New spring NBC lineup looks promising

Viewership for the Vancouver Winter Olympics was up 21 percent from the Torino games in 2006. Now NBC hopes to continue their high ratings trend with their new spring lineup. 

The spring lineup will include new shows such as Parenthood, The Marriage Ref, Minute to Win It and Who Do You Think You Are? The new lineup also will include the controversial return of Jay Leno as host of The Tonight Show.

Last year, Jay Leno moved his talk show to the 9 p.m. time slot, while Conan took over the Tonight Show at 10:30.  After seven months, ratings weren’t what NBC wanted to see, and it was announced that O’Brien would no longer host the show. 

Outraged by the news of O’Brien losing his host position on The Tonight Show, artist Mike Mitchell made a poster proclaiming his support for O’Brien that simply said “I’m with Coco”. The “I’m with Coco” poster started a movement as fans held rallies, wore t-shirts and joined a Facebook group of nearly one million members supporting O’Brien. 

“I never really liked Conan that much, but it seems that he appealed to a younger audience. My parents seemed to watch and enjoy Jay Leno a lot more than Conan,” sophomore Kalen Kamm said. Kamm also believes there to be a generational gap between the Leno and Conan fans.

During the Olympics, NBC took advantage of the larger than usual audience to advertise other new shows. NBC strategically placed the pilot of the Jerry Seinfeld produced show, The Marriage Ref, after the closing ceremonies.  Hosted by comedian Tom Papa, the pilot received good ratings but was poorly received by critics.

“It looks like a creative new kind of reality show.  I’d definitely consider watching it,” first-year Peyton Burch said. The Marriage Ref is a television show that Burch believes to look very interesting.

Other new shows include Parenthood, which is based off of the movie of the same name that starred Steve Martin.  It is a comedy and drama that focuses on the joys and struggles of being a family, specifically that of being a parent. 

The show Minute to Win It is a new game show featured on NBC. Contestants are given a series of odd tasks which can lead to a one million dollar prize. 

Who Do You Think You Are? is a show where celebrities trace back their family history.  Celebrities scheduled include Matthew Broderick, Lisa Kudrow, Spike Lee, Sarah Jessica Parker, Susan Sarandon, Brooke Shields and Emmitt Smith.

This season, NBC will also be returning other popular shows from before the Winter Olympic break such as Chuck, Trauma, Law and Order, The Biggest Loser, Community, Parks and Recreation, The Office, 30 Rock and The Apprentice.