‘The Blacklist’ season 2: NBC head defends move to Thursday night

NBC is turning into a somewhat-risky network, and we have not seen a better example of this recently than what they are trying to do with “The Blacklist.” After a good season and a half on Monday nights, where the show generated great ratings and Emmy buzz for some of its cast, the show is shifting over to a new time Thursday nights at 9:00 p.m. Eastern. This puts it in the line of fire against “Scandal,” another serial / procedural hybrid with a young audience.

So why make this move, and take a risk when you don’t really need to do anything of the sort? As programming head Robert Greenblatt said at TCA today, this is really born out of a desire to give the network a better chance of invigorating a Thursday-night lineup that has grown stagnant in recent years:

“While the move is risky, it’s the only way to reinvigorate that night … We’re trying to create a new night of high quality drama.”

One of the other reasons that this is such a big risk for NBC is that this will be the first time in a long time that the network has put a Thursday lineup on the air that does not include any comedy at all. To be fair, though, shows like “Bad Judge” and “A to Z” turned out to be giant clunkers, and there was no real sense in furthering that trajectory along. “The Blacklist” will be between “The Slap” and “Allegiance,” which are both new dramas.

What do you think: Do you love, hate, or are indifferent to this big move for “The Blacklist”? Share right now with a comment. (Photo: NBC.)