NBC Gets its Mid-Season Report Card

The Good: The NFL didn’t go on strike, allowing for Sunday Night Football to be singled out as one of the only bright spots on NBC’s disastrous Fall schedule. Also good, if only because we feel somewhat bad to move onto the negative so quickly, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE had a uncharacteristically solid first half of the season thanks to handful of stellar hosts including Alec Baldwin, Melissa McCarthy, Emma Stone, Jason Segal and Steve Buscemi.

The Bad: How much time do you have? Which is to say, we have a feeling that all newly-minted NBC President Robert Greenblatt wants for Christmas is for this calendar year to be over. After-all, not only did America summarily reject THE PLAYBOY CLUB, PRIME SUSPECTS and FREE AGENTS, they haven’t exactly warmed up to UP ALL NIGHT, WHITNEY, or Andy Bernard as the new boss on THE OFFICE. Scarier still, unlike previous Peacock Presidents who seemed content to allow time for their critically acclaimed ratings anemic gems to grow (see: 30 ROCK), this new regime seems far less inclined to show the same type of patience. Which means we remain very much fearful for the futures of personal favorites such as COMMUNITY and PARENTHOOD as we head into 2012. Which brings us to…

The Future: Is one big question mark. And while there’s no denying that NBC has an incredible array of exciting new offerings on the horizon, each one brings with it a unique challenge of its very own. Will THE VOICE suffer from having to go head-to-head with AMERICAN IDOL? Can THE FIRM differentiate itself enough from an increasingly crowded field of legal procedurals? Will AWAKE be too smart for its own good? Can ARE YOU THERE, CHELSEA make an impact without actually starring Chelsea Handler? Will an audience weaned on GLEE get SMASH? All we know for sure is that we can’t wait too find out.

Grade: C-

In Case You Missed It:
• FOX Gets its Mid-Season Report Card
• ABC Gets its Mid-Season Report Card
• CBS Gets its Mid-Season Report Card\
• NBC Gets its Mid-Season Report Card