LOS ANGELES • Ratings and red noses were the topics of the day when NBC met with TV critics Sunday in Los Angeles.
Ratings because NBC had "a pretty great season," up 10 percent and No. 1 with viewers 18-49, NBC Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt said. Among total audiences, NBC's ratings are up 27 percent over last year.
Red noses because NBC is picking up the "Red Nose Day" charity drive from Great Britain. Next May, an all-day event will encourage viewers to call in and donate money to charities, with celebrity stunts and on-air programs made with Funny or Die. Oh, and people wear red clown noses to show their support.NBC also said:
• Christopher Walken will play Captain Hook in “Peter Pan Live,” set for Dec. 4. The lead role has not been cast, but will be played, according to tradition, by a woman. Producers were interested in Kristen Bell, but timing didn't work out. (Bell and husband Dax Shepard are expecting their second child.)
• The failure of “The Michael J. Fox Show” was a disappointment. "We struggled and worked really hard to figure out to bring an audience to that show," Greenblatt said. "Thursday was obviously tough, and we knew that going in. I actually thought Michael, just in and of himself, would help us overcome some of those challenges on Thursday, and I think it just reinforced how difficult a night it is for us."
Even when the competition was in reruns or the show got a different lead-in, "The Michael J. Fox Show" didn't grow. "The same with the Sean Hayes show," Greenblatt said. "I’d love to have the luxury of not really having to worry about what the ratings are, as is true in cable, but we just had to look very closely at what our options were and make a really tough decision that didn’t make any of us happy."
• The Maya Rudolph variety special is still in discussion for a possible follow-up. "We were very encouraged by the ratings," Greenblatt said.
Paul Telegdy, NBC's head of alternative programming, chimed in that was it was "a show we’re really proud of. We put it on in a short space in time from a production point of view, and Lorne Michaels was very involved and came out for the week of the shoot. Actually, on balance, we really enjoyed the experience."
• NBC isn't too concerned about CBS' Thursday night football package, with six games early next season.
"You could look at it, as we are, as a bit of an opportunity, because CBS won’t have its big hefty comedy lineup on." NBC's lineup will have "The Biggest Loser” leading into four comedies.
• NBC is developing a comedy series with Bill Cosby show, described as a multi-generational family show with Cosby dispensing wisdom. Executive producers include Mike O’Malley, who might also play a character.
• "The Blacklist" will again take a long midseason break, with a cliffhanger leading into the hiatus. "The audience is so loyal to the show, I think we feel confident that they’ll wait for it," NBC Entertainment president Jennifer Salke said.
