Fight for Your Right To Party
'Nashville' Might Sound Very Different Next Season ...
Even Andy Richter isn't quite sure what time his new show will air
There are a few things we know about Andy Richter's new NBC comedy Andy Barker, P.I.: Richter plays an accountant who accidentally becomes a private investigator, Conan O'Brien is one of the executive producers, and it will air on Thursday nights later this season. What we don't know, at least for sure, is what Thursday comedy it's going to replace. Even Richter didn't know as of ten days ago, as he told me and a group of reporters at NBC's press tour party. "I don't know who we're gonna replace," he said. But he's not worried, because no matter who they replace, "we're just a place holder. Programming is so loosey-goosey now, and it's such an open, anything-goes kind of a game."
The conventional wisdom is that the show will air in 30 Rock's 9:30 PM slot starting March 15, a fact that was not lost on Richter. "I was talking to Jack McBrayer, who's on 30 Rock (he plays Kenny the page), and I said 'I think we're maybe going to go in your slot.' He was terrified! And I was just going 'No! You'll be in reruns and then they'll just put us on and they'll see what happens.'"
According to Richter, any other day is out of the question, at least in NBC's mind. "Eventually, it's going to come down to 'Thursday night is comedy night.' And if we go on, we'll have to go on in place of somebody else. There's not a lot of comedy real estate anymore," he said with a hint of resignation in his voice. "Our success will be predicated on somebody else's demise, and that's the ugly truth of show business and television."
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