NBC has had three very ...
Question: NBC has had three very different shows air after
Heroes this season (
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,
The Black Donnellys, and now
The Real Wedding Crashers) and they've all failed. This is the same problem ABC had with
Lost. For years they tried to launch a hit show after
Lost, but every single one of them failed. Because they couldn't find a show to follow
Lost successfully (and to avoid the
American Idol results show, which by the way has become so bloated it's almost unwatchable), ABC just moved it to 10 pm. Do you think NBC will eventually have to do the same with
Heroes?
Answer: It may be inevitable, but for now, NBC is trying to use
Heroes as a tent pole for the night, and there is an argument that, despite the occasional spurt of grisly violence (the scooped-open heads, for instance), the comic-book tone of
Heroes is better suited for an earlier time period than 10 pm.
Journeyman (which I haven't seen the full pilot of yet) is at least more compatible with the genre of
Heroes than anything NBC tried this year. Whether it can hold on to
Heroes' audience (many of whom may go straight to the electronic watercooler as soon as it's over) and stand up to the mighty mainstream challenge of
CSI: Miami remains to be seen. Few things are as difficult as finding the right show to launch after an unexpected hit.
