Author Archives: Sean Martinelli

American Crime- Slight Dip in Ratings, Renewal Up in the Air

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As American Crime enters its fifth week on the air, its ratings are holding fairly steady with just a slight dip in the April 2nd episode. The show posted a 1.1 rating among adults 18-49, which is below the 1.3 rating it had been hovering around for the previous couple of weeks.

The media has given this show very little buzz in the last couple of weeks, which might suggest that it simply doesn’t have enough fanfare to really move forward. Nonetheless, USA Today has not totally given up hope on the series yet, and says that its status for renewal is currently “on the bubble”. 

American Crime- Social Media Presence

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After a few weeks on the air, things are still not looking good when it comes to the possibility of renewal for another season for “American Crime”. However, it seems as if the show has created an impressive social media presence for itself, which has helped to generate conversation for the show during its live broadcasts.

In addition to official “American Crime” Twitter account retweeting comments from fans, the main stars of the program have been live tweeting with viewers during the show. The show has faced stiff competition on social media with March Madness dominating much of the conversation over the last few weeks, but it has found a community of talkers nonetheless.

“American Crime”‘s social media presence likely won’t save the program from cancellation, but if it continues to grow, it would make the case for renewal more compelling.

American Crime- Cancellation Likely

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After only three weeks on the air, American Crime is looking like it won’t make it back next season on ABC. While the network doesn’t formally say whether a show has been renewed or cancelled until May, the numbers are indicating that it is not strong enough to continue on broadcast.

The interesting question now becomes: what’s next for American Crime? As I mentioned before, it has received almost universal praise from critics, and so it may find new life on some other platform. It is a possibility that one of the streaming services will pick it up, and it will likely perform much better online.

American Crime- Second Episode Ratings Drop

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During “American Crime”‘s second week on television, the series drew headlines for losing a sizable chunk of its audience compared to the week before. In the 18-49 demo, the show lost six tenths of a rating point, and has left many wondering how the show will perform in the next few weeks of its 11-episode season.

“American Crime”‘s lead-ins “Scandal” and “Grey’s Anatomy” were also down, so that almost certainly contributed to the show’s drop-off, but there could be another reason why the show isn’t performing like some anticipated it would.

The series has a different feel to it than its time slot predecessor “How To Get Away With Murder”, and viewers seeking a Shonda Rhimes sensationalized hour of TV may feel empty after watching “American Crime”. The series may just not be the type of programming that ABC viewers are looking for on Thursday nights, which doesn’t diminish its quality, but may just indicate that it needs to find a different place on TV.

American Crime- First Week

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“American Crime” performed well during its first episode premiere on March 5th. Ratings wise, approximately 8.4 million people tuned into the show, which benefited from its lead- in (“Scandal”) and heavy promotion during the Academy Awards a few weeks prior. However, while the show started on fairly solid footing, there was a noticeable drop off when it came to viewers 18-49 from “Scandal”. “American Crime’ only captured about 60% of viewers 18-49 from the hour preceding it.

Reviews for the show have been strong, and critics have been almost universally giving it high praise. However, there has been some conversation about whether this type of program is appropriate for broadcast television, when it has more of a “cable-esque” feel to it.

 

American Crime- The Buzz Leading up to the Premiere

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We’re about a week away from the premiere of American Crime, and the show is starting to generate some buzz online. While American Crime doesn’t have the amount of traction on social media that some of the other ABC mainstays currently have (like Scandal or How to Get Away With Murder), this will likely build over time. American Crime’s greatest benefit is its time slot, and this is the reason why it really doesn’t need a large scale promotional effort. Viewers come to ABC on Thursday nights knowing exactly what they are going to get. They come for addicting shows that keep them hungry for more episodes each week. If ABC follows that formula with American Crime, people will be there watching the premiere in high numbers, and will keep doing so until the show ends.

American Crime- Predicting the Success

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It’s difficult to predict if a show will be successful or not, especially in the very unpredictable television landscape we live in. But American Crime has a very different feel to it. From the first look at the trailer, the viewer can see a very cinematic undertone to the program. It is more immersive than a typical TV show, and because of that, I think this show could develop a strong and loyal fan base. One of the guest speakers in this Television Business course, Ed Hersch, said that there are some programs the networks already know will be a hit. American Crime is likely in that category. It has all of the elements needed to be successful: drama, suspense, controversy, and substance.

American Crime- Introduction

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American Crime is a highly anticipated drama coming to ABC in March. It will be replacing “How to Get Away with Murder”, which currently occupies the 10 p.m. time-slot on Thursday nights for the network. American Crime will attempt to do what the current Thursday night shows do on ABC: stimulate conversation and a lot of buzz on social media that gets people talking about the program, and in turn, creates large viewership numbers. It follows the story of a racially charged murder, and the court hearing process that follows that murder. The show has some decent star power behind it including Felicity Huffman and Timothy Hutton.