The Olympics come to NBC every two years (under normal circumstances without the delays that pushed the Tokyo Summer Games to 2021), which means that the normal TV lineup goes through some changes. Now, the 2022 Winter Games are fast approaching, and some of TV’s biggest hits (including Chicago Fire and its sister series Med and P.D.) are heading into a hiatus that will leave fans waiting longer than usual for new episodes.
The 2022 Winter Olympics begin on Friday, February 4 and run through Sunday, February 20, and NBC is going all-in on the Beijing Games throughout the month. That’s great news for fans of watching the best athletes in the world go head-to-head at winter sports, but not so great for fans waiting for their favorite shows to return. So, let’s take a look at some of the biggest NBC shows and/or fan favorites that have been officially impacted by the Olympics, and when they’ll be back.
- This Is Us - returns Tuesday, February 22 at 9 p.m. ET
- New Amsterdam - returns Tuesday, February 22 at 10 p.m. ET
- Chicago Med - returns Wednesday, February 23 at 8 p.m. ET
- Chicago Fire - returns Wednesday, February 23 at 9 p.m. ET
- Chicago P.D. - returns Wednesday, February 23 at 10 p.m. ET
- Law & Order: SVU - returns Thursday, February 24 at 9 p.m. ET
- Law & Order: Organized Crime - returns Thursday, February 24 at 10 p.m. ET
- The Blacklist - returns Friday, February 25 at 8 p.m. ET (NEW TIME)
NBC is also bringing back the original Law & Order for a revival featuring some familiar faces on February 24 after the Olympics, taking over the 8 p.m. ET time slot on Thursdays and sending The Blacklist back to Fridays, which may actually be good for the James Spader show, as it hasn’t quite thrived on Thursday nights. The network also saved some other new shows for late February and beyond, including American Song Contest and The Endgame on February 21.
There is some bad news for New Amsterdam fans, although not entirely tied to the Olympics. The medical drama will only return briefly after the 2022 Games, as the miniseries The Thing About Pam will take over the 10 p.m. ET time slot on Tuesdays for six weeks starting on March 8, leaving New Amsterdam on hiatus until April 19.
As for fans of all the other shows that are currently on a break until nearly the end of February… well, hopefully the Olympics will be worth watching to fill the time! As of the end of 2021 (which was before This Is Us returned for its sixth and final season), all three shows of One Chicago and both current Law & Order series ranked in the top ten of all TV programs of the fall season, so NBC will be missing its biggest dramas. That’s not to say that NBC will suffer in the ratings, however; plenty of people will be tuning in to the Olympics.
Other networks will have shows on hiatus through the bulk of February as well, although the non-NBC networks didn’t specify whether or not the break is due to the Olympics. ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19 don’t even return in 2022 until February 24 to deliver on some midseason finale cliffhangers. NCIS: Hawai’i is scheduled for reruns for several weeks, and it’s likely that NCIS (which leads into the Hawai’i-set spinoff on Monday nights) will do the same on CBS.
Also on CBS, the three FBI shows will return for one more episode on February 1 before going for some weeks of reruns. The Eye Network is debuting the third season of Celebrity Big Brother in early February, however, so there are exceptions to big TV hits going on breaks during the bulk of February. To nail down some important dates for the coming weeks and months, be sure to check out our 2022 TV schedule.
