"The Jay Leno Show" has been a complete and utter failure.
That, at least, is the conventional wisdom that's emerged in the entertainment media. Hardly a week goes by without some outlet declaring NBC's 10 p.m. talk show gambit to be a disaster of "Pink Lady and Jeff" proportions.
Indeed, the entertainment news media was whipped into a frenzy Thursday when a random local TV news business website posted a report that NBC had already decided to kill Leno -- followed by a TMZ report that the network was moving him back to his old 11:30 slot.
Of course, for months, there's been talk that Jay at 10 is dead show walking. With Comcast coming in as the new parent company, one line of thinking goes, Peacock brass will be able to hide behind the new owners by arguing the folks in Philly simply wanted a fresh start.
Perhaps. But current NBC U chief Jeff Zucker has proven over the years that he doesn't give up easily.
If cancellation isn't an option right now, NBC need not sit back and accept the current situation. There are things the network could easily do to try to boost ratings for Leno -- or perhaps simply limit the damage.
In other words, NBC has options beyond just throwing in the towel. In fact, given how much networks love to study and research and test market ideas, we wouldn't be surprised if some secret group deep inside the bowels of Universal City wasn't putting together a list of possible plays for Zucker right this very minute.
Before somebody leaks out that list, TheWrap decided to put together its own suggestions for how NBC might try to fix its Leno problem.
OPTION 1: ADMIT IT ... IT'S THE SHOW, STUPID.
During the build-up to the show's September launch, Leno and his reps regularly promised his new primetime series wouldn't just be a clone of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."
Then it premiered.
Sure, there was a new set, a new name for the band, a couple of fresh segments and no desk. But otherwise? Jay at 10 has been pretty much the same as Jay at 11:35.
NBC and Leno need to admit that Leno's core "Tonight" audience simply isn't enough to sustain a long-term primetime series. They need to set about figuring out how to create a more compelling hour of television.
It's understandable that both Leno (a well-known creature of habit) and NBC (like all networks, institutionally risk-averse) opted to play it safe out of the gate. Why mess with a 15-year track record of success just to please TV critics who were always going to be snarky about Leno, anyway?
But we're getting close to Hail Mary time here.
Why not include some continuing reality show elements in the broadcast? Something like "The Sing-Off," for example, could have taken place over eight weeks as segments on "Leno."
During the build-up to the show's September launch, Leno and his reps regularly promised his new primetime series wouldn't just be a clone of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."
