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Have viewers become Serial-Phobic?
At the Television Critics Association press tour this July, each and every network executive was asked about the proliferation of serialized dramas this fall. The gist of most of the questions was simple: Are you asking viewers to commit too much time to following too many new shows when so many favorite serials are returning?
Some of their answers were naive:
"I don't think audiences make a decision to commit to a show, one way or the other, based on it being serialized or not," CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler said. "I think it's purely about the quality of the programming. And if they like it and the show is good, they'll continue to watch."
Some suggested that it was purely coincidental that so many new shows would require week-to-week faith on behalf of the viewers.
"You know, we went with the best shows that we had. You know, we tried to develop some procedurals, some really closed-ended procedurals, and that's a tough assignment right now," said ABC Entertainment President Steve McPherson. "There's a lot of good ones on. They've been played out with the franchising of Law & Order and CSI across the board where you have 21 of those episodes airing a week, so it was hard."
But is it a coincidence that the first high-profile casualties have been serials? CBS has pulled Smith -- from super-producer John Wells and starring Ray Liotta -- off its schedule after only three airings. NBC has moved Kidnapped to Saturdays and indicated that the show won't get any more than 13 episodes. FOX has shuffled Vanished off to Friday nights, a programming hole where the network has traditionally buried underwatched shows. Meanwhile, NBC's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip leaking viewers and Friday Night Lights appears to be in serious danger, despite critical admiration and hype. The CW's Runaway hasn't found enough of an audience to last very much longer and ABC is going have to decide how much longer Six Degrees can continue to squander its Grey's Anatomy lead-in before changes must be made.
Yes, there have been early serialized successes. ABC's Ugly Betty and Brothers and Sisters look strong. NBC has already ordered a full season of Heroes. CBS' Jericho has kept its viewership stable and respectable over three episodes.
But all of these wobbly serialized shows bring to mind FOX Entertainment President Peter Ligouri's press tour concern.
"[I]f, in fact, some of these serialized shows are canceled and there's no explanation, there's no satisfaction, I'd have fear for next year when a bunch of serialized shows come out," Ligouri said. "Will audiences now be really gun-shy about committing to these shows?"
Sound off, readers. Have shows like Invasion and Reunion made you gunshy about serials? Do you already have too many time-intensive shows on your TiVo? Or have you been shunning these new shows for other reasons entirely?
The problem is not too many serials, the problem is too many bad serials. TV writers are mistaking plot twists and deliberate deception for depth. I blame Lost. That being said, Smith was one of the best new shows of the season, and I'm sad to see it go.
Matt | Oct 7, 2006 7:51:47 PM | #No, the problem is we know the networks only care about greed and that 10 times out of 9 they are going to cancle the series in the middle of the story and we end up getting the resolution. Never again. I (and most everybody else) will not watch a series unless it has run several years, since I hate that cancel in the middle - and if that means no more series - well i'm sure we'll all survive and get a life.
If they want us to follow a series, give us a garantee that it will run for several years.
An example of why some people are gunshy about putting so much of their time and interest in a show is Reunion on FOX. They pulled the plug and left fans hanging. That's just one example!
Viewers are getting used to networks pulling the plug too soon so we don't want to waste our time and get too involved in a series if we know there's a good chance it will get cancelled. This whole "Okay we've ordered another 13 episodes," and "The network has decided to pick up the show for the whole season," is a bunch of crap and yes, it is about the almighty dollar.
Viewers aren't stupid. If we know that a show will be on for the entire year, then maybe a show can get a start. Look at Cheers when it first began. Just give shows a chance to develop first guys!
Trcey | Oct 9, 2006 1:50:30 AM | #I'm getting frustrated with the networks. Every fall, I start to watch a few new shows and they are cancelled before they have a chance. I wonder why I watch tv at all. I liked Smith. Such a shame.
michele | Oct 9, 2006 4:58:05 AM | #After last season, invasion and surface. reunion. I decided to wait on watching anyoff them. The networks pull the plug to early. They don't give anything a chance. There is so many other shows on. It is gonna take a while for a good show to kick off.
mark | Oct 9, 2006 5:04:07 AM | #I can tell you why Smith was cancelled: not enough skin and sex. Every network wants a Desperate Housewives, Lost or Gray's Anatomy. To do that means you have to have less depth of a story line and more sex between the characters. In fact, I don't think network executives were smart enough to understand what was going on in Smith. It was too inteligent for them. I wish HBO would pick up Smith.
Pam | Oct 9, 2006 5:42:23 AM | #"Smith" should stay because the cast is outstanding and chemistry is great. The storyline is a bit deep and unrevealing for this generation, which isn't a bad thing. I don't think it's the shows, though. I think networks just don't give shows a chance to build an audience. And, with so many options to TiVo, unless you watch a show the same night of its airing, it doesn't get the nielsen rating -- even though you eventually watch it.
shoparazzi | Oct 9, 2006 6:11:32 AM | #The networks are killing themselves off from viewers. It's easier to put garbage on like Biggest Loser, The Bachlor, etc than let a good series like Sudio 60, Kidnapped, etc build an audience. It is tiring to start watching a series then see it cancelled after 3-5 episodes. How come HBO can do it but the networks can't!
Barry | Oct 9, 2006 6:38:55 AM | #I like "Kidnapped", "Vanished", "Runaway" and "Smith". I too wonder why I even start watching the new shows. It is ver frustrating to "get into" a show and then have the network execs(idiots) pull the show. I have DVR and watch almost all of the primetime shows as I am sure a lot of other seniors and stay at home people do. Give the viewers a break. Start the season with a line up and leave it alone. Give a series a chance.
Barry | Oct 9, 2006 6:47:20 AM | #Reunion is what ruined things for me last year. This year, I started watching everything I could, knowing most would be canceled. At least I will have a few shows left at the end. I love Heroes and Jericho. I also love the Nine. Not sure how it is doing.
Steven | Oct 9, 2006 6:58:06 AM | #"24" didn't do well in the ratings during its first season. Many thought it'd be cancelled.
Fox gave it a chance and now it is one of the most popular shows on television.
The problem with the new serialized shows is that you have trouble picturing yourself watching many of them for multiple seasons. I think that is part of the turnoff.
With "24," they built a show that focuses on a single day. They keep the story fairly simple. And they learned the lesson that you need to axe the annoying daughter character who causes problems (many of these new shows had multiple "Kimberly Bauer" characters).
Too many of these new shows are hybrid 24/Lost shows. The problem is that after two seasons of "Lost," viewers are feeling just as lost as they were in Sept. 2004. Viewers are saying, "geez...do I really want to commit more time to a story that won't get resolved until I am five years older than I am now?"
Jon | Oct 9, 2006 7:02:01 AM | #What About Brian starts tonight. Should I even watch and get involved in the show since it is up against Miami CSI and Studio 60. It seems that Studio 60 and Bryan will split the viewers left from CSI and both be cancelled. What a shame! It seems that NBC can't let a show stay on that is not a Law/Order spinoff and the same for CBS with CSI. What are the 2 of the them going to do when viewers tire of these francises I hope ABC stays with Bryan and leave us with a quality show, I just wish it wasn't against Studio 60. Well that's what TIVO is for.
Tom | Oct 9, 2006 7:15:16 AM | #How many cop/court/medical shows can one person watch??? The networks seem to think it's unlimited. Night after night I'm supposed to watch decapitated bodies, perverted pedophiles, serial killers, junkies, and prostitutes being hunted down by burnt out cops, genius crime techs and hungry D.A's. It's old already. Does it come as any surprise then that 2 of the more popular new shows(Ugly Betty, and Heroes) have nothing to do with the legal system???????
beano cook | Oct 9, 2006 7:31:15 AM | #The problem is the networks don't give "serialized" dramas enough time to build a loyal audience. If the series premiere doesn't garner an immediate viewership of 20 million, then the network executives have no patience. Their simple solution is to shuffle off these "disappointing" dramas to Friday or Saturday's No-man's Land line-up, where casual TV viewers will never find them. After being burned by the cancelations of Threshold, Invasion, Reunion, etc., viewers are less likely to invest their time in serialized dramas this time around.
Paige | Oct 9, 2006 7:32:56 AM | #I do not watch television. I made a decision about a year ago not to watch television. I only watch if there is a breaking news story. Otherwise, do not watch any programs. And I have not missed it. Found alot of other things to do. So if you don't like what the networks are doing - don't watch.
Lucy | Oct 9, 2006 7:45:02 AM | #It isn't the fact that it is a serial program that's the problem, it's the quality of the show. These failures are due to many reasons that all come down to the fact that no one cares about them. Give me a show that grabs me and I'll watch.
Vivian | Oct 9, 2006 8:14:20 AM | #If the networks are going to air a lot of serialized shows then they also have to run the episodes concurrently. I started watching Lost in season 1, but when the reruns started and you had to wait weeks and weeks for a new episode I moved on to something else. I have never watched another episode of Lost, instead I watched Veronica Mars & PBS when VM was in reruns. Same for Desperate Housewives. I switched to HBO's series Six Feet Under/Rome/Sopranos and haven't seen DH since.
I am dreading December when the networks stop airing new episodes of Jericho & Brothers & Sisters (the only new shows I'm watching). I hope I don't lose interest and stop watching but I'm afraid I probably will.
Al | Oct 9, 2006 8:37:30 AM | #Too many thief/cops/robbers.
Same show on different networks, only the names are changed.
At one time Networks used to commit to serialized programs because they need time to develop audiences. If the networks are going to pull the plug early then stop doing the shows in the first place.
BD | Oct 9, 2006 9:31:49 AM | #Smith was great! I am sorry to see it go. I think there was not enough time given to establish an audience. I wish some other network can pick it up and give it a chance.
JK | Oct 9, 2006 10:21:33 AM | #TV needs Joss Whedon and his writers back to properly tell an ongoing story.
Lorelei | Oct 9, 2006 10:32:46 AM | #Someone said it already, but the main problem with networks today is a lack of patience with letting shows develop. Even Seinfeld would have been axed in this day and age. It got clobbered by Home Improvement back in the day and even after they moved it to Thursday, it took a while before it really picked up steam. Today it wouldn't have been given enough time to succeed and the networks are notorious for cancelling more expensive shows. If they would just consider what sort of revenues a show could bring them if it was left on long enough to build an audience, they would reap the rewards as would the viewers. Also, people need to stop watching reality show crap and that would help as well.
Stevo | Oct 9, 2006 10:56:04 AM | #So Lucy - you don't watch television, but you spend your time reading a website about television? Seems odd...
Rob | Oct 9, 2006 11:17:21 AM | #Definitely too many.....I like to know there is a complete story with each viewing because I can't always know - even with TiVo - that I will be able to see the ending of a storyline. I also never watch movies or mini-series which are continued over several days.
Carole | Oct 9, 2006 11:25:31 AM | #I watch a lot of TV and I really like Smith, Vanished, Kidnapped, Studio 60(I love this show!), but I also love alot of the shows that are on at the same time, so I TIVO alot of shows to watch later. That is probably what a lot of people are doing. So how can the networks tell if a show is not being watched? Also I agree with the people who complain it is troublesome when you get involved with a serial and the networks cancel it.
If you are going to air a serial commit to it at least for 13 episodes with a promise to end it properly. Then see who watches it. What would you replace it with anyway? repeats of Law & Order?
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