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TV This Week

Last hurrah for Thursday’s smart sitcoms

'The Office' and '30 Rock' will end this season

By Toni Fitzgerald

September 20, 2012

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This will be a season of transition for NBC’s vaunted Thursday comedy lineup.

“The Office,” which premieres tonight at 9 p.m., and “30 Rock,” which returns Oct. 4, are entering their final years.

For the past eight seasons, “Office” has been the backbone of NBC’s Thursday lineup and “Rock” has served as a trusty fill-in, moving from timeslot to timeslot wherever the network needed a boost.

In fact, “Office” led the revival of NBC’s Thursday night comedy lineup, after the network briefly attempted to program reality and dramas on the night following the departure of “Friends.”

“Office” premiered in 2005, but it didn’t become a hit until it was paired with “My Name is Earl” on Thursdays a year later, leading to a six-year run of strong comedies on the night.

“Office” was by far the highest-rated, but all the shows attracted an upscale, educated audience that advertisers have paid well to reach. And the Thursday comedies have been universally critically lauded, from “Community” to “Parks and Rec” to the latest show to join the lineup, “Up All Night.”

“Office” could have hung around for a few more years, despite the ratings declines after Steve Carell left at the end of season seven.

Even without Carell, the show was NBC’s top-rated scripted show last season among adults 18-49, according to Nielsen, averaging a 2.8 rating.

But with an “Office” spinoff in the works starring Rainn Wilson’s Dwight, this seems like the right time to leave.

The only question left is whether Carell will return sometime this season. Expect a ratings spike if that happens.

A look at this week's top TV draws
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	ABC	"Wipeout" (R)	Season finale. Teachers try their hands at the obstacle course in front of their students.
9 p.m.	NBC	"The Office" (C)	Season premiere. The comedy kicks off its ninth and final season.
9 p.m.	WE	"Braxton Family Values" (R)	Season finale. Toni performs with her sisters while on vacation.
9 p.m.	Lifetime	"Project Runway" (R)	Debra Messing is the guest judge as the designers create costumes for the Rockettes.
10 p.m.	NBC	"Rock Center with Brian Williams" (N)	Can the newsmagazine maintain momentum coming off last week's series-high rating?
10 p.m.	FX	"Wilfred" (C)	Season finale. Final episode of the season is titled "Secrets."
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	NBC	"2012 ALMA Awards" (A)	Eva Longoria and George Lopez host the annual event.
8 p.m.	HGTV	"The White Room Challenge" (R)	The design competition returns from a hiatus.
8:30 p.m.	Disney Channel	"Code: 9" (R)	Kids pull a prank on their mom at a yoga studio.
9 p.m.	Starz	"Boss" (D)	In secret, the mayor gets treatment at an alternative clinic.
10 p.m.	Syfy	"Haven" (D)	Season premiere. Duke and Nathan search for Audrey while the town endures more strange occurrences.
10 p.m.	TLC	"Secret Princes" (R)	Series premiere. Kind of like "Bachelor Pad" in Atlanta, except the four participants are real-life princes.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 22
Time	Network	Program	Description
2 p.m.	NBC	"PGA Golf" (S)	The Tour Championship, the final event of the FedExCup playoffs.
3:30 p.m.	Fox	"Major League Baseball" (S)	Regional games could include Dodgers-Reds and Braves-Phillies.
7:30 p.m.	NBC	"College Football" (S)	Traditional rivalry game between Michigan and Notre Dame in South Bend.
8 p.m.	ABC	"College Football" (S)	Tough ACC game between Clemson and Florida State.
8 p.m.	Lifetime	"Last Hours in Suburbia" (M)	A teenage girl tries to clear herself after being accused of causing a deadly car accident.
11:30 p.m.	NBC	'Saturday Night Live" (C)	Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt hosts and Mumford and Sons perform.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23
Time	Network	Program	Description
1:30 p.m.	NBC	"PGA Golf" (S)	Final round of the Tour Championship, won last year by Bill Haas.
8 p.m.	ABC	"Emmy Awards" (A)	The 64th annual event, hosted this year by Jimmy Kimmel.
8:15 p.m.	NBC	"Sunday Night Football" (S)	Rematch of last year's AFC Championship game between Baltimore and New England.
10 p.m.	Bravo	"The Real Housewives of New Jersey" (R)	Season finale. "The Strip Down Memory Lane" deals with the aftermath of Strippergate.
10 p.m.	HBO	"Treme" (D)	Season premiere. The new season begins in fall 2007, with LaDonna not 100 percent sure about her temporary home.
10 p.m.	Food Network	"$24 in 24" (R)	Series premiere. How to get a day's worth of good food on $24. The first city examined: Chicago.
A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show.