3 weeks ago
Twenty years ago, astatine NBC‘s 2006 upfront presentation, nan web unveiled its 2006-07 lineup which featured 2 caller bid connected nan autumn schedule, Aaron Sorkin’s play Studio 60 On nan Sunset Strip and Tina Fey’s single-camera drama 30 Rock, group down nan scenes of a Saturday Night Live-type TV show. They launched wrong weeks of each other, successful September and October 2006, respectively.
Exactly 20 years later, astatine NBC’s 2026 upfront position today, nan web unveiled its 2026-27 lineup, which includes 2 caller backstage detective series, drama The Rockford Files, a reboot of nan 1970s classic, and single-camera drama Sunset P.I..
As luck will person it, conscionable for illustration 30 Rock and Studio 60, The Rockford Files and Sunset P.I. besides will premiere wrong weeks of each different successful January and February 2027, respectively.
Studio 60 and 30 Rock shared a number of similarities, from nan numerical titles and nan premise, to having arsenic main characters nan fictional sketch show’s caput writer, shaper and stars arsenic good arsenic nan web executive overseeing it, positive nan caliber of actors successful nan cast, Bradley Whitford, Matthew Perry, Amanda Peet and Sarah Paulson (Studio 60), and Fey, Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan and Jane Krakowski (30 Rock).
The Rockford Files and Sunset P.I. also are headlined by large TV stars, David Boreanaz and Jake Johnson, respectively, playing P.I.s pinch knack for solving cases who are trying to rebuild their lives. Boreanaz’s James is recently paroled aft doing clip for a crime he didn’t commit, Johnson’s Mickey is an ex-LAPD bull whose life imploded 3 years ago.
Lisa Katz, President of Scripted Content, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, downplayed nan similarities between The Rockford Files and Sunset P.I. and nan truth that nan web is launching a play and drama successful nan aforesaid arena.
“As you know, we’ve done 2 aesculapian shows, we’ve done aggregate investigative shows,” she said. “And they’re some really, really beardown and very different successful position of nan reside and kinds of shows they are.”
It is existent that aggregate bid successful nan aforesaid genre crossed drama and play tin co-exist. This play alone, NBC has 3 aesculapian shows connected nan air, dramas Chicago Med and Brilliant Minds and drama St. Denis Medical. Brooklyn Nine-Nine aired connected nan web alongside dramas Law & Order: SVU and Chicago P.D.
Still, backstage interrogator is simply a specific, constrictive crime sub-genre. And it is very uncommon for a drama and play successful nan aforesaid genre lane to travel retired of nan aforesaid improvement rhythm and motorboat astatine nan aforesaid clip pinch overlapping trading campaigns.
“It wasn’t intentional, it was conscionable uncovering nan champion shows for nan champion slots, and they some happened to travel adjacent each other,” Katz said astir nan timing.
The Rockford Files and Sunset P.I. are scheduled connected different nights, Thursday and Monday, respectively, and location are nary plans for them to aerial backmost to back, Katz said. Still, some shows are group successful Los Angeles, so, if location is simply a desire, location could beryllium imaginable crossovers.
In television, location are immoderate trends that seemingly travel retired of nowhere. The emergence of P.I. shows whitethorn beryllium 1 of them.
CBS brought nan genre backmost successful 2018 pinch different reboot of a classical series, Magnum P.I.. It was followed by Amazon’s 2022 Bosch sequel, Bosch: Legacy, which featured erstwhile LAPD Detective “Harry” Bosch (Titus Welliver) arsenic a backstage investigator.
But nan existent activity of P.I. shows kicked disconnected successful earnest pinch Netflix’s The Man On nan Inside, starring Ted Danson, which launched successful November 2024 and is headed to its 3rd season, pinch Danson’s amateur sleuth Charles now a licensed backstage investigator. ABC’s R.J. Decker, headlined by Scott Speedman, premiered successful March and was conscionable renewed for a 2nd season. It will beryllium joined connected broadcast adjacent play by The Rockford Files and Sunset P.I.
Fun fact: A Man On nan Inside is created/executive produced by Mike Schur, and Sunset P.I. is co-created/executive produced by Dan Goor, nan duo who created together Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
Cop drama Brooklyn Nine-Nine ran for 8 seasons. Meanwhile, each aviator Boreanaz has starred successful has gone to bid and each nan series, Angel, Bones and SEAL Team, person had long, successful runs. That bodes good for some Sunset P.I. and The Rockford Files.
Still, we each cognize television’s sadistic occurrence rate. Looking backmost 20 years, 30 Rock and Studio 60 did not stock nan NBC schedule for long. While 30 Rock went connected to tally for 7 seasons and gain 16 Emmys, Studio 60 was canceled aft 1 season.
