Grosse Pointe Garden Society premieres in February (could the timeslot be a problem?)

NBC has announced when the new drama Grosse Pointe Garden Society will premiere, but does it have the right time slot?

NBC is wrapping up its 2024 slate by announcing when shows will be returning in winter 2025. That includes the new drama Grosse Pointe Garden Society. It comes from Jenna Bans and Will Krebs, the creators of the underrated but popular crime dramedy Good Girls. It refers to the ladies of a local garden club who “find their lives intertwined by scandal, mischief and murder.”

The show is set to debut Sunday, Feb. 23, at 10/9c on NBC. That seems a good place on the surface, but is it really that good a spot for this series?

Why Grosse Pointe Garden Society may have a bad time slot

On the surface, the series has a lot to offer for fans of shows like Desperate Housewives. It integrates various characters and boasts a top-level cast of Melissa Fumero (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), AnnaSophia Robb (The Carrie Diaries), Ben Rappaport (For the People), Matthew Davis (Legacies), Alexander Hodge (Insecure), Aja Naomi King (Lessons in Chemistry), Nancy Travis (Last Man Standing) and Felix Avitia (Raven’s Home).

However, the time slot is tricky. On the one hand, the show will follow the docuseries The Americas and then the highly anticipated Suits: LA. That gives it a good push, and NBC is likely to promote it well to get more eyes on it. 

The problem is that Sunday nights haven’t exactly been a top night for NBC successes. The network relies on NFL football on Sundays in the fall and original content for midseason. They had some minor success in 2023 with Magnum PI and The Blacklist but have faltered with shows like Good Girls. Some years have seen NBC use the night for extended episodes of Dateline rather than regular dramas. 

That’s mostly because CBS has a good edge on Sundays with their hit dramas Tracker and The Equalizer, while ABC can boast American Idol and some game shows. That may allow Society to get some more eyeballs on it, but just as possible, viewers may not feel invested enough to watch. 

It’s not helped by how NBC is rather notorious for scores of midseason series that barely last one season. Viewers would be wary of possibly investing their time into a show that stands a great chance of being canceled after thirteen episodes or so and being dropped into this Sunday timeslot doesn’t show that much faith in it. 

Granted, NBC doesn’t have that much room on its schedule with One Chicago Wednesdays and the Law & Order shows on Thursdays. NBC might also remember how Desperate Housewives became a sensation on Sundays 20 years ago. Still, the timeslot is a concern for fans hopeful this show can become the next network guilty pleasure.

Grosse Pointe Garden Society premieres Sunday, Feb. 23 at 10/9c on NBC.