Yahoo Finance NBC pulls its social distancing TV show and makes it online only
A real-world lockdown is enough, apparently.
NBC has pulled its social distancing-oriented show Connecting from the air and moved it to its streaming service Peacock, the broadcaster announced. The ensemble comedy revolved around a group of friends caught in the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown who try stay in touch stay and ward off loneliness by connecting over video chat.
Apparently, viewers found that a lockdown on TV on top of one in reality was too much, as it failed to produce decent ratings. NBC has already aired four shows, and the remaining four will stream on Peacock. The show will be replaced on NBC’s schedule by Superstore.
The move is good news, in a way. Peacock streaming gives NBC new options with shows that don’t quite work on regular TV. Rather than cutting them off brutally and not airing already-produced episodes, NBC can complete a season on Peacock for die-hard fans. It could also allow NBC to cultivate and retain talent who might otherwise flee to Netflix or other services.
