Weird Doings At NBC, Part 2

by Linda Holmes

David Letterman told Rolling Stone earlier this year that he didn't get why NBC was pushing Jay Leno out of The Tonight Show as of 2010 in favor of Conan O'Brien, saying, "I'm not quite sure why they would do that, so much so that one wonders if that's actually what's going to happen." The more desperate things became at NBC, the more implausible it seemed that the network would simply wave goodbye to Leno.

Full disclosure: I am not a fan of Leno, I have never been a fan of Leno, it is not my kind of comedy, and it doesn't make me laugh, ever. The monologue above, with its "What kind of a name is Plaxico?" jokes and continuing fascination with erectile dysfunction advertising is simply not my thing. I can't stand "Jaywalking," and I can't stand the Andy-Capp-ish jokes about Hillary Clinton/Janet Reno/whatever powerful woman is currently in the headlines.

But NBC, as we've discussed, has very little left. A couple of critical-darling comedies, but what else? For a while, it had something percolating with Heroes, but that seems to be over, at least for now. It has Deal Or No Deal, but that's nobody's long-term plan, and it's not...it's not television, you know? It's a game show.

So now, NBC has decided to go ahead with Conan at 11:30 p.m., beginning in 2010, but to -- get this -- put Jay Leno on every weeknight at 10:00 p.m. Essentially, NBC is shifting an hour five nights a week out of prime-time-style programming into late-night-style programming. More interviews, more monologues, more skitty business.

Why this move might be less foolish, but no less depressing, than it first appears, after the jump...

Frankly, looking at the current schedule, NBC doesn't give up that much. Right now, NBC's 10 p.m. shows are My Own Worst Enemy (already canceled), Law & Order: SVU (they'll move it somewhere else); Law & Order (ditto); ER (ending this spring); and Dateline NBC (can fit anywhere). Meanwhile, they've got plenty of stuff they'll happily jettison or move around to make room for the L&O franchise. Nobody would miss Lipstick Jungle. There is plenty of room.

Nevertheless, the idea of writing off five hours a week and turning it over to more toothless monologues and stars plugging their latest projects saddens me a little, as a fan of good TV. One of those hours is the one that has, for the past 25 years, been occupied by ER, L.A. Law, and Hill Street Blues.

The 10 p.m. slot is often the one where networks feel most free to experiment, because the expectations about content tend to be more relaxed. At the same time, the 8 p.m. hour is returning to "family hour" status, and more and more, that means family-friendly reality/game shows, as it does on NBC two nights a week (Deal Or No Deal and The Biggest Loser). Losing the 10 p.m. hour really squeezes scripted television for grown-ups into a single hour at 9 p.m. (Eastern), which doesn't seem to improve the odds that we'll actually have any.

Seeing five 10 p.m. hours slither over from scripted content to slick celebrity interviews is a defeat of sorts. It's a concession to the economy, to the poor performance of the network, to the consequences of the probably foolish decision to pre-arrange the 11:30 p.m. handoff in 2010 to begin with, and to the difficulty of figuring out how to hold viewers in a splintering media environment. But it means that between the Leno show, Conan O'Brien's show, and Jimmy Fallon's show (he's scheduled to take over the 12:30 a.m. Late Night slot when Conan moves to 11:30), NBC will have three hours of late-night interview stuff and only two hours of prime-time per weeknight. Half again as much talk-show content as traditional prime-time content. (And if you count Last Call With Carson Daly, which you technically should, even though its pop-culture profile is so low it's nearly invisible, it's three and a half hours of talk.)

Maybe they'll just clear out the junk, but if you're a fan of good but ratings-challenged NBC shows -- think Chuck or Friday Night Lights -- this is not good news for you.