NBC’s ‘Grimm’ season 6 to have smaller order than season 5

While the news was indeed great that NBC renewed “Grimm” for a sixth season recently, here’s the caveat to this said news: It is going to be for a little bit shorter amount of time than what we are typically accustomed to with this show.

According to a report from Deadline, the network is being fairly conservative at the moment and only picking up the series for thirteen episodes, as opposed to the typical 22. This is a move to ensure that there is some schedule flexibility, given the number of returning series for the fall and also a bevy of new shows that could be coming. The “Chicago PD” spin-off “Chicago Justice” is close to a sure thing, the “Blacklist” spin-off is likely, and we’re also potentially going to have the ambitious “Emerald City” finally on the schedule alongside a potential “Taken” franchise prequel. That’s still only scratching the surface of some of the pilots that are out there.

This same report does state that nothing is set in stone just yet for “Grimm” as a whole. This is the bare minimum of episodes that will be ordered, and it’s possible that it could be expanded down the line. This is the sort of “known commodity” show that is very useful for NBC to have around. While it’s not a ratings monster, it’s fairly consistent, performs well in live+7 data, and will be a self-starter that doesn’t require a ton of promotion or a huge lead-in. Therefore, it’s a great utility player for midseason, and to be honest, we always get frustrated with how the network schedules it in the fall in the first place. It always starts late in October, and then is pushed around because of holidays or other events.