongest CBS comedies and will have to fend off football in the fall.  If Las Vegas can pull it off, it will offer the only action drama in the time period, but will that be enough?  Although the city of Las Vegas would seem like such a sure thing in terms of an exciting setting, the truth is much iffier, and if this show focuses too much on the gambling aspect of the town it won't work for long.  Let's see what happens.  Caan could make this very watchable. Las Vegas also stars an attractive multi-ethnic cast including Josh Duhamel (All My Children), Vanessa Marcil (General Hospital, Beverly Hills 90210), Nikki Cox (ex-Mrs. Bobcat Goldthwait), James Lesure, Marsha Thomason (Black Knight) and actress/model Molly Sims.  Premiere Date:  9/29/03.  Updated Info 8/20:  Las Vegas will now premiere on 9/22 at 10pm, after a special two-hour Las Vegas-set Fear Factor episode.  It will go back to its 9pm slot on 9/29, and Third Watch will follow.  Review 10/7/03:  Las Vegas seems to be holding its own against CBS' powerhouse Monday comedy block so far, and that's a bit of good luck for this stylish and snazzy drama.  The model for this show is more Hotel than FX's cancelled comedy/drama Lucky, with of course a pedal to the metal nod to Vegas' Dan Tana, and that's not a bad bunch of influences.  There are just enough gambling-specific storylines to justify the setting, but not so much that the whole thing bogs down in the arcanum of running a casino.  The rest of the time there's a lot of sexually-related adventuring, with plenty of gorgeous girls -- even quite a few intelligent ones, too -- around, and then a bunch of other silly stuff involving casino guests; here's where the show even sometimes feels a little like The Love Boat.  It's all part of the fast-paced whirl of light and color that keeps Las Vegas whooshing along, and the cast is more than up to keeping up with the action.  James Caan is great as Ed Deline, and it was a treat to see Cheryl Ladd in the pilot as his ex-wife (not sure if she'll be back, though).  The younger contingent is uniformly attractive and capable, too, and the whole Las Vegas package is a great big neon-flashing come-on for a willing audience.  If this can fend off the competition that's still to come, namely Fox's Skin, chances are pretty good that Las Vegas could beat the odds and end up a success.  Update 10/15/03:  NBC has given Las Vegas its full 22 episode season order, the first pick-up for the network this season.  Update 10/21/03:  NBC will run Las Vegas encores in the Saturday 8 - 9pm slot during November sweeps, with various Law & Order franchise episodes airing from 9 - 11pm.  Update 1/30/04:  Las Vegas has been given an early 22-episode order for the 2004/2005 season.  

The Lyon's Den:  Well, hindsight looks pretty good for Rob Lowe, what with him leaving The West Wing just as it ceased to be the darling of the viewing cognoscenti.  Now he's feathering his own nest with his lead role in The Lyon's Den, but he'll be right at home wandering around TLD's Washington power locales.  Lowe plays Jack Turner, a rebellious and socially-conscious lawyer in a hotshot elitist law firm who's inexplicably chosen to replace the managing partner when he's found dead after a strange fall.  Because Jack's heart lies in continuing the firm's modest little inner city law office and he's its only champion, he accepts the new position and braces for the worst.  And he's bound to get it, too, in the form of devious colleagues, ambitious office girls and the meanest office politics on primetime TV.  Can this legal Lancelot best the forces of contemporary evil?  That's what NBC's counting on, and with Law & Order: Criminal Intent as the lead-in, and the on-its-last-legs The Practice and a movie as its only competition, The Lyon's Den should have real teeth.  Also starring the talented Frances Fisher, the always interesting Matt Craven (ER, Boomtown), Kyle Chandler (Early Edition), and James Pickens Jr. (The X Files, Roseanne).  Produced by Brad Grey (The Sopranos).  Premiere Date:  9/28/03.  Updated info 8/20:  Singer-actress Jewel is in for several episodes as Lowe's ex-girlfriend.  Review 10/7/03:  The Lyon's Den is working well for NBC, and though it looks as though Lowe's former home The West Wing has picked up some steam this year as well , he's still gotta be pretty happy to have his own successful series.  This is a slick hour -- and what else could it be? -- and thanks to Lowe's inner gentility we're rooting for Jack to hold his own against the forces of corporate iniquity.  He's shown that he has what it takes to head his own ensemble drama, a genre that's awfully well represented this season, and this is one of the better newbies.  There's nothing in The Lyon's Den that we haven't seen before, somewhere, but at least it's being performed by a fresh cast with the chops to make it work.  Update 10/15/03:  Despite a strong first week, The Lyon's Den has suffered due to the unexpected strength of the overhauled movie-star-laden The Practice on ABC this season.  Behind-the-scenes writer/producer shifts and promised emphasis on mysterious closed-ended stories will hopefully give NBC the incentive to keep this one going for a full season.  Update 10/30/03:  NBC has pulled The Lyon's Den from November sweeps airing, opting instead to run, among other things, more hours from the Law & Order franchise.  Who would have believed that ABC's The Practice would have a rebirth, thanks to the cast shake-up which added James Spader and Sharon Stone to the mix.  Stone's character is off for now, but the show's off to a good start this season, which put the whammy on the highly-anticipated Lowe vehicle.  NBC's not saying what's ultimately in store for the show, but any drama (except Las Vegas) not associated with Law & Order seems to be having a tough time.  Update 1/8/04:  NBC has put the official word out that The Lyon's Den won't be back on the schedule, signaling an end to the series' disappointing cycle from great hope to benched maybe to nowheresville.  

Miss Match:  Suddenly the Friday 8pm hour is a regular war zone, with five new series premiering on as many networks.  Three nets will be offering comedy, while CBS and NBC go with fairly high-profile comedy/drama hours.  NBC has nabbed Alicia Silverstone to star in Miss Match, the based-on-a-true-story tale of Kate Fox, an L.A. divorce attorney who finds that she has a real gift for matchmaking, thus putting her in a delightfully ironic professional quandary.  Ms. Silverstone, after legitimately capturing everyone's heart with her charming performance in the movie Clueless (can you believe it was only back in 1995?), became more known for weight fluctuations than her comedy stylings, but it's great to see her here.  Certainly the sure and savvy hand of producer Darren Starr (Sex and the City) should be able to help Alicia, who's got oodles more natural oomph and likeability than any of the gals from SatC, break through to a mainstream network TV audience.  Miss Match also stars veteran Ryan O'Neal as Kate's father, and it's time TV tipped its hat properly to a fella who was an major factor in the success of Peyton Place, one of the medium's most memorable and important series of the 1960s. Other cast members include David Conrad (Boston Public, Roswell), Jodi Long, James Roday, and Lake Bell.  Friday at 8pm is way tough this year.  Thank goodness Miss Match can be heavily promoted inside NBC's Thursday night line-up, but CBS' Joan of Arcadia will benefit from exposure inside CSI, too, so that's almost a wash.  In the hour series deathmatch here I'm going to put my money on Alicia and Miss Match, though it's much tougher to predict what happens when you open the field up to the formidable comedy competition.  Premiere Date:  9/26/03.  Review 10/3/03:  Well, whaddya know, a teenager from Arcadia beat out adorable Alicia from Beverly Hills in first week numbers, and I admit that the better show won.  Miss Match was everything it promoed to be -- charming, light, romantic --   and Silverstone deserves a lot of credit for making a potentially insufferable character -- young, cute as a button, rich, a hotshot divorce lawyer in her Daddy's law firm -- into something sweet and empathetic.  Kate Fox can't help it if she sees every broken marriage as an opportunity for a new romance, and you almost believe that Alicia could pull off playing matchmaker in a place like Beverly Hills.  Despite viewers opting for Friday's teenage miracle girl, there's nothing wrong with Miss Match at all; it's well-produced, looks great, and in any other time period would have all the necessary chops to succeed as a light romantic comedy/drama.  I know some have opined that the lonelyhearts who might empathize (too much perhaps) with the lovelorns in the series are probably not around on Friday nights to celebrate with their TV counterparts, but I doubt that's the reason why this one didn't click in a bigger way.  Sometimes the better show actually wins, and once you've seen Joan of Arcadia I think you'll agree that however charming Alicia Silverstone and Miss Match are, they're strictly lightweight compared to Joan.  Maybe it didn't help that one of the sad sacks under Kate's wing was a creepy unpleasant career bitch whose incessant whining may have been more annoying to viewers than it even was to Kate; yes, I know she was supposed to be awful, but enough already.  I hope that Miss Match survives somewhere, because Ms. Silverstone has perfect TV presence and we need her.  Somewhere, just not opposite Joan of Arcadia, please.  Update 10/8/03:  NBC announced today that Miss Match will move to Fridays at 9pm, with Boomtown out for now and repeats of Law and Order:SVU back in at 10pm.  The 8pm hour will be filled on a weekly basis, with Queer Eye encores and Dateline NBC on the sked so far.  This move will take Miss Match away from direct competition with CBS' strong performer Joan of Arcadia, and NBC's hoping that some of Joan's female viewers will pick up the remote and check out Alicia.  L&O:SVU should shore up the 10pm hour; Boomtown isn't working there at all.  Update 10/15/03:  CBS is still ruling on Fridays, despite the move.  Update 10/21/03:  Despite NBC announcing Miss Match will be back at 8pm, it looks like the net hasn't quite committed.  Though they promo-ed two episodes from 8 - 10pm last week, their website only shows a 9pm show.  Update 10/30/03:  NBC has order five more scripts, but no full season pick-up yet for Miss Match.  Update 12/17/03:  MM has gotten an order for four more, though it will be, at least temporarily, off Friday nights, until the network finds a more suitable night for the still-potentially popular show.

The Tracy Morgan Show:  The Saturday Night Live veteran stays with NBC for a shot at his own starring sitcom.  Playing a hard-working husband and father of two who runs a thriving auto mechanic shop, Morgan will bring some of his own experience to this blue-collar comedy.  In addition to Tamala Jones as his lovely wife, the cast includes a gaggle of comics -- Dwight "Heavy D" Myers and John Witherspoon -- as his crazy employees down at the garage.  Update 11/7/03:  NBC has announced that The Tracy Morgan Show will premiere on 12/2/03, moving into Whoopi's 8pm slot, pushing her to 8:30pm.  This is good news for Whoopi's future too; TTMS might indeed have the chops to jump-start Tuesday for NBC.  With the loss of John Ritter from 8 Simple Rules, viewers looking for a nice guy family show may have a new option, if they choose not to stay with 8SR in its new metamorphosis.  Update 12/18/03:  NBC has given TTMS an additional four episode order, bringing the total to 19.

Whoopi:  Can Whoopi whoop John Ritter's ass on Tuesdays at 8pm?  That is the question, and if the answer is even a qualified yes, it will once again prove the golden touch of Carsey-Werner-Mandabach and company.  Ms. Goldberg is ubiquitous in American entertainment, but how much is too much of a good thing?  She's sort of a female Basil Fawlty here as she runs her own small hotel in New York city, making with the wisecracks and surrounded by people out to vex her.  Starring along with Whoopi are TV and movie veteran Wren T. Brown, relative newcomer Elizabeth Regen, and British/Iranian comic Omid Djalili, who will probably have a one-dimensional role here but who's cut quite a path through Britain's comic community.  Of course this show looks like a great idea, but I'm sure that's what Bette Midler thought when she started her series a couple of years ago.  Whoopi is Whoopi, and if you like her this will be like going to heaven.  NBC's counting on her to provide a solid foundation for Tuesday night, and that's no picnic.  Premiere Date:  9/23/03.  Updated info 8/20:  Whoopi will now have an accelerated premiere date of 9/9.  Review 10/7/03:  Whoopi is dying a quick death at the hands of ABC's unusually strong comedy block, but this could change when the alphabet net runs out of the new 8 Simple Rules episodes with the late John Ritter, thus ending the whole weird viewing wake that's been happening so far this season.  By then it'll probably be too late to revive Whoopi, but even without the Ritter-effect competition, prospects weren't a sure thing.  Goldberg is fine, but you've really got to adore her cranky side to get off on this series.  The supporting cast is good, too, with special props to Elizabeth Regen who plays Whoopi's brother's girlfriend, a white gal way more up with black culture than he is, and she's cute.  I like Omid Djalili; he and Whoopi work well together and he has a sweetness and brio that's gotta be good for international relations.  Whoopi has been a big disappointment for NBC this season, but it wouldn't be fair to blame the show.  Circumstances have been unkind to Ms. Goldberg.  Update 10/15/03:  Despite scheduling plans that include some November sweep Tuesday Whoopi pre-empts, NBC has announced that they will replace Coupling on 10/16 with an ep of Whoopi, indicating continued hope that the show has a future on NBC.  Update 10/17/03:  NBC has ordered five more Whoopi scripts.  Update 10/30/03:  NBC has given Whoopi a full season pick-up.  Update 11/7/03:  Whoopi will move into the 8:30pm slot on 12/3/03, with a lead-in of the new and potentially strong The Tracy Morgan Show which will go against the re-formed 8 Simple Rules.  

Replacement & Mid-Season Series

The Apprentice:  In this latest twist on the "running the gauntlet" reality show, 12 ambitious young men and women compete for the chance to worship at the business-savvy knees of Donald Trump and his army of corporate minions.  It's Ivy League vs. street smarts as contestants running the gamut of education and class vie for the honored position, and after each is eliminated, they undergo a vicious exit interview with Trump and company.  I'll bet it won't hold a candle to the marvelous Ali G interview with Donald Trump where the mogul was clueless, humorless and exceptionally rude.  NBC is introducing The Apprentice on 1/8/2004, on a Thursday after Friends, then it will move into its Wednesday night 8pm time period the next week.  Though I don't doubt this will probably garner lots of curious viewers, I'm hoping it will make "ambition" even more of a dirty word than I already think it is.  Update 1/30/04:  The Apprentice is highly successful in the ratings, and Trump is writing a book on the experience.  Oh, the humanity!      

Average Joe: This long-delayed reality show will finally hit the air this November, in a Monday 10pm slot, replacing the moved-to-Friday Third Watch.  There are twelve episodes in two cycles already completed, so this patch may stick around for a while.  Hosted by comedienne Kathy Griffin, who became sort of the poster hag for celebrity reality shows after her win on The Mole, Average Joe is about a beauty queen/NFL cheerleader who, instead of getting to pick from a bevy of handsome fellas for a dating show, discovers that -- horrors! -- they're just average looking.  Will she be as shallow as the rest of American women?  How depressing to even consider sticking around long enough to find out.  This one sounds extra-mean; I guess that's what's so very special about it.  Yuck.  Update 12/17/03:  Well, this thing kicked butt in the ratings, so even Kathy Griffin wasn't enough to turn people off this spectacle.  Update 1/6/03:  Hawaii is the setting for the newest edition of AJ in early January.