NBC has picked up two of its freshman series — Community and Mercy — along with second-year comedy Parks and Recreation for full seasons.
None of the three shows has made a whole lot of noise in the ratings (Mercy is the best of the trio, averaging 8 million viewers a week), but as NBC tries to climb out of its fourth-place hole, it’s opting for a measure of stability in the second half of the season.
Community has earned mostly positive reviews so far and had a solid premiere behind The Office, but its numbers have been only so-so. It’s averaging about 6.3 million viewers per week and a 2.9 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic. NBC does note that it’s one of the most “upscale” shows on TV, drawing a high concentration of viewers with incomes over $100,000.
Parks and Recreation, meanwhile, is sitting at just under 5 million viewers a week, fairly close to 5.2 million it averaged last season. Per NBC Entertainment chief Angela Bromstad, the pickup is more about its creative potential: Parks and Recreation … gets better with every show. We look forward to continuing our creative collaboration with [star] Amy Poehler, [creators] Greg Daniels, Michael Schur, and the rest of the great cast and production team.”
Mercy, while not a powerhouse, has won its Wednesday-night timeslot a couple of times and has shown some ratings growth in recent weeks. The medical drama stars Taylor Schilling, Michelle Trachtenberg and Jaime Lee Kirchner as a trio of nurses.
NBC’s other new series, Trauma, was left off the pickup list. Reason for that coming up later.
Source: Zap2It
