And they have the coolest logo

In Hollywood, that’s practically an “ancient,” cast. It fits perfect for CBS. It’s in Miami too. It just says CBS all over it.

It is also well written & fun. Which I think would help too.

I suspect “L & O” will be safe because that always does well in repeats, and I suspect people also may not realize it is back yet.

If it was on CBS it would be getting 10M+ viewers, etc. It’s the perfect CBS show. It’s a procedural starring old people.

I think procedurals are the way to go. CSI, Law & Order, etc type shows. I am a huge fan of the CSI franchise, probably my favorite on TV. The best reason? The majority of storylines end at the end of the show. Sure, there is some bleed over and character-driven storylines to the next episode, but for the most part, each episode wraps up after 60 minutes (or 44 if you DVR). It’s great, because if you miss a week, you haven’t missed an entire hour of storyline (such as Heroes, Desperate Housewives, Lost, etc.) and you know what to expect.

But I agree with the other posts. NBC has to try to carve out their niche, and capitalize. I don’t even think NBC anymore when I think comedy. I think CBS Mondays. When I think soap-style dramas, I think ABC. When I think procedurals, I think CBS. When I think reality shows, I think CBS.

On another front, do you think NBC’s lack of quality sports programming has anything to do with it? Think about it for a second. Yes, they have Sunday Night Football. ABC has college football on a Saturday, which they can run ads for shows if they wish. They also broadcast NBA on weekends. Fox and CBS have NFL and they promote shows heavily during that. But, truly, on the weekend, what sports does NBC have? Action Sports Tour. Notre Dame football. Some PGA Tour golf. NHL in the winter months. A lot of your 18-49 demo, especially men, would be watching sports on the weekends.

We all knew NBC was gonna miss Friends, Will & Grace, and Seinfeld but good lord the loss of those shows has pretty much killed an entire network in less than a decade.

Right now NBC would probably welcome a show that does what Scrubs did….was able to pull of low but steady ratings no matter what night or time you slapped it on. It was always a little less than mediocre in the ratings but at least they could depend on similar numbers no matter where they put it.

http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-foxreportedlyendingprisonbreak,0,245579.story

I think all the BROADCAST NETWORKS should do this, in order to become more like cable channels, they might even get some younger viewers.

Is this possible?

May not always work. The Office and 30 Rock are single camera non-laugh track comedys that are doing well now.

I don’t blame you for bailing on Entourage — the last couple of seasons paled compared to the first two, but I recommend giving season four a look.

As for Showtime, Weeds and Dexter for me, though I’m behind on Dexter. Lost me in the beginning of the season, and I haven’t gotten up the enthusiasm to watch anymore.

NBC just might have been dealt bad luck in trying to find the next “Friends”. It tried over and over and failed.

Procedurals seem to work only on CBS. Life (a great show and better than any procedural on CBS) is flailing on NBC. Life on Mars is doing 3rd place numbers on ABC. Procedurals don’t seem to work on FOX, although they will try again with “Lie to Me”.

What NBC is lacking is a strong identity. What is “NBC”?

You want to know what shows do well: procedurals(think house and CSI), you’ve got L&O and ER but ER is gone, and relatable sitcoms(2.5 men and the simspsons), of which you have the office, everything else is too insider(30Rock) or White trash or Bad(K&K). Stop taking chances and green light those types of shows. It’ll work

Ha ha, very funny list. I like this one best:

1. just air nothing but video streams of random people watching CBS.

On an NBC note can they really afford to axe all of these failing shows? Just in terms of how expensive it will be to produce pilots and get a huge number of new shows off the ground at once could they actually afford to do it? How many scripted shows does NBC have in the toilet right now?

My Own Worst Enemy (cancelled)
Lipstick Jungle (cancelled)
Chuck
Knight Rider
Life
Crusoe
Law & Order
Kath & Kim

Plus you’ve got shows like My Name Is Earl and Heroes which are both struggling and no one knows if 30 Rock can sustain the ‘Sarah Palin effect‘. And you’ve got Deal or No Deal dying a slow painful death and ER is gone after this year as well.

NBC already have to fill three hours with brand new shows next year (MOWE, LJ and ER) how many more shows can they realistically afford to cancel this year? Surely some of these shows that are underperforming will have to stick around just because NBC can’t afford to launch 10+ new shows next year?

I know the CW had hoped REAPER would do better and be able to move to THURSDAY after SMALLVILLE ends its run.

Heck, right now the CW is wishing they hadn’t canceled VERONICA MARS, that show would be a top show today!

The problem with Reaper is it looks like the only day they can air it is Thursdays, unless they get Sundays back, which does seem increasingly likely. Edit for Bill’s comment above: There’s no way the CW won’t be programming Sundays again soon, the question is whether they merely program it with repeats or air anything new there.

I think NBC could easily turn the network around. Just replace their head with a good one.