‘The Newsroom’ season 3: Will final episodes be hurt by new timeslot?

The big news that came out this week that was not a surprise at all was that “The Newsroom” would be back come Sunday, November 9, but what was somewhat more shocking came in the form of the timeslot. For the first time to date, the show is shifting up to 9:00 p.m. Eastern time.

What is the reason for this? It is a matter as simple as ensuring that “The Comeback” and “Getting On” both get a chance to come on the air with a decent lead-in. We can only assume that this is the reason for the change, given that HBO has never been a network to put a drama after two of its comedies … at least now in recent history. Most of their dramas generate better numbers, even one like “The Newsroom” that has polarized some of its viewers over the years.

Now, the question you do have to wonder is whether or not the series will become buried when you consider competition. Sunday nights at 9:00 is arguably the hardest timeslot in all television, especially in November. You have “The Walking Dead” on AMC, Sunday Night Football on NBC, the surprisingly-successful “Resurrection” on ABC, “Family Guy” on Fox, “The Good Wife” on CBS, and “Homeland” on Showtime. This is just some of the scripted fare, and there are plenty of smaller shows that we are leaving out here.

The point is ultimately the same: In getting this timeslot, HBO is taking a gamble that there will be enough loyal viewers to help out the other comedies. If the live ratings for “The Newsroom” are low, HBO doesn’t have to freak out. It is the final season, so there’s only going to be so much longer that the show is even on the air.

We’re very interested to see where the numbers fall this fall, and we’ll have more soon.

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Photo: HBO