David Kronke was appointed Mayor of Television after a bloodless coup in 2000. Since then, he has improved infrastructure, championed greater educational opportunities and fought for reforms that have utterly erased corruption and incompetence from the television industry. Since Mr. Kronke has ascended to power, Television is a far better place. "Friday Night Lights:" Dim, yet still shining
NBC, having previously announced that it'll sandblast its first hour of primetime of that pesky scripted drama in the 2007-08 season, has opted this season to go out in a blaze of glory: Despite underwhelming ratings for its critically admired dramas "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" and "Friday Night Lights," have picked both up for the remainder of the season. "Studio 60's" back nine were ordered last week, while "Friday Night Lights" was offered more life-support today.
“We’re proud to reward an authentic, poignant series like ‘Friday Night Lights’ with a full-season order, demonstrating our confidence in it’s [sic] appeal and quality,� Entertainment president Kevin Reilly was quoted as saying in a press release issued this afternoon. “Television critics and devoted fans have supported the show with well-deserved praise for the executive producers, writers and exceptionally talented cast.� Though the show's praise was deemed "well-deserved" in the press release, it was also "faint" by network hype standards: The phrase "a handful of" was airbrushed from just before the words "devoted fans" in the quote, as was the rhetorical flourish, "After all, what else can we do at this point?"
So: NBC, apparently with not a lot of other options - there're only so many "Deal or No Deals" and "1 Vs. 100s" they can foist upon the public in any given quarter - makes a last-gasp stand for quality programming. Though the network needs to find someplace, anyplace for "Friday Night Lights" - if you think its ratings are low now, just wait until "American Idol" returns. It will be interesting to see what, if any, this announcement has on viewership of tomorrow's episode of "Friday Night Lights." But if this season unjustly winds up costing Reilly his job, as some forecast, he'll at least be able to leave knowing he took the high road. Let's see how that rewards him when he starts looking for his next job.
Comments
This has become one of my favorite shows on television, I'm glad it was picked up for the remainder of the season and I want it to keep going for many more seasons.
Posted by: Adam S. | November 13, 2006 7:45 PM