It was not too long ago when Thursday night television was the best night to tune into NBC. The show lineup included “The Office,” “Parks and Recreation,” “30 Rock” and “Community.” They were on a two-hour time block and they were all on NBC. It was a happy span of comedy shows, and all have sadly ended. Cheatsheet.com called it the golden age of NBC’s comedy lineup.

According to Cheatsheet.com, CBS took over as the single most-watched network in the country for its comedies. The comedies that carry their weight are shows like “Two and a Half Men” and “The Big Bang Theory.” It also says that NBC is going to need to decide what it wants to be in order to survive as a comedy network. For now, NBC is the third-most watched network, due to dramas like “The Blacklist” and “Law and Order SVU,” according to TV by the Numbers.

In the Top 10 of the Nielsen ratings for the week of Nov. 2, NBC took spots 1, 3 and 9 for football and spot 10 for “The Voice.” Most of the top-rated comedy on NBC is now late night TV with shows like “Saturday Night Live” and “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.”

“Saturday Night Live,” NBC’s iconic live skit show, is in its 41st year. According to Variety.com, “Saturday Night Live” had huge ratings in February, but that did not help it have a great season for 2014-2015. Variety goes on to say that SNL has hopes for this 2015-2016 season, due to the politically charged climate and guests like Tracy Morgan and Amy Schumer.

SNL kicked off this season with a visit from Hillary Clinton, which gave solid, but unspectacular ratings, says Variety. Donald Trump also made a special appearance, giving that episode a 57 percent higher rating than the show’s fall average of 53 percent, according to Variety. According to Business Insider, this was the highest rating since the Jan. 7, 2012, episode with host Charles Barkley and musical guest Kelly Clarkson. That is a big gap for a high rating and long-standing popular show like SNL.

A network that can keep a show alive for 41 years is a great feat. I know at a certain time, I can tune in and it will be there. No two shows are ever alike and they make you laugh at the end of a bad day. That is more precious to me than ratings.

Jimmy Fallon, a past cast member of “Saturday Night Live,” has a late night show of his own, “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.” It was taken over by Fallon in February of 2014 after Jay Leno decided to retire. Fallon’s ratings go up and down and now he seems to be in competition with “Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” They take turns scoring the highest ratings, but “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” has scored the largest ratings to date back in October, according to Variety.com.

Has all of this pressure to stay on top taken a toll on Fallon? Allegedly, he now has a drinking problem and it may be effecting his job. According to the New York Post, Fallon is one of the biggest success stories and is now one of NBC’s biggest worries.

Horatio Sanz, a former SNL cast mate, spoke to the New York Post about Jimmy Fallon. “[We] were super functioning alcoholics, definitely… They say that kind of goes hand in hand with SNL, some kind of substance-abuse issues, because it’s so stressful, you easily find yourself blowing off steam a lot,” Sanz said.

The pressure seems just as high at “The Tonight Show.” Fallon tapes five days a week, often up to 12 hours a day, while looking for the next viral thing. That is a lot of pressure to keep the ratings up with the competition.

“His dedication in putting on a great show each and every night is unparalleled and that is reflected in the large amount of viewers who tune in — he frequently out rates the broadcast competition combined,” said an unnamed NBC spokesperson. “We are proud of his accomplishments on and off camera and look forward to working with him for many years to come.”

In August, NBC extended Fallon’s contract for three and a half more years, bringing him to host through 2021. This alone will hopefully keep NBC from slipping down in the ratings too far. It brings comfort to me knowing that these shows will remain. I grew up with these late night shows and have watched them go through their ups and downs, but they have always been constant.

Reality TV and dramas may be taking over in the earlier hours for ratings’ sake, but NBC is giving what this generation wants and it seems to like the reality TV trend. It is a smart business move on NBC’s part. It is not easy making everyone happy. NBC is one of the stations that is trying and there is truly something for everyone. I personally do not consider that a downfall: That is smart business.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer. They are not directly the opinions of The Slate, its staff or Shippensburg University as a whole. Concerns or letters to the editor can be sent to shipspeaks@gmail.com.

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