4:18 pm - 01/09/2013
Tina Fey has been the queen of NBC comedy for more than a decade, thanks to "Saturday Night Live" and "30 Rock." With "30 Rock" wrapping up its seven-year run, Fey signed a deal with the network and is poised to create new shows and possibly star in them for the Peacock network, but she has a problem with NBC's comedy plan.
"Those Thursday comedies, which the critics love, and we love, tend to be a bit more narrow than we'd ultimately like going forward," NBC's Robert Greenblatt told reporters in 2012.
However, he praised the current "niche" comedies. "I don't want to say anything negative about what Tina Fey does, or 'Parks and Rec' or 'The Office,'" he continued. "Those are great shows. But it's a challenge in comedy to broaden."
While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter prior to her Golden Globe hosting gig, Fey said NBC's "broad" comedy plan is wrong when asked if she had it in her to create a something not so narrow.
"You know what? They’re wrong, and I’m going to wait that out," Fey said. "What they want is hits, but no one knows what that is. Remember when Jeff Zucker was like: 'I've got a new plan! We’re only going to make hits!' [Laughs.] It’s hard. I couldn't do it. I couldn’t be a network exec."
Fey's new deal is for four years.
"She's been a cornerstone of the network for over the past 10 years and there was just no way we were going to let her get away," Greenblatt said in September. "It's a measure of our esteem for her as a writer, actress and producer -- she's in a class by herself."
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Tina Fey Speaks Truth: NBC's Broad Comedy Plan Is Wrong
Tina Fey has been the queen of NBC comedy for more than a decade, thanks to "Saturday Night Live" and "30 Rock." With "30 Rock" wrapping up its seven-year run, Fey signed a deal with the network and is poised to create new shows and possibly star in them for the Peacock network, but she has a problem with NBC's comedy plan."Those Thursday comedies, which the critics love, and we love, tend to be a bit more narrow than we'd ultimately like going forward," NBC's Robert Greenblatt told reporters in 2012.
However, he praised the current "niche" comedies. "I don't want to say anything negative about what Tina Fey does, or 'Parks and Rec' or 'The Office,'" he continued. "Those are great shows. But it's a challenge in comedy to broaden."
While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter prior to her Golden Globe hosting gig, Fey said NBC's "broad" comedy plan is wrong when asked if she had it in her to create a something not so narrow.
"You know what? They’re wrong, and I’m going to wait that out," Fey said. "What they want is hits, but no one knows what that is. Remember when Jeff Zucker was like: 'I've got a new plan! We’re only going to make hits!' [Laughs.] It’s hard. I couldn't do it. I couldn’t be a network exec."
Fey's new deal is for four years.
"She's been a cornerstone of the network for over the past 10 years and there was just no way we were going to let her get away," Greenblatt said in September. "It's a measure of our esteem for her as a writer, actress and producer -- she's in a class by herself."
source
:/
It's the one thing they do well & if they just try to copy what CBS/ABC is doing, they're going to fail so bad... and then we won't even have our shows like Parks & Rec to comfort us.
Edited at 2013-01-10 12:34 am (UTC)
Kisses!
They need funny shows that push the boundaries. I feel sitcoms these days are a little edgier than I remember them being. NBC prides themselves on their comedy but its been a little stale. They need to get rid of Whitney and just shoot Up All Night in the head now. The reformat to multi camera is gonna ruin the show.
You do realize she was a head writer on SNL, right?
It is eerily relevant that you bring up her overated-ness on this post that mentions a network exec calling her show a "niche program". And it is.
There is always a market for modern family type comedies, that follow a conventional plot recipe and comedic rhythm. And then, there is also a market for shows that create unlikely characters (hola jenna y kenneth) in actually semi-plausible situations, while dishing out pop culture references.
The closest classification of 30 rock would be liberal satire. A mishmash of light political jokes and goofing. And that is all they are trying to be: a critique of existing societal norms through rich republican bastard boss to hillbillies to washed-out airhead female stars to black harvard dudes. For me the show works because the characters are likable and funny, whether they are evil and self-absorbed or a harmless regular person whose only strength is eating and self-abasement.
But it doesn't change that "30 Rock" has never been much of anything.
So, yeah. Just because you don't see it, or because you don't watch it, doesn't mean that the show is not much of anything.
Also, i was thinking if calling Tina Fey "vastly overrated" would be valid. If you can, please educate me on a successful actor/comedian who is a writer at the same time. Meanwhile i just want to slow clap Tina Fey for always bringing in unlikely guest stars from Oprah to McCartney to Al Gore, and Matt Damon and James Marsden on character arcs. Even if she might not be the best actor/writer around, homegirl knows how to namedrop.
Edited at 2013-01-10 12:41 am (UTC)
i've predicted that kenneth would take over the network before but now it doesn't seem likely anymore. ):
Edited at 2013-01-10 02:03 am (UTC)
Sunday: Football
Monday:The Voice
Tuesday: The Voice
Wednesday: The Voice
Thursday:The Biggest Loser
Friday:The Biggest Loser
Saturday: 3 Hours of Dateline
Edited at 2013-01-10 12:40 am (UTC)
bring back REAL comedies like The Joey Bishop Show, Seinfeld, CHEERS, Wings, The John Larroquette Show, The Cosby Show.
Edited at 2013-01-10 12:46 am (UTC)