What’s on NBC tonight? Here is the full NBC schedule for Thursday, October 29, 2026, with times in Eastern Time (ET).

NBC spends Thursday night on Law & Order, and the 9pm hour is the one to watch

See also: What's on tonight across all channels | Wednesday's TV guide

NBC’s Thursday comes down to a lead-in and two procedurals. The Traitors: New Blood opens primetime at 8pm ET/PT (7pm Central), then Law & Order: Special Victims Unit takes 9pm and Law & Order closes at 10pm. Of the three, the 9pm hour is the strongest and the one with the least to prove.

Special Victims Unit is on its 28th series and has reached 594 episodes. Tonight’s is “Arcana”, S28E04. Mariska Hargitay, Richard Belzer, Dann Florek, Ice-T and Danny Pino sit at the top of the cast list. A run that long needs no introduction. At 9pm it faces ABC’s 9-1-1: Nashville, CBS’s Ghosts a minute after the hour and Fox’s Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test. Four stars, and the pick.

The mother show at 10pm

Law & Order, 26 series and 523 episodes, follows with “Property”, S26E04. Sam Waterston, George Dzundza, Chris Noth, Dann Florek and Michael Moriarty head the cast list, which reaches back a long way. It faces Grey’s Anatomy on ABC and the legal drama Cupertino on CBS, so viewers have three dramas to choose from in one hour. Three stars. Reliable, not urgent.

Why The Traitors is the odd one out

The Traitors: New Blood is the only primetime title on the night that does not belong to the Law & Order family, and it carries the most exposure. It starts at 8pm into the heaviest competition of the evening: 9-1-1 on ABC, Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage on CBS, Hell’s Kitchen on Fox and The Real Housewives of Orange County on Bravo. It airs only twice in the window, on 22 and 29 October, so this is a weekly slot rather than a strand. Three stars is a cautious mark for a show we have little to say about beyond its title and its time.

Around the edges

Today runs from 7am ET for two hours, with Today 3rd Hour at 9am ET and Today with Jenna & Sheinelle at 10am ET. NBC News Daily airs at 1pm and 3pm ET, and NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas is at 6:30pm ET. After primetime, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon is at 11:35pm ET, with Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:37am ET.

For a single evening’s viewing, aim at 9pm. Special Victims Unit is the sturdier hour, and the one that lets the rest of the night take care of itself.


Also on TV tonight at 8pm ET

  • ABC: 9-1-1
  • CBS: Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage
  • FOX: Hell’s Kitchen
  • PBS: This Old House
  • The CW: Scrabble
  • ION: FBI
  • TCM: The Beguiled
  • AMC: It (from 6pm ET)
  • FX: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (from 5:30pm ET)
  • Freeform: Monsters University (from 6:05pm ET)

Every channel tonight, side by side · Movies on TV this week · Tomorrow’s TV


Frequently asked questions

What’s on NBC tonight?

On Thursday, October 29, 2026, NBC shows The Traitors: New Blood at 8pm ET, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit at 9pm ET and Law & Order at 10pm ET.

Is there a movie on NBC tonight?

No. NBC has no movies in its evening schedule on Thursday, October 29, 2026.

What’s on NBC late tonight?

After 11pm ET, NBC has Local Programs at 11pm ET and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm ET.

What time does NBC’s evening start?

The evening schedule starts with NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas at 6:30pm ET.