It was announced today that the Tina Fey created comedy 30 Rock will be picked for its entire rookie season, despite mediocre ratings. Whether this is due in part (or in full) to 30 Rock receiving its highest ratings ever last night, we don't know. In it's first Thursday night go around yesterday, 30 Rock garnered 6.6 million viewers, easily its largest audience to date. This still placed it third in it's time slot but, considering that they were against Grey's Anatomy and CSI, it's forgivable. 30 Rock has the potential to be as good as any comedy on TV. It has a competent and alluring leader (Tina Fey), a unique comedic presence (Tracy Morgan), and a go-to guy with pedigree (Alec Baldwin). There's no reason it shouldn't succeed, especially given its current post-Scrubs time slot.
Six weeks ago, it seemed inevitable that both NBC SNL take-offs (30 Rock and Studio 60) would be eventually canceled. NBC, however, has decided to remain faithful to these projects, giving them the time and space to grow, with the belief that if a show is good enough, the audience will find it. The audience may not be there yet, but it looks like it's on its way. Hopefully. -Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer