shadowkat | (no subject)

I don't know if anyone reading this cares about these things any longer, but here's the TV Cancellation Olympic Status report that I got from Brilliant But Cancelled this morning.

1. Twenty Good Years is in a coma, in other words it is close to being cancelled and has stopped production.

2. The following shows have been picked up for a full order - in other words, the network has asked for 22 episodes and they are *not* going to be cancelled: Heroes, Jericho, Ugly Betty, Brothers & Sisters, Shark and The Game. Rejoice if you are a fan of them.

3. Vanished, Six Degrees, and 30 Rock are in trouble. Vanished may well be the next to go, it's been moved to Fridays and the producers have been asked to wrap up their series in 13 episodes to be safe.
The other two are getting bad reviews, horrid buzz, and dismal ratings.

4. These shows have gotten a reprieve or a show of good faith: Studio 60 (NBC ordered 3 more episodes of a show that costs $3 million an episode to make. Think about that for a minute. 3 million an episode.), The Class (CBS ordered four more scripts), and Men in Trees (ABC ordered four more scripts). This means these shows are safe for now.

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That must make 'Studio 60' one of the most expensive shows on TV, so I guess it makes sense that the network wants it to perform well...they get some credit from critics for having a well written show filled with great actors, but if the public doesn't get into it then there isn't much point. I am still watching it, but I do want some decent women characters to show up soon.

I am thrilled to hear about Heroes and Ugly Betty, because those are my two favorites among the new shows (no surprise there, everyone I know likes those).

They've informed Sorkin that he needs to focus more on the characters lives and less on the tv show bits. Which may help. The insider bits - the network believes - may be distancing the audience. I don't know, that's what I like most about the show, but then I'm weird.

There are two fairly strong female characters: Jordan McDeere - the network president, and Harry - the sketch comedy actress. Also there was Christine Lahti - the newspaper reporter.
And Jenny - the other sketch comedy actress. They just haven't gotten as much air time lately as Matt and Danny have.

Expensive TV shows got to work harder to stay alive. Studio 60 does have one or two things going for it though - it's among the most TiVo'ed shows and it's audience is in the 69,000 salary segment of the Nielsen's - or the most lucrative audience for advertisers. ER is another expensive show to produce. Smith cost 8 million per episode - that's why it got cancelled.
To put it all in perspective, I think Buffy was 500,000 in it's final seasons.

Well 'fairly' strong doesn't really cut it, you (as I recall) said the Jordon McDeere character was more like Donna than CJ, they are going to have to start showing more of her strengths because at the moment she is very lame. And the sketch comedy actress/Harry? is trying her hardest to show layers, but so far the character has been more interesting in her 'on-air' segments than her behind the scene stuff.
I do LOVE the Christine Lahti character, will she be a regular? Because she is playing a smart interesting woman.

In that episode - she seemed pretty weak. But in the first two, she was fairly strong.
My gut tells me that he'll probably write her similarily to the Felicity Huffman character in Sports Night.

That said...my hopes for this show making it past 13 episodes isn't high. It's pricy and it isn't pulling in the ratings. While the "die-hard" fans adored last week's episode, everyone else hated it - which doesn't bode well.

Twenty Good Years is all but gone. 30 Rock is moving to Thursdays after Scrubs (9:30 p.m.). Not sure about the strategy here--NBC may be burning off eps, or they may be trying to build a two-hour comedy block to counter Ugly Betty/Grey's Anatomy and Survivor/CSI. Expectations might be lower in that slot; a solid third place finish might be acceptable.

Look for *surprise!* more game show filler in the old 30 Rock/20GY slot.

Vanished will resolve its central mystery and disappear. ABC is ready to dump Six Degrees because it's bleeding viewers from Grey's.

Fox News is reporting that Studio 60 may be 13-and-out (NBC has to broadcast at least 13 episodes of S60 as part of their contract with Sorkin in order to avoid a penalty).

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,226092,00.html

Sorry for the last reply.

I don't know what NBC is going to do. I know that they already had 10 episodes made.
Three more would make it 13.

I don't know what NBC is going to do either. If Studio 60 didn't cost $3 million per episode to produce, there wouldn't be rumors about cancellation. (After all, NBC stuck with The Office despite terrible ratings during their first season.) NBC would switch S60 to Wednesday or (eventually) Sunday night, and let the show build on an already loyal following. But with the current financial crisis at NBC/Universal, can they afford to keep this show alive? Same goes for Friday Night Lights--will they give the series enough time to grow, or make the purely fiscal decision to shut it down before too much money flies out the door?

This is one of those "art vs. commerce" decisions that makes me glad I don't work in television.

My gut says both Studio 60 and Friday Night Lights will probably not make it past this year, if they last that long. FNL may have a better chance - I think it's less expensive. Doesn't really appeal to me, so haven't been tracking it and have no clue how well it is doing ratings wise. It's also not the sort of show you can just leap into the middle of, very serialized. So if the audience wasn't there on day one? Unlikely for it to pick up new viewers. Studio 60 has the same problem - people I know who didn't see the first episodes are a bit lost and having troubles getting into it now.

Say what you will about reality shows and procedurals - you can jump into them at any time without getting lost. Easy to pick up. Not so, with the serial dramas.

I think Studio 60 may be the most expensive show on right now that Smith disappeared.
Smith used to be. So with NBC about to announce lay-offs...how long do we really think Studio 60 has? Shame. But that's entertainment.