The blogs are all atwitter. NBC is finally owning up to the Leno Experiment’s failure. Sure, they can blame the affiliates all they want to. I guess it’s pretty damn unreasonable to want, you know, competitive ratings at 10 and 11. The nerve of those guys, eh?
I’m not a late night guy, so I’m not going to be watching Leno or Conan no matter when, or what network they eventually end up on (though I hate that I miss out on Fallon … I really dig his show and style). What I am excited about is the potential of five more hours of scripted network television (yeah, so it’s probably an hour of Dateline, some reality, and most likely two hours, but a dude can dream, right?). It’s a damn shame that NBC has walked away from some good television these past two years, because I’ve got five ideas for what they should be airing.
Monday: Journeyman
Probably one of my favorite shows that never got the chance it deserved. Journeyman was a smart, well acted drama that proved to everyone — who didn’t watch Rome — that Kevin McKidd was a comer. This generation’s Quantum Leap was canceled after its opening thirteen episodes, a victim of the 2007 Writer’s Guild strike (and, as Brett will assuredly remind me on most of these, so-so ratings).
Tuesday: Life
At least they gave Life two seasons to prove that it didn’t work (though its ratings would still beat Leno’s on most nights). Life was about as unique a police procedural as you’ll find, because Damian Lewis’s Charlie Crews was just so damn odd. But it was a great mix of case-of-the-week and ongoing arc that most procedurals just can’t pull off.
Wednesday: Friday Night Lights
A bit of a cheat, because the Peacock network still has it, but only because DirecTV saved the day. Sure there were some missteps in season two, and the cast has seen quite a bit of turnover in season four, but it’s still great television, thanks in large part to standouts Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton.
Thursday: Southland
It’s renewed! Oh wait, no it’s not. Eventually saved by TNT, Southland is one of two specific victims of Leno on this list. I’m glad its gotten more of a chance, but I never thought it was a right fit for TNT. Back on NBC in ER‘s slot — because it will always be ER‘s slot in my eyes — is a much better fit.
Friday: Medium
CBS sure did seem to pull off a nice coup with this move, didn’t they? Medium has always had a strong following, and has found a nice niche on Friday nights. NBC’s move to cancel the show last year made little sense if you take Leno out of the equation, just another piece of proof that they made the wrong call.
Or just bring back The West Wing … I said a dude can dream, right?
Clacked by Ivey West 
on Jan 12, 2010 @ 11:00 EST5EDT
wow, i would love a return of “jorneyman”. it was an amazing show, but the slow build-up of its story arcs unfortunately doomed it. that slow build-up is also what made it great.
LIFE was a show that should have been kept, and I would love to see it brought back to the schedule. As for the big deal about LENO/CONAN–I love the image that Leno has as the nice guy. People should read “Nite Shift”. If it were not for the change of bandleaders, and a couple of lucky breaks–one with a “Hooker”, and our English Actor friend–he would have always trailed LETTERMAN. Has anyone ever wondered why he has never won an Emmy, or been asked to host the Oscars? Personaly, I haven’t found him funny for a least the last 10 years, and I was an early supporter of his–until I found about the “Real” LENO. It is to bad his original manager, Helen, didn’t live long enough to get her book published.
Haha, I don’t like any of these shows.
Could have picked up Boston Legal too. :-p
You are a Jimmy Fallon fan? I didn’t know he had fans!
No mention of Studio 60? For shame! :)
*POST AUTHOR*
You’ll not find a bigger fan of Studio 60 than me (Hell, I watched the “West Coast Delay” last night), but I’m also smart enough to know that the show plain didn’t work for 99% of the people out there. They couldn’t look past the parts they didn’t like to find the parts they could enjoy.
But this is your wish list, no? ;)
*POST AUTHOR*
Nope… I don’t even watch two of the shows. It was what I think they should be showing. If it were my list, it would include The West Wing and ER, moreso than Studio 60.
Listen, I loved Studio 60, and thought parts of it were brilliant. But, as a whole, it wasn’t better than any of the five shows I listed in the original post. I liked it more, but that doesn’t mean it was better.
An alternate explanation was true in my case; far from being unable to see them, there were no parts of Studio 60 I could enjoy.
As for Southland, apparently one of the benefits of airing on TNT is that much less of the language needed to be bleeped out. And the pilot re-ran with additional footage, and without or with fewer commercials.
I’m still very sad about Life, I love that show. Not loved, love.
Thomas…. me too. I still break out the DVDs.
Damian Lewis is Teh Hot.
Quirky, damaged cops are always good viewing… I think, mainly, because the writers can really be unconventional. “Life” was something special. I don’t hold out hope for it though…. “Keen Eddie” and “Touching Evil (U.S. Version)” were brilliant too….
Oh Keen Eddie … one of my all-time favorites, as short-lived as it was. *sigh*
Oh, to imagine a world where Studio 60 and Life are going strong with new episodes and everything…bliss.
Journeyman and Life are two shows I still miss. If NBC finally got it’s peacock’s head out of it’s, well, if they could see straight why not bring back some of these shows? If the actors are available, what else has NBC got to offer? I fear you might be right about some newsmagazine and reality, neither of which will get my eyes on the screen.
Just so typical of what Nothing But Canceled has done over the last few years. I miss and love Life too!
Life! I’m pained whenever I think of that show. Loved it. Broke my heart to watch NBC put it up against top ten shows, not promote it and finally cancel it. Sigh.
Nice list, though the heading is wrong. “Should’ve been airing” instead of Leno at 10. I hate it when a heading teases me like this and then doesn’t deliver. I would’ve been perfectly fine if you had titled it “Shows that were killed by the Leno at 10 experiment”.
This way I feel cheated TV Squad style.
Damn straight. I have hated NBC ever since they deep-sixed the best cop show ever, IMO, Life. And Journeyman rocked…. I was depressed when it ended. I even liked DSM.
Fortunately, Southland lives again on TNT, which could eat NBC’s lunch in the programming dept.