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NBC Hopes to Reclaim Thursdays as ‘Must See TV’

Lonnie Chavis, left, and Milo Ventimiglia in a scene from “This Is Us.” NBC is reviving its “must-see TV” Thursday franchise this fall with the revival of “Will & Grace,” and the move of its top hit “This Is Us” to the same night.Credit...Ron Batzdorff/NBC, via Associated Press

Can NBC make Thursday nights a “Must See TV” destination again?

The network is going to try to market them that way, starting this fall.

NBC announced on Sunday, a day ahead of its annual showcase to advertisers, that it would pair its biggest hit, “This Is Us,” with the network’s biggest revival, “Will & Grace,” on Thursday nights beginning in September. NBC will round out the Thursday schedule with its new limited series “Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders.”

“This Is Us,” which will finish the 2016-2017 season as the second-highest-rated scripted show on broadcast television, was previously shown on Tuesdays.

NBC was once dominant on Thursday night — propelled by comedies like “Seinfeld” and “Friends” and the drama “E.R.” — and its marketing department called it “Must See TV.” Over the years, as NBC’s comedy lineup collapsed and as other networks jumped in on Thursdays, NBC lost its advantage.

Although tweaks to time slots may seem antiquated in this era of delayed viewing, network executives say that lineups still matter — especially when lead-in shows like “The Voice” can give new shows a better start.

NBC clearly smells blood in the water: ABC, which once had a strong edge on Thursdays with shows helmed by Shonda Rhimes, saw ratings plummet for stalwarts like “Scandal” and “How to Get Away With Murder,” both by Ms. Rhimes. “Grey’s Anatomy,” which is shown at 8 p.m. Eastern on Thursdays, is still going strong.

But NBC’s schedule is not without complications. For starters, it will have to run opposite a top-ratings getter, “Thursday Night Football,” which will be on CBS through October. Then NBC will get “Thursday Night Football” for the rest of the season, which will interrupt its fall lineup.

The shows will be expected to return in January, but then NBC’s broadcast of the Winter Olympics could cause further interruption. “Will & Grace” is also a 12-episode limited event, so it is not clear whether it would come back next year and whether NBC’s “Must See TV” event would be sustainable beyond the coming season.

Robert Greenblatt, the chairman of NBC Entertainment, conceded that it would be “a little bit on again off again” but said that he was trying to figure out how to keep “This Is Us” going for an episode or two between November and December, including a special Christmas episode. He also announced that “This Is Us” would get the coveted post-Super Bowl slot in 2018.

NBC’s Thursday lineup last year was a grab bag: It included the Dick Wolf drama “Chicago Med” and the comedies “Superstore” and “The Good Place.”

The “Will & Grace” revival will start the night at 8 p.m., followed by the comedy “Great News,” of which Tina Fey is executive producer, at 8:30. “This Is Us” takes over at 9, followed by the “Law & Order” limited series at 10.

NBC will have its upfront presentation on Monday at Radio City Music Hall, although the broadcast network is only one part of the showcase, which will focus on all parts of NBC Universal’s television companies.

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