The Upfronts Part 3 – Other Television Renewals
Why Reaper, Medium and Other Shows Were Cancelled or Renewed
May 29, 2009
Read The Upfronts Part 1 & 2 – about Chuck and Dollhouse respectively, here and here.
The following article explains the reasons behind some of the more interesting renewals and cancellations which will shape television for the next year. Specific shows focused on are: My Name is Earl, Better off Ted, Parks and Recreation and Southland, Samantha Who, Reaper, Medium, and Flashpoint.
My Name is Earl – Cancelled (NBC)
My Name is Earl’s ratings have been declining, and the show is expensive to produce and licence. While Earl has better ratings than NBC’s ratings average, the network is trying to cut costs now and rebuild by focusing on its young talent. A show like Earl that is past its prime does not fit their agenda. There is some hope for the show however; 20th Century Fox produces the show, and after four seasons it is tantalizingly close to the 100 episode mark needed for syndication. Because of this, there is speculation that Fox could give the show a pickup. The network has already shown an awareness of the value of cost synergy, and so such a move would not be surprising.
Better Off Ted – Renewed (ABC)
This show scored dismal numbers and should not have been back, but once again cheap costs won over low ratings. Speculation is that the licence fee for BOT is quite low, but the real kicker is that ABC bought six episodes beyond the finale when they initially ordered the show, which means renewing the show for next season saves them a few million dollars. The fact that BOT’s spoof commercial against Obama’s primetime addresses got a bit of viral attention likely clinched it for them.
Parks and Rec/Southland – Both Renewed (NBC)
Sometimes shows are renewed simply on the basis of their pedigree. Parks comes from the creator of NBC’s hit The Office, a show which also struggled to find an audience in its first season. NBC clearly hopes that Parks will be able to build an audience as time goes on. Southland is in a similar position. The show is created by one of the brains behind ER, one of NBC’s longest running successes, but after low first season ratings NBC is hoping they can turn things around next season.
Samantha Who – Cancelled (ABC)
This one is very simple. The network wanted the budget reduced by half a million dollars per episode, the producers couldn’t make that work, and so the network cancelled the show.
Reaper – Cancelled (for now) (CW)
Reaper actually got numbers which would have merited renewal consideration. Its main problem is that CW’s Entertainment President Dawn Ostroff is trying to get a very specific demographic to associate with the CW, women between 18-34 years of age, and Reaper isn’t aimed at, nor does well with, that demographic. There is, however, some hope for Reaper. The show is extremely cheap to produce, and so ABC Studios is betting that it could work in syndication, where it would run on specialty channels or the local affiliates of networks. ABC Studios currently produces the only other scripted syndicated series on the air right now, Legend of the Seeker, and will likely try and sell the two together as a packaged deal. The irony is that because the CW has decided to stop programming Sunday nights, local CW affiliates have free hours they need to fill with new shows, and so Reaper could end up back on the very network that cancelled it in the first place.
Medium (NBC) – Cancelled by NBC, Renewed by CBS
Although Medium garnered better ratings than its lead-in, Chuck, the series is aging and NBC didn’t see much hope for a raise in numbers. Both Medium and Earl are also off NBC because of Jay Leno, who is occupying five hours of primetime on NBC that they previously could have taken. CBS produces the show, and saw an opportunity for a syndicated series as well as a nice Friday-night pairing with Ghost Whisperer. Ironically, several shows CBS cancelled such as Eleventh Hour received significantly better ratings than Medium. If Medium manages to hold its current numbers on a Friday at CBS it will show the power of CBS as a network compared to NBC.
Flashpoint (CBS/CTV) – Renewed but in Limbo
On the one hand, Flashpoint’s ratings were dismal at 1.9 compared to the CBS average of 2.9, making it understandable that it did not appear on the CBS fall or midseason schedule. On the other hand, half the show’s production cost is fronted by Canadian broadcaster CTV, making it cheap, and the show has consistently won its Friday timeslot (in ratings) in addition to winning its initial Summer timeslot, making its absence on CBS’ schedule questionable. CBS has said that it will be back, likely for the 9 episodes which they had originally planned to add on to the original 13 of season 2. CBS’ rationale with Flashpoint is likely that as an extremely episodic character drama the show can be slotted in anywhere that CBS needs it to, and can therefore pinch hit if one of CBS’ new shows fail (this theory could be proven false if the show does not start production for several months).
All ratings data from TV By The Numbers.
 |
