Must See Parks and Recreation, Community?
New NBC Comedies Join Thursday Night Hits The Office and 30 Rock
As Conan O’Brien has discovered, it’s not easy replacing a legend.
The current host of NBC’s The Tonight Show has thus far been unable to match the ratings success of his predecessor, Jay Leno.
Similarly, the Peacock Network has struggled in recent years with its Thursday night block of comedies. What once was “Must See TV” – think Cheers, Seinfeld, Frasier – has slowly eroded over the past half decade.
NBC nearly found a winning formula last season with a pair of Emmy-winning shows (The Office and 30 Rock) and two veteran laughers. Unfortunately, bookends My Name Is Earl and Scrubs both failed to produce any notable ratings. The former was canceled, while the latter wasn’t renewed and moved over to ABC.
Undaunted by the failures of yesteryear, NBC is back this season with a quartet of comedies – and one bonus, just for good measure – that just may turn the tide.
Starting Thursday, September 17, 2009, three weeks of Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday will air at 8/7 Central on NBC. After scoring with audiences during last year’s presidential election campaign, the show returns with more off-center political commentary and typical, SNL-style sketch comedy.
Amy Poehler will co-host the first two half-hour episodes, alongside head writer Seth Myers. These shows will serve as a lead-in to her sitcom, Parks and Recreation, which is returning for a second season.
"To just be on a show that's really good and to work with like the great cast and the crew that we have and writers and everything it's a real treat,” co-star Aziz Ansari says in a phone interview. “And just to be able to do it is a huge blessing and I don't think we take it for granted for a second.”
“No, for sure,” Poehler adds. “In this economy, it's nice to be working. And we know the second season isn't a guarantee.”
“But I hope – I mean I've signed on for like 100 seasons. So we'll see if that, I mean, we've got like what 98 to go,” she jokes.
At 9/8 Central The Office begins its sixth season. The network’s highest rated comedy is followed by its most promising, the critically acclaimed Community, which makes its debut at 9:30/8:30 Central.
“I read a lot of pilot scripts and always, you know, want to be involved in something that’s good and read – after reading (creator) Dan (Harmon’s) script, it was so head and shoulders above everything else that I was reading. And it had – I just, first and foremost it was just incredibly funny and then it had really strong characters and a lot of heart,” Community lead Joel McHale says in a phone interview.
NBC’s regular Thursday rotation begins in October. 30 Rock makes its season premiere at 9:30/8:30 Central on October 15. At that point, SNL will conclude its early-season run, and Community will shift to 8/7 Central.
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