With Alec Baldwin and Steve Carell leaving their respective NBC sitcoms, what happens to Thursdays?

  Alec Baldwin won't be back for more 30 Rock next year...so, now what?

CNN's got a brand-new interview up with Alec Baldwin, star of NBC's criminally underwatched sitcom 30 Rock, wherein the performer drops a bombshell on the series: he won't be returning for another season after his contract expires this year.  With Baldwin leaving 30 Rock and Steve Carell leaving The Office, what's NBC going to do for a Thursday night lineup (as much as we'd like to see hour-long versions of Community and Parks and Rec, you and I both know it ain't happening)?  We get into all that below, my gentle Examiner readers...

CNN's got a brand-new interview up on their site with Alec Baldwin, best known these days as the dude from 30 Rock who called his young daughter a "thoughtless pig" on the phone.  In the interview, Baldwin mentions that he won't be returning to 30 Rock after the forthcoming season.  This adds insult to injury for NBC, who recently discovered that they'd also be losing Steve Carell on The Office after that show's upcoming seventh season.  Here's the interview here Baldwin drops the news on CNN:

In all likelihood, this isn't a surprise to NBC, Tina Fey, or anyone else involved with the production of 30 Rock.  A little digging reveals that Baldwin actually started talking about this in December, and it's likely that the writers already have an exit strategy worked out for his character, Jack Donaghey.  What's not so clear is what NBC intends to do with its Thursday night lineup, which touts 30 Rock and The Office as its biggest draws.  Tina Fey's undoubtedly the heart of 30 Rock, but Baldwin seems a vital piece of that comedy puzzle, just as Carell's vital to the rhythym and success of The Office.  So...what to do, NBC?

NBC's currently running Community and Parks and Rec prior to The Office and 30 Rock, and as much as we'd like to see hour-long versions of both those shows rather than versions of The Office or 30 Rock without their heavy-hitters, we all know that'll never happen. There's the possibility that the shows will go on just fine without 'em, but how likely is that?  I wouldn't place bets on either lasting longer than one more season.

No, we suspect that NBC's going to plug one of the half-dozen or so sitcoms that they've been developing during pilot season in place of these shows...assuming that they don't last long after losing Carell or Baldwin.  That means that we may see Outsourced and Love Bites moving into these spots, and that's a terrifying proposition (which you'll already know if you've seen the trailers for the former or the early reviews for the latter).  The network was even threatening to put Paul Reiser back on TV at one point.

NBC's had a rough year already, what with the brouhaha that erupted when they unceremoniously dumped Conan O'Brien to plug Jay Leno back into The Tonight Show.  It'll be interesting to see how the network handles these massive casting changes, and if either show can continue on without their respective big names.  What do you think, my precious snowflakes?  Will these shows go on, or will NBC replace them with something less interesting?  And where are Carell and Baldwin headed--TBS?  Sound off in the comments section below, folks!

Stay tuned for more shenanigans from the Comedy Examiner's Office in the near future, including funny videos, news, reviews, interviews, recaps, prequels, waffles, and more.  Hit the "Subscribe" button up top to get all future Comedy Examiner articles delivered straight to your inbox (free of charge, of course), and if the article above wasn't enough for you, check out some of these other recent Comedy Examiner articles:

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(photos: top--screencap, next--nbc.com, bottom--nbc.com)