Jay Leno to stay at NBC and air at 10 p.m.

Didn't NBC essentially do this when they flooded the airwaves with Datelines a few years ago?

I don't know that giving up the 10 p.m. slot every night is a smart idea, but they're in fourth place, they're looking to save money and Leno, if nothing else, is a known name. They could do worse.

 

They're doing this because it's going to be a cash cow. Late-night programming is among the most profitable, and keeping similar costs at a time with a lot more viewers is going to be like printing money.

 

This man disagrees.

 

I'm not saying The Office is a bad show, I'm just saying the network has loaded up on retreads, knock-offs, spin-offs and other types of programs that have been successful elsewhere. Heroes and My Name is Earl are exceptions. Other networks do it too. Dancing with the Stars is a knockoff but Grey's Anatomy is original, CBS has CSI, The Mentalist, Three and a Half Men and Criminal Minds. They may not be "great" shows but a lot of people watch them. More than watch anything on NBC.

Sure NBC could do worse, but Leno isn't going to improve their numbers in that slot. Leno makes money with his show now because it is number 1 in the time slot. He's not going to win the 10 p.m. slot even if he keeps all 5 million of his viewers. What's even worse is that some NBC shows will be thrown against tougher competition between 8-10.

As for the West Wing (a show that was greatness) it premiered in 1999 and probably was developed in 1998. Hard to believe that was an NBC show. Not a coincidence it was launched before Zucker headed to the West Coast.

 

The problem is you're hellbent to shit on NBC, which is fine. I don't care about that. You just keep changing the criteria to try to find something that fits.

"Creative people" will go anywhere they can sell a show. Sometimes that's NBC. I don't know that they're perceived any differently than the other networks.

My own take is they like Leno at 10 because shows like that are big profit centers and they want him on the bench for the time when they realize Kansas doesn't get or especially like Conan. They also make the pre-emptive strike of keeping a formidable opponent off 11:30 by occupying Leno.

 

Hell if anything it frustrates me that a network that once nurtured shows like Cheers, Seinfeld, Hill Street Blues and others, won't stick with good shows (like Friday Night Lights) and will instead opt for a show that gets lower ratings but is cheaper to produce (biggest loser, deal or no deal, celebrity apprentice).

 

NBC is just not trying any more.
Have fun competing with CSI, kids.

 

Norman Lear isn't walking through that door.

Check that: He's working on two series at age 86: "Outrageous Behavior" for NBC, about life in the hedge-fund world, and "Everybody Hurts" for HBO, about a family's pro wrestling business in 1970s New York.

 

News magazine and game shows are dirt cheap to produce as compared to dramas and comedies. Same as with talk shows.

I think that it could be a good idea, but they are going to oversaturate the idea fairly quickly. If Conan flames out in a couple of years, then Leno will only be in his early 60s and can take over the show again.

 

HUGE money saver.

 

I wouldn't even have a problem with Dateline or other primetime news efforts, but those last two words are the sticking point.

They don't do NEWS.

It's an hour of white-girl-missing in Bumfuck, husband implicated in wife's death, and the 30th retelling of 4yo girl missing while mom looks guilty as hell. If they were patterned after say, 60 Minutes, they would be great. Instead, they go for sensationalist crap because they feel a need to mix news and entertainment.

 

I think it's an interesting move......5 nights a week might be a bit overkill, however.
It's gonna need to be different then what he's doing now, that's for sure.

I don't think it can be too politics-centered...that's not Jay.

Heck, it's better than Rosie O'Donnell!