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Good news for fans of good TV: NBC recently announced a new deal to keep Kevin Reilly as Entertainment president at the Peacock.

Why should this matter to viewers? Because Reilly has been a champion of quality, low-rated programs. He's the one who gave full-season orders to "Friday Night Lights," "30 Rock" and "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," series so low-rated they easily could have been canceled after their initial 13 episodes aired.

In its coverage of the new deal, Daily Variety likened Reilly to legendary NBC executive Grant Tinker, who believed, "First be best, then be first."

Understand, I don't mean to deify Reilly. Odds are that come May he'll still cancel a series you or I like.

At this point, I think "30 Rock" is a lock to return for a second season. (The show is taking a break until next month so NBC can test a new Andy Richter sitcom, "Barker, P.I.," starting Thursday at 7:30 p.m.) The "30 Rock" ratings are crummy, but the show has had an enormous groundswell of critical support and positive buzz in recent weeks.

I'm less certain about the future of "Friday Night Lights," which returns with new episodes March 21, leading up to an April 11 season finale. Reilly has been an ardent supporter of the show and has expressed some regret about the time slots "Lights" has been given. Even though its ratings are terrible, NBC hasn't done the show any favors leaving it on against Fox's "American Idol."

Perhaps what's most striking about Reilly is what a change he is from his predecessor, Jeff Zucker, who boasted about NBC's success throughout his tenure even as the writing was on the wall that ratings would trend down as he failed to develop new long-term hits. He clung to flotsam like "Fear Factor" as signs of his success and dismantled NBC's Thursday-night comedy lineup in favor of "The Apprentice."

It's not coincidental that Reilly is attempting to revitalize Thursday nights or that the marketing department has re-branded it "Comedy Night Done Right," which, intentional or not, is a rebuke of the Zucker era, when the night was not done right.

Because Zucker left prime time in such shambles, there's been speculation about Reilly's future at NBC since almost the minute he stepped into the job. Now he has a new contract that should bolster his standing in the Hollywood creative community and allow him the leeway to rebuild NBC's schedule with quality programming.