NBC is reshuffling part of its primetime lineup for the 2026-27 television season, and one of the network’s biggest franchise moves involves Law & Order. After airing in the Thursday 8 p.m. slot since returning to NBC in 2021, the long-running procedural is moving back to 10 p.m. next fall, while Law & Order: SVU stays put at 9 p.m.
According to Deadline, the shift comes as NBC makes room for a broadcast version of Peacock’s breakout reality hit The Traitors, which will now open the network’s Thursday lineup.
The updated schedule arrives as NBC continues balancing entertainment programming with an increasingly sports-heavy primetime slate that already includes Sunday Night Football, college football, NBA coverage, and, beginning next season, MLB games.
Despite that, NBC is still expanding its scripted offerings with new dramas Line of Fire and The Rockford Files, plus comedies Newlyweds and Sunset P.I. At the same time, the network confirmed cancellations for medical drama Brilliant Minds and comedy Stumble, while The Hunting Party remains undecided.
NBC executives framed the schedule overhaul as a strategy built around stability and familiar audience habits. “We wanted stability,” Jeff Bader, NBCUniversal’s President of Program Planning Strategy, told Deadline. “Flow was incredibly important; lead-ins do matter.”
Addressing the Law & Order move specifically, Bader said pairing the flagship series behind SVU made the decision straightforward. “When you have shows that are as compatible, obviously, as the two Law & Order shows are, it’s an easier marketing lift,” he explained, adding that the network expects the relocation to strengthen its 10 p.m. hour.
The move also reconnects Law & Order with a timeslot that defined much of its original run. The franchise has remained one of NBC’s most dependable brands for decades, spanning the original series, multiple spinoffs, streaming success, and nonstop syndication.
Elsewhere on the schedule, The Voice remains a major anchor for Mondays, while Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, and Chicago P.D. continue NBC’s long-running “One Chicago” block on Wednesdays. New drama Line of Fire, starring Peter Krause and Hope Davis, lands the coveted Monday 10 p.m. slot after The Voice. Meanwhile, The Rockford Files reboot starring David Boreanaz is being held for a January launch.
NBC is also betting big on unscripted programming. The network’s civilian edition of The Traitors, hosted by Alan Cumming, will debut Thursdays at 8 p.m., while a televised version of the viral word game Wordle is slated for 2027 with Savannah Guthrie attached as host.
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