TNBC (or Teen NBC) was an American teen-oriented
television programming block that aired on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
from September 12, 1992, to September 28, 2002. The Saturday morning block featured live-action series – primarily in the form of scripted
teen sitcom
A teen situation comedy, or teen sitcom, is a subgenre of comedic television program targeted towards young people. In general, these type of programs focus primarily on characters between 11 and 19 years of age and routinely feature characters inv ...
s – geared toward teenagers and young adults, the majority of which were produced by the network's in-house production units
NBC Studios and NBC Enterprises.
History
As early as 1988, NBC had been openly contemplating replacing its Saturday morning
programming block
Block programming is the arrangement of programs on radio or television so that those of a particular genre, theme, or target audience are united.
Overview
Block programming involves scheduling a series of related shows which are likely to attra ...
of children's cartoons with less expensive, in-house programming oriented towards older audiences, such as talk shows and travel-themed programs, due to increasing competition from
weekday afternoon cartoons airing in
first-run syndication
Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and radio programs to multiple television stations and radio stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in the United States where ...
. The idea for a block specifically oriented towards a teenage demographic sprang from the popularity of the teen sitcom ''
Saved by the Bell
''Saved by the Bell'' is an American television sitcom created by Sam Bobrick for NBC. The series premiered, in primetime, on August 20, 1989, a Sunday night. Targeted at kids and teens, ''Saved by the Bell'' was broadcast in the United States ...
'', which centered on a group of six students attending the fictional Bayside High School in
Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles
Pacific Palisades is a neighborhood in the Westside region of Los Angeles, California, situated about west of Downtown Los Angeles.
Pacific Palisades was formally founded in 1921 by a Methodist organization, and in the years that followed bec ...
. Debuting on the network's Saturday morning lineup in September 1989, ''Saved by the Bell'' was a re-imagining of the short-lived sitcom ''
Good Morning, Miss Bliss
''Good Morning, Miss Bliss'' (also retroactively known as ''Saved by the Bell: The Junior High Years'') is an American teen sitcom that aired on the Disney Channel from 1988 to 1989 (and later in syndication as part of the ''Saved by the Bell'' ...
'', which originated on
The Disney Channel
Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Company. ...
in 1988 (the predecessor series served as a starring vehicle for
Hayley Mills
Hayley Catherine Rose Vivien Mills (born 18 April 1946) is an English actress. The daughter of Sir John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and younger sister of actress Juliet Mills, she began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promising ...
, who unlike fellow series regulars
Mark-Paul Gosselaar
Mark-Paul Harry Gosselaar (; born March 1, 1974) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles, most notably as Zack Morris in ''Saved by the Bell''. In 1991, he won a Young Artist Award for Best Young Actor Starring in an Off-Pri ...
,
Dennis Haskins
Dennis Haskins (born November 18, 1950) is an American actor known for his role as Principal Richard Belding in the teen sitcom ''Saved by the Bell'', which ran from 1989 to 1993 on NBC. He then went on to star in '' Saved by the Bell: The New C ...
,
Lark Voorhies
Lark Voorhies (born Lark Holloway; March 25, 1974) is an American actress, singer, spokeswoman and model. Voorhies rose to fame playing Lisa Marie Turtle on the NBC sitcom ''Saved by the Bell'' (1989–1993). Voorhies was nominated for the Youn ...
and
Dustin Diamond
Dustin Neil Diamond (January 7, 1977 – February 1, 2021) was an American actor and stand-up comedian, best known for his role as Samuel "Screech" Powers throughout the ''Saved by the Bell'' franchise.
Early life and family
Diamond was born i ...
, did not return for the retooled series).
In 2000, ''
Just Deal
''Just Deal'' is a comedy-drama series that aired Saturday mornings on NBC as a part of the network's TNBC lineup. The series premiered on September 23, 2000 and ended on September 7, 2002.
Premise
The show revolves around Dylan Roberts, an ordin ...
'' became the first TNBC scripted series not to be produced by Peter Engel since the short-lived 1993 series ''
Running the Halls
''Running the Halls'' is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC's TNBC Saturday morning lineup. The series was created by Steve Slavkin. The show consisted of 13 episodes, which aired on from September 11 to December 4, 1993, and aired i ...
'', and the first series to be shot in a
single-camera
The single-camera setup, or single-camera mode of production, also known as portable single camera, is a method of filmmaking and video production.
The single-camera setup originally developed during the birth of the classical Hollywood cinema i ...
format. The following year, ''
Sk8'' premiered on the block, lasting for one season before being canceled. Both ''Just Deal'' and ''Sk8'' were productions of
Thomas W. Lynch
Thomas W. Lynch (born February 25, 1956 in Los Angeles, California) is an American television series creator and executive producer who is the head of his own production company, Tom Lynch Company (previously Lynch Entertainment which is owned b ...
, who had previously produced several hit teen dramas for
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
. By 2001, the block was suffering from declining viewership, particularly among its intended audience of teens; much of its audience by this point was from older viewers who had left their TV on after ''
Weekend Today
''Weekend Today'' is currently the branding of the weekend editions of ''Today'', an American morning news and talk program that airs daily on NBC. Weekend editions of ''Today'', began with the launch of the Sunday edition of the program on Sep ...
'' ended, and by its last season, the average age of a TNBC viewer was 41 years old.
NBC shut down the program block in 2002, leasing out its children's programming to
Discovery Kids
Discovery Kids (stylized as Discovery K!ds) is a brand name owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Starting as a television segment within the Discovery Channel, the brand expanded as a separate television channel. Most of its worldwide channels were ei ...
in
a brokered programming arrangement. NBC blamed TNBC's failure on the network's poor performance among younger viewers in its regular
prime time
Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
program lineup, leaving no opportunity to promote children's programming there; the network would have abandoned children's programming altogether if not for the E/I mandates.
Programming
* ''
Saved by the Bell
''Saved by the Bell'' is an American television sitcom created by Sam Bobrick for NBC. The series premiered, in primetime, on August 20, 1989, a Sunday night. Targeted at kids and teens, ''Saved by the Bell'' was broadcast in the United States ...
'' (1992–1993)
* ''
Double Up'' (1992)
* ''
California Dreams
''California Dreams'' is an American teen sitcom that aired on NBC. It was part of the network's Saturday morning block, TNBC, premiering on September 12, 1992. Created by writers Brett Dewey and Ronald B. Solomon, and executive produced by Pet ...
'' (1992–1996)
* ''
Name Your Adventure
''Name Your Adventure'' is an American Reality television, reality series that aired on Saturday mornings during NBC's TNBC line-up. Created and executive produced by Kerri Zane and Scott Friedland. The series was hosted by Mario Lopez, Jordan Bra ...
'' (1992–1995)
* ''
NBA Inside Stuff
''NBA Inside Stuff'' is a television program previously aired on NBC from 1990 to 2002, then on ABC and NBA TV, featuring behind the scenes activities of NBA players. The program also includes features on fitness and fundamentals of basketball. Pr ...
'' (1992–2002)
* ''
Brains & Brawn'' (1993)
* ''
Running the Halls
''Running the Halls'' is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC's TNBC Saturday morning lineup. The series was created by Steve Slavkin. The show consisted of 13 episodes, which aired on from September 11 to December 4, 1993, and aired i ...
'' (1993)
* ''
Saved by the Bell: The New Class'' (1993–2000)
* ''
Hang Time
Hang time generally refers to how long a (self-)launched object stays in the air:
* In basketball, the length of time a player stays in the air after jumping to score or pass the ball.
* In American football, the length of time a punted ball flies ...
'' (1995–2000)
* ''
City Guys
''City Guys'' is an American television sitcom that aired for five seasons on NBC from September 6, 1997, to December 15, 2001. The series aired as part of the network's Saturday morning block, TNBC.
Plot
''City Guys'' was mainly centered on it ...
'' (1997–2001)
* ''One World'' (1998–2001)
* ''
Just Deal
''Just Deal'' is a comedy-drama series that aired Saturday mornings on NBC as a part of the network's TNBC lineup. The series premiered on September 23, 2000 and ended on September 7, 2002.
Premise
The show revolves around Dylan Roberts, an ordin ...
'' (2000–2002)
* ''
Sk8'' (2001–2002)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:TNBC
National Broadcasting Company
Television programming blocks in the United States