NBC's The Wall; Weakest Link return in April

NBC has announced the premiere dates for the new seasons of their gameshows The Wall and Weakest Link. Both shows return to the schedule in April, with Weakest Link launching April 17th in its usual Mondays at 10/9c timeslot. The Wall launches on Tuesdays beginning April 11th at 9/8c.

The Wall, now entering its fifth season, has quietly been a solid producer for NBC. Each of that last three seasons consisted of 20 episodes, but NBC didn't announce an episode count when it renewed the show last May. If it got 20 episodes again, I expect it to be split into two 10 episode runs. The show has given away over $25 million to date, although last season was the first season not to produce a million dollar win. Season 5 will see the introduction of a new element called "Wall to Wall". Similar to the Superdrop, a ball will fall from each of the seven slots during one of the questions, making the one drop potentially worth over $1 million. Additionally, one team will face a record-setting $2.8 million on the wall, the highest in the history of the show. 

Weakest Link returns for its third (5th overall) season with an expanded episode count of 20. This season will also feature "themed" episodes with the season premiere featuring twins. It doesn't sound like there's any gameplay changes. This season will also cross the 100 episode mark for the US version when you combine the original run that ran in the early 2000s. Back in it's original Monday night timeslot, Weakest Link will having a strong lead in with The Voice. It's unknown whether NBC will split the season up into two 10 episode runs or just air it straight through the summer. 

I expected both shows to get little promotion. Both shows tend to produce solid results despite little promotion so I am not sure NBC will do a ton of advertising. With a potential writers strike, it wouldn't shock me if both shows get quick renewals if ratings are solid enough, so they can begin stockpiling episodes. Both shows are currently in repeats on Saturday nights on NBC.