NBC execs lament the end of “The New Normal”

So how is your Saturday going?

I’m working but it’s okay because I’m covering NBC day of the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour enjoying the access to the stars and executives and the endless free Diet Coke!

During the executive session, NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt and NBC Entertainment president Jennifer Salke were asked about the cancellation of The New Normal. They were also asked if they think Sean Saves the World, the new Sean Hayes sitcom with a gay character as the lead, will have a better chance at success.

The New Normal came from Ryan Murphy who has had mega-hits with Glee and American Horror Story.

“We really wanted to get behind Ryan Murphy,” Salke said. “Maybe, something about the tone of it. It’s really one of those things where you look at each other and think, ‘Why didn’t this show do better than it did?’ It was the time for it. It was smart. It was original. It felt like it had breakthrough tone and originality to it. It got people talking and we thought it would build into something.”

Pointing to the success of Will & Grace which debuted 15 years earlier, Greenblatt said of the show: “I don’t believe it didn’t work because it had gay characters.”

“(Will & Grace) was in a different time and in a different lineup of stronger shows and stronger lead-ins and things like that. … We think the country is moving in the right direction, the Supreme Court is doing the right thing and there’s a growing support for gay relationships and gay marriages in this country. (The New Normal) may have been slightly ahead of its time, because that really was the focus of it: The gay marriage and the baby. But, we feel no regret whatsoever about putting it out there and feel enormously proud of it.”