NBC has recently pushed next year's premiere back to midseason to support Tina Fey's pregnancy. And Alec Baldwin continues to be adamant that he'll leave the show when he contract is up in 2012, which Fey is going to do the same.

Co-showrunner Robert Carlock denies that he and Fey have made a choice about whether the upcoming year will be the show's last, but that may not be their selection to make. Fey's contract also expires next May. Meanwhile, NBC has taken to pushing its new fall lineup in ads on trade websites like TV by the Numbers, using promo tagline, "It's a whole new NBC!"

Will the "new" NBC be as inclined to critically-acclaimed, ratings-challenged show on the air without having its most compelling character?

If the topic of keeping Baldwin came up in the extended script of Carlock's interview with New York magazine because of this week's cover story on showrunners, it was absolutely clear the thought of life without Alec left him unsettled. “You’ll have to ask NBC what they’re prepared to do to make them change his mind [about leaving.]" Carlock said. "And we’ll do whatever what we can do to make him change his mind and keep writing him that character. ... Obviously Alec is a huge part of making it good. Hopefully we can make it all happen."

Then once again, would the "new" NBC break the banks on new offers to the stars of your show that's never been higher than 69th within the ratings? As Entertainment Weekly's Ken Tucker highlights, much with the "new" NBC's fall lineup revives memories from the "old" NBC's fall lineup. "'Quality programming' and 'two hours from the Greatest Loser' aren't compatible phrases," states Tucker, not unreasonably. Why does the new schedule include--wait for it--two hours with the Biggest Loser on Tuesday? Because new NBC head of programming Robert Greenblatt, brought in from Showtime in November right after the Comcast merger, deemed it "stable and working." However, if 'The Biggest Loser' is "working"- which is to say, consistently registering ratings inside the top-20--30 'Rock' is not.

Also of concern for fans: Greenblatt's the same executive the NewYork Post reported in January wished to "push the envelope as far as his new bosses will let him" in bringing "racier" fare towards the network. 30 Rock is numerous things--funny, savvy, occasionally nonsensical - but racy isn't one of them.