Last night saw the midseason break returns of Parks and Recreation, The Office, and Up All Night, as well as the season premiere of the sorely missed 30 Rock. ItâŚwas good. Very good, in fact, but not great, because Community was absent, and will be until some undetermined time in the spring.
So: youâve got two hours of scheduling (8-10 p.m. EST), room enough for four shows, but what about Community? Where will it go when it returns? Itâs been a problem thatâs plagued NBC for years, through pretty much everything has plagued NBC since Friends went off the air. All theyâre missing is a literal plague. Below are my suggestions of how to handle their scheduling quandary, with the focus more on whatâs best for the shows rather than whatâs best for the advertisers. You hear that, Verizon!
Why am I qualified to do this? WELL, during my senior year of high school, I took a class field trip from Albany, NY to New York, NY to visit the headquarters of one of the Big Four networks. One of the presentations we sat through and participated with was with someone who was in charge of scheduling, and she asked how we would arrange their, say, Tuesday night shows. I did it, and was told, âLet me point out a few things to youâŚâ Five minutes later, I had been humbled and walked out ashamed. Like a PRO.
8 p.m. The Office
It doesnât feel right to me, either, and I know itâs never going to happen because The Office still brings in decent ratings, at least compared to the other NBC Thursday night shows. (The pre-Christmas episode, which aired on December 8, pulled in 2.9 rating in the key 18-49 demographic, well below The Bang Theoryâs 4.7; Parks had a 1.8.) BUT, of the sitcoms available to air this night, The Office is by far the weakest, creatively; thatâs not to say itâs bad, but rather, itâs struggling to find its way in a post-Michael Scott world, and there havenât been any indications that itâll right itself any time soon. The Office has been on long enough that I doubt anyone who hasnât watched it will suddenly say, âGee, this showâs been on for eight seasons â why not give it a shot?â One series needs to take one for the team, and it should be The Office.
8:30 p.m. Up All Night
It was only a matter of time before Up All Night, possibly the strongest new sitcom of the season, joined its single-camera brothers and sisters on Thursday night. Itâs too sweet and family friendly of a show to air at 9:30 p.m. (at least compared to Community), and I actually want it to succeed, so no 8 p.m., either. Hence, 8:30 p.m. (And Iâm just happy that it wonât be airing against the equally good The Middle on Wednesdays anymore.)
9 p.m. Community
This solves both Big Bang Theory problems: 1) both shows aim for the same nerdy demographic; and 2) the CBS sitcom is a fucking ratings monster â it was the seventh most watched show in 2011, with an average of 16.6 million viewers every week. It also means Community wouldnât be leading off the night, which was a dumb move in the first place; I doubt many Access Hollywood viewers are big fans of the show. Just put the show back on the air (syndication, SO CLOSE), NBC, and accept that ratings arenât going to suddenly skyrocket, but know that the show does about as well as Whitney â but people actually love it.
9:30 p.m. Parks and Recreation
Why here? Honestly, itâs just because I like the idea of Community and Parks and Recreation airing back-to-back, and 9 and 9:30 p.m. looks better to the eye than 8:30 and 9 p.m. Theyâre the two best sitcoms on television, and the strongest one-two scheduling since The Simpsons/Arrested Development.
10:00 p.m. 30 Rock
The Firm, which holds this timeslot (for now), premiered last week to 1.4 adults in the 18-49 range, making it NBCâs âlowest rated in-season drama ever,â according to TVBTN. It costs barely anything to make, so itâs likely the rest of the season will be airedâŚsomewhere, just not on Thursdays (probably Saturday). Of the Thursday sitcoms, 30 Rock feels the most right at 10 p.m. because itâs the bawdiest of the group, and I think the small group of people who already follow Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin would follow anywhere. Itâs certainly better here, getting trounced against The Mentalist, than at 8 p.m., getting destroyed by The Big Bang Theory. Embrace three hours of comedy, NBC. EMBRACE IT.
10:30 p.m. Friends repeat
And itâll be the highest rated show of the night.