I returned to Squawk Alley — and the New York Stock Exchange — today to talk about yesterday’s Quartz story on how Netflix is saving sitcoms, starting with Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. I also was able to touch on my reporting for my Adweek cover story on the state of network comedies.
It was a fun segment as always, and you can watch it here. (As usual, they’ve superimposed the CNBC logo over the Kimmy Schmidt clips they apparently aren’t allowed to stream.)
What was NBC to do when the network — which has forgotten how to launch and nurture new comedies — found itself with one of the best midseason series, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt? The only logical thing to ensure the show’s survival: give it to Netflix. As I wrote at Quartz,
As Netflix continues to change the way viewers watch TV, in the process evolving from a niche outlet to one that wants to be all things to all people, the streaming service has also done something unexpected: it’s helping to save the network sitcom.
While many new sitcoms are canceled long before they have time to hone their comedic voice and tailor the show to the strengths of its actors, Netflix’s two-season commitment to Kimmy Schmidt ensures the sitcom will get the breathing room it needs to find its comedic bearings. And while Netflix’s binge-loving audience gravitates toward serialized dramas like Breaking Bad, Kimmy Schmidt proves that this can also be an ideal method to watch comedies as well:
And while Kimmy Schmidt episodes might not end with a traditional cliffhanger designed to carry you over to the next episode, like Netflix’s dramas ordinarily do, the show boasts plenty of comedic momentum. Out of the first six episodes I’ve seen, each ones gets stronger and stronger, as Fey and co-creator Robert Carlock build out their world and slowly layer in more laughs. The fourth episode is by far the funniest, packed with uproarious pop culture riffs and a disturbing yet riveting turn from guest star Martin Short. In a normal broadcast environment, many viewers would have thrown in the towel long before that point.
There’s much more in my Quartz story, including an explanation why NBCUniversal ends up the biggest winner in the show’s migration to Netflix, and an explanation from Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos as to why this is such an “interesting turning point” for the industry. It’s somewhat of a companion piece to last month’s Adweek cover story on the not-so-funny state of network sitcoms.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt debuts tomorrow on Netflix. Make sure you watch; every episode gets better and better!
Netflix’s newest debut proves it might be the modern sitcom’s last hope
While I’ve written dozens of stories for Adweek’s site since last fall, I hadn’t yet written anything for the actual magazine — until today. I made my Adweek print debut in the best and biggest possible way: with a pair of cover stories tied to Thursday’s Two and a Half Men series finale.
In addition to my Jon Cryer Q&A, I also spoke with a dozen network presidents, comedy showrunners and sitcom stars for this deep dive into the not-so-funny state of broadcast comedy as two more long-running sitcoms prepare to say farewell. As I wrote,
With CBS’ How I Met Your Mother closing shop last year, Two and a Half Men wrapping this week, and Parks and Recreation—NBC’s top-rated sitcom in adults 18-49, airing its series finale on Feb. 24—broadcast comedy is in a state of transition. While formidable comedy blocks remain on Sunday night on Fox (The Simpsons, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Family Guy), Thursday on CBS (Big Bang, Mom, Men) and Wednesday on ABC (The Middle, The Goldbergs, Modern Family, Black-ish), sitcom ratings are down across the board, and this season is littered with failures: ABC’s Manhattan Love Story and Selfie, NBC’s A to Z and Bad Judge, Fox’s Mulaney, and CBS’ The McCarthys and The Millers (the latter last year’s top-rated sitcom in 18-49 but canceled this season after just four episodes).
The news seems grim, but no one is ready to pull the plug on network comedies:
Despite all the struggles, in conversations with network executives, showrunners, stars and media buyers, a surprising consensus emerges: There is still plenty of fight left in the sitcom. Comedy might not be the dominant broadcast force it was a decade ago, but it is still an essential part of the TV landscape and everyone remains optimistic that the next hit could happen as early as, well, this week.
This was such a fascinating and fun story to report and piece together, thanks to invaluable insights from network presidents like CBS’s Nina Tassler and Fox’s Dana Walden, comedy executive producers like Mike Schur (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Parks and Recreation), Mindy Kaling (The Mindy Project), Stephen Falk (You’re the Worst), Robert Garlock (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) and Chris Miller (The Last Man on Earth) and sitcom stars like Cryer, Kaling and Billy Gardell (Mike & Molly).
Almost all of them arrived at the same conclusion: it’s only a matter of when, not if, the next hit sitcom is created.
Hollywood remains solidly confident that TV’s next great comedy is just around the corner. “Television’s a very cyclical business,” points out Walden, noting that when she started at 20th Century Fox Television in 1992, the powers that be had decided dramas were done. Then, the studio developed The X-Files for Fox and Steven Bochco created NYPD Blue for ABC, and they were suddenly hot again. “You can’t ever rule out a genre of storytelling,” says Walden. “There’s going to be another breakthrough comedy, and then we’re going to say, ‘Oh, comedy is back!'”
In addition to following the link and reading the whole story, make sure you pick up this week’s issue!
The first day of TCA winter press tour is in the books, and I rounded up the highlights from Netflix, ESPN and National Geographic Channel for this Adweek story.
Among the highlights: Tina Fey talked about why her new NBC sitcom, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, ended up on Netflix instead:
Given the grim fate of this season’s new broadcast sitcoms (RIP, Manhattan Love Story, Selfie, A to Z and Bad Judge), Fey couldn’t be happier about her show’s unlikely new home. “All of the networks have had a little trouble launching their comedies this season,” said Fey. “I think more people will find us like this.” For ambitious comedies like Community (which migrated to Yahoo Screen after NBC canceled it last May) or Kimmy Schmidt, “it just makes more sense than broadcast.”
The sad truth: Even NBCUniversal realized that its own network wasn’t the ideal place to nurture Fey’s new sitcom. “The show is made by NBC; it’s in NBC’s best interests for the show to have its best home,” said Fey. “And rather than trying to stick it on NBC between a multicam and a drama, they agreed that this would be the right place for it.”
There’s also lots of detail on Netflix’s grand ambitions to be “something for everyone” and ESPN adding short films to SportsCenter.
NBC Ditched Tina Fey’s New Sitcom—and She Couldn’t Be Happier
I was very surprised by the announcement late Friday night that Netflix had acquired NBC’s midseason comedy Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, one of the NBC shows I was most looking forward to this season. Two days earlier, it had picked up the high-rated but old-skewing Longmire, which A&E had canceled after three seasons. In my Quartz analysis, I noted,
Gone are the days where Netflix tried to make a splash with programming you couldn’t find anywhere else on TV, most notably Orange is the New Black. While cable networks like USA and AMC are trying to save themselves by retrenching and focusing on what they do best, Netflix is taking the opposite approach: it wants to be everything to everyone.
For years, Netflix had said its goal was “to become HBO faster than HBO can become us.” But now, it has even loftier ambitions: it wants to be all things to all people.
Forget beating HBO: Netflix just revealed it has much bigger goals in mind