Sitcom to remain dead @ NBC

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on May 30th, 2007

NBC finished fourth in the ratings. Fourth. We’ll say it again– Fourth.

So they canned Kevin Reilly and put a pair of suits in his place to help pull them out of the ratings toilet. Marc Graboff is one– he’s currently president of NBC/Uni West Coast. It is said that Graboff will “focus more on the financial side of the business.” The other is Ben Silverman.

Silverman, an independent producer behind shows like “The Office,” “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” and “Big Brother,” is expected to concentrate on the creative process. (Emphasis ours!)[…]

The 2007-08 season is considered crucial for NBC, which has languished in a ratings rut since long-time comedy hits “Friends” and “Frasier” ended three years ago.

Oh, and he also produced “Ugly Betty.” So… he repackaged (Ripped off? Negotiated the licensing for/recast?) a British sitcom, he “repackaged” a Spanish “telenovella,” he “created” a quiz show and he “repackaged” a Dutch reality show. He’s in charge of the “creative process!”

Interesting to note that NBC is boo hoo-ing all the time that they’ve been languishing in the ratings since the demise of Friends and Frasier, yet they will tell anyone who’ll listen that “the genre is dead,” or that unscripted sitcoms are where it’s at!

P.S.: The internet is not yet a threat to TV– not in the “I’d rather watch it on my computer than on my TV” kinda way. Last night we tried to watch the season finale of Lost on our VCR. There was a power failure in our absence, so it didn’t “take.” So, we resorted to watching it on the Gateway, via abc.com. Excruciating is the word for it. And we have DSL! At this point, TV is much more of a threat to TV than the internet is.

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