Sunday, January 10, 2010

The Future of NBC

So Jay Leno is being pulled from his time slot at ten and appears to be taking over for half an hour after the news. The change will probably push Conan back half an hour and puts the show directly against Jimmy Kimmel Live.
This new dynamic creates a glaring hole in NBC's lineup every night at ten. Luckily for them, I have a solution!
Obviously they can't green light new programing fast enough to fill the void, but my proposed setup will incorporate two new shows NBC was already planning on debuting. One is a reality program called the Marriage Ref and the other one is an hour dramedy called Parenthood. The lineup i created incorporates these shows and some other properties NBC owns. It all starts after the Olympics. Here we go...
MONDAY
8:CHUCK; 9:Heroes; 10:Caprica
The first two shows are in their normal time slots, but CAPRICA might seem new to you. It is a show that will be debuting on SYFY in January, but would fit right in with this lineup. They all appeal to the same demographic. Caprica would do better in this time slot than Leno, since it would probably hold the audience of Heroes better than Jay did. And if NBC thought Leno was cheap, they'll find that reruns are even cheaper, which is nice.
This set of shows would help cement NBC's niche as the geek channel. This is a very appealing audience to networks, as geeks are usually part of the 18-49 demographic. That means money.

TUESDAY
8: The Biggest Loser; 9: Royal Pains; 10: Trauma

I would like to move The Biggest Loser to Friday, where reality tv belongs but I think it is too good of a lead to waste. So I won't waste it, and i'll use it to attract viewers to Royal Pains. Pains is a dramedy on USA about a doctor in the Hamptons. The show has broad appeal and I think they could rerun episodes from season 1 that would retain viewers from THe Biggest Loser. Also, it would be a good way to generate buzz for the second season or possibly introduce it as a regular show in the fall.
As for Trauma, there are 6 episodes already filmed and NBC can run them before it finally gets the ax. No reason to waste the episodes. THere's also a bit of a health theme that Trauma could continue.

Wednesday
8: Mercy; 9: Law & Order: SVU; 10: Friday Night Lights
I've never seen MERCY and only know that it's about a strong female nurse who takes the world head on. Excuse me while i go vomit from that gag worthy description. Keeping with that theme, we'll follow MERCY with Mariska Hartigay. NBC already tried to promote this idea that Wednesday is all about female empowerment, so we'll run with that plan. SVU probably should be at 10 because of its content, but I don't really care and FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS is also very adult.
Speaking of LIGHTS, this show is supposed to be back on Fridays. I reject the idea that LIGHTS should air on Friday, when it is essentially lost to nowhere. This is supposedly the best drama NBC has (never actually seen it), so it deserves a chance to garner a real audience.

Thursday
8: Community/Parks and Recreations; 9:The Office/30 Rock; 10: Parenthood
Thursday is comedy night in my vision. The first two hours remain the same, and instead of inserting some drama in this traditionally dramatic slot i'm keeping the comedy theme alive.
Parenthood is a new show from Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, starring Gilmore Girls alum Lauren Graham. Their best bet for success is utilizing the strength of its lead, which should be maximized by the power of Graham.

Friday (THROWAWAY DAY)
8: Marriage Ref; 9: Law & Order; 10:Dateline
I don't know anything about Marriage Ref except that it's a reality show, which means it should be on Friday. Why? Because reality tv usually sucks, and prime real estate shouldn't we wasted on the sucky (I think Moses said that).
As for the other two shows, well, like i said, Friday is for tv that sucks.

What about Saturday and Sunday? Well there is no original content on these days anymore.

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