I'm worried about NBC.
No, seriously. I'm worried about NBC.
One of the great broadcasters. An incredible, rich, varied, extraordinary history. Purveyor of so many shows and personalities that American life and culture would be unrecognizable had NBC never existed at all. It's just an amazing, amazing place.
And yet, sometimes I feel as though it's disappearing before my eyes.
Is NBC the General Motors of the network Television world? I'm not sure I'd go that far - yet - but it is very, very serious. In all the years I've covered this network, this moment feels the lowest. So, I'm worried.
Where to begin? With yesterday's layoffs? Or with next year's Leno-to-Conan transition, which will be devastating? Leno will go elsewhere, and with him, the audience.
Or: This week's winter schedule announcement? It is a schedule I could never have imagined, except in parody. Reality shows (two hours of "Celebrity Apprentice"). Shows that appear incomprehensible ("Kings"). Probable junk ("Howie Do It"). Wheezing geezers ("L&O;," but God bless it anyway). Troubled and declining franchises ("Heroes"). Media-coddled-wide-audience-spurned gems ("30 Rock").
Let's go through all this stuff bullet by bullet, beginning with the good news:
* The good news is that in fact "Office" and "Rock" are doing well, relatively speaking, despite the endless and frankly ill-informed hand wringing. "Office" is one of the top-rated 18-49 shows on all of television, and I believe, even tied with "Two & a Half Hombres." "Rock's" performance is up nearly a rating point from last season in this category. There's growth and actually stability here. So, I think part of the picture is bright. Plus, reality franchises - the GOOD reality franchises - seem fine. "Biggest Loser" is in great shape.
* Monday's woes are woeful: "My Own Worst Enemy" held the 10 p.m. hour by a toenail and is now gone; one of the season's best pilots! Gone (soon.) Just like that. The lesson of "MOWE," or at least the one NBC has learned the hard and costly way? Big ticket high concept dramas don't work. NBC bet the bank on this one, and it has sunk out of sight. A real blow to the future of series television on this network. "Medium" is more of a CBS show than an NBC one - there's no natural audience flow from "Heroes" to this. Meanwhile, "Chuck" - a good show that remains ignored. Will 3-D work? For those who have glasses; everyone else will see a fuzzy screen. But here's to gimmicks, if they work.
* Football soon gone. In a matter of weeks, and then...the cliff. "Sunday Night" has been a vast success for NBC - oh, that football lasted all year. Which it doesn't.
* No tentpoles. The tentpole is is the heart of any network - the one true thing that draws audiences, builds circulation, buys time (for the network to launch other shows), adds prestige, creates advertising windfall, gets Wall Street excited, makes the network part of the culture as opposed to just part of a viewing habit - and speaking of habits, changes those too. But there are none. None on the foreseeable horizon.
* The dimming light of new dramas ...Check out the fact that "Knight Rider" - a gloriously awful show - was the only new hour to get an actual additional order, but now, it looks like even that will disappear by Feb. 25 - forever. From now on, I'm not gonna say one bad word about dear ol' cornball "KR" - better to have at least one actual drama with actors, even a massively moronic one, than none at all. I love you, "KR." I really do.
* The struggle of "L&O;:" Speaking of dramas, why can't one of the great classics of network television - "L&O;" - draw a crowd? I think it got around 6.3 mill a week or so ago. Heartbreaking to see this. At least "SVU" remains a draw.
* No new series of any note on the horizon. In a way, this makes some sense - why throw up expensive stuff opposite "Idol?" But at LEAST you'd expect NBC to give some sort of vocal support to new development. Anything!! But, alas, nothing. Where's "Merlin," "The Listener," "The Philanthropist," or that new Steven Weber comedy? Is this stuff still in the pipeline? Or is NBC so terrified of the future - whatever it may hold - that they've been boxed up and packed away?
* The automotive fiasco.This is a terrifying prospect indeed for the ENTIRE media industry. Why haven't big newspapers like the Wall Street Journal gotten into this story? If GM goes under, there is nothing - nothing - to take its place. For much of the history of television, GM has been one of the great advertisers of network television - so vital and so important that I can't begin to even scratch the surface here. More important than Ford. Vastly more important than Chrysler or any of the imports. Along with Bud, GM has been one of the pillars of sports TV - but NBC has only recently figured out how to actually loop GM into the fabric of the PROGRAMS themselves. ("My Own Worst..."). With GM gone...then what?
* "Kings:" Hey, this could be a great show, and I hope it is. And it has to be good because this will occupy the Thursday 10 p.m. time period. But here's my question. Why does "The Office" get the post"Super Bowl" time slot, but not "Kings?" What's the message here - to showrunners and the audience?
So, I'm worried about this great network. Yeah, I'm worried.