THE NETWORK FOLLOWS THE ELECTION RETURNS:

Seinfeld Who? NBC Pursuing the Heartland (JACQUES STEINBERG, 9/16/05, NY Times)

For a network that dominated the prime-time ratings for a decade with sophisticated urban comedies like "Cheers," "Seinfeld," "Frasier" and "Friends," only to tumble to fourth place last season without them, Ms. Grant's show is a radical departure. "Three Wishes" is aimed, in no small part, at a churchgoing rural and suburban audience. And its marketing plan, evocative of a red-state presidential campaign, bears scant resemblance to any NBC has crafted before.

In advance of the new prime-time television season, NBC sent more than 7,000 DVD's of the show's first episode to ministers and other clergy members, along with a recorded message to their congregants from Ms. Grant. ("At its core, 'Three Wishes' is faith in action," she tells them.) The network has also booked Ms. Grant - a pop singer who vaulted to fame singing Christian songs, crossed over to mainstream radio and recently released an album of hymns titled "Rock of Ages" - for interviews on Christian radio and taken out advertising in small-town newspapers.

And, perhaps most seductively, NBC has been stuffing cash registers at stores here like Goody's and others in or around Nashville, Salt Lake City, Des Moines and Milwaukee with tens of thousands of $1 bills used for groceries and other basics. The dollars are affixed with yellow stickers (removable, consistent with Treasury Department guidelines) that ask, "What's your wish?," and implore people to watch the show. All told, the network expects to give away 150,000 of those dollar bills in 15 cities and towns.

Though NBC hopes the show will have broad appeal - it also took its dollar bill campaign to New York and Los Angeles - Barbara Blangiardi, the network's vice president of marketing and special projects, said that "absolutely the Christian community was a target audience."

They've come a long way from making fun of Hillbillies.

MORE:
TV review: Three Wishes: This reality shows allows TV producers to choose three deserving souls and grant their wishes (Gene Edward Veith, World)

Reality TV falls into three basic categories: voyeur shows (Big Brother, The Anna Nicole Show), game shows (Survivor, The Amazing Race), and feel-good shows (The Nanny, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition).

Three Wishes (NBC, 9:00 ET) may be the ultimate feel-good reality show. Representatives of TV-land descend upon a small town, set up a tent, and listen to the people who line up with their supplications. The producers choose three deserving souls and grant their wishes.

A mother wishes for facial reconstructive surgery for her little girl injured in a horrible accident. The high-school cheerleading squad wishes for a new football field, the dream of a coach stricken with leukemia. A boy wants his stepfather to adopt him. The Hollywood visitors "work their magic," as they say, and grant the wishes. Everyone feels good. Everybody cries.

Posted by Orrin Judd at September 16, 2005 6:41 AM