Sorry, Carly. You're No 'Superstar' This Week

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Just in time for the debut of Tina Fey's NBC Universal flick, "Baby Mama," NBC Universal is moving Tina Fey's comedy series, "30 Rock," into the better 9:30 p.m. Thursday time slot starting tonight, where it will follow "The Office."

Johnny-come-lately cynics suggested this week in news reports that NBC is moving "30 Rock" so as to avoid embarrassment over the fact that, as mentioned first here in The TV Column, NBC programming chief Ben Silverman had crowned the 8 o'clock slot "family hour" the same week that "30 Rock" returned from a strike-induced hiatus with a hilarious episode involving a reality series called "MIL[:-o] Island."

Of course, where their argument breaks down is that when Silverman spoke of 8 o'clock being NBC's family hour, he was talking about NBC next season. This is not next season; this is, of course, this season, and no doubt once those reporters figure this out, they'll feel perfect fools.

It's true that on the day he made his announcement, Silverman argued that "30 Rock" is family programming because its star, creator, writer and executive producer is thisclose to becoming a "cultural icon," what with her getting the covers of Parade, Entertainment Weekly, Vanity Fair and Marie Claire, not to mention her new NBC Universal flick, "Baby Mama."

Plus, Silverman noted "30 Rock" actually makes him laugh, whereas when he watches other networks' comedies, "I never laugh."

And if you think reporters are not going to stay on top of that incipient situation in case next season (when NBC's "Scrubs" moves to ABC) they catch Silverman still laughing at it, then, my friend, you underestimate the tenacity of today's Reporters Who Cover Television. What a public relations nightmare that will be for NBC.

An NBC insider insists the "30 Rock" move has nothing to do with "Family Hour-gate" and more to do with taking advantage of all the promotion for Fey's movie debuting the next day to move the show to the later time period, when the number of homes using television is noticeably higher, particularly during daylight saving time.

Also, this season, "The Office" has established itself as NBC's strongest comedy lead-in. And, if you're NBC, you don't want to squander that kind of a lead-in on "Scrubs" when it's moving to ABC, now do you?

But back to Tina Fey, who is even closer to becoming a cultural icon with news that today she will make cultural-iconizing appearances on not only NBC Universal's "Today" show and ABC's cackling harpies show "The View" and on her own "30 Rock," now in its improved time slot, but also on David Letterman's late-night CBS series -- all with a view toward informing the masses that her movie debuts the next day and her sitcom is moving to 9:30 p.m. Thursdays.

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It's official: The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences finally announced it will indeed give out its very first Primetime Emmy Award for outstanding host for a reality show or reality competition when it hands out the trophies on ABC on Sept. 21. The academy did not announce it would be given to "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest, but that seems a foregone conclusion, given the arm-stroking pathos he exhibited when Nanny Brooke forgot the lyrics to her Andrew Lloyd Webber tune this week -- to name just one instance.

"Reality television has become such an integral part of television and our culture, so it only made sense for us to create this new highly competitive category," TV academy Chairman and CEO John Shaffner said in the announcement, continuing the academy's longstanding tradition of jumping on a new programming trend once it's thoroughly aged.