Tonight, NBC rolls out its new slate of comedies. Most of us of age remember the heady deays of the 80’s and early 90’s when shows like Seinfeld, The Cosby Show, Cheers, Family Ties, and others dominated the ratings.
And while the network continually blew on the embers for years with some success and a multitude of failures, it has never quite recaptured that water cooler evening of “must watch” sitcoms.
This year, though, NBC may have just found the right mix.
To begin, Saturday Night Live will debut a Thursday night half hour version. It did this last year during the election and was a big success. SNL vet Amy Poehler will be featured.
Then, Amy takes over with her own sitcom, “Parks and Recreation”, now in its first full season. It stumbled a bit last year, but the comedy was solid and by all early reviews looks like it has raised the bar.
At 9:00, the anchor of the lineup kicks off, “The Office”. Now in its sixth season, the Steve Carell juggernaut just keeps on chugging in hilarious, uncomfortable moments.
Then, we have “Community”, a new sitcom featuring “The Soup” host Joel McHale and an actor you may have heard of, Chevy Chase. Again, early reviews are mostly positive. Ain’t it Cool News has labeled it “the funniest new sitcom of the season”.
Finally, once SNL’s Thursday show ends in October, we get our “30 Rock” back, hands down the best sitcom on TV.
Could be a funny year, especially if you tune into NBC.
