The Extratextuals

Jay Leno’s ratings are not good. Case in point – CBS was in rerun mode early this week, and yet its reruns for CSI: Miami, The Good Wife, and CSI: New York all still (handily) beat Leno. When they announced The Jay Leno Show, NBC talked a big game about how they wouldn’t be playing reruns because of Jay, yet viewers seem to prefer reruns now that they’re being offered the choice.

So who can Jay beat in the ratings? This week, on Monday, only Gossip Girl fared worse, on Tuesday, it was 90210 and Melrose Place, on Wednesday, only Vampire Diaries’ repeat placed lower than Jay, Supernatural pulled the trick on Thursday, and a House rerun just dipped below Jay on Friday. More after the fold…

In the last five weeks, the only shows to place worse than Jay have been The CW’s entire lineup; Shark Tank and the forgotten on Tuesday; Mercy, Hank, and Eastwick on Wednesday; and Til Death, Brothers, Dollhouse, Supernanny, Ugly Betty, and Law and Order on Friday. Let’s be clear, though, that I’m comparing their worst ever performance on any given night of the week to Jay’s best ever on that night. In its own slot, The Jay Leno Show has beaten Eastwick once, the forgotten twice, and yet nobody else, never winning its time slot, and losing outright 27 out of 30 nights in the last 6 weeks.

So, he can beat a netlet that doesn’t even program to a wide range of viewers, and he can beat shows that are widely considered to be on the chopping block (indeed, I wouldn’t be surprised if I heard that CBS, ABC, and FOX had a “Worse than Jay” rationale for cancellations). But nothing else.

Now, granted, Nielsen overnight ratings aren’t everything. But Nielsen’s +7 rating (designed to measure DVR viewing) has picked up very few extra viewers for Jay after the fact. And ratings aside, the show has nothing but bad buzz. Some people attempt defenses of the show, but when all you can inspire is people saying you’re not horrible, that’s hardly encouraging.

It would be less of a disgrace if the show didn’t look so cheap, and if Jay actually seemed to want to do well. But it’s a real dog fart of a show. Someone at NBC let the old dog with gut issues into the long-expired can of Stagg chili, and this is the result.

I can’t imagine that this is good for NBC in any way. Yes, the show’s cheap. But if viewers aren’t watching it, if NBC has pegged almost a third of its brand to this farce, if writers have been sent a clear message to take their A-material to other networks since NBC’s closing for business, and if this is the buzz that surrounds NBC at the Upfronts, who cares if it’s cheap?

Perhaps all that can be said is that Jay seems to get good enough numbers on Friday (his worst rating comparatively, but Friday ratings are grim across the board). So why not contain him to that night? Lord knows he and his writers need the week to produce material. Or if they’re really into Jay, perhaps let him keep Tuesday night too or instead, when he’s shown himself most capable of picking up an okay rating. Make it an event. Pool the money into doing something good. Hire a writer or ten.

Or just cancel it and fire Jay. In professional sports, top players usually try to retire before fans see them in disrepair, a frightening, hollow shell of their former selves; so I’m also forced to ask about Jay in all this – does he really want to end his television career fighting for lowest ratings honor with the likes of Melrose Place, and perhaps playing a key role in destroying one of the country’s oldest, most austere television networks?

new shows Jay Leno