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Under questioning today about the new Brian Williams primetime news magazine (which has been reported to be in development, but was not on the NBC 2011-12 schedule announced today , NBC Entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt remarked that it will go on the NBC schedule “as soon as it’s ready”. However, the only way for Brian’s news magazine to get into NBC’s Fall schedule is if it replaces a show that’s already on the schedule, there are no “to be determined” timeslots (forget Saturday, Brian Williams does not do Saturday ). The cynical among us might imagine a more honest answer like “We’re sure it will do fine wherever we put it, so we’re holding it in reserve to fill the timeslot of the first rookie drama that fails”. (Assuming that Brian’s show will be an hour, it is impossible to be called in for a single failed sitcom.) Or the show might be brought off the bench for a couple other reasons I included in the poll. You be the judge.

No surprises here, but CBS has canceled The Defenders , $#*! My Dad Says and Mad Love. The Defenders struggled to get any ratings traction on Wednesdays before being moved to Friday nights where it struggled even more. Relatively speaking, the sitcom Mad Love struggled. While $#*! My Dad Says performed better than Mad Love , and actually had average ratings compared to other CBS scripted shows, CBS has a history of axing its lowest-rated comedies even if the ratings are decent.

Some quick thoughts on NBC’s fall schedule. With all the information out in drips and drabs during the week, there were no surprises for NBC’s announcement as far as renewals, cancellations or pickups, but it was still interesting to see the schedule. NBC chief Bob Greenblatt gave a tip of his hat to Chuck fans, not only by renewing the show, but by saying he wanted to thank the loyal fans of Chuck with a final season where the story could be closed out properly. Was it too much to ask for him to add “and thank you Warner Bros for making us an offer we couldn’t refuse.” Of course it was! Either way, our Saturday mornings will be even more interesting than they were this year. Chuck will be on at 8pm, but NBC will also have the scripted Grimm at 9pm and if the Friday 9pm schedules for Fox and CW don’t change from the current season, it will be interesting to see what happens. The main character in Grimm is a descendant “of an elite group of hunters, also known as ‘Grimms,’ who

Preview clips for NBC’s new 2011-12 shows below. Adding more as they become live. Refresh & Enjoy! Prime Suspect Playboy Club Smash Awake The Firm Whitney Up All Night BFF (aka Best Friends Forever) Bent Grimm Free Agents Are You There Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea

NBC released its 2011-12 primetime schedule today and it includes Donald Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice in its mid-season Sunday 8-10pm timeslot. Since the conventional wisdom was that NBC wouldn’t schedule Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice for next season unless it got confirmation from him that he wasn’t running for President (because of the grief for NBC from FCC equal time rules), presumably Celebrity Apprentice On Schedule = Trump not running for President. In their conference call, NBC Execs said “We’re not certain, but we’re hoping he’s back with us.” Update: NBC just stated they will bring the show back without Trump if he runs, and recast his role on the show. You heard it hear first! Or not! Since the Donald could always change his mind.

WITH A COMMITMENT TO INNOVATION, STRATEGIC POSITIONING AND SEASON-LONG STRENGTH, NBC REVEALS ITS 2011-12 PRIMETIME SCHEDULE Fall and Mid-Season Lineups Feature New Dramas “Smash,” “Prime Suspect,” “The Playboy Club,” “Awake,” “Grimm” and “The Firm” New Comedies Are “Up All Night,” “Whitney,” “Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea,” “Free Agents,” “Best Friends Forever” and “Bent” NEW YORK CITY — May 15, 2011 — NBC has introduced its 2011-12 primetime schedule, showcasing six new dramas and six new comedies from a roster of renowned hit-makers that includes Steven Spielberg, Lorne Michaels, Brian Grazer, Tom Werner, John Grisham and Peter Berg, among many others. The season’s new dramas are “Smash,” “Prime Suspect,” “The Playboy Club,” “Awake,” “Grimm” and “The Firm”; and the new comedies are “Up All Night,” “Whitney,” “Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea,” “Free Agents,” “Best Friends Forever” and “Bent.” Returning shows include “Parenthood,” “Law & Order: Special Vic

CBS has picked up the JJ Abrams drama Person of Interest and sitcom Two Broke Girls to series for next season.

Rookie sitcom Outsourced has been cancelled by NBC. Following The Office in the Fall, Outsourced was the second highest rated of NBC’s scripted shows, but when it moved to 10:30pm in the Spring ratings tumbled. Even so, I was only slightly negative on its renewal prospects because of how well it had done in the Fall. Consolidating headlines earlier posts to save space in the featured area, NBC has also cancelled Law & Order: Los Angeles and The Event.

ABC has picked up three sitcoms Apt. 23 , Tim Allen’s Last Man Standing , and Man Up . ABC also picked up seven dramas including Good Christian Belles (formerly Bitches), Charlie’s Angels , Once Upon A Time , Pan Am , Revenge , Scandal and The River . Update: ABC has also picked up the sitcom Suburgatory .

Amidst the carnage of ABC cancellations, comes news that Happy Endings has been renewed for a second season by ABC. A late season sitcom addition, it did well enough in the 1opm hour to earn another season. I was mildly positive on its renewal chances, but when push came to shove, Robert chose to push. ;)

Friday the 13th was a bad day for the Visitors, and unsurprisingly, sophomore drama V has been cancelled by ABC. After premiering to strong ratings in the Fall of 2009 its ratings declined during the Fall, and fell substantially in the Spring after a mid-season hiatus. Returning in January 2011, the show’s ratings stayed in the 1.7-2.1 adults 18-49 ratings range, neither trending decisively up or down. ABC also canceled Brothers & Sisters. Based on ratings this also shouldn’t have been a surprise to anyone, but some people (:coughROBERTcough:) were caught up in the where there’s smoke about another season, there must be fire nonsense. Apparently the actors and producers weren’t into a shortened season on a reduced budget. Update 1: Mr. Sunshine also canceled. Also in the completely unsurprising department Off The Map, No Ordinary Family and Detroit 1-8-7 were canceled too. Update 2: ‘Better With You’ Cancelled By ABC

TMZ gets this post Ashton Kutcher hiring reaction from Charlie Sheen: “Enjoy seeing a 2.0 in the demo every Monday, WB.” Had Charlie asked me, I’d have told him that future ratings predictions are tough, but I’d have gone higher than a 2.0.