Fey's Everywhere; 30 Rock MIA

Tina Fey’s popularity is at an all-time high, but NBC hasn’t tried to capitalize by moving up the season debut of her critically acclaimed sitcom 30 Rock. NBC has struggled to boost the show’s ratings, the New York Times reports, and hopes three Saturday Night Live specials on Thursdays will keep audiences when 30 Rock returns in that slot Oct. 30.

The SNL specials, and a series of ads promoting this season’s guest stars, were designed to pull 30 Rock out of its 6.5-million-viewer rut. But should NBC have sacrificed its strategy to capitalize on Fey’s importance to the zeitgeist? “If we knew then what we know today about how hot Tina was going to be, would we do it differently? Maybe,” said a network exec. (More Tina Fey stories.)