Upfronts: After the Carnage

Over the course of this the TV networks are presented their new schedules to advertisers, commonly known as the "upfronts".  They give advertisers a sneak peek at what they are bringing back and what new shows they are banking on.  There is no mention of those shows that have just been axed, it is all hope and re-birth at these things.  Beleaguered NBC is up today and they basically have a whole new line up.  I'm surprised that they kept Community and cancelled The New Normal and Go On.  As a once ardent and now a less enthusiastic Community fan, I am happy that the show-runners have a chance to work out the kinks, but those shows while not great or pop-culture touchstones, weren't awful either.  They could have been solid in the way of ABC's "The Middle".


The network system is broken and has been for some time.  Beyond our fragmented/segmented viewing habits, the means by which they decide which shows live and which die are not all down to just ratings.  If that were the case there would be no Celebrity Apprentice.  Audiences are smaller than they were 20, 10 years ago and with more ways to watch it has thrown the industry off of it's game and less willing to gamble.  Which is why there are some show-runners with multiple shows on the same network, like Shonda Rhimes with ABC and Chuck Lorre with CBS.   The networks produce more inventory than they need, up to 100 pilots are shot, and from those a few will make it on the air and out of that handful only a couple will survive beyond the first season.

And there's the rub.  As a viewer it is hard to put a lot of energy and excitement into a new show because we know that some may not last past the first 2 episodes.  Case in point, I was reluctant to watch Zero Hour (I like high concept, conspiracy shows. I really miss Fringe and Lost) and so I watched the first two episodes on Hulu and after the third episode aired it was cancelled. ABC will air the 10 remaining hours this summer.   Why yank the show off the air if you already have a whole season in the can?  

What is the solution to this? I don't have all of the answers but a few suggestions.  Make the seasons shorter, we don't need 22 or 26 episodes.  This seems to work particularly well with dramas and it is a model that cable has found quite successful.  Hits like Sherlock Holmes and Downton Abbey have even less episodes and have generated as much buzz or more than any network show.  Barring shorter seasons, give the shows a chance to find an audience. Try out some un-tested talent look beyond your lot, there are people in the digital world that are producing amazing content and have found an audience, give those people a chance.  I'm excited to see what an Issa Rae and Shonda Rhimes collaboration with bring.

And speaking to digital, that brings us to Netflix.  Both Jenji Kohan, creator of Weeds and Kevin Spacey, star and producer of House of Cards said that what they liked about Netflix is that they didn't have to make pilots and jump through all of the typical network hoops.  There is no denying the for their first shows that Netflix went with big names and proven performers and are banking on the cult status of a show like Arrested Development to drive traffic to the site.  Yet, they are also taking a chance of the content and that is all any creative can ask.  They aren't at the mercy of advertisers but if the show fails they are still out of the money the laid out which is just as significant as what the networks put out and they can't recoup that from another division, like the news or big event, such as the Super Bowl.