TV Bulletin Board (Thurs., March 20) -- NBC renewals a boon for network's still potent big bad Wolf
03/20/14 15:28
By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
One of his long-running drama franchises has wound down to the still surviving Law & Order: SVU. But producer Dick Wolf is now happily immersed in another one.
NBC has renewed both of Wolf’s latter-day creations, Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D., while still holding back on an expected go-ahead for Wolf’s SVU, currently in its 15th season.
The Peacock’s package of official returnees for next season also includes Grimm, Parks and Recreation, The Blacklist, Celebrity Apprentice and The Voice. On the sports front, Sunday Night Football of course is a lock. That still leaves a number of series awaiting their fates, including Community, Hannibal, About a Boy, Growing Up Fisher, Parenthood and Revolution.
NBC still ranks No. 1 this season among advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds. It’s been 10 years since the network has been ahead this late in the season among viewers who comprise TV’s most sought-after demographic.
NBC also continues to roll in late night, particularly with Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show. For the week of March 10-14, Fallon crunched runner-up Jimmy Kimmel in total viewers by a score of 4.260 million to 2.830 million in the national Nielsens, with CBS David Letterman at 2.778 million.
Among 18-to-49-year-olds, Fallon led with 1.676 million, with Kimmel (965,000) and Letterman (699,000) both far behind.
Seth Meyers’ NBC Late Night also beat CBS’ Craig Ferguson in both ratings measurements.
It’s still been just a month since Fallon took over from Jay Leno. But so he’s been an unqualified success story, exceeding NBC’s expectations.
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