NBC Ditching Fall Debuts

NBC musical dazzles critics... mostly

(NEWSER) - If you watched the Super Bowl, you just might have heard of Smash, NBC's new drama about the making of a Broadway musical. It premiered last night, and critics are (mostly) giving it a standing ovation:

• The buzz has gotten so intense that the conversation isn't even about whether it'll be good. "Good? Darling, it's great!" gushes Mary McNamara of the LA Times . The creators have "managed to capture the grand and sweeping gesture that is musical theater and inject it with the immediate intimacy of television," an impressive, unprecedented feat.

NBC gives Handler a lot of freedom: 'LAT'

(NEWSER) - If you were worrying that a Chelsea Handler sitcom on network TV would tame the bawdy comedian, you can stop. Tonight's NBC debut of Are You There, Chelsea? features bartender Chelsea, played by Laura Prepon, behind bars for drunk driving, where she prays (to vodka) and promises to change her life. No, not to quit drinking ... just to relocate within walking distance of the watering hole. The show also includes the sex term "lady wood," the Los Angeles Times notes. More»

The Office firm to put 'quabity first' in Staples deal

(NEWSER) - Fans of the Office will soon be able to buy paper made by their favorite company—though instead of purchasing it from Dwight Schrute, they’ll have to get their reams through Staples. The office-supply giant’s Quill.com has reached a licensing deal with NBCUniversal to sell Dunder Mifflin paper, the Wall Street Journal reports. The letterhead must have been approved by Michael Scott: It carries slogans like "Quabity First" and "Get Your Scrant On." More»

Viewership down 9.3% from year before

(NEWSER) - NBC’s long-struggling ratings are only getting worse as the new television season gets under way. Some 3.3 million 18- to 49-year-olds have been tuning in to the network's primetime offerings over the past four weeks, a 9.3% drop from the year before, the Wall Street Journal reports. And if you leave out NFL games, viewership is down 16% from a year earlier, with just 2.2 million viewers. More»

Some producers agree to pay cuts; no word yet from actors

(NEWSER) - Don't say sayonara to the Simpsons just yet: Sources say several top-level producers will take pay cuts in order to keep the show on the air. Not all of the producers are on board, and cast members have not yet agreed to any terms. Variety notes that any money saved from a producer pay cut likely does not come close to the amount that would be saved if the actors agreed to the 45% reduction demand. But, as Entertainment Weekly points out, all sides believe something will be worked out, because no one wants to see the 23-season-long series end without a real finale. A final decision is expected tomorrow. More»