NBC Hands Out Renewals for “Community”, “The Office”, and “30 Rock”

After recently renewing Parks and Recreation it came as no surprise to anyone that NBC quickly renewed the rest of its Thursday night comedy line up. The three shows are freshman comedy show Community starring Joel McHale, critical darling 30 Rock, and NBC’s only ratings king The Office.

Despite some average to low numbers on some of these shows, NBC has opted to keep them around for another season. Most likely due to the fact that all their original content shows seem to be struggling, and these are some of the stronger shows in the pack.  I would expect NBC’s Chuck to be back for a fourth season as well. The ratings for the spy comedy has stayed pretty steady, and they are getting close to be able to sell the show into syndication. No use in putting this much investment into a series without seeing much a return. They stand to make much more money in the long run by keeping it.

Here is the full press release:

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. – March 5, 2010 – NBC has renewed three more of its Thursday-night comedies – “30 Rock” (9:30-10 p.m. ET), “The Office” (9-9:30 p.m. ET) and the freshman series “Community” (8-8:30 p.m. ET) for the 2010-11 season. The returning programs join the previously announced “Parks and Recreation” (Thursdays, 8:30-9 p.m. ET) that also will return for next season.

The announcement was made by Angela Bromstad, President, Primetime Entertainment, NBC and Universal Media Studios.

“We are happy to give these early pickups to these critically acclaimed, incredibly funny comedies,” said Bromstad. “As a result, we look forward to continuing our rewarding partnership with the respective creative teams and talented show-runners for ‘30 Rock,’ ‘The Office’ and ‘Community’ as they all consistently deliver quality shows.”

First-year comedy “Community” is averaging a 2.7 rating, 7 share in adults 18-49 and 5.9 million viewers overall so far this season, with “Community” originals winning the time period among adults 18-34 and men 18-34. Since moving to the Thursday 8-8:30 p.m. (ET) half-hour on October 8, “Community” has improved the time period by 24 percent versus NBC’s adult 18-49 average earlier in the season.

Currently in its sixth season, “The Office” is network television’s #1 primetime scripted series among adults 18-34 and is NBC’s #1 scripted series in the key demographic of adults 18-49. “The Office” regularly finishes #2 in its highly competitive time period in adults 18-49 ahead of CBS’s “CSI.” The most recent “Office” telecast on March 4 outscored ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” marking the first time “The Office” has topped “Grey’s” head-to-head in adults 18-49. For the season through 23 weeks, “The Office” is averaging a 4.9 rating, 12 share in adults 18-49 and 9.4 million viewers overall, representing gains versus last season of 4 percent in 18-49 and 3 percent in total viewers.

Currently in its fourth season, “30 Rock” is averaging a 3.4 rating, 8 share in adults 18-49 and 6.9 million viewers overall, with “30 Rock” originals winning the time period among men 18-34 and men 18-49 despite airing opposite the concluding half-hours of ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” and CBS’s “CSI.” “30 Rock” is the most upscale comedy on broadcast primetime television when ranked by its concentration of homes with $100,000-plus incomes in its adult 18-49 audience.

The Emmy Award-winning comedy series “30 Rock” is told through the comedic voice of Emmy and two-time Golden Globe winner Tina Fey (“Saturday Night Live”) as variety show producer Liz Lemon and features Emmy and three-time Golden Globe winner Alec Baldwin (“The Departed”) as top network executive Jack Donaghy. Also starring are Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski, Scott Adsit, Jack McBrayer, Judah Friedlander and Keith Powell.

“30 Rock” is from Broadway Video & Little Stranger, Inc. in association with Universal Media Studios. The executive producers are Lorne Michaels (“Saturday Night Live”), Fey, Marci Klein (“Saturday Night Live”), David Miner (“Human Giant”) and Robert Carlock (“Friends”).

“The Office” is the Emmy Award-winning comedy series from Deedle-Dee Productions, Reveille and Universal Media Studios. The show offers a hilarious documentary-style look into the humorous and sometimes poignant foolishness that plagues the world of 9-to-5 and is based on the award-winning BBC hit. Golden Globe winner and Emmy nominee Steve Carell (“Get Smart,” “Little Miss Sunshine”) stars as pompous regional manager Michael Scott..

Also starring are Jenna Fischer (“Walk Hard”), John Krasinski (“Leatherheads”), Rainn Wilson (“The Rocker”) and B.J. Novak (“Punk’d”). Other series stars are Ed Helms (“The Hangover”), Leslie David Baker (“Malcolm in the Middle”), Brian Baumgartner (“Arrested Development”), Kate Flannery (“The Heir Apparent”), Mindy Kaling (“The 40-Year-Old Virgin”), Angela Kinsey (“Tripping Forward”), Paul Lieberstein (writer, “King of the Hill”), Oscar Nuñez (“Halfway Home”), Phyllis Smith (“Arrested Development”), Creed Bratton (former member of The Grass Roots) and Craig Robinson (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”). “The Office” is executive-produced by Ben Silverman, Greg Daniels, who developed the series for American audiences, Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, Howard Klein and Paul Lieberstein.

From Dan Harmon (“The Sarah Silverman Program”) and Emmy Award-winners Joe and Anthony Russo (“Arrested Development”) comes “Community,” a smart comedy series about a band of misfits who attend Greendale Community College. At the center of the group is Jeff Winger (Joel McHale, “The Soup”), a fast-talking lawyer whose degree has been revoked and forms a study group. Also starring are comedy legend Chevy Chase (“Chuck”), Gillian Jacobs (“The Book of Daniel”), Yvette Nicole Brown (“Rules of Engagement”), Danny Pudi (“Greek”), Alison Brie (“Mad Men”), Donald Glover (“30 Rock”) and Ken Jeong (“The Hangover”).

“Community” is a production of Krasnoff Foster Entertainment, Harmonious Claptrap, Russo Brothers production and Universal Media Studios in association with Sony Pictures Television. Russ Krasnoff (“The Soloist”), Dan Harmon, Joe Russo, Anthony Russo, Garrett Donovan (“Scrubs”), Neil Goldman (“Scrubs”) and Gary Foster (“The Soloist”) serve as executive producers.

“Parks and Recreation,” starring Amy Poehler (NBC’s “Saturday Night Live”), is a production of Deedle-Dee Productions and Universal Media Studios. Along with Greg Daniels (NBC’s “The Office”) and Michael Schur (“The Office”), Howard Klein and David Miner also serve as executive producers for the series.