NBC was unavailable for comment, but I can tell you, it did not go as planned. In fact, when you look at the slate of new pilots from last year and then look at the schedule for this fall, you'll notice that there is a total of 1 show that survived. Ouch. The list below doesn't even really do the slaughter full justice because shows like Undercovers and The Whole Truth
got canceled so long ago that they weren't even in contention at this point.Why has NBC fared so poorly, you ask? One word. Zucker. He is the network president who took NBC from first to worst and was the driving force behind the Leno/Conan debacle. What a peach. The good news? He's out, Bob Greenblatt is in. I'm not sure he'll be able to save the network in one season, but he's certainly a step in the right direction. Greenblatt was largely responsible for turning Showtime into the powerhouse that it has become. Before Greenblatt, Showtime had very little in the way of original programming. After Greenblatt, Showtime holds its own against HBO. As a huge fan of most of Showtime's slate, I'm very interested to see what Greenblatt can do. Having seen previews of the new pilots for this fall, however, I'm going to reserve judgment... (More of the new pilots in a later post.)
Aside from no longer having the cache or the clout the throw its weight around like it used to, NBC simply doesn't have many launchpads for new shows. A big part of a new show's success depends on its lead-in. When you put your new show directly after a returning hit, its numbers only benefit as a result. When you're on NBC, however, there's pretty much no such thing. Seriously, The Voice is the closest they have and it won't be back to midseason next year. Anyway, see below for the full shake-down of misery and embarrassment (which they at least tried to lessen by passing on the Wonder Woman reboot--god, I'd kill to see that pilot. If NBC is passing, it's gotta be good (you know, in a bad way)).
SHOWS NOT RETURNING THIS FALL:
- The Cape
I only struggled through an episode and a half of this sucker, but I'm glad it made it to air if for no other reason than for Community to make fun of it. - Chase
The only bad thing about this crap-fest being canceled is that it freed up the odious Kelli Giddish to appear on The Good Wife. That needs to stop. - The Event
As with FlashForward, The Nine, and V before or next to it, The Event started off strong then fell completely apart. The midseason hiatus certainly didn't help, but really, was there anything left to hurt? - Friday Night Lights
Great show. It wasn't canceled, it's simply ending. - Law & Order: Los Angeles
I never even watched the pilot, but I hear it was somehow even more boring than all the other Laws & Orders out there. - Outsourced
The 7 minutes of the pilot I could stomach were plenty for me and apparently just about everyone else. This show won't be missed. I'm a little surprised at NBC's good judgment here. Must be Greenblatt? As the guy responsible for getting a number of Showtime's best comedies on the air, I have to assume Outsourced was positively painful for him. - Perfect Couples
Man alive, this one was painful as well. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm sure there are some marriages out there that work, but most TV shows have me happily single and childless.
- 30 Rock
- The Office
I broke up with this show ages ago, so I don't even really care at this point, but yeah, it'll be back. Word is, Will Ferrell is pretty underwhelming, or as a friend at work said, "Hard to watch," so I'm not exactly chomping at the bit to give this show another chance. - Parks & Recreation I've only just started getting caught up on this show on Netflix, but already I'm regretting that I ever broke up with it. What can I say? I have a soft spot for gay penguins.
- Community
NBC doesn't do a whole lot of things right, but picking up Community, in spite of dismal ratings, is the smartest move they've made. It's far and away the best comedy on TV and it only got better as the second season wore on. Unlike Modern Family, which has gotten kind of boring, I'm sorry to say... - Chuck
Ugh. Groan. Grrr. Argh. I used to love this show, I really did, but this last season was unbearable. As any avid reader knows (and I'm sure there are simply scads of you out there), I broke up with this show quite a while back. I thought NBC would finally put it out of its misery, but instead they've relegated it to the Friday night death slot. You know, because it wasn't pitiful enough. Thankfully it'll only be back for 13 episodes, but those episodes will be on opposite Nikita, so they have to make me grimace a bit. I'm going to go out on limb and say that those two shows have similar audiences, and Nikita needs every eyeball it can get. You can go ahead and keep up with both, but watch Nikita live, please. - Harry's Law
Ding! Ding! Ding! For those of you playing the home game, this is the one and only new show that will be returning this fall. Yes, Harry's Law is the best of the best, apparently. I'll just let that sink in for minute while I ponder how very far NBC has fallen... - Law & Order: SVU
- Parenthood
You know, I've tried to love this show, and it really does have its moments, but overall, its kind of a mess. If I were trapped within a family that operated like the ones featured on this show, I'd be driving off a cliff by now. That said, when it's not being ridiculous, it does have its charms, so I keep up with it on an occasional basis. The fact that it's no longer opposite The Good Wife will help. Oh, and the fact that The Event got canceled ups the changes of Jason Ritter returning, so that could be fun. All in all, not my favorite show, but it's not one that makes me seriously question the nation's priorities either, so it's welcomed to stay.
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