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EXCLUSIVE: NBC planning to cancel leading dramas

Submitted by Kevin.Beaumont on December 11, 2008 – 9:26 pmView Comments

Jeff Zucker - NBC

NBC executive Jeff Zucker’s decision to hand Jay Leno an hour each weekday of their schedule means that they will need to cancel between 3 to 5 of their existing dramas and/or reality shows.  Each year it is standard for shows to be cancelled to make way for new blood, but this season will be very brutal.  Since NBC has handed 23% of primetime to Jeno, it means they will not have enough slots to fill their schedule with programming fans love.

We’ve taken a long look at the ratings, and the four lowest rated shows in the 18-49 demo are (in this order): “Life”, “Knightrider”, “Law and Order” and “Kath & Kim”.  It is also possible “Chuck” may face the axe, if NBC chooses not to cancel “Law and Order” and/or “Life”.  L&O is a heavy hitter for the network, but tends to suffer if moved to a different slot.

Zucker’s move will save at least $10m a week in production costs.  However, we question Zuckers assertion in the media this week that broadcast TV is broken.  He also gave an interview yesterday justifying the move, in which he says “All of the Technologies — the computer, internet — did not exist five years ago”.  End Of Show hates to break it to Zucker, but the Internet did exist 5 years ago, and even had movie and TV downloads.  Computers were invented a bit further back in time.

  • Christian
    So NBC wants to cancel shows to make room for some fat, washed up comedian? Jay Leno isn't funny. His humor is mindless and he's the only one laughing after he tells a "joke". If Life is cancelled then I'm done putting any faith in NBC's shows. They always get rid of the ones that require a brain to watch. Pathetic network.
  • Jennifer
    Save Chuck!!!!! Ditch Knight Rider!!!!! Chuck is just getting good, Knight Rider never made it out of the chute!!!
  • Samus
    Seriously?Leno?What is the point of him leaving the tonight show just get another show right before that?Big mistake. All I can really say is that if Life get's the canceled I will never watch another NBC show again because,well,to be honest Life is the only good show on NBC.
  • Kendall
    I don't even know why you even think about shutting down Chuck and life. Mondays are the worst, but once chuck comes on, I'm happy! My family love both of this shows, my brother even dressed like him for Halloween. Life, is a great show! There nothing i can add to that! It just sucks, because if you cancel both of these shows.. there will be nothing on to possibly watch! Jay Leno.. his funny, but he is not worth losing both of my favorite shows! Also, I would think if you cancel BOTH you will lose a lot a lot of fans, cause u will be losing me! Keep both of these shows and lose Kath&Kim, or Nightrider!!
  • Ginny
    Please save Chuck! It's the best show you have!
  • daniel
    ARE YOU GUYS SERIOUS!!!! CHUCK!!!!i will never EVER go near nbc if they cancel chuck. Also Jay Leno.......... do i have to say anything? haha he is just bad. end of story.
  • jenette
    CHUCK is s0-0-0 great, well-cast and well-written, has a great balance between the antics at the BUY-MOre and the spy thriller stuff. Zachary Levi is terrific, and always believable. The characters at the BUY-More are all stellar, esp. Morgan, whose exit toward Hawaii last week was hilarious, and also touching. LONG LIVE CHUCK!! (I don't answer the phone when it's on.)
  • Travis
    I have to be honest there are alot of 'good" shows on, but 'CHUCK' is my all time favorite. I don't believe that we need so many talk shows on at night. They are getting to over populated on the networks. And there are too many Reality shows in my opinion. - What ever happened to good old fashioned action and comedy, with a touch of romance and suspense? Answer - Chuck. I record every episode of Chuck - If the networks are smart they will keep Chuck - the rest of the viewers will start getting tired of talk-shows and realize what real entertainment is about...
  • Ray
    Chuck has great writing and is the one of just three network shows I can't miss every week. It would truly be a pity if they cancel it.
  • shimanorocks
    I have one "must see" show a week, and it's Chuck ! Why on earth would I watch Leno even once a week? give him 5 time slots a week and besides putting 4 production units out of work, to cut costs, you will also lose 4/5 of the revenue from advertisers bcause NOBODY WILL WATCH the same thing 5 times a week in prime time. I know NBC has to have research showing the attention span of an American TV viewer. We would be bored silly in a week or two of Leno if anyone even watched.

    BRING BACK CHUCK !
  • Ivan
    Chuck must be kept!!
    It is by far the best show on NBC and on the tele for that matter!
    My entire family will stop watching NBC if that is canceled
  • Alice
    Keep Chuck! Who cares about Leno. Yawn
  • Salvador
    The two shows on NBC I most looking forward to is Life and Chuck. I think Life is a highly underrated show, please don't cancel the show. Chuck is som much fun to watch, its a real kick. If these two shows are canceled I won't even bother to watch NBC. If a show needs to be axed kill Nightrider.

    SAVE LIFE AND CHUCK OR ELSE
  • Scot
    Zucker is correct. Broadcast TV is broken. The difficult part for the small portion of the viewing public that actually recognizes smart, quality programming (what little there is of it) is that our hands are tied. We must wait for them to figure out how to integrate ratings technologies from both TV and internet broadcasts. I believe what Zucker means is that the percentage of internet viewing 5 years ago was nowhere near what it is today. And they desperately need to track that. Naturally, he misspoke when he said these technologies didn't exist. I watch Life and Heroes online ONLY. I rarely watch TV broadcasts because it doesn't fit my schedule. Bottom line: I believe ratings for brilliantly written shows like Life are skewed because online viewing is not added to the TV broadcast numbers for ratings, at least, not accurately. I applaud NBC for at least attempting to keep pace by having an online presence which allows us to watch programs we missed on TV...even in HD. The hard part for us is that we must wait for this to be sorted out. And how many intelligent programs will pay the price? Time will tell. Meanwhile, they will continue to dump whatever pathetic versions of entertainment they can muster for a low dollar amount to the masses who have so few synapses firing, they will watch anything the major's place in front of them and call "entertainment"; as long as they don't have to think...
  • Julie
    CHUCK is the best show out there, great writing and good humor. There are so many junk show out there to be cancel, DO NOT TOUCH CHUCK!!
  • Susan Rose
    DON'T CANCEL 'LIFE'!!
    IT IS ONE OF THE BEST SHOWS ON TV.
    PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!
  • Lance
    Too much of anything is a bad idea. Check that, a REALLY BAD idea and when Leno fails (which he will in this format) NBC will have given up on some great Dramas (i.e. Chuck & LIFE) with nothing but some 3rd rate hack jobs to fill the void. Who did Jay spy on this time to garner such power? I hope that another network buys these franchises.
  • Jim
    I really enjoy Leno, BUT not @the expense of Life. The Show is GREAT!
  • Joshua
    Jay is ruining my TV watching. realize this is a HUGE gamble if the majority of viewers are like me. I work 2 jobs, and therefore work two jobs. I request monday and wednesday night off because of Chuck nad Life. I watch Heroes and like it but would rather see it cancelled than lose either show. These two shows are my favorite and must watch. I watch other shows from other channels, but they only qualify for the DVR and watch later. Life and Chuck must stay. Reality TV is cheap to make but will drive all viewers away from the TV. I have never stayed up late to watch Leno and when he moves over to that time slot I will still probably watch Jerry Springer over him. Keep up the good work driving your network into the ground!
  • William Conrad
    NBC would be foolish to cancel Chuck or Life. I love Jay Leno......but not more than Chuck or Life. If they do go through with it I can only pray that ABC will pick them up.....bye bye NBC.
  • Jean Porlier
    Great NBC!
    Cancel Life and Chuck!
    Destroy the last reasons why I still watch your network!
    Forget about DVD sales or international markets!
    Who CARES?
    I needed two hours more in the week to surf the net, workout and do other stuff!
    Life is short!
    So is NBC's vison of the market!
  • Izzy
    Oh my god.

    If NBC cancels 'Chuck', I am NEVER again watching any shows on NBC. 'Chuck' is an amazing show and has quite a big fanbase and if NBC cancels 'Chuck', there's gonna be a riot.
  • cole
    How can nbc even consider cancelling life, chuck or heros? If they do bye bye to your ratings all together nbc! Those are some of the best shows on tv right now and that would be just stupid for nbc. Jay leno is way overrated and not funny at all! please nbc dont make a mistake.
  • HOFFABE
    same here if they bail on Knight Rider i'm done with NBC... Period and i know i'm not the only one so talk about ratings suffering then
  • Bravus
    if they cancel Chuck and Knight Rider (especially for Jay Leno!) i swear to god i'll never watch NBC again!
  • annibale mazzoldi
    dont cancel KNIGHT RIDER please this is gotta be one of best shows for nbc this is a icon show legend car give it a chance nbc
  • 23
    If they cancel Knight Rider I will be SO pissed off I will never watch NBC again!
    Knight Rider is the shit!
    And I buy whatever I see advertised on KR.

    REALLY!
  • Melanie
    wow. dont they realize replacing such amazing shows as chuck, life and l&o will be like suicide for the network? these shows have incredible fan bases and its not just about the ratings anymore with tivo. and jay leno? really? hes been around forever and has not yet done anything to impress me. and besides if you're gonna replace such an awesome line-up of shows, atleast get someone funny or entertaining to do it. I'm a huuuge fan of chuck and I would be crushed if it was cancelled. I love nbc for putting on such great shows but if a change like that takes place i will definitely stop watching anything in the network. please reconsider!
  • DallasDavid
    I had hoped that this was just a rumor. It sounds like that bad of an idea. Jay Leno is a bad comedian. Anybody who knows the first thing about comedy, knows you don't explain jokes; he does. You don't break the 3 joke rule; he does. He is lame and should be allowed to retire into well deserved obscurity. David Letterman may not be as nice to his guests, but at least he is funny.
    Bye-bye Mr. Nice Guy.
  • Chuck & The Office are the only shows on NBC that I watch regularly. This decision has nothing to do with substance, its just cheaper for NBC to give Leno an hour in prime-time. I'm sure this will help NBC stay on the cutting edge of television, who wouldn't want to watch 3 hours of talk shows hosted by former comedians 5x a week?
  • Silmarwen
    Heroes, Chuck, and Life are the only shows that exist on your network for me. Letting on or two of these go is a mistake on your part. So, you save money by doing the Leno show. Is it really worth that much to loose devoted viewers? I really think you should all think this through.

    You really need to keep shows that are good on your network. As I've said, in my humble opinion, the shows I've listed above are the only good ones you have.
  • Sheldon
    They better not cancel Chuck!
  • cabri
    And then there's Medium. It actually is in the 10pm slot -- any chance this will be on the schedule in January (or Feb or whenever it's due back)?
  • Danielle
    If they cancel Life and/or Chuck, I promise, and I've never said this before, I will quit watching NBC. And possibly their affiliates. I don't watch Jay Leno, and I will not be happy to have my two favorite shows canceled because of him.
  • Valarie
    I love Chuck and I was just getting into Life! I rarely miss Chuck and Life is good. I got into the show because the DVD was available on sale and I got into it. And now that Leno is claiming eminent domain to 10pm it's not right! I love L&O & SVU because it's hard to find good thinking shows, especially something at a convenient time. If L&O and SVU move to 9pm then I'll have to record it and I imagine NBC won't like that. It's very conflicting.
  • Ali
    I don't want Life or Chuck to be canceled. I watch both of these shows as they're broadcast and I really enjoy them. I may not having a ratings box, but that doesn't mean NBC shouldn't take into account that I'm there watching and seeing all the ads because I don't leave during the broadcast of these two shows. I have no interest in watching Leno during this time, so I definitely won't be tuning in for that.
  • If NBC cancels Chuck or Life, I'll definitely jump ship.
    I wasn't all that crazy about Leno being on an hour a night 5 nights a week anyway and now that I know it'll mean axing shows I love-- *%$# them.
  • Rich
    If NBC cancels Chuck they are going to have allot of fans jump ship. This a great show that was in the top ten things in 2008 in time magazine. It is in a tough spot on but it is holding it's own.
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