Goodman on Ann Curry

If there's a silver lining to the strange brouhaha surrounding Ann Curry's tenure on the Today show, leading up to her ouster as its cohost, it's that the fuss has resulted in what looks like a future classic Tim Goodman column for The Hollywood Reporter.

Can’t this network do anything right? We’re a long way past “this is starting to get embarrassing” and nudging up against “this is starting to get pathological.”

Goodman reminds us again of NBC's fascinatingly and hilariously awful mishandling of the Jay Leno-Conan O'Brien-Tonight Show succession. You would think one reputation-damaging, talent-related fiasco a decade would be enough, but no, the network can't seem to get enough.

All those years of Couric’s sincerity, which seemed so false to some (ahem), might have trained morning show viewers to want a certain someone. And perhaps Curry is not that person.

But is NBC absolutely sure that Savannah Guthrie is that person? I’m willing to bet that NBC has no idea whether Guthrie is the new It Host. Whoever made this decision probably got tired of having the bean counters in their office saying: “We’re hemorrhaging money, and we think it’s Curry. You’ve got to do something.”

I don't watch the networks' nauseatingly chipper morning products so I don't know or care whether Curry was any good in her role. I'm just grateful her travails gave Goodman an excuse to unleash the snark on the hapless NBC.