A midstream scheduling change is a rarity for networks in recent years, but one is happening at NBC.
The network will move its first-year drama Grosse Pointe Garden Society from Sunday to Friday nights starting April 4. The show will take the 8 p.m. spot currently occupied by Happy’s Place; the Reba McEntire-led comedy finishes its season March 21. Episodes of Dateline will take over the 10 p.m. Sunday slot after Grosse Pointe Garden Society moves.
The change in nights is meant to help Grosse Pointe Garden Society get some more eyes to its on-air showings. The series, which follows members of a suburban garden club whose lives become entangled with scandal and secrets — and a murder — has found some traction streaming on Peacock, but its on-air viewing has struggled some.
Through its first three episodes, Grosse Pointe Garden Society has averaged a scant 1.29 million same-day viewers, making it NBC’s lowest on-air performance this season. The Feb. 23 series premiere, however, has grown to 6.6 million viewers in the past four weeks with streaming and other delayed viewing — more than triple its initial audience of 1.79 million.
Friday nights, however, have been a little kinder to NBC this season: Happy’s Place averages 3.35 million same-day viewers and has been renewed for a second season.
Grosse Pointe Garden Society stars Melissa Fumero, Aja Naomi King, Ben Rappaport, AnnaSophia Robb, Matthew Davis, Alexander Hodge, Nancy Travis and Felix Wolfe. Jenna Bans and Bill Krebs (Good Girls) created the series and are co-showrunners, executive producing with Casey Kyber. Universal Television produces.
