NBC has set its midseason Monday strategy in motion with the extension of #1-rated Monday drama Timeless, bringing the full-season order to 16; plus the premiere of its highly-anticipated new action series Taken, which will launch Monday, Feb. 27 at 10 p.m. The series, starring international superstar Clive Standen, immediately follows the debut of the spring cycle of the three-time Emmy Award-winning musical competition series The Voice.
“Monday nights are critical to our success,” said NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt, “and we’re going strong into the rest of the season with the return of ‘The Voice’ in February followed by the premiere of ‘Taken,’ along with additional episodes of our great new series ‘Timeless.’ We’re very happy to welcome Gwen Stefani back to ‘The Voice,’ along with Blake, Adam, and our new coach Alicia Keys. And ‘Taken’ is a thrilling new series inspired by the hit movie franchise but updated in a very clever way.”
“‘Timeless’ is a phenomenal new show that takes the audience emotionally to a completely different place and time each week,” added Jennifer Salke, President of NBC Entertainment. “We’re thrilled to be ordering additional episodes so that we can run the final six hours of the season in a row with no pre-emptions after the new year. Our hats are off to Eric Kripke and Shawn Ryan for producing one of the most ambitious new shows anywhere on television.”
Timeless, which stars Abigail Spencer, Matt Lanter, Malcolm Barrett, Goran Višnjic, Paterson Joseph, Sakina Jaffrey and Claudia Doumit, has averaged a 2.7 rating in adults 18-49 and 10.7 million viewers overall in live + 7, making it the top-rated Monday drama so far this season in 18-49.
Timeless is undefeated in its Monday 10-11 p.m. ET slot among the ABC, CBS and NBC dramas thus far in “live plus same day” ratings through its first four weeks on the schedule.
Shawn Ryan and Eric Kripke are the co-showrunners, writers and executive producers. John Davis, John Fox and Marney Hochman also executive produce.
NBC’s other two new fall series, This Is Us and The Good Place, have been ordered for 18 and 13 episodes this season, respectively.
From executive producer Luc Besson (Taken, The Fifth Element) comes a modern-day edge-of-your-seat thriller that follows the origin story of younger, hungrier former Green Beret Bryan Mills (Clive Standen, Vikings) as he deals with a personal tragedy that shakes his world. As he fights to overcome the trauma of the incident and exact revenge, Mills is pulled into a career as a deadly CIA operative, a job that awakens his very particular, and very dangerous, set of skills. In 30 years, this character is destined to become the Bryan Mills that we’ve come to love from the Taken films.
The cast includes Jennifer Beals, Gaius Charles, Brooklyn Sudano, Monique Gabriela Curnen, Michael Irby, James Landry Hébert and Jose Pablo Cantillo. Alexander Cary serves as writer and executive producer. Luc Besson, Matthew Gross, Edouard de Vésinne, Thomas Anargyros and director Alex Graves also executive produce.
The upcoming 12th cycle of The Voice will feature the return of Gwen Stefani as well as season 11 coaches Alicia Keys, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton. Stefani was previously a coach in seasons seven and nine and was an adviser for seasons eight and 10.
So far this fall, The Voice has averaged a 3.5 rating in adults 18-49 and 12.9 million viewers overall in “most current” results from Nielsen Media Research. It continues to rank as television’s #1 alternative series in adults 18-49, a status the show has maintained over the past four seasons. With both its editions ranking in the top 10 among entertainment telecasts on the Big 4 networks in adults 18-49 this season, The Voice remains a key contributor to NBC’s consistent nightlong wins among those nets on both Monday and Tuesday nights.
The Voice is a presentation of MGM Television, Talpa Media USA Inc. and Warner Horizon Television. The series was created by John de Mol, who serves as executive producer along with Mark Burnett, Audrey Morrissey, Jay Bienstock, Lee Metzger and Chad Hines.
Timeless is a production of Sony Pictures Television, Davis Entertainment, MiddKid Productions and Kripke Enterprises. Taken is produced by EuropaCorp TV and Universal Television.
