Money | television New Shows Offer NBC Ray of Hope Southland, Parks and Recreation lead upturn By Matt Cantor Posted Apr 15, 2009 12:03 PM CDT Copied NBC late-night star Jay Leno performs during a stand up show billed as "Jay's Comedy Stimulus Plan" at the Palace in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Mich., Tuesday, April 7, 2009. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio) After years of poor ratings, NBC may be on the rebound with the help of two new series: cop show Southland and Amy Poehler’s comedy Parks and Recreation. Parks scored only 6.9 million total viewers, but it maintained 88% of The Office’s coveted young-adult audience. Southland topped CBS’ Harper’s Island in the 18-to-49 demographic and beat expectations by almost equaling Harper’s Island's total viewership. NBC’s young-adult viewership hasn’t dropped this season, ending a longstanding downward trend, while ABC and Fox have lost viewers. And American Idol’s domination seems to be waning. But NBC has a long way to go: it’s the fourth-ranked network in total viewers and only has one top-10 show, Sunday Night Football, which ends halfway through the TV season. Read These Next Epstein's island home contained a dentist's chair. Don't plan an overnighter to Grand Canyon's South Rim now. Student's 'offensive' paper earns professor a suspension. Nevada wife gets life over campground murder. Report an error