NBC stars battle it out for who’s the ‘favorite’

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During NBC’s coverage of Super Bowl LVI Feb. 13, 2022, the network aired a commercial promoting itself in a spot letting some of its biggest names “battle” who’s the reason it is “America’s favorite network.”

The promo starts with a dramatic shot of “Mr. Mayor” star Ted Danson with a movie trailer style announcer is heard saying “Ted Danson: Perhaps the number one reason why NBC is America’s favorite network.”

The promo then cuts to a living room scene where Terry Crews, host of “America’s Got Talent,” is shown rejecting that claim.

“Come on NBC, I’m on like all your shows,” says Kelly Clarkson, who’s seated nearby, referring to her appearances on “The Voice,” the upcoming “American Song Contest” and the syndicated talker “The Kelly Clarkson Show” that airs on NBC owned stations in major markets.

She’s interrupted by “Law & Order: SVU” star Mariska Hargitay pointing out she’s been on the network for 23 years. Hargitay herself is interrupted by Christopher Meloni, former “SVU” co-star and current star of spinoff “Law & Order: Organized Crime.

“What a bunch of …” says Meloni has he prepares to serve a tray of food and his presumed expletive is drowned out.

As the four stars continue to argue, the commercial cuts back to another stylized shot of “Kenan” and “Saturday Night Live” star Kenan Thompson being proclaimed, similar to Danson, as one of the reasons NBC is the country’s “favorite network,” even has verbal objections to that from the gang in the living room can be heard.

The spot works well because it uses some of the network’s most prolific stars who have appeared on multiple NBC shows over, in some cases, several decades.

For example, Danson starred on “Cheers” in the 1980s and early 1990s and also was co-star of “The Good Place,” and Hargitay started appearing on “SVU” in 1999 and, before that, a 13 episode arc on “ER.” Meloni also appeared on “SVU” as a regular cast member through Season 12. He returned a decade later to launch “Organized Crime” and both and and Hargitay have appeared in crossovers on each other’s shows as well as on other show’s within Dick Wolf’s fictional universe, including the “Chicago” franchises.

Thompson is a newer addition, having started with “SNL” in 2003. He continues to appear on that show while also launching his own standalone sitcom, “Kenan,” now in its second season.

All of these personalities have also appeared in numerous other roles across multiple networks.

Clarkson is the newest addition to the NBC powerhouse club, having signed a mega deal with the NBC to launch her own syndicated talk show in 2019. It’s now in its third season and airs on NBC owned stations in major markets and has been tapped as the replacement for “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” timeslot starting in the 2022-2023 season.

The deal also included her appearing on “The Voice” and other NBC projects as well as holiday specials.