NBC has a nascent hit in its Donald Trump-fronted reality series "The Apprentice," but the return of another unscripted smash has caught the show between the proverbial rock and hard place.

The rock in this case is FOX's "American Idol," which trounced "The Apprentice" when the two aired opposite one another Wednesday (Jan. 21). The hard place is 9 p.m. Thursdays, where NBC is moving Trump and Co. starting next week -- against "CSI," the No. 1 show on television this season.

The move of "The Apprentice" triggered a domino effect in NBC's schedule, with "Will & Grace" moving up a half-hour on Thursdays and "Scrubs" heading back to a reshuffled Tuesday lineup. A repeat of the previous week's "Apprentice" will fill the 8 p.m. Wednesday spot.

"Two of the hottest shows on television right now are 'The Apprentice' and 'American Idol.' We think it's a disservice to viewers to have them squaring off against each other," NBC's head of scheduling, Mitch Metcalf, says in a statement. "We consider these moves a 'win-win' for NBC and the audience."

FOX's talent search brought in roughly 29 million viewers Wednesday, while "The Apprentice" averaged about 12.3 million. That's still better than what NBC had been averaging for the 8 p.m. Wednesday spot this season, but the show brought in more than 19 million viewers in its first two episodes, which aired on Thursday nights.

Those two episodes, which started at 8:30 p.m., held up pretty well against "CSI" in their common half-hour.

With "The Apprentice" taking over the 9 o'clock hour on Thursdays, "Scrubs" will head to 9:30 Tuesdays, its first-season home, beginning Feb. 3. "Whoopi" moves back to 8 p.m. and "Happy Family" to 8:30. "The Tracy Morgan Show" has been shipped off to the TV purgatory known as Saturday night, where it will air at 8 p.m. beginning Saturday, Jan. 31.

"Good Morning, Miami," which was supposed to have moved to Thursdays by now, remains AWOL.

NBC's revised schedule for Tuesday and Thursday nights is as follows:

Tuesday (starting Feb. 3)

8 p.m. "Whoopi"
8:30 p.m. "Happy Family"
9 p.m. "Frasier"
9:30 p.m. "Scrubs"
10 p.m. "Law & Order: SVU"

Thursday (starting Jan. 29)

8 p.m. "Friends"
8:30 p.m. "Will & Grace"
9 p.m. "The Apprentice"
10 p.m. "ER"