Country’s New Wave Hits NBC

There are a lot of reasons why creators of NBC’s “Hot Country Nights” music series think the show will succeed when it premieres tonight at 8.

In some respects, it can be boiled down to three words: No hay bales.

As the first prime-time music series on commercial network television since ABC canceled “Dolly,” Dolly Parton’s variety show, in 1988, “Hot Country Nights” aims to capitalize on the dramatic upswing in the popularity of country music in the last two years.

That means heavy reliance on country’s new generation of stars and no corn-pone humor to dredge up memories of “Hee Haw.”

“We’re trying to be as contemporary as Clint Black, with a very high energy level,” said producer and director Gene Weed, former president of the West Coast-based Academy of Country Music. “The set and lights will be very contemporary: no hay bales or wagon wheels. ... We’re trying to reflect what’s happening today with the (widespread) acceptance of country music in concerts and on the charts.”

A prime example of the new high-profile country is Garth Brooks’ “Ropin’ the Wind” album, which entered Billboard’s pop and country charts at No. 1 recently and went on to spend several weeks as the nation’s top-selling album.

“You can philosophize a lot about this stuff, but the essence is that there is a new generation that isn’t being served by the new (forms of) music,” said Dick Clark, executive producer of “Hot Country Nights.” “They aren’t anti-anything--they just aren’t finding satisfaction in heavy metal, rap, dance music or whatever names you want to hang on it. A lot of them are embracing country music.”

NBC officials first noticed a change in the wind last April, when the audience for the annual American Country Music awards broadcast registered a nearly 10% increase.

“That made us think, ‘Hmm, what can we do with this?’ ” said NBC Entertainment President Warren Littlefield. Various ideas were tossed around over the summer, he said, but what persuaded NBC to stop thinking and start negotiating was an even more impressive audience gain--almost 20%--for CBS’ Oct. 2 broadcast of the Country Music Assn. awards.

Because Dick Clark Productions has handled NBC’s ACM awards show, the network turned to Clark when it became conceivable that country music might work on a weekly basis.

Clark and Weed proposed a show heavy with top current country stars, one without a regular host or any comedy sketches involving the musicians.

“We’re not trying to take Clint or K.T. (Oslin) or Lorrie Morgan and turn them into something they are not,” Weed said. “They aren’t sitcom stars. ... These are highly respected and very successful music performers.” NBC liked the concept enough to order an initial batch of six episodes.

Tonight’s premiere will feature Black, Oslin, Alabama and Doug Stone. Kenny Rogers will be first up in a spot devoted to a “country hero”--producers are shying away from the word “veteran”--while Pam Tillis inaugurates the newcomer slot dubbed “hot hit-maker.” There also will be a stand-up comic out of the G- or PG-rated Jay Leno-Bill Cosby mold.

Other musicians scheduled in coming weeks include Vince Gill, Ricky Van Shelton, Kathy Mattea, Mary-Chapin Carpenter, Billy Dean and Aaron Tippin. (Because Garth Brooks has his own NBC special waiting to be aired sometime this winter, country’s current king of the hill probably will not appear on “Hot Country Nights” right away.)

As an alternative to other country-oriented programs on cable or in syndication, Clark said, “Hot Country Nights” will feature substantial interaction, including a musical jam, among each week’s guests.

“It’s sort of like at a big family dinner, where everyone passes one plate to the other,” Clark said. “There isn’t any other musical community that works like country. Take four superstars from another field and jam them in one room and try not to get killed in the process. ... It’s a way of getting beyond the ‘Ed Sullivan Show’ approach of ‘Here they are; there they go.’ ”

The Sullivan comparison is appropriate considering “Hot Country Nights” is airing in the old Sullivan time slot of 8 p.m. Sundays, where NBC has had particular trouble competing against “America’s Funniest Home Videos” on ABC, CBS’ venerable “Murder She Wrote” and Fox’s burgeoning “In Living Color.”

In fact, because of NBC’s troubles in that time period, the network is more willing to gamble on a music series, which have been sparse on network TV in recent years. During the last decade, there were only two: “Dolly” on ABC 1987-88 and NBC’s own “The Barbara Mandrell Show,” which ran 1980-82.

Even though the growth of country music makes this an ideal time to try a show such as “Hot Country Nights,” Littlefield said, “There’s nothing safe. It’s all risky. ... The upside is that this is a time period where we must take risks because we’re the odd man out.”

“Hot Country Nights” premieres tonight at 8 on NBC.