1. Mediaite
  2. Gossip Cop
  3. Geekosystem
  4. Styleite
  5. SportsGrid
  6. The Mary Sue
  7. The Jane Dough
  8. The Braiser
Advertisement

NBC Shuffles Prime Time Lineups; Community Takes A Break, Rock Center Moves To Wednesdays

» 38 comments

If you’ve read Mediaite the past few days, you might have noticed a large ad for Rock Center With Brian Williams briefly darkening and then taking over your computer screen. Well, if the time and date of its airing somehow planted itself into your subconscious, it’s time to shake it out. NBC announced today that, starting in February, Rock Center will be moving to 9 p.m. on Wednesdays, and will follow Whitney (which now airs on Thursdays) and mid-season replacement Are You There, Chelsea?.

Williams’ news and pop culture vehicle shouldn’t be confused with Tina Fey’s 30 Rock, which will be returning to Thursday nights beginning in January. Part of the collateral damage of 30 Rock‘s return? Community, which has built up a loyal, but relatively small, fan base, and Prime Suspect, starring Maria Bello, are off the schedule. According to sources contacted by The Hollywood Reporter, Community will return. At some point (More solid Community news: Kris Kristofferson has the show’s back). There was no word on Bello’s show, outside of assurances that it was not canceled. And while the Prime Suspect news is sure to be a downer for its fans, the Community news is turning up movements not seen since the days of Arrested Development‘s cancellation.

Twitter, naturally, lamented the Community move, but the outpouring of support overshadowed the more interesting storyline here: Rock Center‘s lead-ins are going to be two freshman shows by two female comedians. Whitney has already taken its lumps from critics and in the ratings, and Chelsea Handler‘s humor doesn’t seem like it’ll go over well at on prime time TV at 8:30, especially on a network that soured quickly on the stylings of Conan O’Brien. Still, it might be a quirky enough combination to work (going from two comedies to a news show to…Law & Order: SVU — something for everyone!).

There is some silver lining for Community fans, although it’s incredibly abstract; but in a fittingly ironic twist, no television character could appreciate the fun little mess that mixing up three totally different genres on Wednesday nights could cause, more than Community‘s Abed.

(Image courtesy: The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson)

Follow us on Twitter.

Sign up for Mediaite's daily newsletter.

Email Twitter Facebook Digg Reddit Stumble Upon Yahoo Buzz LinkedIn Tumblr Delicious
  • Anonymous

    Wouldn’t it just be more smart if NBC just was a re-run of Celebrity Apprentice episodes? No show seems to pick up steam on NBC. And if your show is selected as one that NBC will feature, I consider that a no vote and feel bad for you as an actor/producer/writer.

  • http://gregingleright.weebly.com/ Greg

    Angry… so very angry.

  • Jason_in_Vegas

    Talking to yourself again?

  • Anonymous

    Community is simply the best half-hour on television.  Not having Community on the schedule is simply a travesty.

    The sad irony is that like Arrested Development, decades from now, the next generation will venerate Community as a classic and probably not even remember whatever shows replace it.

  • http://gregingleright.weebly.com/ Greg

    You must write for Whitney.

  • Anonymous

    I wish CBS would pick up Community and run it on Thursdays after the Big Bang Theory.

    The frustrating part is that throughout its run, Community has been pitted against big monster hits like American Idol, the X Factor and Big Bang Theory, so much of its potential audience has never had an opportunity to tune in.

  • Laurence Glavin

    Comcast in Massachusetts puts “Rock Center” in among shows that can be accessed through On Demand.  I don’t have to record it and of course I can watch it whenever I want (until it expires).

  • Anonymous

    Or it could be that Community has bad enough writing that it doesn’t make people want to change their viewing patterns and watch it. I’m sure that American Idol and X Factor aren’t stopping the Community viewership demographics from watching the show.

  • Anonymous

    this is a travesty!!!!!!

  • Anonymous

    This website is really shilling for NBC / MSNBC lately. 

  • http://gregingleright.weebly.com/ Greg

    In the same manner that Frontline is written poorly in comparison to Jersey Shore.  

  • FunnyTonyMase

    Occupy 30 Rock!

  • Anonymous

    or it could be that it’s universally recognized for good writing and you just have no taste.

  • Anonymous

    also, i will never forgive chelsea handler. lol

  • Biff

    You complain about good writing in a later post, having already written…

    “… more smart… ”

    I bet you can hardly wait to become a lawyer and start writing contracts.

    Of course lawyers used to get paid by the word – hence the origin of an overly wordy legalese language – so maybe you’re on to something. In those long ago olden days of yore, “more smart” would’ve gotten you paid twice as much as “smarter”.

  • Jacobjakeu

    or it could be that it’s only universally recognized by the tiny little audience that likes it… which explains why it is a total BOMB in terms of ratings…. like, not even mediocre… but totally sub-par. A 1.9 in 18-49 is HORRIBLE.

  • Anonymous

    I’m sure your day was that much better after writing that. I don’t mind being corrected if I am truly wrong. I edited my version.

    Simple as that. You, on the other hand, appear to be grumpy.

  • Anonymous

    I had to look up Front Line.

    In other news, defund PBS.

  • Anonymous

    look up anyone who’s ever reviewed the show, and tell me they’ve said it was anything but spectacular.

  • Anonymous

    also, i don’t think you want to go down the road of equivalating ratings with how good or bad a show is. Ie: the jersey shore, chelsea lately, etc.

  • Anonymous

    “I’m sure that American Idol and X Factor aren’t stopping the Community viewership demographics from watching the show”
    it would certainly have more of a buzz if it weren’t competing with well established brands such as the ones mentioned.

  • Biff

    True. I am grumpy. Point taken. That doesn’t take away from the fact that it was a pretty silly and obvious grammatical error. (Would you say that out loud for example?) I was just surprised you didn’t know better. Or didn’t catch yourself before you posted.

    And BTW, how do you edit? (If you don’t mind sharing. It would be much appreciated as I’ve made a mistake or two – or three – in the past.) Thanks.

  • http://gregingleright.weebly.com/ Greg

     ”I had to look up Front Line.”
    – Not a surprise.
    “In other news, defund PBS.”
    – You can watch episodes for free online.  I suggest you do.  
    http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/view/
    Cheers!

  • Anonymous

    Community has been up against the long-running Big Bang Theory for over a year now, and those two shows have almost identical viewership demographics.

  • Anonymous

    What does the NBC prime-time lineup have to do with MSNBC other than the fact they’re both owned by General Electric? Whether one likes Community, Parks & Rec, The Office or some other show shouldn’t have anything to do with whether one likes or hates Rachel Maddow.

    Fox News makes me sick, but I don’t have a problem watching the Fox network or Fox Sports.

  • Anon

    lol for someone who’s always bragging about what school she goes to and what degree she’s getting…you deserve it
    stop being such an elitist

    back to this story…CUMMINGS AND HANDLER SUCK
    get NORM MCDONALD A SHOW

  • Kimberly

    Whenever my screen darkens and those lovely ads pop up, I immediately click the X.

  • Anonymous

    At the bottom of your comment, if you’re logged in, you should be able to push the edit function. It’s next to the Reply.

  • Anonymous

    I’ve never stated what schools I go to. Human being are imperfect. However, if someone is going to call someone else stupid and then themselves be stupid in their comment, I think it’s fair to call that out.

    I don’t claim perfection.

  • Anonymous

    Nothing is free.

    And as I said on the other thread, you have no credibility.

  • Anonymous

    I dig Big Bang Theory. Super funny show.

    I don’t watch the show. All I needed to know when the show started was that it featured The Soup’s McHale and I knew that it wouldn’t be funny.

  • Anonymous

    If Mediaite had ads for Fox News programming, then you would be disgruntled too. :)

  • Biff

    Once again, thanks. Much appreciated.

  • http://gregingleright.weebly.com/ Greg

    WC

    An etymological shift provides you comfort.  Again, credibility is earned not declared.  

  • Anonymous

    then you’ve proven that you’re a closed minded moron who won’t give good things a chance. nothing we can do for you.

  • http://www.facebook.com/tony.westover Tony Westover

    What the hell is wrong with NBC!? Community is one of the best shows on television. And they’re replacing it with that boring, hateful bitch Chelsea Handler? Could this network be any more self-destructive if it tried? And seriously, all this for a stupid news program that nobody’s going to watch on Thursday night?

  • Johnnybic

    I had low expectations for “Prime Suspect” (considering how good the Helen Mirren show from Britain is) but have found it really quite watchable.  I’m disappointed.

  • Fred

    this sucks community rocks

© 2012 Mediaite, LLC | About Us | Advertise | Newsletter | Jobs | Privacy | User Agreement | Disclaimer | Power Grid FAQ | Contact | Archives | RSS RSS
Dan Abrams, Founder | Power Grid by Sound Strategies | Hosting by Datagram