NBC grasps for its good old days

If you visit NBC these days, you may catch a sweet whiff of nostalgia.
At least, it was there when the network (and its Peacock streamer) held a daylong press session Monday (Aug. 10). There was talk of old concepts, old heroes, old shows (including the “Rockford Files” reboot, shown here) and the good old days.
“We’re bringing back must-see TV,” insisted Gail Lerner, the “Newlyweds” producer.
Others talked about the resilience of some concepts, including shows with struggling private investigators.
“P.I shows are so rich, because you get a ton of great guests and great stories,” said actor-producer Jake Johnson.
His “Sunset PI” feels like a reboot; “Rockford Files” actually is one: David Boreanaz (who sort of looks like James Garner did in the original) drives some of the same1966 Pontiac GTO’s that Garner did.
One show, Peacock’s “Crystal Lake,” goes to an extreme: Set in 1958, it’s a prequel to “Friday the 13th,” with exteriors shot in the same town (population 493, in a township of 5,700). “Fans make pilgrimages to Blairstown, N.J.,” said producer Brad Caleb Kane.
Granted, many people might not be nostalgic about films with teen campers being slashed to death. More might fondly recall the “must-see” days.
In 1996, NBC had the six most-watched shows — five comedies (all multi-camera, shot in front of an audience) and “ER.” Last season, sports excluded, it had nothing in the top 20.
There’s a flip side, as was pointed out by Pearlena Igbokwe, head of the Universal Studios TV division, which fuels NBC and Peacock.
NBC was No. 1 in total viewers (once you include its football powerhouse), she said. “America’s Got Talent” is on a 20-year-run as the top summer show. Peacock has just finished its top June (thanks to the World Cup) and top July, thanks to “the cultural phenomenon of ‘Love Island.'”
The network semi-prospers via football, Dick Wolf’s “Chicago” and “Law & Order” dramas and reality shows. This fall, a spin-off of Peacock’s “Traitors” will join “The Voice” … which, at mid-season, adds its first celebrity edition.
But the new shows are still key. Presented at the press day were:
— “Line of Fire,” starting Sept. 21, with big lead-ins from “America’s Got Talent” and then “The Voice.” Peter Krause plays a Secret Service agent, in a family that includes two FBI people, another Secret Service one and a new Department of Justice researcher. It gets quite dark and complicated, but producer Joshua Safran promises that despite the overarching story, we’ll get the traditional basics: “You’re going to follow a full case every week.”
— “Newlyweds,” Oct. 23. Tea Leoni and Tim Daly, ages 60 and 70, play people who have a later-in-life marriage, which they do in real life. Jamie Lee Curtis, a producer and co-star, heralds the fact that it will be alongside Reba McEntire’s “Happy’s Place,” with both shows done before a live audience. “It’s must-see free TV.”
— “The Rockford Files.” Like Fox with “Baywatch,” NBC will hold its most promising show until January. It starts with Rockford emerging from prison (framed, he says) and propels him into a fast, fun story. Like the original, it savors the Los Angeles landscape. “I don’t think you can shoot ‘Rockford Files’ anywhere else,” producer Mike Daniels said.
— “Sunset P.I.,” a mystery-solving comedy, starts in February. Johnson and Jane Levy play dueling detectives, employed by an old pro, 30 years past his peak. “I get to lean into my inner curmudgeon,” Keith David said.
— “Crystal Lake,” in which Linda Cardellini plays an early version of the slasher mom in “Friday the 13th.” It’s a compelling performance, ranging from gentle pathos to deep fear and unstoppable rage. “It’s an adrenaline rush, sort of a fun, wild ride,” Cardellini said.
That one is on Peacock, not NBC, and has all eight episodes on Oct. 16, in time to get us in the mood for Halloween.
Peacock also showed the first two episodes of the second season of “The Paper,” not yet scheduled. Like the first-season showed, they ripple with offbeat humor.