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NBC picks up 'Community,' 'Mercy' and 'Parks and Recreation'

Two comedies and one medical drama get back-nine orders from NBC

Friday, Oct 23, 2009 7:18 PM

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Daniel Fienberg
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NBC picks up 'Community,' 'Mercy' and 'Parks and Recreation'

 Taylor Schilling of NBC's 'Mercy'

Credit: NBC
NBC sent several of its bubble shows off for a happy weekend, giving back-nine orders to comedies "Community" and "Parks and Recreation," plus the first-year medical drama "Mercy."
 
None of the three shows is exactly a breakout ratings smash this fall, but given NBC's position, none of the pickups was really a surprise. Still, NBC's press release announcing the full-season orders has to do a lot of ratings double-talk.
 
"Community," for example, is averaging a 2.6 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 5.7 million viewers, but those numbers are inflated by a big premiere and by the time "Community" did airing after "The Office." Spinning the 8 p.m. Thursday performance for "Community," NBC boasts that the show as "has improved the time period by 12 percent in adults 18-49 versus NBC's average in the time period earlier this season." That's another way of saying the comedy hasn't done as poorly as "Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday." 
 
More significantly, NBC boasts that "Community" is one of TV's most upscale shows, ranking third in "concentration of homes with $100,000-plus incomes in its adult 18-49 audience." Good luck figuring out what that means.
 
"We are very pleased with the critical and audience reaction to our wonderful new comedy 'Community,'" states Angela Bromstad, NBC's president for primetime entertainment. "The cast and producers are delivering a first-rate, quality show that is very promising as the newest of NBC's first-rate Thursday-night comedies."
 
Speaking of Thursday comedies, "Parks and Recreation" has found a vast reservoir of critical appreciation in its second season, but ratings haven't necessarily followed. That being said, Thursday's episode drew 4.9 million viewers, a season high.
 
"'Parks and Recreation' has proven to be a steady performer for us on Thursday nights and gets better with every show," Bromstad adds. "We look forward to continuing our creative collaboration with Amy Poehler, Greg Daniels, Michael Schur, and the rest of the great cast and production team."
 
As for "Mercy," while the series has only averaged a 2.1 rating in the 18-49 demo, its 7.8 million viewer average is one of NBC's highest. In additional, "Mercy" has been regularly winning its soft Wednesday time period in total viewers.
 
"This drama has found a dedicated audience and continues to build in the ratings," Bromstad states. "We've seen future episodes and we're confident 'Mercy' can be a strong player for us." 
 
As for "Trauma"? Well, we think NBC may be trying to tell the Monday night drama something.
Related Searches: NBC, Community, Mercy, Parks and Recreation, orders

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  • Default-avatar

    Fido

    Yay!! for Mercy, loving the show.

    October 23, 2009 at 7:59PM EST Reply to Comment
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    Bob

    Parks & Recreation "gets better with every show"?
    Gosh, maybe by next season it will be as "good" as Hank...

    October 23, 2009 at 11:57PM EST Reply to Comment



  • I really enjoyed the music on NBC’s Mercy tonight. All of the bands fit well into the scheme of the shows plot. What really hit me was a song that I needed to find out. The lyrics in the song had the words “fast enough”. When I searched this further I discovered that this these lyric came up on google with Sally Jaye, and upon further searches I got the lyrics. Here they are:

    You were a good girl with straight As and manners
    Til somebody hurt you, polite didn't matter
    You missed the collection plate, fell asleep in church today
    There's blood on your pretty white dress, look at your head its a mess

    (chorus)
    You're giving it up, but not fast enough
    You're giving it up, but change never comes

    You can lie on your back and let him have his way
    He's gonna like that, then hell go away
    You're in good company getting by on sweet
    Sweet is just your way when you don't know what to be
    You give ‘em a smile but there's something underneath
    How can you feel so bad when you're on your knees

    (chorus)
    You're giving it up, but not fast enough
    You're giving it up, but change never comes

    Bridge

    Wake me up from this bad dream
    I don't wanna feel these things
    Wake me up from this bad dream
    I don't wanna feel this

    (chorus)
    You're giving it up, but not fast enough
    You're giving it up, but change never comes

    November 12, 2009 at 6:56PM EST Reply to Comment

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