Did comedies like 30 Rock and Parks + Rec hurt NBC in the long term?

Now I don't like The Big Bang Theory and I despise Two and a Half Men (awful show) but I will give CBS credit for one thing: They don't really give a damn about critical acclaim when it comes to their comedies. If its a hit in the ratings then that's all that matters because, despite what you may read on the internet, ratings still matter even in the age of DVR and Netflix.

Idk. I hope not. Two of my favorite shows of all time, The Office and 30 Rock, were NBC comedy of the mid 2000s. It does make you think. The Office was undoubtedly NBC's biggest comedy hit during this period, and it never did AWESOME like sitcoms on CBS (Two and a Half Men, Big Bang), and certainly never killed like Seinfeld, Friends, Will & Grace, and Frasier (the latter two certainly bolstered by success of Friends but also had its own solid fanbases).

I prefer to think that NBC dropped the ball somehow rather than admitting the shows I find funny lack broad appeal, but who freaking knows. Sometimes I think sitcoms on CBS succeed just because they are on CBS. People just watch CBS now. Old people, middle aged people. They put on the same fcking shows every season. multicamera sitcoms and cop/federal agent procedurals.You can't compete with America's love of Mark Harmon as a navy cop in a world where every crime targets the navy/marines! Or where crime scene investigators also do everything else in a criminal investigation for some goddamn reason! Where Charlie Sheen makes the tamest jokes about dicks and pussies and farts!

To get pissed off, just look at the two Sherlock properties popular today. One's on the BBC and the other is CBS. One is outstanding, and the other is a sh!t procedural with a twist! He's Sherlock Holmes! Not some NYC detective! And Watson is a sexy Asian woman! What happens when CBS makes Sherlock and Watson hook up? That's fcked up to me as a reader of Sherlock Holmes. I guess it helps if you just think of it as a CBS procedural with a lead character coincidentally named Sherlock Holmes.

Long rant over. Sorry lol.

I would have a lot of eyes on the other side, wouldn't I? Wouldn't that just be fine?

Well let's just be glad they didn't

Finding sitcoms that hit Big Bang Theory numbers is hard to do. 30 Rock and Parks and Rec last because they get solid target demo ratings, and they are a safe bet to maintain their fan base, where as most new comedies get half the ratings as these shows and no loyal fan base.

I follow what you are saying. For the record, I never watched 30 Rock, Parks and Rec, the Office (American version) or Hollywood Housewives.

My take on it is there was an odd, propped-up, feeding from within by taking actors from SNL and putting them in sitcoms and declaring them successes.

Even if I liked SNL, a show about a late night comedy show would be complete overkill for me.

But Tina Fey's 'success' to me seemed more political minded and a constant attack on Sarah Palin (note every actress that portrays Sarah Palin wins an Emmy).

I recently looked over Falcon's Crest here to recollect some things about that show and noticed it seemed to stay on the air for the entire Reagan presidency (as Wyman was his first wife). I thought that was odd, as well as the need to point out how many episodes Jane Wyman appeared in.

That wasn't a grand show, but it just seemed necessary wife #1 be around for the entire Reagan term.

The same seems to be the case for Murphy Brown, as tho she needed to comment on the Bush years or defend Clinton.

To me, this is all 30 Rock was, and I'm sure Parks and Rec touched on the same thing. If not, not my loss.

In the end, I don't know how the awards help the show (just look over any year of Emmy wins and see how 'popular' or 'well-known' the shows or movies were).

And for the record, I do like Big Bang Theory.

Probably. 30 Rock was great, and much like "The Office" it went on too long and started getting stupid. I still liked it, but the quality was kinda questionable. Honestly the whole show revolved around Jack and Liz, the rest of the regulars were pretty hit and miss the whole run.

Parks and Rec. I don't really get why people like this show so much. Its fine, I don't dislike it, but really it's not that great. First of all, it was just an Office rip off. It evolved from there to becomes it's own thing, but lets be honest.
Secondly, and this really bothers me... Keeping the documentary conceit when it's clear that within the story world they are not part of a documentary. They are just talking out into space when they talk to the camera.
The office worked the film crew into the story through out every season, and the meta show became real in the last season, it all made sense. P&R, as far as I know NEVER stated they were being filmed and other than the fact that they talk to/make faces at the camera all the time, never even intimated it. It's like there's a ghost following them around they all acknowledge, and occasionally address (but only 1 on 1), but refuse to refer to.

Community was great through 3 seasons, and they should have either not fired Harmon or just ended it there. Season 4 killed it. 5 was fine, but the magic was still mostly gone. The train had simply been derailed.

I have never sat through and episode of the big bang theory, or two and a half men. They are simply terrible. Kudos to NBC for at least trying to elevate the playing field even if it didn't work.

I'm just glad they had the sense to keep good comedy on TV for as long as they did.

Although in saying that, Parks and Rec is probably NBCs last comedy pulling any viewers at all, so I'm sure they don't regret letting it stay around for a bit longer.

They only people who should care about shows making money (or not) are studio executives and producers. The crew got paid.

The rest of us can enjoy the fruits of their labor.

30 Rock is perhaps too sophisticated for the current crop of mass media. Critical acclaim is long-term capital. NBC may make "gains" in other terms - prestige, respect, reputation, and maybe interest in 30 Rock or 30 Rock-styled shows may re-surface or intensify, leading to profits in unexpected ways. You never know which wind the culture will blow, but it's better to be known for supporting a good show despite its low ratings than to be a network that does total garbage.

Mass media was always "dumb." 30 Rock targets a certain audience and demographic. As Jack would say, "alternative, elitist..."

If you want to get into the argument about making money, films and shows are one of the worst ways to make money. There are better professions and businesses for that. Films and shows often lose money. The people who do make a decent living or more are rare.

Real income, sadly, comes from total crap. Reality shows, American Idol variety, etc.