So a couple weeks ago, I hopped on board the bandwagon for Nobody’s Watching, a highly amusing, rejected sitcom pilot from Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence that found an unexpected lease on life on YouTube. (You can catch the show, broken into three segments — and with brilliant cameos from Friends’ Gunther and Alan Thicke — here, here, and here.) Now, according to the New York Times, executives from NBC (which initially passed on the show), as well as ABC and Comedy Central, are taking a second look.
What’s really interesting to me about the Times piece (and thanks to TV Tattle for the heads up) are some of the details of Nobody’s Watching’s journey from a favored prospect in The WB’s development roster to total TV toxicity, including the way test audiences began wondering if the show’s plot was too confusing — after screening organizers raised the issue for them. And almost as funny as the show itself is the way Lawrence describes how he and his partners wanted their agents to find the show a home after The WB passed on it, "only to have the agents begin to beg them not to make them mortify themselves that way."
Anyhow, if I ruled the programming world, I’d put Nobody’s Watching on NBC, as part of a Thursday-night block with The Office, My Name Is Earl, and the promising 30 Rock. How and where would you schedule the show, providing that you think it’s worth picking up in the first place?
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If the “geniuses” at NBC Programming (who obviously have such a plethora of promising comedies to choose from that they can pass on something from the creator of one of the most critically acclaimed programs of the last five years) don’t follow your suggestion, then they should pair it with Scrubs when football ends in January. Then they’d have two fantastic programs with terrible ratings. I’m sure the plot was “too confusing”. The programming executives probably had to THINK; that’s what killed it.
Regarding Scrubs, a show I love more than anything else on the air: The source of my confusion may be that I live in the tri-state area, but it seems like almost everyone I speak watches (and loves) Scrubs, yet the ratings are in the toilet. This seems like a show that would work for the flyovers as well – how is this happening?
I thought it was a little annoying, so I probably wouldn’t watch it at all.
“How and where would you schedule the show, providing that you think it’s worth picking up in the first place?”
This is what happened to Paul Campbell after “Battlestar Galactica?” Depressing.
Simply because I don’t want more competition against ‘Grey’s’ and ‘CSI’, I’d leave ‘Earl’/'Office’ as is and do a block with ‘Scrubs,’ ‘Nobody’s Watching’ and ‘30 Rock’… with the fourth show ?? But I think a show by Bill Lawrence about TV would be a good show between a show by Bill Lawrence and a show about TV.
Watched this a couple of days ago and all I can say is, “Show Me That Smile Again!”
Oops, I meant to say ‘a good fit’ in amongst those other shows
Funny that with Emmy nominations this week, the best comedy I found was on YOUTUBE.Com, it really does show how outdated the medium of television is getting. The dinasour in your living your. TV was described once as a vast wasteland, funny, today is just seems a little more vast and empty than in the past.
Cool.
You should bring back Must See Thursday with 4 of the only good sitcoms left: My Name Is Earl, Nobody’s Watching, Scrubs, and The Office
30 Rock is more than promising. I’m salivating for it. Sorkin? Drama? Amanda Peet? What more can a red blooded man desire from an insidery show on the comedy writing process under network deadlines?
This is a great show. The funny thing is that I’m sitting here the whole time, in full attention, watching this cancelled show on my laptop, while my super-fancy HDTV was on in the background, playing some “network-approved” show, completely ignored.
It’s already been said, but this is the funniest, most original thing I’ve seen in a while. I love the fact that the show really picks up on the disenchantment most of us feel about network TV, and sitcoms in particular.
The way that they turn a “studio audience” into an active character in the show is probably the most brilliant idea ever to hit a sitcom.
NBC! PICK UP THIS SHOW!!!
I would definitely watch “Nobody’s Watching”. My favorite line (said by the older exec guy about one of the young leads): “Oh, he’s just a plateful of yummy.” Hilarious! If you paired this show with Scrubs, it would be perfect! I do agree with Josh, though, that you shouldn’t put this or Earl/Office on Thursdays at 9 because of the insane competition from Grey’s and CSI. So I would put this and Scrubs on Tuesday at 9, or Wednesday at 8 since right now there’s nothing good on at that time, IMO.
BTW Ron, you are thinking of “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip”, the hourlong dramedy from Sorkin. “30 Rock” is a sitcom from Tina Fey.
Considering their entire premise is to be a self-aware sitcom, I wonder if they will ever address the whole issue of having the studio audience being paid to be there and provide laughs. I remember taking a tour through CBS studios a few years ago and asking the guide if the actors ever knew that some of the audience was often paid paid to be there (some of my friends in LA used to make quick cash doing this in between jobs) and she replied that they would never tell the actors because it might bruise their egos. She said that some actors did know already, but the one person who they couldn’t tell was Ted Danson, because he really felt everyone was there to see him on Becker. I thought that was hilarious.
I would assume it’s due to the creators of the show, but just like Scrubs and Family Guy teh show tends to be a bit over-the-top and in-love-with-itself at times. Still it’s fairly inventive and certainly original. I would watch it, but I would also hope they tone it down a little (though this never happened with either Scrubs or Family Guy, so I won’t hold my breath).
I liked the beginning when it was more free-form but when it got to the different sets (especially the ‘Friends’ set) I felt like it was becoming too formulaic and I could see why a net exec would pass…
I would watch it, as long as it stayed sharper like the beginning (fav line: I would totally call my dad if I had one!). Plus, can we get some people of color on the show if it’s picked up, just a couple…
It definitely is fun, I don’t know what kind of legs it would have. I think the Thurs. lineup would be perfect, and the characters would appreciate the torch they were asked to carry.
I’d definitely watch it. It’s a little rough, but it’s very much like Scrubs. It wouldn’t be bad if it got picked up by Scrubs’ network and paired with them. Then we’d have a zany, surreal hour of comedy. But I hope one of them takes it on because of the Net buzz.
I thought it looked awesome ! Finally, something on TV that’s conscious of the cliches from other shows !
Hey, I’d watch just for Billy.
Paul Campbell’s pretty darn funny on top of being completely adorable.
I really liked it. It was one of the more original shows I’ve seen in a long time, and it really had that Scrubs vibe all over it (Scrubs is one of my favorite shows). I didn’t find it confusing while watching it. But I did have a hard time explaining it to my husband. I finally just told him to watch it himself. I hope NBC reconsiders and gives this show a shot as a mid-season replacement. I agree with the person who said it would pair up perfectly with Scrubs.
if you guys liked that, and you enjoy funny things on YouTube, check out this vid me and my buddies made. It takes place in the office: 2 co-workers get locked in the copy room and sniff ink. things get crazy.
Wow. Way funnier than Teachers and look which one got picked up. It only goes to show that thoes t.v. exes dont know what their doing. I would definatly watch this one.
I just watched the first segment of this potential show and loved it. Someone please make this happen.