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NBC Orders The Event, Law & Order: L.A., and Outsourced for Full Seasons

NBC is sticking by three first-year series, giving full-season orders to The Event, Law & Order: Los Angeles, and Outsourced. While none of the shows are doing particularly well in the ratings, Peacock brass is hoping patience will pay off. What’s more, given the lack of big hits on the network’s schedule, NBC really didn’t have much choice but to keep some of its freshmen in production. Not yet getting a thumbs up for more episodes: The J.J. Abrams–produced Undercovers and Jerry Bruckheimer’s Chase. So are they doomed?

Finally, one other question raised by NBC’s pickups: Does the extra love for Outsourced mean Parks and Recreation will have to stay on the bench until January (or later?) It’s unclear, but the odds are that, given how many other holes NBC has to fix on its lineup, making a Thursday change so soon in the season may not be high on the network’s list of priorities. As it is, NBC will almost certainly move The Apprentice from its 10 p.m. Thursday slot within the next few days. The best shot for an early Parks return could be if NBC chooses to expand its Thursday comedy block into the 10 p.m. hour, something that was discussed in scheduling meetings at the network last spring. It would be a risky strategy, however, and one hard to see NBC trying in the middle of the November sweeps, which are used by local affiliates to set ad rates. That said, if we were running NBC, we’d make the argument that Parks would be a much, much better fit with The Office at 9:30 than Outsourced and would likely improve ratings in the timeslot – thus boosting whatever show the Peacock decides to air at 10 instead of The Apprentice. But we don’t run NBC, so we’ll just keep enjoying Vulture’s weekly photo essays from the Parks writers.

Finally, one other question raised by NBC’s pickups: Does the extra love for Outsourced mean Parks and Recreation will have to stay on the bench until January (or later?) It’s unclear, but the odds are that, given how many other holes NBC has to fix on its lineup, making a Thursday change so soon in the season may not be high on the network’s list of priorities. As it is, NBC will almost certainly move The Apprentice from its 10 p.m. Thursday slot within the next few days. The best shot for an early Parks return could be if NBC chooses to expand its Thursday comedy block into the 10 p.m. hour, something that was discussed in scheduling meetings at the network last spring. It would be a risky strategy, however, and one hard to see NBC trying in the middle of the November sweeps, which are used by local affiliates to set ad rates. That said, if we were running NBC, we’d make the argument that Parks would be a much, much better fit with The Office at 9:30 than Outsourced and would likely improve ratings in the timeslot – thus boosting whatever show the Peacock decides to air at 10 instead of The Apprentice. But we don’t run NBC, so we’ll just keep enjoying Vulture’s weekly photo essays from the Parks writers.

NBC Orders The Event, Law & Order: L.A., and Outsourced for Full Seasons