Sat 24 Oct 2015
by Michael Shonk
Some notes of interest for the Mystery*File TV viewer.
CW – Since all programs are made by the studios that own the network (CBS and Warner Brothers) CW is slow to cancel. Only REIGN is in any trouble.
ABC – BLOOD AND OIL will end after 10th episode. QUANTICO has been picked up for a full season. NASHVILLE is in trouble as usual, but CASTLE is in danger due to its age and having its butt kicked by NBC’s BLINDSPOT. WICKED CITY, a series about a serial killer in 1982 Los Angeles, premieres Tuesday the 27th.
CBS – LIMITLESS has been picked up for a full season. CSI: CYBER is doomed. NCIS:LA is in trouble for the same reason as CASTLE (NBC’s BLINDSPOT).
FOX – MINORITY REPORT is gone after its tenth episode. ROSEWOOD has been picked up for a full season. SLEEPY HOLLOW, BONES and any sitcom are in trouble.
NBC – BLINDSPOT has been picked up for the season. THE PLAYER ends in mid-November. The network’s biggest problems are its sitcoms and its suicidal handling of THE BLACKLIST.
PBS – BBC’s SHERLOCK returns with a one episode special. “The Abominable Bride†will air January 1st.
Starz – DA VINCI’S DEMONS has just began it last season.
Midseason will be here before you know it.
October 24th, 2015 at 2:31 pm
So howcum they haven’t rebooted HIGHWAY PATROL?
October 24th, 2015 at 3:37 pm
Dan, I wonder if Ed Asner is busy?
October 24th, 2015 at 3:50 pm
Castle jumped the shark a bit with the whole breakup and private eye thing, but BLINDSPOT has gone nowhere and lost me so I went back to CASTLE. NCIS LA never did work for me despite the great cast and Linda Hunt, who deserves better.
It is getting harder for the Networks to compete with the cable series and now Netflix and Hulu among others doing their own original material. Why they ever wasted the effort on a DALLAS retread like BLOOD AND OIL with a tired an overweight Don Johnson is a mystery greater than any on the air.
For that matter the three biggies seem unable to compete with FOX or CW either with series like ARROW, GOTHAM, THE FLASH, SUPERNATURAL, and others better written, made, and showcased than anything on the big three.
SUPERGIRL May help CBS and be a good lead in for SCORPION thus boosting NCIS LA, but audiences are already sold on GOTHAM and SG is going to have to do one hell of a pilot to keep the initial audience after the first week. Ironic though the young Batman is up against Superman’s cousin.
October 24th, 2015 at 5:32 pm
3. Uh, GOTHAM finishes fourth in its time slot and only beats out CW. But Fox has so many bigger problems on Tuesday and Thursday GOTHAM will survive. I disliked what I saw in the SUPERGIRL trailer but I believe it will crush GOTHAM. THE VOICE and DANCING WITH STARS will continue to dominate the live ratings. SUPERGIRL L+ (Live+3 or L=7) numbers will be the key to its success. GOTHAM has to benefit some with CBS’ BIG BANG moving to Thursday. The Monday at 8pm time slot is a place where all the shows could survive the season.
ABC makes its money with the female viewer (though it is attempting to attract males) so soap BLOOD & OIL made some sense. Remember when such shows as DALLAS, DYNASTY, KNOTS LANDING, etc filled the TV schedule. It is time for another family drama soap to appeal to the audience. BLOOD & OIL has behind the scene problems between creatives and the network that doomed it.
As for advertisers and viewers Fox finished fourth and CW finished fifth last season in the ratings. CW shows have a different level to be considered a success with THE FLASH being their top show. Fox only major success is EMPIRE.
October 25th, 2015 at 2:11 am
I have to admit that I’m actually looking forward to Supergirl – because, alone among the current crop of comic book shows, it looks like it might actually be fun to watch.
That element – fun – is what seems to be missing from much of the “entertainment” in prime time nowadays.
Blindspot – son of Blacklist and grandson of Lost – from the “making it up as we go along” school of teleturgy.
You can attribute it to my age but I prefer the long running shows to the “amateur nights” that keep popping up.
October 25th, 2015 at 7:00 am
Yeah, but DALLAS, DYNASTY and the rest were 30 years ago. You only had to see one promo (and there seemed to be hundreds all summer) to see that BLOOD & OIL was a non-starter. Oil in North Dakota? Don Johnson in 2015? Seriously?
We’ve watched CASTLE from the start but if it wasn’t for my wife wanting to hang in there I’d never turn it on again. They know they screwed up by marrying them (as every other show that has done it should have proven) but in their desperation to separate Castle & Beckett they have not even tried. It’s too dangerous for him if she’s around, but she still goes to work daily as a Captain at the Precinct (where, by the way, she goes out to crime scenes, which is stupid)? This is worse than when she joined the FBI for 3-4 episodes a few years ago.
October 25th, 2015 at 11:41 am
5. Mike, fun is why I think SUPERGIRL will beat up GOTHAM.
TV is starting to shift away from the dark to fun again. According to its producers ARROW will lighten up a bit. But this year’s DOCTOR WHO is great as it has not been this much fun and adventure since the classic days.
I disagree about THE BLINDSPOT and BLACKLIST. JUSTIFIED took life one season at the time, not knowing exactly where they were going until they got there. This allowed them the flexibility to adjust to unexpected problems and positive surprises (such as Boyd not dying in the pilot because the actor Walton Goggins was so good in the part). Neither BLACKLIST nor BLINDSPOT are LOST. I see more BABYLON 5. My favorite type of TV is the series with the one season arc and answering all the questions fast but in the answer created a new set of questions. BLACKLIST and BLINDSPOT may not know the series ending, but they know the season’s ending.
Today, two basic TV viewers exist – the passive and the interactive. The passive enjoys the self contained story that has a beginning, middle and end. The passive wants to be entertained by great actors, stories, and premises. The interactive wants to be involved, they live the series and seek complex twists, detailed biographies, and long stories.
The passive wants to be entertained, the interactive wants to be challenged.
The older viewer, some such as me excepted, are usually passive because they grew up in an era where TV was not the center of their life. The interactive is usually younger because TV has been a major part of their life since they were born.
October 25th, 2015 at 12:11 pm
6. Jeff, the audience must be getting tired of cop shows and comic books have yet to produce a top 10 hit. All formats of fiction come and go. Right now the sitcom is in trouble but eventually the next BIG BANG will arrive. The success of Shonda Rhimes (GREY’S ANATOMY, SCANDAL,etc) has ABC seeking more soaps. Eventually the family soap will return. The original idea of BLOOD & OIL was the feature the young couple, but testing,ABC, and the weakness of the young couple’s appeal had a last minute switch in focus to Don Johnson. TNT’s remake of DALLAS did well for cable until Larry Hagman died. The networks are always looking for the next J.R., a rich person we can all hate.
I have never liked CASTLE so I am hoping it will die. My least favorite TV format is the “will they or won’t they.” But the marriage was not the problem.
First, thinking the audience would not enjoy a married couple solving crimes is to ignore the success of THE THIN MAN, HART TO HART, and the endless happy couples solving crimes.
REMINGTON STEELE jumped the shark when they did not get married. Laura saying no got more and more unbelievable, weakened the character of Remington and turned Laura into a nag. MOONLIGHTING failed for two reasons – the writers strike and (unlike CASTLE, REMINGTON STEELE, BONES,etc) the audience did not want them married, the characters were at their best hating each other.
I despise the “Will they or won’t they” nonsense because after a few years it destroys all believability. How many beautiful couples wait years before hitting the bed or committing to each other in some way? The excuses become more annoying and fake until it is just not fun anymore and I find myself screaming at them to get a room or a ring already!
October 25th, 2015 at 6:10 pm
“Will they/won’t they?” is the excuse bad writers use when they can’t plot long-range.
Shonda Rhimes is probably the luckiest writer-producer in the business right now.
Scandal has turned into TV’s equivalent of 43-Man Squamish. Nothing makes a Goddamn bit of sense, and I suspect it isn’t supposed to.
Sitting in between Grey’s Monotony and How To Get Away With Incoherence, Scandal has made a “virtue” of badness, and ABC has bought into it big-time.
I suppose it’s outside the usual purview of this blog, but CBS’s Madam Secretary is head and shoulders above any of the shows mentioned above.
October 25th, 2015 at 7:59 pm
Mike, I am no fan of Shonda Rhimes but I do recognize her talent. Back in the days when I was paid to critique television the first question I would ask myself was who was the target audience and did the creative talent entertain that audience.
I have no problem that you and I are not part of Rhimes audience, but wow does she entertain a lot of young women. She has made ABC successful on Thursday night and has helped keep ABC afloat during some hard times at the network.
I belong to the group of critics and philosophers that believe there is no ultimate truth or perfect TV show. That does not stop me from being mean to GOTHAM but I do realize others enjoy it and view it with more approval than I.
I have no problem with people hating my favorites especially since most of the people who comment here prefer the style that bores me and they lack the desire to invest in a TV series as much as I am willing to do (I mean I forgive people if they have a life outside TV).
NCIS, MADAM SECRETARY, and nearly every TV show on CBS (except PERSON OF INTEREST) bore the heck out of me. It is same old TV drama that I have watched for over sixty years.
But that doesn’t make it a bad show. CBS has problems on Sunday up against the number one rated TV series – NBC Sunday Night Football. TV By the Numbers (a rating place I don’t always agree with) has MADAM SECRETARY and GOOD WIFE survival a toss up for the season. The problem the show has will not surprise you. It ranked 14th last week in total ratings and second in its time slot. But it does horribly in demos losing more and more audience the younger you measure. It went from 9.61 to 1.2 in your favorite 18-49. But this problem holds true for all of CBS Sunday line-up.
All of us here know ratings don’t equal good TV because there are too many stupid TV viewers out there not bright enough to watch the good stuff – the stuff we watch.
October 26th, 2015 at 1:24 am
Mr. Shonk, sir:
Are we always going to have this same argument?
DEMOGRAPHICS – the junk science of the Millenium (and about a half-century before that).
To presume that audiences can be broken down according to age/gender/economic status/location/religion(or lack thereof)/how they part their hair (or lack thereof)/artificial categorization of your choice …
… utter and absolute rubbish. Always has been, always will be.
That TV executives hold demos sacred –
– it has been wisely observed:
If ten million people all believe the same myth … it’s still a myth.
When I was but a lad, I watched the same shows my parents did – all kinds of shows. Some I liked, others not so much, and other kids my age had all kinds of opinions that frequently differed from mine.
The idea that any show could be “targeted” at a certain age/gender/all that other stuff I went through above – preposterous!
And yet that’s how TV and music and movies and books and everything else is being made today.
In the immortal words of Mischa Auer: “Confidentially, eet steenks!”
October 26th, 2015 at 1:51 am
Oh, and before I forget:
The reason the CBS Sunday dramas are shaky in the ratings is that the Sunday sports overruns frequently delay the starts of the shows by anywhere from fifteen minutes to almost an hour, making DVRing problematical at the very least.
And for the record, NBC’s Sunday night pro football bores me far more than any scripted drama ever could.
October 26th, 2015 at 10:51 am
11. I have worked in advertising and demographics are real and a fact but misunderstood by the media.
Example. You sell a product aimed at women, do you advertising on the top rated show Sunday Football or do you advertise on a show that reaches less people but more women such as SCANDAL? Every dollar you spend reaching people who do not use your product is a waste of money.
Advertisers will tell you that most of the money they spend is wasted and the key is to find ways to waste less and reach more of your target audience.
Unless you see the light:), yes we will argue this forever. But there is hope. Nielsen is fighting for its life. All networks have their own service measuring audience. As the number of people watching TV at different times and different ways grows, there is a need to measure those of us who watch on our computers and mobile devices.
Until the media can explain BLUE BLOODS, I use my own experience to read the numbers. BLUE BLOOD last season ranked 69th out of 187 shows in 18-49. It ranked 13th in total viewers. So CBS does pay attention to the total and not just the demos.
Why did Fox keep FRINGE on despite its ratings were terrible in every way except in trendy demos?
In both cases the networks know something the media does not – what shows are making a profit. Ratings are just one tool to sell the series.
Oh, us old baby boomers are no longer the majority or the largest generation – the Millennials are (born from early 1980s to early 2000s) – according to Government census (I know we are dying out but I expected there would be more Generation X).
October 26th, 2015 at 11:10 am
12. I know this will sound strange but when football delays their start CBS shows ratings go up except for the 10pm series.
The key to MADAM SECRETARY future is GOOD WIFE. Both benefit from 60 MINUTES lead in and CBS knows 60 MINUTES will attract an older audience but it makes enough money and news brownie points to keep it on. GOOD WIFE has been CBS nod to critics and publicity from awards, it attracts a certain audience that has been leaving nets for cable.
MADAM SECRETARY needs to hold on to enough of 60 MINUTES audience (its a political drama and thus reaches more of that audience than the shows opposite) to lead in to GOOD WIFE.
But GOOD WIFE is showing signs of age and it is less appealing to the awards crowd. Could CBS decide to try something different on Sunday? I don’t think so.
This is a case where total viewers mean more than age demo (I would like to see the income demo). I see CBS leaving Sunday as is until March. How it and GOOD WIFE do after football season will be the key to next year.
October 27th, 2015 at 12:04 pm
THE GOOD WIFE continues to be one of the best-written series on any sort of television. Though I thought they had announced they were wrapping after this year.
October 27th, 2015 at 4:41 pm
15. Todd, I had not read that about ending GOOD WIFE but it would make sense. If my memory is correct it wasn’t even nominated for best series Emmy for last season. This season had another major cast and direction change for the series, but as long as Julianna Margulies is happy I don’t see CBS interested in cancelling it.
It remains a good counter to the NFL on NBC.
I have seen BLUE BLOOD, PERSON OF INTEREST and ELEMENTARY in syndication, but can’t remember any channel carrying GW reruns. You would think Lifetime or Oxygen or some cable network would have it in its lineup, but maybe I missed that.
I have never got the appeal of the series and found it too much of a soap opera for my taste. But I can say the same thing for some of the greatest works of literature as well.
October 27th, 2015 at 5:19 pm
Procedural with characterization, I’d suggest. A la LOU GRANT, though not quite as heavy-handed. THE GOOD WIFE has been in broadcast syndication, and Hallmark was running it on cable, might still be. And, well, the Emmys don’t mean [your epithet here]…I could certainly stand more seasons.
October 27th, 2015 at 5:23 pm
Atop all else, being shot in NYC makes THE GOOD WIFE less likely to encourage Emmy logrolling (weird rumors of on-set hassles perhaps didn’t help). The previous season, fwiw, was the weakest, but still fine…the current season a bit better.
October 27th, 2015 at 7:58 pm
My experiences in the TV and film business taught me how overrated the awards are. While I worked at Tower Records many of my co-workers were struggling musicians and they mocked the Grammys but thought the Oscars actually picked the best picture of the year. I worked at an Academy approved movie theatre in Century City and knew better.
The more you know about any subject the more you realize how pointless and wrong the awards are. But they give you street cred.
For years GOOD WIFE was the only major network series to get nominated for the Emmy, it filled CBS need for respect. Still does. The CBS Sunday lineup has changed much over the years with only two shows surviving – both known for quality more than ratings demos – 60 MINUTES and GOOD WIFE.
Despite how much the media tries to dumb down how the business of TV works it is not always the 18-49 demo that matters. Advertisers like having their commercials on critically acclaimed award winning shows that attract the mass audience with numbers HBO could only dream of.
But shows age and costs soar and profits fall. People turn to the newest critical darling and the reasons for the show to continue lessens.
But where will the viewers watching the NFL go when football ends? NBC has yet to find anything to keep the viewers. Fox animation is older and their sitcoms weaker than CBS lineup. Will ABC find a popular companion to match QUANTICO? I don’t see any problem with CBS Sunday lineup this season, but for next season…that will depend on what happens this winter.