NBC Really Is Doing Well, You Guys
The once most-troubled network is on an amazing rebound. They're topping the ratings and ordering full seasons of new shows. It's all very exciting. Elsewhere in showbiz news, Meryl Streep is being lured for an ill-advised project and Drea De Matteo is going back to work.
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That week in mid-September when NBC was number one in the ratings, over all the other broadcast networks? Well, it wasn't a fluke. NBC has won premiere week, meaning it wasn't just their shows that were new, it was other networks' too. And NBC won! Not in total viewers, no that prize still goes to CBS, in fact NBC sinks back down to third in that game, but in the ratings, the 18-49 demographic stuff, NBC was tops last week, with a 2.9 average towering over Fox's second place 2.6. This is the first time NBC has been in that position in nine years. So, pop that Pérignon, peacocks. How is NBC doing so well? Well, that's the tricky part. It's mostly because of football and The Voice, and to a lesser extent Revolution. That's fine, viewers are viewers, but football and The Voice aren't fixed entities. Sure there will be a Voice in the spring, but who knows, viewers could hate the new judges or something. And of course football ends in January or February or something, so the rest of the spring is idle. This is all to say that NBC's reign is not necessarily going to be eternal. Or even last past a few weeks, even. But for now! For now, sweet Christmas, the dark days are over. [Entertainment Weekly]
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As a sign of that success, NBC has ordered full seasons of three new shows, the well-performing Revolution — which kinda got a little dumpy last night, didn't it? — and the sitcoms Go On and The New Normal. The former comedy, the Matthew Perry show, has been doing solid in the ratings, while New Normal, the gay dads one, has been doing just OK but picking up in the DVR numbers. Well enough that NBC saw fit to give a full order a go. Congratulations to everyone who has a job through next spring! That's a big deal. And hey, Matthew Perry! You made it through the season! That's quite a thing. Might we see a, gasp, second season out of you on this one? It could be! And I suppose we must tip our hats to Ryan Murphy and say well done, though we do it grudgingly. Not because New Normal is bad, it isn't, but because, y'know, Ryan Murphy. Anyway, well done all around, now if they could only renew football for the spring NBC would be in the black forever. [The Hollywood Reporter]
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OK, it's not all parties and pickups over at the network, though. It looks like NBC has decided not to go further with that Munsters reboot, Mockingbird Lane. That's the one that starred Jerry O'Connnell, Portia de Rossi, and Eddie Izzard and was from Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller. Apparently it looked really cool but ultimately just didn't work. Oh well. Back to the drawing board, O'Connell. And hey, good news for that actress who couldn't do the show because of a commitment to a Lifetime pilot (third item). She could really have shot herself in the foot. Funny how things work. Hollywood really is a place of sunny dreams and fortuitous happenings. [Deadline]
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Speaking of Lifetime pilots, Sopranos alum Drea de Matteo is doing one of those movies that may turn into a series things for the network, this one called Stalkers. Oh god, please please please tell me it's a reboot of Silk Stalkings, please please please. I know it's a different network and all that, but still, oh god but still. Please please please. But, sigh, no, nope, it's about a sassy cop and a buttoned-up DA who team up to solve crimes. Ugh. I know Silk Stalkings was a crime show too, but at least it was sexxxy, in a '90s basic cable kinda way. Ah well. At least poor Adrianna is getting work. Haven't seen her since she went crawling into the woods that one time. Glad to see her back! [Deadline]
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There's a rumor that Meryl Streep is being lured to do the planned movie version of the great musical Into the Woods, to play the big witch part, and it's like, guys, stop, just stop it. I know she's the Greatest Ever, no one is doubting that. But we need to cool down. She doesn't need to be in everything, OK? Just a few things, here and there, that's plenty. There's no need. Plus, um, Bernadette Peters is still alive, last I checked. Why don't you give her a ringle and see what she says. I bet you'd get a big blaring high-G "YESSSSS!!!" or something. It'd sound like a nasal trumpet. It'd be great. Just cast her. Let Meryl go back to Connecticut and chill out. Meryl, you need to chill out. I know the nest is empty now so it's nice to be out working, but there is that risk of over-exposure, you know. There is that. So if you simply must work, do a play. Do a play anywhere you want. Doesn't have to be Broadway or even New York. Just don't do this movie. It's too much. [Broadway World; via Vulture]
