The Hollywood Reporter is officially calling the midseason a "muddle" for the broadcast networks. Most of the 10 comedies and dramas launched in the past month, including Internet pick-up quarterlife and Canterbury’s Law, failed to gain traction with viewers (quarterlife was yanked after a single episode after garnering some of the worst ratings NBC had seen in almost two decades).
But the network with the best and the worst track record is Fox. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is the highest-rated of the midseason scripted offerings with an average of 10.8 million viewers, but most of the other new shows are doing poorly: Parker Posey vehicle The Return of Jezebel James was pulled after attracting a paltry 3.2 million viewers; Canterbury’s, at 6.7 million, was moved from Monday to Friday after two eps; and Unhitched (pictured; 4.7 million viewers) is flagging.
Personally, I can’t say I’m terribly invested in any of the new shows, although as a fan of Jezebel’s Posey and Lauren Ambrose, I’m bummed that the show was such a mess. Perhaps that’s why the networks are having problems: With ratings powerhouse Idol taking the pressure off of the performance, Fox doesn’t need to worry about nurturing new scripted shows. The article also makes the point (via a quote from Fox exec VP Preston Beckman) that the glut of reality programming currently on the air has cultivated a different sort of audience — the kind that might not watch scripted shows in the first place.
What do you think, PopWatchers? Are you invested in any of the new scripted shows, or even prepping a bag of peanuts? Do you think the networks should allow more time for shows to gain fans before yanking them? Or is what happened to, say, Jezebel James, a mercy killing?
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The midseason show that I’ve enjoyed most is CBS’ “Dexter,” which was probably one of the smartest strike plans to date. It’s created a fan out of me and it is compelling drama that is worthy of my attention and time. It is, however, a show that I record because it is not more worthy than sleep.
Curious, how many Americans rediscovered sleep as a result of the writers’ strike?
I think that people got used to not watching much TV with the writers strike and whether or not they even realize the strike is over, they don’t realize new stuff is on right now. Shows get ratings by being watched by those of us not obsessed with all things TV, so they don’t even know there are new shows on! Hopefully now that CBS is starting new episodes with ABC soon to follow life will return to some semblance of normal. This TV junkie is looking forward to it.
I’m really enjoying Miss Guided.
while i agree that the glut of reality tv has cultivated a different sort of audience, i do not think that audience is against watching scripted shows. i think there is plenty of room for rock of love and lost in my world. and i don’t think the failure of these scripted mid-season shows are any different from new fall scripted shows failing. they’re simply bad shows! jezabel james and quarterlife were unwatchable. but i agree with laura – miss guided is great, and i’m hoping that will stick around. and the hills season premiere did great numbers for mtv, so clearly, audiences are embracing SCRIPTED television.
If the economic conditions aloow it, networks should allow a show some time to develop in a favorable time slot. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that a debut (or episodes 2-last) on a Friday night slot will probably not produce desired ratings. I really hope that the current reality fad will eventually fade out and that premium scripted shows can achieve in international syndication what they lose in cost/benefit domestically against their reality peers. So here’s a cheer to OC California, Scrubs – Die Anfänger, Kampfstern Galactica, Dr. House and all the other internationally successful formats. May you pummel Kid Nation into oblivion.
1. Scripted shows are not as funny as they used to be. If you cloned a lot Tina Feys then you’d have a solution.
2. A lot of people got pissed off at the writers strike and turned to Cable and Satelite.
The networks shouldn’t cancel the shows so soon… I think that they should get a little more time on the air to try and develop an audience.
And as for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles….. it’s not that good of a show. I don’t think that it’ll stay on the air past the second season.
Can’t say I’m invested, but the scenes between Julianna Margulies and Aiden Quinn in the second half of last Friday’s episode of Canterbury’s Law were some of the most intense and well acted work I’ve seen on network TV. Reminded me of “Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Wolff?” I really wish they had given this show a push by giving it a debut for a couple of weeks after American Idol. It has the potential to be a really great show but for some reason, they’ve decided to let it die on the vine. I don’t get it. It seems counter-productive to me.
And the midseason shows aren’t doing so well because 1) Fox doesn’t produce that many good shows (they have a few) and 2) I think that the writer’s strike forced people to actually find other things to do with their time since there was no shows on TV.
It can’t help that without new episodes of established shows airing this winter, people just weren’t watching TV. For one, I would guess that a lot of people got out of the habit of watching TV every night. More importantly, I would guess a lot of people didn’t see the ads for these new shows. If I didn’t read TV/entertainment blogs every day, I would have had no idea that show of these shows even existed or when they were on (for example, I never saw even one advertisement for Jezebel James).
I have to say, since the writers strike,I have been watching less TV. It is strangley freeing. I am looking forward to the return of “grey’s” and “30 Rock” though I think I may have to finally break up with “My Name is Earl.”
I have significantly decreased my tv watching since the strike, because I know there haven’t been new episodes. Because of that, I’ve barely even noticed that there are new shows on. I wanted to watch that Jezebel James show, but I completely forgot that it was even on, probably because I’m barely turning the tv on.
Fox has no business–NO BUSINESS–cancelling any scripted shows. They have a powerhouse called American Idol, and shows that air before or after it almost always do well (witness: Bones, House, Til Death, The Moment of Truth). Many of these shows (Bones and House in particular) have gained such a following that they would do well in just about any timeslot. Why not show Canterbury’s Law or Jezebel James before or after Idol to gain an audience? Bones and House would not be the ratings powerhouses they are if they hadn’t been attached to the most popular TV show in history, and I dare say that The Moment of Truth would have disgusted viewers and been yanked if it hadn’t premiered immediately after Idol.
Of the shows mentioned, I like Terminator. But I think you’re right that there is a new type of audience. People now don’t watch shows unless they can see them from the beginning. It’s impossible to talk people into watching one of my favorites b/c they always say they won’t know what’s going on. Scripted shows need to convince non-viewers that they can sit down and watch an episode and be entertained for that hour. They don’t need to invest 3 years of their lives to it.
I have to say that Miss Guided is kind of growing on me. I hadn’t given it a season pass yet, but after watching three eps I decided it was enjoyable enough to award one–then, of course, I noticed that it’s up against the Thursday night trifecta, which was sort of annoying, becuase of course it bit the dust against Survivor and a NEW My Name is Earl this week! So sometimes I think they should give shows more of a fighting chance, but sometimes, yes, a mercy killing is in order. quarterlife–ugh, what a disappointment.
I think the trend is toward immediate success. If you do not achieve immediate “success” (by whatever criteria is being used – but usually ratings) then you are in big trouble. Shows used to have a chance to not only attract an audience but to grow into themselves. Cheers would never have been a popular show if it launched now. If you go back and watch the early episodes of many classic shows, you can clearly see things that weren’t working 100% or that were much different during the shows “glory” days. Creating a great series is, in many ways, an empirical process where you try something and see how it plays and make adjustments. I remember Family Ties where Michael J. Fox’s character, Alex ended up being the star of the show when that was never the intent. Shows can need that time to see how it all plays out. That said, if the show totally sucks, then just axe it.
This is not just a TV issue but it seems to be prevalent throughout the entertainment industry, especially music.
Tuzo, you made a good point. The same holds true for movies. There was a time when a $10 mil opening was considered a hit, because it might sprout legs and become a blockbuster. Now, if a film doesn’t open huge, it’s immediately written off as a failure. Same thing with TV shows. If it doesn’t attract 20 million viewers on its premiere, it gets canceled. Of course, the reverse is also true…if a show attracts 20 million viewers in its premiere and then drops, however slightly, it’s considered a flop, and often will get canceled. How many times have you seen commercials touting a show’s huge opening, only to see the show canceled within a few weeks? Why am I writing such long-winded responses to this post?
None of these shows sounded even remotely appealing to me, except quarterlife. I watched the pilot, and wasn’t impressed. I wanted to give it a chance because it was made by the same people who made My So Called Life. I just think all the characters were painfully tormented. But, still wanting to give it a chance, I watched the 3 episode marathon of it on Bravo. Thankfully, it got a little better, but I don’t think it would do well if it were to stay on. And from reading other people’s comments…I may have been the only one who actually watched it.
I turned off Miss/Guided as soon as its characters started talking to the camera. Seriously? Shows are still doing that these days?
One show not mentioned that’s interesting on a lot of different levels is Eli Stone. The media seems to be ignoring it, but everyone I talk to is excited about it. Hope it stays around. I wanted to give Jezebel James a decent chance, because I loved Gilmore Girls and the writing of Amy Sherman-Palladino. JJ was so inane and non-sensical, not to mention insulting to anyone but hip New Yorkers that I gave up half-way thru the second episode. This one should go the way of the dodo.
I was going to watch Unhitched, but the first episode was on late (probably pushed back because of sports) and my DVR just got a few minutes of it. Putting things on when they’re supposed to be on will help.
I watched Cantebury’s Law and Jezebel James, I wasn’t impressed. However, I love love love New Amsterdam and Eli Stone for that matter.
It took me about 2 episodes, but i started to love both Jezebel James and Miss Guided. I also think Unhitched’s scenarios are bizarre enough to be hilarious. Yesterday’s episode was just…no words. Even my mom thought it was funny and she only saw the last 2 minutes. I can’t get into Canterbury’s Law. I only have room in my heart for one tough chick and that’s Keira Sedgwick in TNT’s The Closer. I watch the Terminator, but only because I want to know Cameron’s secret. The rest is kind of boring. I think they should give shows at least 1 season whether its ratings are low or not. I don’t care if there were just 1 million viewers, it has to have a 1 season contract. Who knows? It could be a sleeper hit.
I think that almost every show should get at least 13 episodes to gain an audience and build momentum. That’s roughly half a season, so if it starts in the fall, it can probably run uninterrupted until the December/X-Mas break, or if it starts midseason, it can run all the way up until summer.
I think every show deserves this opportunity…except for “Jezebel James.” That garbage was just unwatchable and I didn’t really see how it could get better given the show’s style and format. I said it before and I’ll say it again: I LOVE Lauren Ambrose and Parker Posey, but I’m glad their show got cancelled so they could stop wasting their time with it.
I wont be so self-absorbed as to state this is true for the general public, but my reason for not watching any of the new scripted series (or unscripted for that matter) is because nothing excites me.
The generational drama/ comedy thing has been done to death. I lived through My So Called Life, Friends, Joan of Arcadia, etc. I dont need another example of these shows.
The shows that have blown up over the last few years (Lost, the Office, House, Heroes… when it didnt suck) all offered me something big, new, or at least different. I’ve seen nothing advertised in the last year that has done that.
And honestly, I have other options. World of Warcraft is always waiting in the wings with it’s addictive pull…
Most of these would never have seen the light of daqy (greenlit or not) if the strike hadn’t occured. TTSCC was/is the one bright spot in an otherwise dreary TV season.
I’ve watched Terminator, Jezebel, Canterbury’s, and Unhitched. Terminator was the only one that stuck for me. It still has some work to do, but it was entertaining. I can’t say much for the rest. You know the reason people aren’t watching these? They’re just not very good. Muddle is the perfect word for this season.
husband and i have really been enjoying Canterbury and New Amsterdam – well-written, well-acted, well-plotted shows with some good old-fashioned realistic relationships like you don’t see in primetime anymore. the problem is, fox isn’t promoting them. NA is being shuffled to return only next january with the friday 9pm death slot, and Canterbury has already been cancelled despite its overall excellence, like Raines last year on NBC. i need more than the 543 characters left to ponder the “why” of the midseason death, so anyone who’s interested can join the discussion on mediablowout.blogspot.com. i’ll have something up by the end of the day.
I have enjoyed Terminator, New Amsterdam and Eli Stone. While I adored Gilmore Girls, the basic plot to JJ was an absolute turnoff. As far as the other shows go…I guess I just get tired of the parade of losers, screw-ups and cads, and angry people who abuse their positions. I don’t need to watch people being horrible to each other (with the notable exception of House – which says a whole lot for the quality of the writing and acting!), or just pathetic. Give me a gallant battle and/or people trying to do the right thing any day.
I like Miss Guided a lot; New Amsterdam isn’t too bad and I loved Cashmere Mafia (you need four ladies, three won’t do!) but I’m basically just waiting for The Office to come back…
I love New Amsterdam and Eli Stone, but Canterbury’s Law needs someone who actually knows anything about the law to write for it. It’s ridiculous, even though Juliana Margulies is awesome in it.