NBC's Rosie O’Donnell variety show disappoints

Rosie O'Donnell gave NBC a real turkey.

The network's attempt to revive the primetime variety show failed to draw an audience Wednesday night, tying for the evening's lowest-rated program.

A mere 5 million viewers tuned in for the 8 p.m. premiere of "Rosie Live," with the program earning a 1.2 preliminary adults 18-49 rating. The telecast matched ABC's recently canceled "Pushing Daisies" as the night's lowest-rated program on a major broadcast network.

NBC had high hopes for the special and planned to expand the program into a series should viewers re-embrace the decades-old variety format. Other networks, too, were watching closely since several are developing variety shows of their own.

"There's a notion that the climate is right for the genre to make a comeback," emailed one executive at a rival network. "I guess we now know what not to do, thanks to Rosie."

Segments included Kathy Griffin impersonating Nancy Grace, Alec Baldwin hitting Conan O'Brian with a pie, O'Donnell singing "City Lights" with Liza Minnelli and Jane Krakowski doing a product-placement-themed striptease for White Castle burgers and Crest Whitestrips.

Critics were not kind. The NY Times described it as "hokey comedy with an enemies list." TV Guide called it a "ghastly ego trip." And the LA Times asked, "Rosie, what on earth were you thinking?"

Networks have been looking for variety show programming as a cheap option to fill their schedules. But the idea has been sought by executives due the format's rock-bottom cost, cross-promotion possibilities and advertiser-friendly format. In other words, the neo-variety show is a retread designed to solve financial woes rather than an act of programming inspiration -- a bean-counting origin story that makes it tough to imagine an exciting final product.

NBC's variation, in particular, seemed unlikely to attract a broad audience given O'Donnell's divisive personality. Stocked with appearances by Alannis Morrisette, Ne Yo, Rachael Ray, Harry Connick Jr., Clay Aiken and Gloria Estefan, along with Minnelli, Baldwin, Griffin and Krakowski, the lineup's appeal also skewed heavily female for a primetime show airing on the eve of a family holiday.

One special that did perform well last night was Barbara Walters' interview with Barack and Michelle Obama (11.6 million, 3.0 rating). The interview nearly matched "CSI: NY" in the 10 p.m. hour and gave ABC its highest non-awards show rating in the time period in more than a year.

UPDATE: Rosie O'Donnell says NBC won't order more variety show episodes and responds to critics

Comments

[alex]

There really is a Santa Claus. Adios you no-talent blowhard.

[robin]

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!!

NOW WHAT???

[ralpherus]

I admit that I detest the entity called rosie o'donnell. It is a wretched blot on the oncept of good Irishness. I hate that it is such a hypocrite and anti-freedomite regarding our god-given, constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms for self-preservation and national preservation. It is loud and crass and rude. Like the donald said- degenerate. But really, even admitting that- i saw about two or three minutes of the opening- call it morbid curiosity- and honestly, I think it has to rank as the worst of all history opening moments of any show of any kind anywhere any time. It would have been eaiser to see the beyatch rape tom selleck again....

[John.BB]

I actually liked the special!!!

[inthedumper]

Rosie: America has spoken:

Messages of like: 2
Messages of dislike: 1,000,002

America wins.

[Danny]

If you found this article from a "conservative" website or a religious one or a right-wing one, one can bet their last two cents that you're a bigot. No one can take the hatred seriously---you're bound to hate anything the narrow minds from whence you came didn't already approve of.

The bigotry actually isn't all that big a deal---being clever isn't a requirement, especially if you came from the type of website mentioned earlier. But the mistakes are.

This was a "special". This was never meant to be a weekly series unless a lot of folks watched. Apparently not enough did. It still earned an audience of millions, just not enough to earn it a slot every week. So, Rosie didn't succeed, but it was hardly something that's going to drive her from showbiz.

As for the folks who say "I don't watch NBC, they're biased" or "I hate network TV, they're too liberal" or "Boycott!"---most of you are hypocrites. You watch NBC. You don't watch all the time, but most of the right-wingers spewing the bigotry they've been trained to do by neo-con websites and "personalities" likely watch Leno, at worst. You likely watch Deal Or No Deal---God knows why. You probably have been suckered in by the original L&O or ER, or maybe an episode of "Heroes". So, cut the crap. No one believes it.

As for Rosie: I won't defend her beliefs, or criticize them. But rich as she is, WTF does she care what neo-cons think of her? The more you make an issue of anything she says or does, the richer she gets. The richer she gets, the angrier you get and the more you make an issue of her statements. And so on and so forth---the more you talk about her, the more publicity she gains and the more she cashes in on it. If the right-wing nuts who came here from a neo-con site could have combined the brain cells in their diseased and bigoted narrow minds, they might just have come up with enough brain power to realize this little tidbit. She's getting a ton more press for her flop show because of the nasty tirades and grade-school level insults from John Q. Public on sites like this. Even if NBC were to have said no to her show, she'll walk away with more publicity than ever, until she comes along with something else to do. And by then, love her or hate her, the haters will have worked themselves up to a lather that even if her next projects fail, she'll ride the publicity into the future for bigger paychecks and publicity.

I'm sure Rosie thanks you, from the bottom of her wallet.

Anyway---yeah, the show stunk. She is unlikable to many, and the key isn't inoffensiveness, but just being someone people like to see on TV. The show was a terribly thought-out idea that needed more time and better ideas. A variety show can work, provided you can find someone who can entertain one and all, smartly. She's not it, because she's always been an acquired taste.

Lastly, NBC isn't going to lose sleep over this. Yeah, they have enough problems. But this special was a way to kill prime time on a day when most folks weren't watching TV. They were traveling. Or cooking, or entertaining---the holidays, sweeps be damned, are like that. But NBC isn't going to mind. They, too, don't care what neo-cons think. Neo-cons don't like anything or anyone that isn't exactly like them. Too bad for them, then, that they are so few in number that starting an entertainment channel of their own somewhere wouldn't be worth the millions it would take in seed money. If neo-cons like the folks posting here are so offended by their entertainment choices, why haven't they come up with an alternative for themselves? Perhaps it's because, deep down, they like the same things they bitch about, but are too cowardly to be honest about it. Think about it.

[Greg the Gun Nut]

She's fat, she's aggressively stupid, she's ugly! She has no talent, and she is intensely annoying!! What's not to like?

[Rosie is a pig]

Rosie O'Donnell is nothing more than a fat ugly pig. Enough said.

[Hateful Left Wingers at it again.]

When are you HATEFUL LEFT WINGERS ever going to learn that you suffer from a mental illness and thus are incapable of Rational and Analitical thought. You are what we call Mental Midgets, because all you do is call people names, yell very loud and throw internet sponsored stats to bolster your point of view. Left Wing Nut Jobs are the reason that we get our buildings bombed. Left Wing thought should be considered a mental illness since it has been very dangerous to this great nation over the last 70 years.

[aunt bea]

Dear Rosie, you cow, sow, no talent, big mouth dummy -

Go on a dyke cruise and jump ship. Take your ugly wife with you and give your poor children to Brad Pitt.

IE; go AWAY FOREVER !!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jed Clampette]

My God I'm so sick and tired of seeing ANYTHING about this loud mouth smelly pig. I wish she would fall off the face of the earth.

[joe b]

Rosie is such a dumb hook er and i'm glad the show was a flop, i almost barfed when i first heard she was going to be back on tv.