And now, a little “upfront” recap.
The broadcast networks have finished unveiling their new fall schedules, but don’t chisel anything in stone. TV today is nothing if not in flux.
With traditional “linear” viewership on the decline thanks to DVRs, video on demand and assorted Internet viewing options, the hype of the new fall season is becoming less hyper.
Those of us old enough recall that the reason for such a fuss over the fall season had to do with advertising. Back in the day, fall used to be when automobile companies rolled out their new models and TV followed suit. New cars, new shows in mid-September to advertise the cars.
Time also was when the networks turned out the lights and hit the rerun button all summer. Cable companies unveiled their goodies during summer and made the networks squirm.
Time was when a full season of episodes meant a full season and not the 22 or so that passes for a season these days. Do the math - with 34 or 35 weeks between the middle of September and the middle of May, having only 22 episodes means about 12weeks (a full three months!) that a series will have to be filled with reruns, holiday specials or limited-run, midseason tryouts of other shows.
It’s the rare series that can maintain viewer interest over such a long hiatus. Reruns? With most homes having a DVR to catch missed episodes, the viability of reruns seems questionable. So, what’s a network to do?
Clean house and spread things out.
The Big Four networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox) and The CW ordered up 56 new series for the 2013-2014 season. Of those, only 27 will be on the fall schedules. Most of the rest are being touted for midseason. Others without a debut date are waiting in the wings to plug the holes left by the inevitable failures that will be yanked after a couple of episodes.
Limbo examples: NBC’s Community and CBS’ Mike & Molly have been renewed, but have no set date to return.
Having a series debut in the fall, then disappear for an extended period of time, risks having the viewer forget all about it. One solution is to resurrect the planned limited series.
Fox will try its hand with two this season -Wayward Pines from M. Night Shyamalan and 24: Live AnotherDay with Keifer Sutherland. They’ll have, respectively, 10 and 12 episodes each.
This concept works well with cable shows. The Closer, for example, only had 15 episodes for five of its seven seasons. Mad Men has always had only 13 episodes each season. Downton Abbey has only seven or eight episodes plus a Christmas special.
One hazard, however, is that viewers have notoriously short memories. Series with fewer episodes risk viewers forgetting when the shows are due to return. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t get e-mails inquiring about the return of cable favorites such as Longmire, The Glades, Psych, The Killing, Continuum, Falling Skies, White Collar, Covert Affairs and Franklin & Bash.
Even broadcast network series are taking on the miniseries aspects these days. Instead of filling in with repeats, a series will run until midwinter, go on hiatus while another series takes over the slot, then return in the spring to finish out the year.
Another solution: CBS is planning for its new fall drama Hostages to run straight through until January. Another new drama, Intelligence, will then take the slot for the remainder of the season.
For summer fare, CBS is planning a new Stephen King series, Under the Dome, in late June.
Spreading out the season is fine with me. It’s always good to have something to look forward to. But I know we’d all be much happier if the networks got out of the habit of debuting a series, only to ax it a few episodes later.
Among other shows, this happened this season with NBC’s Animal Practice (six episodes) and Do No Harm (two episodes), and CBS’ Made in Jersey was yanked after only two episodes. ABC’s Family Tools was also canned after two episodes, and Zero Hour, with Anthony Edwards, only lasted three.
Even if you didn’t watch those series, the networks’ quick trigger makes us gunshy about investing with any new show.
Program notes: Did you miss your favorite Australians? The Glades (8 p.m.) and Longmire (9 p.m.) returned Monday to A&E. There’s still time to catch up.
It’s Season 4 for Australian Matt Passmore as a Florida cop in The Glades, and Season 2 for Australian Robert Taylor as a Wyoming sheriff in Longmire.
For those who prefer lighter fare, Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence return for Season 3 of Melissa & Joey at 7 p.m. Wednesday on ABC Family.
That’s followed by Season 2 of Baby Daddy at 8. The sitcom has already gotten a green light for a third season. The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. E-mail:
Style, Pages 20 on 05/28/2013