Fans of NBC's comedies 'Community' and 'Whitney' will have to wait a bit longer for the new seasons to premiere, the network announced on Tuesday. The two shows were originally scheduled to premiere their fall 2012 seasons on October 19.
According to E! News, the delay was made to allow the network to provide adequate marketing support. In a statement released on Tuesday, NBC said, "Given the success we've had for the past four weeks-including winning the first week of the season in adults 18-49, we've decided to continue to concentrate our promotional strength on our new NBC shows that are scheduled Monday through Wednesday and have therefore decided to hold Community and Whitney from their previously announced premieres of Oct. 19."
The statement continued, "Without having to launch these comedies on Friday at this time, we can keep our promotion focused on earlier in the week. Plus, we will have both comedies in our back pocket if we need to make any schedule changes on those nights. When we have a better idea of viewing patterns in the next few weeks, we will announce new season premieres of 'Whitney' and 'Community'."
Instead of airing the two comedies, NBC will air 'Grimm' repeats on Friday nights at 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. ET, E! News reported. According to the Washington Post, NBC has seen itself in first place among 18-to-49 year old viewers for the first time in nearly a decade.
Placing the two shows in the backburner also allows NBC to have backups if new shows 'Animal Practice' and 'Guys with Kids' do not work out, the Washington Post reported.
The network picked up full-seasons orders for its new drama 'Revolution' and its two new Tuesday comedies, 'Go On' and 'The New Normal' earlier this month.