May 8, 2026 "NBC 2026-27 Series Orders: Dramas ‘Rockford Files’ & ‘Line Of Fire’, Comedies ‘Sunset P.I.’ & ‘Newlyweds’": Today I found this article by Nellie Andreeva on Deadline:
NBC‘s most robust pilot season since the pandemic is over, with four of the network’s eight pilots going to series:
dramas The Rockford Files, toplined by David Boreanaz,
and Line of Fire, starring Peter Krause,
and comedies Sunset P.I. (single-camera), headlined by Jake Johnson,
and Newlyweds (multi-camera), starring Téa Leoni and Tim Daly,
all from NBC sibling studio Universal Television.
The other four,
Key Witness,
What the Dead Know,
Puzzled
and Jill & Ginger,
are not moving forward.
In NBC’s return to a higher volume (by current standards), January-May pilot season, the network bet
on established TV stars anchoring each of its eight pilots,
five dramas
and three comedies,
two of them about private eyes,
The Rockford Files
and Sunset P.I..
That became one of the slate’s strongest selling points, with the leading performances testing high and singled out as a highlight at every screening.
And while most picked up pilots have male leads,
Line of Fire has been lauded for Krause’s chemistry with Hope Davis and her screen presence,
Jane Levy is touted as a Sunset P.I. breakout,
and Jacki Weaver is getting attention for The Rockford Files.
As Deadline has reported, this made for a very competitive field,
with scheduling needs determining some of the outcome.
That was confirmed by Pearlena Igbokwe, Chairman of NBC Entertainment, Peacock Scripted and Television Studios.
“Our creative teams, led by Lisa Katz at NBC and Erin Underhill at Universal Television, delivered an exceptional pilot slate,
developing eight standout projects that reflect our ambition,”
she said.
“While we often hear the phrase embarrassment of riches, it truly applies in this case.
This process allowed us to take big swings,
and we landed on shows that we think can truly break through.”
Making another case for the return of pilot season,
NBC’s eight pilots created 4,000 jobs across cast, crew and production teams
— all in the U.S. —
with three shot in Los Angeles on the Universal lot,
three in New York
and two in Atlanta.
As we reported, the NBC pilot race had one clear favorite,
Dan Goor and Luke Del Tredici’s Sunset P.I., the only project that had come into the process with a pilot production commitment.
A frontrunner from the start, it sailed through the
pitch,
script
and pilot stages
to emerge as a lock for the 2026-27 schedule and potential companion to St. Denis Medical.
The search for a multi-camera companion to Happy’s Place came down to the wire and was more of a toss-up between Newlyweds, starring real-life newlyweds Leoni and Daly and featuring a scene-stealing guest-starring turn by the project’s executive producer Jamie Lee Curtis,
and Kari Lizer’s Jill & Ginger, starring Katey Sagal and Jane Lynch.
The drama race tightened up as it went along.
Early standout The Rockford Files, a reboot of the classic 1970s series, remained strong, boosted by Boreanaz’s performance blending swagger and dry wit,
with Line Of Fire, a mix of a
closed-ended procedural,
serialized mystery
and a family drama,
surging alongside it as a top contender.
The pickup for The Rockford Files extends Boreanaz’s streak of every pilot he has starred in going to series.
The drama is executive produced by Carl Beverly and Sarah Timberman who received two pickups for PI shows announced this morning;
they also EP ABC’s R.J. Decker, which was renewed for a second season.
NBC ended up not picking up either of its two drama pilots with female leads,
Key Witness (fka untitled Dean Georgaris/John Fox), starring Emily Deschanel,
and Wolf Entertainment’s What the Dead Know, starring Taylor Schilling.
With football, baseball and basketball taking a lot of primetime real estate,
four new series was the most NBC could accommodate after cancelling two shows,
Brilliant Minds
and Stumble,
and the four pilots that were picked up separated themselves from the pack by screening incredibly well,
sources said.
If NBC had one more drama slot on the schedule, one of the two female-driven pilots, possibly Key Witness, likely would’ve made it. The Emily Deschanel drama, a competitive buy at the pitch stage, is now being shopped to other networks.
Meanwhile, there is talk about What the Dead Know being retooled around Schilling and her character as its anchor.
But, in their current versions, the four remaining pilots are not under further consideration at NBC — or at sibling streamer Peacock.
As previously noted, Puzzled, starring Damon Wayans Jr., was an outlier, lighter and funnier than the rest of the drama pilots.
Here are details on NBC’s 2026-27 scripted slate additions:
NEW DRAMA SERIES
LINE OF FIRE
A family of law enforcement agents bridges personal differences and crosses professional boundaries as they tackle cases for the
FBI,
US Marshals,
Secret Service
and Department of Justice.
After a seemingly cut-and-dry case turns into a deadly conspiracy,
they must use the expertise from a lifetime of protecting civilians and politicians
to protect one another
and bring the killer to justice
… even if it means betraying their sworn code.
The series stars Peter Krause, Hope Davis, Kat Cunning, Tommy O’Brien, Taylor Bloom and Charlie Barnett.
Writer Josh Safran executive produces with Jenna Bush Hager and Ben Spector. Director Rebecca Thomas also executive produces (pilot only).
Formerly known as Protection, Line of Fire is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.
THE ROCKFORD FILES
A contemporary update on the classic series of the same name.
Newly paroled after doing time for a crime he didn’t commit, James Rockford returns to his life as a private investigator
using his charm and wit to solve cases around Los Angeles.
It doesn’t take long for his quest for legitimacy to land him squarely in the crosshairs of both local police and organized crime.
The series stars David Boreanaz, Michaela McManus, Felix Solis and Jacki Weaver.
Writer Mike Daniels executive produces with Carl Beverly, Sarah Timberman. Chris Leanza is co-executive producer. Director Greg Mottola also executive produces (pilot only).
The Rockford Files is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.
NEW COMEDY SERIES
NEWLYWEDS
A later-in-life love story about a free-spirited woman and a buttoned-up professor who marry impetuously after a whirlwind courtship.
The series stars Téa Leoni and Tim Daly with Jamie Lee Curtis as a recurring guest star.
Writer Gail Lerner executive produces with executive producers Eric and Kim Tannenbaum for The Tannenbaum Company, Jamie Lee Curtis, Scott Schwartz, and Lionsgate Television. Director Pam Fryman also executive produces (pilot only).
Newlyweds is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.
NBCUniversal Global TV Distribution handles international sales for all the above series.
SUNSET P.I.
Continues the proud tradition of Los Angeles private eyes that began with Philip Marlowe and will end with this show.
The series stars Jake Johnson, Jane Levy, Langston Kerman, Mary Shalaby and Keith David.
Writers Dan Goor and Luke Del Tredici will executive produce. Director Akiva Schaffer also executive produces (pilot only).
Formerly known as Untitled Dan Goor/Luke Del Tredici Project, Sunset P.I. is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.
https://deadline.com/2026/05/nbc-2026-27-series-rockford-files-sunset-pi-line-of-fire-newlyweds-1236888158/
My opinion: I will check out:
Line of Fire
The Rockford Files
Sunset PI
May 11, 2026 "NBC Fall 2026 Schedule Targets “Core Broadcast Audience,” Keeps Anchors In Place As ‘The Traitors’ & 2 New Scripted Series Join, ‘Law & Order’ Shifts":
Today I found this article by Nellie Andreeva on Deadline:
Entertainment content keeps ceding ground to sports on NBC‘s primetime schedule. Last fall marked the arrival of NBA basketball, which joined Sunday Night Football and college football. Next fall, the network is adding MLB baseball to the mix.
Yet, NBC is increasing the number of its primetime scripted series in 2026-27 as four new shows, dramas The Rockford Files and Line of Fire and comedies Sunset P.I. (single-cam) and Newlyweds (multi-cam), are joining the lineup with only two canceled, drama Brilliant Minds and comedy Stumble. (The Hunting Party remains in limbo.)
Two of the newcomers,
Line of Fire
and Newlyweds,
are on the fall schedule,
which also features a high profile unscripted addition, Peacock hit The Traitors‘ civilian edition.
Here is the NBC fall schedule, which keeps things largely status quo with only one returning series, Law & Order, moving.
It is followed by analysis and information on the network’s midseason plans for
The Rockford Files
and Sunset P.I.
as well as descriptions and first-look images of NBC’s newly picked up series.
NBC FALL 2026-27 SCHEDULE
(New programs in UPPER CASE; all times ET/PT)
MONDAY (Sept./Oct.)
8-10 PM – The Voice
10-11 PM – LINE OF FIRE
MONDAY (November)
8-8:30 PM – St. Denis Medical
8:30-9 PM – The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins
9-10 PM – The Voice
10-11 PM – LINE OF FIRE
TUESDAY
8-11 PM NBA
WEDNESDAY
8-9 PM – Chicago Med
9-10 PM – Chicago Fire
10-11 PM – Chicago P.D.
THURSDAY
8-9 PM – THE TRAITORS
9-10 PM – Law & Order: SVU
10-11 PM – Law & Order
FRIDAY
8-8:30 PM – Happy’s Place
8:30-9 PM – NEWLYWEDS
9-11 PM – Dateline NBC
SATURDAY
7-7:30 PM ET— Big Ten Pregame / Notre Dame Pregame (also live on Peacock)
7:30-11 PM ET— Big Ten Saturday Night / Notre Dame Football (also live on Peacock)
SUNDAY
7-8:20 PM ET— Football Night in America (also live on Peacock)
8:20-11 PM ET— NBC Sunday Night Football (also live on Peacock)
NBC turned back time this year with its January-May pilot season and a slate of eight pilots. The throwback carried through to the scheduling.
“It was a very traditional process, we actually had pilot screenings and we were able to look at the shows, we had a choice for different shows in different time periods,
and we picked the ones that we thought fit the best into the schedule that we put together,”
Jeff Bader, NBCUniversal’s President of Program Planning Strategy, told Deadline.
Hot new drama Line of Fire, starring Peter Krause and Hope Davis, has been assigned NBC’s most lucrative launch pad, Monday 10 PM after The Voice.
The singing competition will once again start with two-hour (8-10 PM) episodes before shrinking to one hour to make room for the return of NBC’s 8-9 PM Monday comedy block of St. Denis Medical and The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins.
Also like last fall, The Voice will launch on two nights, Monday and Tuesday, before retreating to Mondays a couple of weeks in when NBA, plus baseball playoffs, take over Tuesday. (The Voice is intended to once again do two installments next season, one in the fall and one in the spring.)
NBC’s Monday lineup will face a different competition next fall than it did last season. Line of Fire is expected to be the only 10 PM drama on the night as CBS switched from a drama to Harlan Coben’s Final Twist docuseries.
(ABC airs Monday Night Football in the fall.) NBC also will have the only comedies on the night as CBS is replacing its longtime Monday 8-9 PM comedy block with FBI next fall.
To accommodate the extra scripted series in 2026-27, NBC has some of them sharing time slots with shorter orders, including Reggie Dinkins and Sunset P.I. at 8:30 PM on Monday, which will be doing 10 episodes each next season.
As to why Reggie is going in the fall and Sunset P.I., considered the strongest NBC pilot this year, is being held for a February launch,
the network wanted to avoid a large gap between Reggie‘s 10-episode first season, which aired this midseason, and its second installment to keep the momentum.
“We were really excited to bring Reggie back in the fall,” said Lisa Katz, President of Scripted Content, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming.
“It did really well, and the opportunity to have that back on quickly is great for the show, and we think for the fans.”
Wednesday remains home of One Chicago for a ninth consecutive season, another unprecedented streak for the Dick Wolf record books.
In its 26th season, Wolf’s Law & Order is on the move on Thursday. After opening the night at 8 PM since its return from cancellation in 2021-22, the crime drama is shifting to 10 PM, a time period where the series spent most of its original run. It is leapfrogging spinoff Law & Order: SVU, which is staying put at 9 PM.
The switch is done to accommodate the arrival of The Traitors, which is slated for 8 PM.
“Traitors on Peacock is a bona fide hit, so we are super excited that we can have a civilian Traitors to launch a night on NBC, and Thursday is perfect for it,” Bader said.
This marks a rare reality series on Thursday for NBC which has stuck largely to a scripted lineup on the night with one notable exception, The Apprentice.
The Rockford Files, a reboot of the 1970s NBC series, is considered a wide-appeal 8 PM drama. With no 8 PM slots open in the fall, the close-ended character-based procedural starring David Boreanaz will launch in January, succeeding The Traitors on Thursday once the reality competition wraps its run.
“When you have shows that are as compatible, obviously, as the two Law & Order shows are, it’s an easier marketing lift,
we know that we will improve our 10 o’clock time period, it just was a very easy decision,” Bader said about the mothership Law & Order‘s relocation.
“It allows us to put more marketing towards the new shows when we’re not putting all the new shows in the fall, which is one of the reasons that Rockford is in January. It just lets us really focus our marketing.”
After last season’s debacle of single-camera junior college cheerleading mocumentary Stumble starring Jenn Lyon being slotted behind the multi-camera Reba McEntire sitcom Happy’s Place on Friday, which likely contributed to the freshman’s demise, NBC was deliberate in its search for a companion to Happy’s Place this year.
“You’ll see that Lisa and team, they very specifically developed multi-cams to pair with multi-cams and single-cams to pair with single-cams, the flow should be better this year,” Bader said.
NBC ordered two multi-camera comedy pilots with leads in the age range of McEntire, Jill & Ginger, headlined by Katey Sagal and Jane Lynch, and Newlyweds, toplined by Téa Leoni and Tim Daly with Jamie Lee Curtis recurring. Ultimately, Newlyweds, an aspirational take on romance, landed the Friday spot.
Reflecting on the overall strategy for the 2026-27 NBC schedule, Bader said, “We wanted stability. We have strong shows on every night of the week where we have entertainment shows, we wanted to build on those.”
Taking a page from Broadcast Scheduling 101, he added, “Flow was incredibly important, lead-ins do matter. And I think most importantly, we had the core broadcast audience in mind this year, both in our development and our casting and scheduling. Broad appeal, easy points of entry, co-viewing, we really lean into what we know, broadcast and linear, what the strengths are.”
NEW DRAMA SERIES
LINE OF FIRE
A family of law enforcement agents bridges personal differences and crosses professional boundaries as they tackle cases for the FBI, US Marshals, Secret Service and Department of Justice. After a seemingly cut-and-dry case turns into a deadly conspiracy, they must use the expertise from a lifetime of protecting civilians and politicians to protect one another and bring the killer to justice … even if it means betraying their sworn code.
The series stars Peter Krause, Hope Davis, Kat Cunning, Tommy O’Brien, Taylor Bloom and Charlie Barnett.
Writer Josh Safran executive produces with Jenna Bush Hager and Ben Spector. Director Rebecca Thomas also executive produces (pilot only).
“Line of Fire” is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.
THE ROCKFORD FILES
A contemporary update on the classic series of the same name. Newly paroled after doing time for a crime he didn’t commit, James Rockford returns to his life as a private investigator using his charm and wit to solve cases around Los Angeles. It doesn’t take long for his quest for legitimacy to land him squarely in the crosshairs of both local police and organized crime.
The series stars David Boreanaz, Michaela McManus, Felix Solis and Jacki Weaver.
Writer Mike Daniels executive produces with Carl Beverly, Sarah Timberman. Chris Leanza is co-executive producer. Director Greg Mottola also executive produces (pilot only).
“The Rockford Files” is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.
NEW COMEDY SERIES
SUNSET P.I.
Continues the proud tradition of Los Angeles private eyes that began with Philip Marlowe and will end with this show.
The series stars Jake Johnson, Jane Levy, Langston Kerman, Mary Shalaby and Keith David.
Writers Dan Goor and Luke Del Tredici will executive produce. Director Akiva Schaffer also executive produces (pilot only).
“Sunset P.I.” is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.
NEWLYWEDS
A later-in-life love story about a free-spirited woman and a buttoned-up professor who marry impetuously after a whirlwind courtship.
The series stars Téa Leoni and Tim Daly with Jamie Lee Curtis as a recurring guest star.
Writer Gail Lerner executive produces with executive producers Eric and Kim Tannenbaum for The Tannenbaum Company, Jamie Lee Curtis, Scott Schwartz, and Lionsgate Television. Director Pam Fryman also executive produces (pilot only).
“Newlyweds” is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.
NBCUniversal Global TV Distribution handles international sales for all the above series.
https://deadline.com/2026/05/nbc-fall-2026-27-schedule-traitors-law-order-line-of-fire-1236889026/
