Fall TV Preview

Monday is the keystone of NBC entertainment president Bob Greenblatt’s Tetris-like revival strategy, which is why his most ambitious new effort sits in what is arguably the Peacock’s most valuable time slot. Leading out of The Voice at 10 p.m., Revolution is shot through with J.J. Abrams’ signature tropes—mystery! dystopia! cheekbones!—while indulging in all the fripperies of the Crossbow Zeitgeist. (Archery is the new zombie apocalypse.)

According to Gary Reisman, co-founder and principal in the research and marketing firm NewMediaMetrics, Revolution will not only be a breakout hit for NBC but should also generate piles of revenue from auto, retail and QSR clients. (Buyers eyeball the average unit price of a spot in Revolution at around $140,000.)

The two other new Monday night series aren’t nearly as promising. One media buyer characterized the generically titled The Mob Doctor as “preposterous,” adding that the Jordana Spiro drama is likely to disappear once Fox is ready to pull the trigger on the superb midseason thriller The Following. Meanwhile, the only saving grace of the “tired” and “not even a little bit funny” CBS comedy Partners is its plum positioning as the creamy filling in the How I Met Your Mother-2 Broke Girls Oreo. But don’t weep for CBS. The network has so many hits on its hands that last season it canceled the fifth highest rated scripted series on TV (¡Rob!) after an eight-episode run.