NBC's embrace of sports could be bad news for scripted programming
Lost in all of that excitement, however, was a Friday afternoon news dump that NBC would be axing five scripted shows: 'Found,' 'The Irrational,' 'Lopez vs. Lopez,' 'Suits LA,' and the revival of 'Night Court' were all given a pink slip to make room for hoops.
While some of those shows had plenty of opportunity to find an audience, '
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Regardless of your feelings on those specific shows, the NBA on NBC spells danger for all original programming at Rockefeller Center, both new and old. While Sunday night has been a sports night for NBC since Sunday Night Football began in 2006, Tuesday's primetime lineup was where shows like 'Frasier,' 'This is Us,' and the original 'Law & Order' first flourished. Where will word-of-mouth shows like 'Scrubs' build an audience now that three precious hours of primetime will be occupied by an NBA pre-game show and a 2 1/2 hour game?
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NBC did announce a number of new shows during its upfronts, but a surprisingly high percentage of them are airing
Meanwhile, NBC is currently considering three comedies for just two open slots in its Monday and Friday night lineups. Not too long ago, a sitcom executive-produced by Tina Fey starring Tracy Morgan and Daniel Radcliffe would anchor a Thursday night of 'Must See TV.' But Fey's 'The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins' still doesn't have a timeslot, and will face competition from two other comedy pilots as
As NBC celebrates its 100th birthday this upcoming year, the network is putting all of its eggs into the live events basket, positioning the NFL, the Olympics, and the NBA as its tentpoles. It's an understandable approach, but a tough pill to swallow from a company that has produced some of the best scripted TV shows of all time.
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Over the past decade, viewers (and TV critics!) were overwhelmed by choice during the peak of the streaming wars, when
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