Lol it's hard to convey just how bad TV was after 9/11 for quite awhile. Everything was over the top sad. Also while on the topic I'm pretty sure if I recall correctly for the entire day of 9/11 every single network besides kids shows and maybe a few others like weather all were showing 9/11 coverage. You literally couldn't find a channel not rebroadcasting the news coverage besides those, it was wild.
There was literally a huge increase in cooking show viewership because it was the only FUCKING thing not about 9/11 - they could get away with just showing cooking without being expected to constantly talk about 9/11. The news was on near-blackout, just constant WTC exploding and people talking about WTC exploding, almost nothing else.