"Go On," starring Matthew Perry, and "Animal Practice," featuring the Crystal the monkey, will be shown on Olympic nights.
This undated image released by NBC shows Matthew Perry portraying Ryan King in the pilot episode of "Go On." LOS ANGELES (AP) — Matthew Perry and Crystal the monkey are standing on the shoulders of Michael Phelps, Gabby Douglas and other Olympic champions.
NBC has vigorously promoted its fall schedule during the network's exclusive Summer Games broadcasts. But it's awarded a preview opportunity to just two comedies: "Go On," starring Perry, and "Animal Practice," featuring the simian Crystal and assorted humans.
"Go On," with the former "Friends" star as a newly bereaved sports radio host, will air Wednesday following the end of the night's Olympic coverage. At approximately 11 p.m. EDT.
"Animal Practice," starring Justin Kirk of "Weeds" and set in a veterinary hospital, will air after Sunday's closing ceremonies, which are set to wrap at about 10:30 p.m. EDT.
"The strategy really is about getting as much sampling for the shows as possible," said Vernon Sanders, NBC Entertainment executive vice president. He called it a reflection of a "real philosophical shift about how to premiere shows."
That includes a more aggressive effort to give freshman series a jump start on the fall season, which officially begins in mid-September, by posting them online early, holding screenings — or, when an Olympic Games is handy, "putting them in the biggest launch pad possible," Sanders said.
This Olympics have exceeded 30 million nightly viewers for a majority of its prime-time telecasts and bested the ratings of the 2008 Beijing Summer Games. The higher-than-expected ratings have "thrilled" the network, Sanders said.
Using a gold-plated platform to sell its fall schedule is a temptation NBC shouldn't resist, said analyst Brad Adgate of media-buyer Horizon Media.
"They're going to have 200 million viewers watching across 17 days, and it's a wonderful promotional showcase for the new lineup," Adgate said.
But it's not a surefire one. Case in point is Jerry Seinfeld's "Marriage Ref," which received a splashy debut during the 2010 Winter Games. NBC even interrupted the closing ceremony, inviting viewers to return for the final minutes of the Olympics after sampling "Marriage Ref."