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May 22, 2013

NBC will focus on scripted shows when Leno moves (insert laughter here)

by Bob Sassone, posted Dec 17th 2008 2:00PM

LenoWhen NBC announced that Jay Leno would take over the 10pm slot every weekday night, a lot of people worried that not only would this mean that some of their favorite 10pm shows would either be canceled or moved to another time slot, they also worried that NBC was signaling that they were giving up on scripted shows. NBC sent out a memo saying "this does not reduce NBC's commitment to scripted programs" and that it "enables us to focus on scripted development for 8-10pm." But it seems like they'll have no room for any more scripted shows.

I hope I'm wrong about this but just looking at what NBC has on their schedule it makes me wonder.

Here's a list of the reality and/or games shows that NBC has or will have on the schedule:


The Biggest Loser
Momma's Boys
Deal Or No Deal
Dateline
Football Night in America
Sunday Night Football
Superstars of Dance
America's Got Talent

Now, which of those shows are they going to get rid of to make room for more scripted shows from 8 to 10pm? Probably none of them. Perhaps Momma's Boys and Superstars of Dance because they haven't proved themselves yet; we'll see, but many of those other shows are hits (and who knows what other reality shows are waiting in the wings). And let's not forget the scripted shows they're not going to cancel any time soon, such as Law and Order SVU, Chuck, 30 Rock, and The Office.

So with the above shows taking up so much of the schedule and Leno taking up five hours a week, where will these new scripted shows go? Friday and Saturday nights?

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Andy

What, exactly, is making you think Chuck and 30 Rock are cancel-proof? They, along with Life, are the 3 shows I'm most worried will get axed as fallout from this Leno deal.

December 17 2008 at 7:53 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
mark perna

Everyone's so negative. From my perspective, I'm going to get to read so many more books now.

December 17 2008 at 7:10 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to mark perna's comment
erroneous_nick

What are these "books" you refer to and how does one perform the act you call "read"? :O)

December 17 2008 at 10:50 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
erroneous_nick

R.I.P. NBC

December 17 2008 at 7:00 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
stbyra

Well, back in the day, Saturdays and Sundays were full of scripted shows, not repeats like they are now. So why not put them on the weekends?

December 17 2008 at 4:40 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
amazo

considering the best scripted show they have (Friday Night Lights) got saved only by DirecTV, this network needs to die. no bailout.

December 17 2008 at 3:42 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Tony

With quality programming like Deal or No Deal and Biggest Loser, how exactly will NBC be able to "focus on scripted shows"?

GE should just put this miserable network out of its misery.

December 17 2008 at 3:13 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Tony's comment
Brent McKee

No, they should put Jeff Zucker and Ben Silverman out of their - and our - misery, and go out and find the next Brandon Tartikoff or Grant Tinker. NBC is not a "miserable network" but it's been run in a manner that is so incompetent that a low wattage UHF station in Anchorage is handled better.

December 17 2008 at 5:19 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Edward

Well, seeing how SNF and Ameria's Got Talent are seasonal (fall and summer, respectively), those two shouldn't be a problem. If Dateline, Biggest Loser and Deal or No Deal is limited to one hour per week for each show, then none of the shows would face dilution (although they may have already be diluted).

I wouldn't be sad to see Superstars of Dance and Momma's Boy go, since they seem like ripoff of the shows on MTV. It sounds like if NBC will not see any new shows next fall, which will put pressure on the creative teams of the current shows to keep their levels up. Cancel the underperforming shows like Lipstick Jungle.

Once L&O ends its run, bring back L&O:CI. This is the way it should be: stop filling prime time with really crappy shows. It provides some stability to programming. And introducing the American audience to British shows isn't a bad idea either (and it could be cheaper). If NBC keeps its strong programming and be stringent on new shows, then it should be fine...

But of course, Silverman and Zucker are running the ship, so who knows what irrational things they might pull.

December 17 2008 at 2:31 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
tv junkie

u forgot the new "two-hour apprentice extravaganza" that's coming soon... seriously, the peacock is doomed.
i think they should adopt the cable model if they're willing to do radical changes to their schedule.
no more 22 episodes season, just do 13, and when one show's done, the other one takes its timeslot. no more repeats and no more filler episodes. doing short season let the writers plan out better plot anyway, cable's been doing this, maybe it's time for sinking network to do this too.

December 17 2008 at 2:25 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply

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