NBC Renews Low-Rated '30 Rock' for Another Season

Yahoo! News reports that NBC has renewed the sitcom "30 Rock" for another season.

While the critically acclaimed comedy has so far had trouble with scoring high ratings, NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly is optimistic.  He thinks the show will "continue to build its increasingly loyal audience and become another of NBC's classic comedy series."  "30 Rock" has been averaging 5.8 million viewers as week (as compared to the hit CBS sitcom "Two and a Half Men," which is seen by more than 15 million people each week).  NBC reported that "30 Rock" draws an upscale demographic; many of its regular viewers earn $100,000-plus incomes.

The show, which features theatre stars Alec Baldwin and Jane Krakowski , now airs on NBC on Thursdays at 9:30, but beginning on April 12th, the show will be shifted to a 9 PM time slot (it will go up against hit rival shows "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and "Grey's Anatomy").  "30 Rock" had previously been put on hiatus due to the low ratings.

Set within 30 Rockefeller Plaza, the show follows the comic going-on backstage at a "Saturday Night Live"-esque TV variety show.  Created by Tina Fey (Mean Girls, "Saturday Night Live"), "30 Rock" stars Fey, Baldwin, Krakowski, Tracy Morgan and others. 

Visit www.nbc.com for more information.

Photo of Jane Krakowski by Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.