Out of Ideas? NBC Wants You to Create Its Next Sitcom Smash

Did you ever watch a lame network sitcom and say, “I could come up with something funnier than that.”

NBC wants to hear from you.

The Peacock Network’s latest programming strategy involves crowdsourcing ideas for new shows. NBC’s national campaign, “NBC Comedy Playground,” promises to let viewers share their comedy ideas with the network sans filter.

Here’s how it works: Comedy writers will submit their idea via an NBC site set up for the contest … The network will choose up to 10 finalists. NBC will fund each finalist to produce a pilot presentation based on their pitch. The producer-actor advisory board, in consultation with NBC, will pick two winners from the 10. The winners, who will be paid, will have their show broadcast on NBC (a pilot plus up to four additional episodes, at the network’s discretion).

NBC will then lean on established stars like Aziz Ansari, Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, Adam McKay, Amy Poehler and Seth Myers, among others to select the best ideas.