Programming Note: Upfronts Week
FOX
I'll be spending much of the next few days at the network "upfronts," in which Fox, The CW, ABC and CBS will present their next-season shows to advertisers in hopes of garnering the few remaining advertising dollars. (Cable upfronts have been held on and off over the past several weeks.) In between presentations, I'll be on deadline for Time, so while there may be a lot of news, posting here may be spotty—I'll post some upfronts updates when I can.
In the meantime, several programming decisions have already been leaked. Among the ones that interest me: Dollhouse (yay!), Better Off Ted, Castle and (puzzlingly) Scrubs will all return for another season. No final word on Chuck yet, though NBC has promised a decision this week. has reportedly been picked up, but for 13 episodes and on a tighter budget.
The Dollhouse pickup was the big shocker—and by me the most welcome—and the most notable for what it says about how the network TV business works today. Mo Ryan has an insightful post laying out how Fox's decision to keep the show may herald an era in which the decision to keep shows alive is no longer just about ratings. Because as far as live-TV viewing is concerned, Dollhouse has none. But
* Joss Whedon has reportedly agreed to bring the show back on a lower budget
* Dollhouse gets an unusually high ratio of DVR-to-live-TV viewers, boosting its overall numbers
* Shows like it, with small but very dedicated audiences, are monetizable in other ways, such as through DVD sales. (The classic example is Lost, a decently-rated show on TV, but regularly a top seller on DVD. As J.J. Abrams once told me about that aspect of the business end—the plastic they press the DVDs on doesn't cost $50.)
Because I am a man with a hammer to whom everything looks like a nail, I'll add one thing: this is further proof, as I've been writing lately, of how the "decline" of the broadcast networks can make for better TV. Smaller audiences and more creative—unfortunately for the talent, cheaper—budget arrangements can mean that shows survive that a few years ago would have been too tiny for broadcast. If Firefly had debuted in 2009 instead of 2002, we'd be celebrating its second-season pickup today.
By the end of the week, we'll have a better sense of the trends that will be shaping TV over the next year. And it will be downright fascinating—in a year in which ad spending is predicted to drop by as much as 20%—to see how the networks pitch their shows, and their medium itself, to Madison Avenue. I'll keep you posted.
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1
[...] got renewed! yay! This will possibly mean some changes in the show. io9 does a nice job laying out the [...]
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2
Just found out through the trending topics on twitter that Chuck was renewed. . .I've wanted to get into it, maybe now I'll try.
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3
Well, every year the nets renew at least one low rated but critical darling; at the first glance, the only difference is that this year everyone picked one.
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But at second glance, I see that all of the shows are big with youth, and heavy with online views, and I think that the nets have all picked these shows to be demographic guinea pigs - a lot of research into just what their audiences actually are in alternative media, etc.
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Suddenly those Friday slots most will end up with seem only half punishment, and half part of the testing criteria (slot no one watches live = even more alternative data points).
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And one other mention: there is apparently serious discussion that Reaper might move to syndication - ironically, airing on CW affiliates on Sundays, that they just gave back. -
4
The Chuck renewal has been rumored to be in that ballpark, so it's good to see those rumors getting substantiated. The Better Off Ted renewal surprises the heck out of me, but it's a very pleasant surprise nonetheless. I thought it was priceless that one of their four neutral, non-offensive corporately mandated cubicle personalization themes was the Green Bay Packers.
`
Now that the number of shows Mrs. Dave and I follow is increasing (From Lost and Chuck to Lost, Chuck, Better Off Ted, HIMYM, BBT, and probably Fringe), I'm more mindful of how the scheduling is going to work out. -
5
@James -- any words on when during the week Chuck would be scheduled?
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I'd hate to see it relegated to Friday nights, but I'd also prefer it avoid the Monday steel-cage match it's been a part of. To me Thursday at 8 pm ET/7 pm CT actually makes a lot of sense -- the comic tone of the show would play well with 30 Rock/Office/Parks and Recreation, while sparing the 3 from reruns....but I'd take Chuck on Sundays or Tuesdays as well (since there is largely nothing that I watch on either night). -
6
Great news about Chuck, Dollhouse & Better Off Ted. Oddly, I'm a little disappointed about the Scrub news. I thought the show rallied for a good final season after a couple of down years, and the final send off was a perfect place to end it.
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So instead of bitterly cursing network execs for killing shows, I'm slightly worried that they were too nice. I am very confused.... -
7
@Chad - I had heard speculation that Chuck would be on Wednesdays, but that was at least a week ago, which probably means it's been moved back to Mondays, over to Fridays, back to Wednesdays, around to Sundays, and back around the circuit again. There's some interesting speculation on tvbythenumbers about the method of renewing shows, and the roles DVR/online viewing, show quality, and audience age play. Whether that's a few networks taking a chance this year or a new industry trend emerging is hard to say.
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8
I heard Fridays for Chuck, which would disappoint me... hopefully it's not up against Dollhouse, because I think there is a similar audience. Apparently ratings don't matter anymore though, and you know what, I'm going to take a couple of months off from stressing about Dollhouse. Celebration time.
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9
[...] DOLLHOUSE SURVIVED! It is up for review and with any luck we will see @FeliciaDay (yes follow her on twitter) in the next episode. That episode will also be in the box set of season 1 so run out and support. If you have ever heard of the self made producer/actor/director Tommy Wiseau, well you are about to not have a choice. The Room is a god awful movie, so bad it became awesome. It now has public screenings across the country with tons of audience participation (mainly throwing plastic spoons). We were first in line for the showing in NYC and I believe me and some friends were interviewed, its somewhere on the internet. We also met the Bri of BriTANick there and saw David Cross impersonating the infamous creator himself. I was also at a Lady Sovereign concert this past tuesday and oddly enough loved one of the opening bands (Chester Fench), its like is Napoleon Dynamite crashed into hipsterville in Boston. And like everyone else I know they hate LA. Whatever. AND I SAW STAR TREK (details on that in an entirely different post later) I’m off to go to a dance parade in the park along with a glow in the dark big wheel race (yes those tricycles) tomorrow. Pics maybe [...]
- poniewozik Loved the season. Mrs Tuned In wd have put u on the main list RT @boredtodeath Thank u for incl us in Time's Top 10. We'll take hon mention. - 4 hours ago
- poniewozik @carr2n Virgin is the best, LAX-JFK - 5 hours ago
- poniewozik Did NPR interview abt multiscreen multitasking. After, automatically reached for iPhone in pocket. Like don draper wd have for cigarettes. - 6 hours ago
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