Leno Ratings Doomed...as Is the Future of Network TV

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»

NBC won't renew if he decides to run

(NEWSER) - If Donald Trump decides to run for president, NBC plans to tell him he’s fired. The network hasn’t renewed The Apprentice yet, or done any serious planning about the next season, because it’s holding its breath to see if Trump will formally jump into the 2012 fray, the New York Times reports. If he does, the network will likely put off a new season of the show because it’s afraid other candidates could request equal airtime. More»

Unless, of course, he wants to appear as the musical guest...

(NEWSER) - Conan O’Brien’s new show debuts Monday, and there’s one person you should never expect to see as a guest: Jay Leno. “No, there are certain things I will not do, regardless of the price,” O’Brien tells Playboy , although he adds that Leno “can come as the musical guest, because that I want to see.” O’Brien adds that his goal for his new show is “eight months on the air. All I want to do is break my Tonight Show record.” More»

Jay's ratings trend is now lower than his rival's

(NEWSER) - Checked out Jay Leno's ratings lately? They've flattened out since his return to the 11:30 slot, and he's now back even with Letterman. In fact, TV by the Numbers compares his ratings trend with that of Conan O'Brien's when he ran the Tonight Show and says Leno has fallen two-tenths of a point below the man he replaced. More»