Does " the hit NBC show" mean " the successful NBC show"?

Yes.

It often is used to mean "popular." Obviously a show that is popular would also be "successful," but "hit" is often used to mean "highly successful."

Probably not the way it started out. When you produce something which is designed to entertain people, you have a "target" in mind. You either "hit" or "miss" that target.

A hit is success, but magnitude of that success would in part depend on how high (or low) of a target you aimed at to begin with. But, to me, calling something a "hit" implies more than just average success. You can hit the target without hitting the "bullseye."

1. "the successful NBC show" may mean little more than that it hasn't yet been cancelled.

2. The "hit NBC show" suggests success which exceeds the norm by a significant degree. To me, at least.

Long answer to a short question.

The short answer has already been given, i.e., "yes."

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