It was the House that Cosby built. It was the House that Cheers, Seinfeld, Friends and ER maintained. Unfortunately, a series of blunders over the last five years have brought this house down.
Much has been written about the Fall of the House of NBC since their 20 years of dominance ended in 2004 with the departure of Friends -- a program that, coupled with ER, the once-mighty network depended on so much that they felt little need to develop any new hits while they were both on the air. That was their first blunder.
NBC's Latest Blunder
Comedies such as My Name is Earl, The Office, and 30 Rock that have risen in the interim signaled the network's shift from broad, mass appeal urban comedies and riveting dramas in favor of hip, niche comedies rooted in snarky, satirical humor that carry limited appeal and high concept advertiser-oriented dramas which require much on the part of the viewer. That was their second blunder.
Facing the loss of Friends AND Conan O'Brien at the same time, NBC struck an unfortunate deal to keep O'Brien from jumping ship and The Tonight Show was yanked from Jay Leno's able hands into O'Brien's younger ones. That was their third blunder. The Jay Leno Show, a result of NBC not wanting Leno to justifiably also jump ship, was their fourth blunder.
Each of the blunders have converged with NBC's latest blunder -- the cancellation of Southland. In April, Southland took over ER's 10pm time slot on Thursday and premiered with ratings that were solid enough to warrant a second season. Though the ratings settled down to ER's latter-day levels as well as those of the rest of the night's lineup, critical acclaim justified the pickup.
The timing of the cancellation, two weeks prior to the start of its second season on Fridays at 9pm, was shocking for many. Adding to the shock was the questionable rationale under which the cancellation occurred -- that the program is "too dark and gritty" for the 9pm hour. This rationale falls flat given the fact that the show will be replaced by Dateline, with frequent "Catch a Predator" pieces that NBC must deem to be much lighter fare.
Southland Cancellation Leaves NBC Viewers Cold
The most tragic part of the Southland cancellation is that NBC moves one step closer to becoming "the unscripted network". Five hours of Leno, four hours of Sunday Night Football, two hours of The Biggest Loser and two editions of Dateline (which can easily be expanded to three or four as necessary) leave only nine hours of scripted programming -- two of which are Saturday night repeats. The 20-year old Law & Order is expected to be put to rest at the end of the season, likely to be replaced by reality show or an expanded edition of Dateline.
With the once-powerful Heroes fading, newcomers Trauma and Mercy struggling, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit not benefitting from its new 9pm time slot on Wednesday and Thursday nights overshadowed by CBS and ABC, it is not a stretch to imagine NBC evolving into "the unscripted network" given its slate of reality backups waiting in the wings -- Chuck notwithstanding. America's Got Talent could be shifted from summer. Celebrity Apprentice could run in both the fall and the spring. Last Comic Standing could once again be resurrected. 35 Years of Saturday Night Live could easily be repackaged into an unlimited number of special compilations. And Dick Clark Productions can always be counted on for updated versions of TV's Super Bloopers and Practical Jokes.
It's sad to witness the once-prominent house atop the hill deteriorate by its own hand.
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