In This Section
TV Guide Spotlight
Also on TVGuide.com
|
« Roush Dispatch
NBC: Parsing the Peacock's Moves
Kyle Chandler in Friday Night Lights by Paul Drinkwater/NBC Photo
First, the good news (that we've been cheering since late last week): NBC's Hail Mary reprieve to the low-rated but critically worshipped Friday Night Lights is something to celebrate. True, the move to Fridays is a bit worrisome. Those with long memories will recall the fast fade of a similarly themed high-school football drama, Against the Grain (starring a then-unknown Ben Affleck), which aired on Fridays in 1993. Its failure was largely attributed to being scheduled on a night when much of the target audience was actually attending high-school football games. (But that was before the age of DVRs, downloads, online streaming, etc.) One upside: expectations on Fridays are significantly lower. And with a summer in which (let's hope) Emmy nominations and a presumed DVD release can help promote the show and stimulate more buzz, maybe this underdog will do OK in the long run.
Next, the strangest news in all of NBC's fall announcements, the first in a week-long wave of network upfront presentations: the full-season renewals of all three Law & Order series (SVU already a done deal), but with significant caveats. Criminal Intent will now become a USA Network original, with replays to be repurposed on NBC (no doubt on Saturdays or anywhere else holes inevitably open up). Meanwhile, the original Law & Order, heading into its 18th season, will be held until after football in January, at which time it will become part of a new Sunday lineup that will pit poor Medium against Desperate Housewives. A clear sign of Dick Wolf's unusual clout within the NBC Universal corporate family — in other words, don't look for other shows to follow this example — this pervasive and long-lucrative franchise will continue to limp along, feeding Wolf's coffers and his ego, as he desperately hopes for the overexposed mother ship to beat Gunsmoke's 20-season record for longevity.
This isn't the only dinosaur dragging down NBC's lineup, of course. ER is back for what one can only hope is its final year — and if that's the case, NBC should make the most of it — capping the one weeknight on NBC's schedule that is returning relatively intact.
And the saddest news? Further evidence of the decline of network comedy. NBC has ordered no new comedies for the fall (which does at least leave Thursday's first-rate current lineup untouched). Only one new sitcom, The IT Crowd, an Office-style adaptation of a British comedy about workplace techies, is officially on tap for mid-season.
On the other hand, in a significant and encouraging reflection of how hard the network business has been hit by audience defection during cycles of reruns, NBC has upped its episode order for The Office to 30 half hours, including five hour-long episodes, and My Name Is Earl to 25 episodes (no doubt a few of them "supersized" as well).
Heroes also got an extra boost, with the surprise announcement of a mysterious spin-off, Heroes: Origins, that will presumably air during what would normally be the show's perilously extended spring break. Combined, that makes 30 hours of Heroes for next season. Brave new world.
Here's a very preliminary analysis of NBC's new lineup, night by night.
Monday: Looks strong, with Deal or No Deal again leading into Heroes, and NBC trying to capitalize on this season's breakout hit by teaming it with another fantasy-based drama, Journeyman, which has a time-travel element that sounds reminiscent of former NBC hit Quantum Leap.
Tuesday: Another offbeat hero fantasy, Chuck(which sounds a bit like a more comical version of UPN's cult fave Jake 2.0), is oddly sandwiched between reality (The Biggest Loser) and NBC's darkest procedural, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Still, hammocking a show like this between proven franchises could give it a shot at some early tune-in.
Wednesday: One of NBC's shakier nights gets a makeover by following the network formula: leading off with reality via a second edition of Deal or No Deal (see a trend?), moving on to another fantasy-based adventure at 9 pm/ET (see another trend?) in the "reimagined" update of Bionic Woman, and finishing with a serious crime drama (Tuesdays redux!), Life, about a detective who spent years in jail for a crime he didn't commit. (Trivia: Both Journeyman and Life are led by British actors with serious quality-TV cred: Journeyman's Kevin McKidd was a star in Rome, and Life's Damian Lewis is well remembered from HBO's Band of Brothers and PBS' recent Forsyte Saga remake.)
Thursday: No major changes here, which is probably a good thing for a rebuilding network. Moving The Office later in the evening pits it against its rivals' powerhouse shows (Grey's Anatomy and CSI), but is also a sign of how this has become the network's signature comedy. Scheduling 30 Rock between the more established My Name Is Earl and The Office is as good a chance as any to help increase that quirky gem's exposure. And while it's nice to see that NBC hasn't held Scrubs to mid-season for a change, the decision to expand The Office's episode order and increase it to an hour from time to time has limited this expensive hospital comedy's own episode order to 18 this season (which, realistically, is probably its last).
Friday: Going very mainstream on a tough night in the early hours makes sense, with a "game night" franchise kicking things off (1 vs 100 first, then the karaoke-style The Singing Bee later in the season), followed by Las Vegas. Then the risk: Putting Friday Night Lights at the end of the night. It had to go somewhere, and while this isn't an optimum position for such a fragile show — I might have preferred it to be hammocked between the game shows and the likable Las Vegas — let's see how it works before we start wringing our hands.
Saturday: As usual, my night off.
Sunday: Football in the fall (a sure-fire hit), followed in January by an intriguing lineup of established franchises: Dateline, Law & Order and Medium, leading into the femme-power dramedy Lipstick Jungle, from Sex and the City's Candace Bushnell. Will Patricia Arquette, Brooke Shields and Kim Raver make inroads on ABC's female-friendly duo of Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters (if ABC keeps it there)? Such battles are what makes covering the TV beat so interesting.
Up next on Tuesday: ABC.
|
TVGuide Links:
|
|
|
|
May 14, 2007 11:53 AM
|
While I typically criticize NBC, I do find it encouraging that it truly has seemed to stick to a plan to rebuild over a number of years. Keeping quality comedies that aren't Seinfeld-size hits and renewing low-rated, but well received dramas like FNL. I even like the decision to "spin-off" Heroes, which seems like it can do so without diluting the mothership.
Next year won't see NBC returning to the upper echelons of the ratings, but you can see a swell building.
|
|
May 14, 2007 1:00 PM
|
Thanks for the insightful rundown, Matt.
I'll take my FNL wherever I can get it, so Fridays at 10 is fine with me (it's better than no FNL at all).
I'm not sure how I feel about moving The Office to 9:00 on Thursdays. My DVR already works overtime in that timeslot (with Supernatural, and Grey's). Hopefully FOX won't schedule a promising new show in that timeslot too.
|
|
May 14, 2007 1:26 PM
|
|
I couldn't be more thrilled about the renewal of FNL, and like Rod, I will follow it wherever it goes. However, 10pm on Friday nights is not exactly the place for a "family hour" show, and it feels like a bad place for it; I'm in agreement with you Matt about it being better placed at 9pm, with the much more adult Las Vegas at 10pm, and I hope the network eventually sees that.
|
|
May 14, 2007 1:31 PM
|
|
Medium would do wonderfully following Heroes on Monday nights. Why pit it against Desp. House. when they both draw women viewers? Put Journeyman on Sundays and Medium on Mondays..
|
|
May 14, 2007 1:32 PM
|
|
Why NBC hasn't given Medium a shot behind Heroes during this midseason is a real puzzlement (especially considering how badly everything else there has done). I suppose NBC wants to try to create a new hit out of Heroes with Journeyman. If that doesn't work, I wonder if NBC will bring Medium out of mothballs sooner than later. It does seem like the network is using Medium as a utility player with little regard for its actual potential (not to mention its earlier history on Mondays.) Bottom line: They're wasting that show.
|
|
May 14, 2007 1:42 PM
|
A glaring omission from the schedule I see is "Crossing Jordan." First Ausiello said that the cast was given its walking papers, but then he said that there was a sudden turnaround and that there were talks about a renewal, except with the caveat that Miguel Ferrer and Jerry O'Connell had done pilots when things were looking grim.
So, Michael--or Matt--or somebody? What happened, and what's the "scoop," to cop a very bad pun? Hmmm? You guys got my wife and I all excited about the prospects of a seventh season, and now the NBC season is announced and... NUTHIN'. Harumph!
AUSIELLO: You got some 'splainin' to do!
|
|
May 14, 2007 1:46 PM
|
Are they trying to run Medium into the ground by putting it against Desperate HW and Cold Case???? WTF are they thinking. They need to put Medium after Heroes, like several people have suggested before.
Oh, and MATT...shut up about ER! The ratings were great until they shoved John Stamos down our throats. It beats the hell out of a trashy show like Desperate Housewives!
|
|
May 14, 2007 2:02 PM
|
Crossing Jordan is dead. But one of its stars, Miguel Ferrer, is in Bionic Woman, I think. The other most significant casualty (since Studio 60, Black Donnellys and nearly everything else at midseason were long considered cold as ice) is The Apprentice, which isn't mentioned anywhere in NBC's release, including the "alternative series" portion. Good riddance.
And sorry, mahalo, I disagree. ER has been on creative life support for years. It may not be trashy, but it IS tired.
|
|
May 14, 2007 2:07 PM
|
I am actually quite happy with the Line Up. I don't care much about Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy, one is trashy and the one is pretentious. Also, I don't like Brothers and Sisters. For me, watching Medium would be an easy decision.
I think FNL get a lot of viewers online. Each time you watch the show online, you have to sit through a 15 to 30 sec commercial for every part. So I have to sit through 6 15-30 commercials usually from the same product for each episode. This is not a bad deal for NBC to sell Ad. It goes with the Office and Heroes.
I can't wait to see the spin-off from Heroes!! I hope it would be as good as the originals!!! Also, I am also glad with more episodes with Office. I hope, NBC would order more episodes for 30 rock too!
I am not sure about chuck!! I don't like Jake 2.0 but I would give chuck a try!
|
|
May 14, 2007 2:33 PM
|
|
I am so happy I have DVR! Fridays at 10 is a rough time period, but luckily my trusty season pass will pick up each and every episode of Friday Night Lights. I feel like Christmas came early with this renewal.
|
|
May 14, 2007 2:42 PM
|
Only four new (scripted) shows for a network that is rebuilding? Seems odd to me.
"Journeyman," "Chuck," "Bionic Woman" and "Lipstick Jungle" appear to be it, unless I'm missing something. The "Heroes: Origins" sounds more like filler (though not necessarily bad filler) and who knows with midseason replacements.
The schedule doesn't seem bad, it's about the same, but I'm certainly not overwhelmed by any of the new offerings.
Edit - Went back and saw I missed "Life." But I'm still not too enthused.
|
|
May 14, 2007 2:49 PM
|
Matt-I have to echo the previous poster's comments, what happened to possibly renewing Crossing Jordan? I realize (and applaud) Miguel Ferrer and Jerry O'Connell's new shows, but CJ could have worked around their schedules for at least a decent wrap up of the show! Please don't tell us the poorly advertised "season finale" with a plane crash and "will they/won't they live" ending is it!
That is like giving all of us who've enjoyed CJ for 6 seasons the finger.
Pardon my bluntness, but if this is what we get, my friends and family (and wallet) will take our viewership to the MIA network, rather then watch the NO BODY CARES network!
|
|
May 14, 2007 2:51 PM
|
Matt, I totally agree about ER. Jeeze just take the poor thing out back and shoot it. It's been wheezing and suffering for years. It's time to put it out of our misery.
Also, what do think about NBC trying to lure female viewers? They havent had much luck in this arena (Miss Match, anyone?). I think Lipstick Jungle might be fun but Bushnell is so hit & miss. Medium on Sundays is a really bad idea, IMO.
|
|
May 14, 2007 3:02 PM
|
|
The only show I cared about was Friday Night Lights and Friday night's alright with me.
|
|
May 14, 2007 3:07 PM
|
|
|
