Comedy night Done Wrong

Once upon a time NBC was the powerhouse channel when it came to television comedy. For well over twenty years, the comedy lineup on NBC Thursday nights was a force to be reckoned with. From The Cosby Show, to Cheers, to Frasier, to Seinfeld, to Will and Grace to Friends, to The Office, NBC comedy lineup was more or less what created to modern version of Must See TV. In recent years though NBC has struggled with their once magical comedy night.

While shows like 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation and Community have all been well received critically, earning Emmy nominations, and small but loyal, vocal followings, NBC's comedies have failed to find big audiences. In an effort to regrow that comedy block, NBC tried to bring back some big names including Sean Hayes and Michael J. Fox, only for both of their shows to last only one season each.

NBC as a network has slipped from 1st place to 4th place, sometimes lower, in terms of viewers. As time has passed, show after now has failed to make an impact, while the lasting shows have eventually had their entire run and ended. Slowly, NBC has had less and less in the way of comedy. And it seems that they've become more and more cautious. Before it was a hit on Netflix, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt was going to be an NBC show, until NBC ultimatly passed on it, because, presumably, 30 Rock, a show by the same creators, had never reached a ratings status that would lead to NBC taking a risk on a new show from them.

Which all leads us to today. This fall, NBC will have a grand total of one hour of prime time comedy a week. That's two shows. One is Undateable, a show entering it's third season this fall, and a new show called People are Talking. It should be worth noting that this new season of Undateable, will have an additional gimmick where every episode will be live (This gimmick will also probably make the show cheaper to create.)

So one hour of comedy in fifteen hours of weekly prime time. This is the lowest amount of comedy on NBC since 1978. What's more, this single hour of comedy is going to be on Friday night, usually considered to be the place where you put shows that you don't expect to do well.

And whats interesting here, is that the aversion to comedy seems to only be affecting NBC. Trends come and go, and sometimes there are more dramas on the air, sometimes more comedies. Sometimes its a slew of different talent competitions that come down the pipeline. But right now, it just seems to be NBC that's getting rid of the sit-com. ABC has Black-ish, Fresh off the Boat, The Middle, Modern Family, and The Goldbergs all getting renewed for the next season. And that's just the sit-coms the channel has centered around a family, not even taking into account any new shows they might have in the fall.

NBC has been struggling as of late, so they do need to do something dramatic to get back in the competition, but I'm not sure being the only network of the big three to swear off laughter, (especially when it's been so instrumental to their success in the past) is the way to do it.