'Grey's' Isn't Going Anywhere
'Red Widow' Gets The Axe
Jeff Zucker's Reign of Terribleness Finally Over at NBC
by Maureen Ryan, posted Sep 24th 2010 1:30PM
Jeff Zucker, the NBC Universal chief who will leave as soon as Comcast officially takes over, is forever capable of infuriating anyone who knows anything about TV. The twin hallmarks of Zucker's reign at NBC were breathtaking arrogance coupled with an inability to pick, support or otherwise promote quality television.
Arrogance and general cluelessnes are not exactly in short supply at television networks. But Zucker's particularly brazen combination of those qualities were designed to produce aneurysms in anyone who watched NBC's shocking decline during the past decade or so.
You see, according to Zucker, none of the disasters that ever befell NBC were his fault. Outside factors were always to blame: The changing nature of the broadcast television industry, the fickleness of the viewing public, the evolving business model. Also, the sun got in his eyes and the dog ate his homework.
His exit interview with the New York Times was perfectly Zuckerian. His biggest regret was "not moving quickly enough" to fix NBC Entertainment.
And who was responsible for screwing up NBC Entertainment in the first place? Who took it from No. 1 to pathetic, struggling also-ran? Jeff Zucker! Does Zucker acknowledge this? No, of course not!
Once again, he expects us to assume that forces outside his control were responsible for the giant, mind-boggling mess that he and his acolytes made at NBC.
Let's get one thing straight: No one is more responsible for the craptastic state of NBC than Jeff Zucker himself. He's been at or near the top of the corporate flow chart for a decade, and during that time, he supersized the network's hit comedies until our eyes were bleeding, he failed to consistently develop quality programming that could take the places of the good but aging shows he inherited, he hired Ben Silverman to screw things up further, and then he tried to inflict Jay Leno on prime time.
And let us not forget that during his tenure, we were favored with the following programs: 'E-Ring.' 'Quarterlife,' 'The Philanthropist,' 'My Own Worst Enemy' (named after Zucker's reign?), 'Medical Investigation,' 'Lipstick Jungle,' 'Bionic Woman' 'Knight Rider,' 'Father of the Pride,' 'Outsourced,' 'Trauma,' 'Mercy,' 'LAX,' 'Hawaii,' 'Crusoe,' 'Coupling,' 'Kath & Kim,' 'Lyons Den,' and 'Inconceivable.'
Every network has some misses. But during the Zucker reign, it was patently obvious that quality was not Job 1, or even Job 27.
A few good shows squeaked by, but they were the exceptions, not the rule. Zucker's reign showed a palpable contempt for the viewer, and executives admitting mistakes was, again, the exception, not the rule (NBC executive Angela Bromstad said a couple of years ago that it was "always the plan" for Ben Silverman to only stay at NBC for two years. She appeared surprised when a room full of critics laughed at that patently comical statement.)
The poster child for Zucker's reign, though, had to be 'Joey.' It was a lame, derivative, pathetic attempt to hold on to a part of something that had once been successful. That was Zucker all over -- standing behind the schlocky derivative junk rather than taking chances on things that were different, well-crafted and interesting.
When NBC accidentally hired executives who knew how to spot decent projects, Zucker fired them (see also: Kevin Reilly). When NBC actually had a hit in 'Heroes,' the show was allowed to wither on the vine and finally die -- the show that could have been NBC's 'CSI.' When NBC occasionally came up with decent shows that could have used some promotion or support ('Kings,' 'Journeyman,' 'Life,' 'Southland,' among others), they were also allowed to die (or move to cable). And so on.
Through it all, Zucker's teflon-plated arrogance was unwavering. He insisted that he was doing good things for the company, despite all the failures and screwups. And the successes of NBC Universal's cable networks -- one of the company's bright spots -- appear to this observer to be the doing of those networks' executives. Zucker, of course, never failed to take credit for the things he somehow failed to mess up.
On and on, Zucker failed ever upward, winning promotion after promotion and making millions upon millions of dollars, even as he dragged the Peacock through the mud and set it on fire for good measure.
And in his leaving, it's his inability to admit his role in the destruction he leaves in his wake that raises the blood pressure. Then there's also the prospect that some deluded network might hire him to work his special magic. Or, worse yet, that Zucker might run for public office.
Hasn't America got enough problems?
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