TV Talk

TV Press Tour: NBC's State of the Network Address

When network presidents address TV critics at press tour, it’s a lot like the State of the Union address. Only there’s no rousing applause.

Today is NBC’s turn to put on its big happy face as it promotes its new fall shows. No network needs a big season more than NBC. Finishing fourth last season, the network is far from its glory days when Thursday night was “must-see� and such comedies as Frasier, Seinfeld and Cheers made NBC the No. 1 network.

Using a sailing analogy, Kevin Reilly, president of NBC Entertainment, this morning admitted the network has been “sweating like pigs trying to get out of the stiff headwind.� But he believes NBC’s “ill-fated tour is about to come to an end.�

I must say, Reilly could be right.

NBC has one of the season’s most promising new schedules. In Aaron Sorkin’s Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, NBC has one of the most buzzed-about shows. The pilot, by the way, is excellent.

And so is Heroes, a new X-Men-like drama about a group of ordinary people who discover they have superpowers. Alec Baldwin is a hoot as a network exec in 30 Rock, a comedy about the behind-the-scenes doings at a Saturday Night Live-like sketch show created by SNL’s Tina Fey. Meanwhile, John Lithgow and Jeffrey Tambor make a fine odd couple in the comedy Twenty Good Years and Kidnapped, a new whodunit drama about, well, a high profile kidnapping starring Dana Delaney and Delroy Lindo, looks interesting.

While Reilly said he didn’t want to make any “hard predictions� about the upcoming season, he did promise that NBC “will not be mired in fourth week after week.�

And he did promise that The Apprentice, whose ratings have cooled recently, will come back with some “juice� when the show moves to a new night (Sunday) and a new location (Los Angeles) in January.

As for some of NBC's additional programming moves, here’s what Reilly mentioned.

Deal of No Deal returns: The hit game show will be back on Sept. 18 with a two-hour premiere and will air four nights that week. “The show was unbelievably resilient during the spring,� Reilly said.

Madonna in concert: The Material Girl’s London concert will be taped and air in November. Since Madonna’s concerts can be a bit raunchy, Reilly said the network would decide which numbers would make the final cut.

ER getting more guest-stars: Andre Braugher will join the cast for six episodes and Sally Field will be back as Abby’s mom.

All done for now, kiddies. Off to hear what NBC News’ Brian Williams has to say. He’s always worth a few laughs. Sure, Williams may be a stiff on the air, but he's a real cut-up in person. Somewhere in him, there's a late-night talk show host dying to get out.