NBC Entertainment President Jeff Zucker should certainly be commended for not sticking yet another lame sitcom on Thursday nights after "Friends" on his fall schedule.
Instead of adding to a list that includes umpteen crummy shows — including "Inside Schwartz," "The Single Guy," "Union Square," "Jesse" and "Steven Weber" (a k a "Cursed") — Zucker will instead fill the Thursday-at-7:30 p.m. time slot with the best new sitcom of the season. The best new sitcom of last season, that is — "Scrubs."
For the first time in a long time, it will actually be worth it to stick with NBC after "Friends." "Scrubs," which follows the adventures of a young doctor, his friends and co-workers in a big-city hospital, is fresh and funny. Unlike so much of what NBC has been falsely advertising as "must-see TV" for all these years.
But what Zucker is really hoping for is not just a show to follow "Friends" but a show to replace it. As has been ever-so-widely publicized, next season will be the last for "Friends," and NBC is desperate to find a show to replace it.
How important is it that the network make "Scrubs" work? Nothing short of NBC's nearly two-decade dominance on Thursday night may well depend on it.
That dominance has taken some major hits in the past couple of seasons, courtesy of rival CBS. Yes, "Friends" regained the upper hand against "Survivor" this past season, but that sitcom only filled the first half of the 7-8 p.m. hour, and "Survivor" easily won the second half.
And CBS's "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" has become the dominant force from 8-9 p.m., relegating "Will & Grace" and whatever followed it to second-place in the time slot. Even with "Friends" leading the way for NBC, CBS's one-two punch of "Survivor" and "CSI" consistently won the first two hours on Thursday nights.
Only the strength of "ER" at 9 p.m. upped NBC's overall average enough to win the night. And "ER's" dominance might take at least a bit of a hit this fall when CBS follows "CSI" with a new series from that show's producers — "RHD/LA."
Yes, it's the worst new title of the fall — it stands for "Robbery and Homicide Division/Los Angeles." But the title may change before September — don't be surprised if it at least gets shortened to "RHD" — and it may prove more compatible with "CSI."
And come the fall of 2003, NBC is facing the prospect of Thursday nights without "Friends" and with a fading "ER" heading into its 10th season.
Frankly, I think NBC is in trouble. I like "Scrubs" — a lot. But I'm beginning to think that it's just too quirky to ever hold the sort of mass appeal that "Friends" does. Its ratings were OK but not great following "Frasier" on Tuesdays. More alarmingly, "Scrubs" didn't do all that well when NBC aired it after "Friends" a couple of times this past season.
Zucker deserves kudos for keeping "Scrubs" on all of last season and renewing it for a second year — networks don't always give deserving shows a chance to build an audience. But he may not be doing the show any favors by making it the heir apparent to "Friends."
NBC is certainly going to try, however, to make "Scrubs" work. The network has scheduled a "Scrub-a-thon" for later this month — five episodes will air between 7:30 and 10 p.m. on Tuesday, June 25; another two will be seen on Thursday, June 27, at 7:30 and 8:30 p.m.
If you haven't seen much of "Scrubs," tune in and take a look. NBC is certainly hoping you'll enjoy it.
E-MAIL: pierce@desnews.com