Q: How do you make a hit?
A: "There can still be hits in network television... they don't last as long, that's clear. Things that do burn red hot don't last as long anymore." "I don't think that Seinfeld would become what it became if it was on today....it would be off. ..that's the shame of the factionalization of tv today" That said, going to stick with "Friday Night Lights". This is not something you can decide with pure numbers, there's some gut. That's why we hire people to make these decisions.

http://d7.allthingsd.com/20090528/d7-interview-nbc-universal-ceo-jeff-zucker/

What an Idiot. He should have said that Seinfeld wouldn't succeed today on NBC because my network sucks. :lol:

With all the garbage on TV these days I would think a show about nothing would do really well!

How is this guy still president of NBC?? The network has almost completely imploded since he's been at the helm. :confused: :eek: ohno:

What an Idiot. He should have said that Seinfeld wouldn't succeed today on NBC because my network sucks. :lol:

I agree.

I think it would have because it was about just everyday life-lol

A show about nothing wouldn't survive today? Geez, I'd rather watch "nothing" than most of the crap that NBC shows these days! NBC has gone from "Must See TV" to "Must Turn OFF TV"!!!!

What an Idiot. He should have said that Seinfeld wouldn't succeed today on NBC because my network sucks. :lol:

So very true...

A show about nothing wouldn't survive today? Geez, I'd rather watch "nothing" than most of the crap that NBC shows these days! NBC has gone from "Must See TV" to "Must Turn OFF TV"!!!!
Must Sleep TV!!

Must Sleep TV!!

:lol: :lol: Good one!:lol: :lol:

i think that the truth is that it wouldn't succeed today because NBC wouldn't LET a show like that survive today - if it isn't an instant hit (because they have so many of THOSE right now) they cancel it before it gets a chance.

The Sitcom Nazi
No ratings for you
We're getting canceld, not that there's anything wrong with that.

i think that the truth is that it wouldn't succeed today because NBC wouldn't LET a show like that survive today - if it isn't an instant hit (because they have so many of THOSE right now) they cancel it before it gets a chance.
You hit the nail right on the head. The same thing happened with Cheers.

:lol: :lol: Good one!:lol: :lol:
Hey, the truth hurts. :lol:

I completely disagree with this statement. Seinfeld would be a hit in any decade.

I completely disagree with this statement. Seinfeld would be a hit in any decade.

I think so too! Nothing is common place any day!!! I mean, if people are still quoting it over ten years later, that's gotta tell you something right there!

No offense intended, but I think most of you are missing Zucker's point:

1. Most great shows need time to find their legs, also to find an audience.

2. The business has become very brutal, and new shows are not given the time and money to develop.

Seinfeld needed 1-3 years to find an audience. Today's just shows aren't given that much time today. And even if they hit immediately, they don't last like Seinfeld did.

So Zucker's right - in today's market shows like Seinfeld or Cheers wouldn't survive even one season, and have the time to become the longlasting greats we remember. (Which is a damn shame.)

Your points are well taken; however, there is a dearth of new sitcoms even being green-lighted for any airing at all by the former Big 3 networks. I don't think the problem is a quick axe, covered by your points, so much as there just aren't enough new sitcoms premiering on ABC, CBS, or NBC.

In years past, lots of new sitcoms failed, but the networks were panning for gold, and the few nuggets paid off in a big way. Cheers would be followed in the next half hour with a promising new show to help build an audience. There just isn't that type of thing going on anymore.

The primetime airwaves are overloaded with reality shows and game shows, a few of which I enjoy but nonetheless are not my main interest. In my opinion, NBC currently stands for Now Boring Co., and Zucker is as much to blame for that as anyone.

i think that the truth is that it wouldn't succeed today because NBC wouldn't LET a show like that survive today - if it isn't an instant hit (because they have so many of THOSE right now) they cancel it before it gets a chance.

Very true!

Your points are well taken; however, there is a dearth of new sitcoms even being green-lighted for any airing at all by the former Big 3 networks. I don't think the problem is a quick axe, covered by your points, so much as there just aren't enough new sitcoms premiering on ABC, CBS, or NBC.

In years past, lots of new sitcoms failed, but the networks were panning for gold, and the few nuggets paid off in a big way. Cheers would be followed in the next half hour with a promising new show to help build an audience. There just isn't that type of thing going on anymore.

The primetime airwaves are overloaded with reality shows and game shows, a few of which I enjoy but nonetheless are not my main interest. In my opinion, NBC currently stands for Now Boring Co., and Zucker is as much to blame for that as anyone.
I agree with all this, except for laying this at Zucker's feet. It's actually our fault too - the viewers. Because this isn't just NBC, it's industry-wide: Non-scripted shows are cheaper to produce (their fault) and get comparable ratings (our fault). Just a hypothetical: Let's say your average scripted show costs $20 million / year to write, cast and produce. Your average unscripted show might only cost half of that, or less. And since they get the same kind of ratings, they can make a whole lot of ad revenue at a much higher profit. Especially when you factor in unaired pilots: They used to film a lot more of those than they'd ever show. I'm guessing that cost has virtually disappeared.

Which leaves the better writers/producers/actors seeking out cable. And there *are* good comedies out there - Curb Your Enthusiasm, Tracey Ullman's State of the Union, even Rescue Me feels like a sitcom at times. They're just all on cable.

It still sucks - on multiple levels - that the vapid dreck like The Hills or Paris Hilton's BFF clutters our airwaves. Whenever I see one of those shows for just 10-20 seconds, I can feel my brain cells frying. I'd love to have a "must see" night like Thursday was from the 1980s to the late 1990s (pretty much half of my life!). I grew up with Cheers, Cosby Show, Family Ties, Night Court, and watched Seinfeld, Mad About You and Friends in my 20s. I miss that vibe, totally.

And despite the availability of cable, talent still slips through the cracks. I was mortified that a comedy written by the team of Peter Tolan (a brilliant writer, one of the chief forces behind Rescue Me, Larry Sanders, The Job and lots of other good stuff) and Matthew Perry was passed on by Showtime, where Perry would play a talk show host in a dark comedy setting. It's just a shame.

The following NBC shows would have been turned down by Zucker, if he had anything to say about them:

The Cosby Show
Family Ties
Seinfeld
Friends
Cheers
Sanford and Son
Little House on the Prairie
Different Strokes
Facts of Life
Mad About You
Frasier

Oh, and also...Saturday Night Live


And probably "The Tonight Show" as well.


Zucker is an idiot.

The following NBC shows would have been turned down by Zucker, if he had anything to say about them:

The Cosby Show
Family Ties
Seinfeld
Friends
Cheers
Sanford and Son
Little House on the Prairie
Different Strokes
Facts of Life
Mad About You
Frasier

Oh, and also...Saturday Night Live


And probably "The Tonight Show" as well.


Zucker is an idiot.

I can't imagine TV without these great series! These are all classics, even if a couple of them aren't favorites of mine.

I can't imagine TV without these great series! These are all classics, even if a couple of them aren't favorites of mine.
:yeahthat

i think that the truth is that it wouldn't succeed today because NBC wouldn't LET a show like that survive today - if it isn't an instant hit (because they have so many of THOSE right now) they cancel it before it gets a chance.


Exactly! Everything gets canceled, without giving it a fair chance, with rare exceptions as The Office and Thirty-Rock.

I can't imagine TV without these great series! These are all classics, even if a couple of them aren't favorites of mine.


Yeah, they're not all of my favorites either, I just tried to think of the biggest NBC shows of the last 30 years or so... I know I missed a lot of big ones (e.g "Law and Order"), but my comment was mainly about Zucker himself, as you know :)