The Bad: Patience is a virtue NBC President Robert Greenblatt can no longer afford. How else to explain the flurry of winter and spring premieres that, with the notable exception of SMASH, failed to catch on (See: ARE YOU THERE CHELSEA?, BENT, BEST FRIENDS FOREVER and THE FIRM). Suffice it to say, more isn’t always better. Which, it would appear is a lesson that NBC still has yet to come to grips with based on the Network’s equally crowded slate of 2012-13 offerings. But before we get to the future, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention America’s dismal track record when it came to tuning into shows created by LONE STAR’s Kyle Killen. As anyone who bothered to tune into AWAKE will attest to, the ambitious Jason Isaacs vehicle deserved so more than the paltry 2-3 million viewers per week it attracted.
Prognosis for the Coming Season: Murky. While there is no doubt that NBC will make the most out of the megaphone that is the London 2012 Olympics — rumor has both GRIMM (one of last season’s few bright spots) and Matthew Perry’s new single-camera comedy GO ON getting August premiere dates to make the most out of the sizeable promotional platform that is London 2012 — it’s no guarantee of success. Just ask THE PLAYBOY CLUB and PRIME SUSPECT, both of which were heavily promoted last Fall to the tune of the 20 plus million or so viewers that Sunday Night NFL Football regularly attracts.
Grade: C+ 
