NBC Can Strengthen Its Four Current Sitcoms By Reviving One Simple Scheduling Trick

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NBC has four comedies that each show promise, but they might reach more viewers if the network scheduled and promoted them as a group. St. Denis Medical, a new show often compared to Scrubs, has been renewed for a third season, though it hasn’t become a huge hit just yet.

Reba McEntire’s restaurant, Happy’s Place, isn’t winning any awards for fine dining, but it’s doing well overall. Meanwhile, the new mockumentary series Stumble, about competitive cheerleading, is a hidden gem. And the upcoming show The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins has the potential to be as funny as 30 Rock, if people start watching it.

NBC was once famous for its strong lineup of funny sitcoms, particularly in the 1990s and 2010s. However, the network isn’t making the most of its current comedy shows by scheduling them effectively.

NBC Dominated Thursday Nights With Must-See ’90s Sitcoms

From 1994 to 1998, NBC dominated Thursday night television with a hugely popular lineup. The schedule included Friends, Seinfeld, and Frasier in the early evening, followed by the hit drama ER. NBC essentially turned Thursday nights into a must-watch cultural experience.

This network consistently had four shows ranked among the ten most popular on TV, and its comedy lineup regularly attracted nearly 30 million viewers each week. People didn’t just watch a single show – they stayed tuned for the whole night, enjoying a seamless stream of hit programs.

The huge popularity of those shows had a ripple effect. People who tuned in to watch Friends frequently continued watching Seinfeld and Frasier afterward, instantly giving each show a dedicated audience and making Thursday nights a must-watch event for many.

Even successful network shows today, like Abbott Elementary, typically get only 2 to 3 million viewers when first aired on TV, increasing to around 9 million when counting those who stream it later. While there are many more ways to watch TV now, traditional networks are finding it hard to maintain viewership and stick to a consistent schedule.

NBC Recreated Its Comedy Block Model With Its Critical Sitcom Darlings In The 2010s

Around 2011-2013, NBC tried to revive the success of its classic “Must See TV” nights by creating a new comedy lineup on Thursdays. The schedule included Community at 8 p.m., followed by Parks and Recreation at 8:30, The Office at 9 p.m., and 30 Rock at 9:30.

The shows seemed perfect on paper – four clever, unique comedies with dedicated fans and talented creators. But the television world had already changed a lot. With the rise of cable and the beginnings of streaming, the days of everyone watching the same hit shows – like in the 1990s – were over.

Despite being older shows, The Office and 30 Rock were still incredibly popular. At their height, they consistently attracted several million viewers per episode – much more than most comedies on network television today.

This period in television was more about critical success than huge ratings. Shows like the acclaimed sitcom 30 Rock consistently earned awards and praise for their smart writing, talented actors, and unique style. However, looking back, these shows aren’t remembered as massive cultural phenomena, but rather as cherished favorites with a dedicated following – creatively strong shows that flourished even as more people started watching TV in different ways.

Why NBC Stopped Scheduling Its Sitcoms Together

Credit: Ron Batzdorff/NBC

The rise of streaming completely changed how TV shows are scheduled. For years, networks planned programs around strict time slots and commercial breaks, leading to episodes that were usually 22 or 44 minutes long. But with the growth of cable and streaming services, those old time constraints began to fade away.

Episodes of HBO’s Game of Thrones were often nearly the length of a movie, and other streaming services like Netflix started doing the same – most episodes of Stranger Things‘ last season were over an hour long. Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video don’t need their shows to make money, so they can release them at their own pace, as seen with popular shows like Severance, which had a three-year gap between seasons.

The NFL’s addition of Thursday night games created a significant challenge for traditional broadcast networks. This change fundamentally altered the long-standing practice of having a dedicated night for popular TV shows like comedies – what was once known as ‘Must See TV’. Without a consistent night for sitcoms, networks started spreading them throughout the week, often mixing them with different types of programs in an effort to attract viewers.

Rather than carefully planning schedules to build an audience for comedies, networks now often just place them in whatever time slots are available, hoping they’ll succeed based on the popularity of shows around them, instead of through deliberate programming.

NBC Has Excellent Sitcoms That Not Enough People Have Heard Of

While NBC’s comedies generally aren’t given enough credit, the network is actually producing some really good shows. Two examples, St. Denis Medical and Stumble, are clever, character-focused mockumentaries that demonstrate NBC’s ability to create quality comedy, even though they haven’t yet reached a wide audience.

St. Denis Medical is a funny and touching comedy about life in a busy hospital, mixing silly situations with real emotions. It’s become popular enough that NBC renewed it for a third season before the second season even finished – a strong vote of confidence! The show has a friendly, relatable style that often makes comedy lineups successful.

The new mockumentary Stumble playfully pokes fun at the competitive cheerleading world, similar to what’s seen in popular documentaries like Cheer and America’s Sweethearts. Unfortunately, it’s currently airing on Friday nights, a timeslot often used for shows networks aren’t prioritizing.

I’ve noticed NBC is really trying to get viewers for their new show, Stumble. They’re airing reruns of the already popular St. Denis Medical right before it, which is a smart move. Both being mockumentaries, it feels like they could really work well together if NBC built a dedicated comedy night around them. It’s a pairing that has potential, and I’m curious to see if this strategy will pay off.

NBC Should Bring Back Its Thursday Night Comedy Lineup On Another Night

NBC (via MoviesStillsDb)

NBC doesn’t have to focus on recreating its old Thursday night lineup, but it should definitely offer a consistent block of comedy programming again. They already have a good group of current and future shows that would fit well together.

“The Fall & Rise of Reggie Dinkins” would fit perfectly with these other shows. The series stars Daniel Radcliffe and Tracy Morgan as a former football player who’s fallen from grace, and it’s another funny, documentary-style comedy about sports. Having all these shows together would create a strong, consistent brand for the network, instead of feeling like random projects.

Adding a strong comedy night would likely benefit Happy’s Place. While Reba McEntire’s feel-good sitcom has done consistently well, it’s been uncertain if it would be renewed for another season for the past three years. Pairing it with other comedies could help the show attract a more dedicated and consistent viewership.

These days, it’s even hard for dedicated viewers to remember when their favorite shows are on. Because Peacock doesn’t have a huge number of subscribers yet, NBC still needs people to watch on traditional TV, but the show schedules are all over the place. If NBC created a regular, dedicated time slot for comedies, it would be easier for viewers to find them and help the shows gain a larger audience.

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2026-02-14 21:50