Rueben's Ramblings

It’s that time of year again when the networks make their annual presentations in New York to the advertisers where they announce their proposed fall line-up and announce the new shows they have picked up.

Here is the breakdown for NBC:

MONDAY

8 PM – The Voice
10 PM – Manifest *

Manifest – When Montego Air Flight 828 landed safely after a turbulent but routine flight, the crew and passengers were relieved. Yet in the span of those few hours, the world had aged five years and their friends, families and colleagues, after mourning their loss, had given up hope and moved on. Now, faced with the impossible, they’re all given a second chance. But as their new realities become clear, a deeper mystery unfolds and some of the returned passengers soon realize they may be meant for something greater than they ever thought possible.

The cast includes Melissa Roxburgh (Supernatural and Valor), Josh Dallas (Once Upon a Time), Athena Karkanis (Zoo, The Expanse and The Lottery), J.R. Ramirez (Jessica Jones), Luna Blaise (Fresh Off the Boat) and Parveen Kaur (Beyond and Saving Hope).

Here is a trailer for Manifest:

TUESDAY

8 PM – The Voice
9 PM – This Is Us
10 PM – New Amsterdam *

New Amsterdam – Inspired by Bellevue, the oldest public hospital in America, this unique medical drama follows the brilliant and charming Dr. Max Goodwin, the institution’s newest medical director who sets out to tear up the bureaucracy and provide exceptional care. How can he help? Well, the doctors and staff have heard this before. Not taking “no” for an answer, Dr. Goodwin must disrupt the status quo and prove he will stop at nothing to breathe new life into this understaffed, underfunded and underappreciated hospital — the only one in the world capable of treating Ebola patients, prisoners from Rikers and the President of the United States under one roof — and return it to the glory that put it on the map.

The cast includes Ryan Eggold (The Blacklist), Freema Agyeman (Doctor Who), Janet Montgomery (Salem and This Is Us), Jocko Sims (The Last Ship), Anupam Kher (Sense8) and Tyler Labine (Reaper and Deadbeat).

Here is a trailer for New Amsterdam:

WEDNESDAY

8 PM – Chicago Med
9 PM – Chicago Fire
10 PM – Chicago P.D.

THURSDAY

8 PM – Superstore
8:30 PM – The Good Place
9 PM – Will & Grace
9:30 PM – I Feel Bad *
10 PM – Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

FRIDAY

8 PM – Blindspot
9 PM – Midnight, Texas
10 PM – Dateline NBC

SATURDAY

8 PM – Dateline Saturday Night Mystery
10 PM – Saturday Night Live (encores)

SUNDAY

7 PM – Football Night in America
8:20 PM – NBC Sunday Night Football

* Denotes new shows

The drama Good Girls will return during mid-season as will the following new dramas:

The Village – This drama is about an apartment building in Brooklyn that appears like any other from the outside but is quite unique inside. The people who reside here have built a bonded family of friends and neighbors. Sarah’s a nurse and single mom raising a creative teen; Gabe’s a young law student who got a much older and unexpected roommate; Ava must secure the future of her young, U.S.-born son when ICE comes knocking; Nick’s a veteran who’s returned from war; and the heart and soul of the building, Ron and Patricia, have captivating tales all their own. These are the hopeful, heartwarming and challenging stories of life that prove family is everything — even if it’s the one you make with the people around you.

The cast includes Moran Atias (Tyrant and The Resident), Warren Christie (Alphas), Frankie Faison (The Wire and Banshee), Jerod Haynes (Benji and Empire), Daren Kagasoff (The Secret Life of the American Teenager), Michaela McManus (SEAL Team) and Lorraine Toussaint (Rosewood and Into the Badlands).

The Enemy Within – In this fast-paced, spy-hunting thriller, Erica Shepherd (Jennifer Carpenter) is a brilliant former CIA operative, now known as the most notorious traitor in American history serving life in a Supermax prison. Against every fiber of his being but with nowhere else to turn, FBI Agent Will Keaton (Morris Chestnut) enlists Shepherd to help track down a fiercely dangerous and elusive criminal she knows all too well. For Keaton, it’s not easy to trust the woman who cost him so much. While Shepherd and Keaton have different motivations for bringing the enemy to justice, they both know that to catch a spy… they must think like one.

The cast includes Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter), Morris Chestnut (Rosewood), Raza Jaffrey (Smash and Lost in Space) and Kelli Garner (Pan Am).

The InBetween – Cassie Bishop was born with a gift, though she may call it a curse. She can see and communicate with the dead, helping them with their unresolved problems … whether she likes it or not. When her longtime friend Det. Tom Hackett and his new partner, former FBI Agent Damien Asante, need help solving a darkly puzzling murder, Cassie agrees to use her abilities. Despite her reluctance, she may have found a way to keep her demons at bay, all while solving some of the city’s most challenging cases.

The cast includes Harriet Dyer (the Australian series Love Child), Anne-Marie Johnson (In the Heat of the Night), Cindy Luna (The Last Ship), Chad James Buchanan (Star) and Paul Blackthorne (Arrow).

A decision has yet to be made on the time-travel drama Timeless, though.

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