The Revived Will & Grace Will Overshadow NBC’s Other New Fall Shows

Adweek’s weeklong analysis of each broadcast network’s new fall shows continues today with NBC, which reclaimed the 18-49 demo lead last season from CBS. Unless something goes horribly wrong, NBC will remain on top this season as well, thanks to a February lineup that includes both the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics. That means the network is under less pressure than any of its broadcast peers to find new hits this fall, where Sunday Night Football, Thursday Night Football, the return of last year’s biggest hit, This Is Us, The Voice and Saturday Night Live—which will be airing live in all time zones for the entire season—should all once again deliver big audiences. While neither of its two underwhelming true freshman series—military drama The Brave and Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders—is likely to break out like This Is Us did a year ago, NBC’s other “new” show—its revival of Will & Grace—will get more attention than almost any other addition to the broadcast schedule. While a pilot isn’t always the best way to judge a show’s ultimate potential, it’s often the only episode audiences watch before deciding whether to stick around or throw in the towel, especially given all the other new and returning shows fighting for attention. Adweek has been ranking each network’s new shows, from least promising to most, all week, but as of press time, NBC hadn’t yet made Will & Grace screeners available to critics. After the Will & Grace screener is sent out, the rankings will be updated to incorporate the sitcom. UPDATE: NBC sent out the show's first three episodes on Thursday, and the rankings have been adjusted accordingly. 3. The Brave (Mondays 10 p.m., premieres Sept. 25) The plot: The show follows a special forces unit lead by Mike Vogel as they carry out dangerous missions around the globe with assistance in D.C. from the Defense Intelligence Agency's deputy director (Anne Heche) and her team of analysts. The verdict: The drama is an improvement on NBC’s last attempt at a military-themed drama, American Odyssey, but it’s still as generic as its title. But the end of the first episode, I’d already had my fill of watching Heche and her team urgently stare at screens as they track the team. The pilot ends with a solid cliffhanger that should keep audiences intrigued enough to return for the second episode, and The Brave’s post-Voice time slot should also send viewers its way. But unless future episodes improve, viewers won't stick around for long. Is it good for your brand? With several military-themed dramas on the schedule, you might prefer to take your chances with SEAL Team on CBS. But if you’re placing inventory on the network’s other procedurals, there’s no harm in adding this show. Integration-seeking tech brands could put their name on lots of screens and surfaces in Heche’s Defense Intelligence Agency lair. [kickout id="1"] 2. Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders (Tuesdays 10 p.m., premieres Sept. 26) The plot: This eight-episode true-crime anthology series takes a page—well, more like half the book—from The People v. O.J. Simpson, as it dramatizes the trial of brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez, who were convicted for the horrific 1989 murder of both their parents in Beverly Hills. Edie Falco—pre-Sopranos, she had a recurring role on the original Law & Order—returns to the franchise as criminal defense attorney Leslie Abramson, who represented Erik. The verdict: NBC's "most promising" fall show by default only, the Menendez Murders will make you appreciate anew the brilliance of how The People v. O.J. masterfully mined new layers in a story that viewers thought they already knew, because there is very little revelation here. Falco is always dynamic, but none of her castmates—particularly the actors playing Lyle and Erik—is able to match her energy. The show tries to replicate Law & Order’s format, right down to the “dun-dun,” which is a problem given that detectives, who should be an essential part of any Law & Order show, barely register here. Perhaps things will pick up as the trial gets underway and the show can more easily focus on Abramson/Falco. But the first two episodes are frustrating. Is it good for your brand? It can be part of your Dick Wolf-produced NBC drama ad buy. [kickout id="2"] 1. Will & Grace (Thursdays 9 p.m., premieres Sept. 28) The plot: Will (Eric McCormack) and Grace (Debra Messing) and Jack (Sean Hayes) and Karen (Megan Mullally) are back. What else is there to say? The verdict: It’s as if the quartet never left, and the first episode quickly reverses the happy endings from the show's 2006 series finale, returning the characters to their status quo (yes, Will and Grace are living together again). Packed with as many updated pop culture references as possible—the first three episodes mention Grindr, “woke,” “fake news” and Netflix—the show might not hit the heights from the show’s heyday, but it’s still a treat to see this foursome playing off one another again. If you liked the show the first time around—all of those episodes are now streaming on Hulu and NBC.com—you’ll probably be on board again. If not, then there's no reason to start watching now. Is it good for your brand? If the series was part of your media mix a decade ago, you’ll want to add it again. The only question is whether younger audiences will also watch (as was the case with The X-Files, which was able to pull fans from the original run, as well as audience who discovered the show later on Netflix), or whether the revival will appeal only to those who watched the original series, which signed off in 2006. Either way, this is the only “new” series that is guaranteed to return next season: NBC Entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt ordered a second season of the revival a month ago. [kickout id="3"]