Category Archives: Spring 2015

Grandfathered Post #8

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Grandfathered is reaching the mid-season mark and the question is raised for Grandfathered staff, “Do I Stay or Do I Go?”. A recent article from TV By the Numbers placed Grandfathered as teetering on the line between renewal and cancellation.

grandfathered-renew-cancel-wk-5Although, its ratings are not as blatantly successful as Fox’s Empire or doing as poor as Fox’s Minority Report, they fall right on the cusp between success and failure. Last week’s ratings demonstrated that the show is beginning to level out at approximately at a rating of 1 and reached about 3.3 million viewers in the 18-49 demographic. These numbers appear pretty stable, but the question is raised, whether or not Fox thinks these ratings are worthy of keeping the show going.

Although the show’s future is unknown, show executives are trying to secure ratings by locking in guest stars for future episodes. Currently, John Stamos’ longtime co-stars on Full House, Bob Saget and Dave Coulier are set to be appearing on the show. Their episodes are expected to air in late 2015 or 2016, which will hopefully give the viewers something to look forward to. john-stamos-bob-saget-dave-coulier-1Another guest star, expected to show up will be Dr. Phil, who will play John Stamos’ doctor.

Secrets and Lies – Week 9

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To renew or not to renew? That is the question being discussed in ABC board rooms as Secrets and Lies nears the conclusion of its 10 episode run. With three scheduled episodes remaining in season one, the show seems to be losing steam. Viewership dipped below five million for the first time on April 12. It was the second week in a row Secrets and Lies pulled in a 1.3 rating in the key 18-49 demographic. One factor for the drop in numbers could be the return of HBO’s hit show Game of Thrones. According to the Hollywood Reporter, GOT returned to nearly eight million viewers.

 

American Odyssey: Second Episode Slip

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The second episode of American Odyssey premiered on Sunday night to a bit of a smaller audience than last time.  The second episode brought in a .8 rating/2 share in 18-45 with 4.05 million total viewers according to Tv By the Numbers.  It came in second for its 10 o’clock time slot behind Revenge on ABC which earned a .9 rating in 18-49 but 3.84 million total viewers.  The time slot is very interesting because Battle Creek lost in 18-49 with a .7 rating, but won overall pulling in 6.48 million total viewers.  Revenge is the most popular for younger audiences, and Battle Creek is the most popular overall with older demographics, leaving American Odyssey in second overall, appealing to some people 18-49 but also a slightly older demographic.  American Odyssey’s lead-in A.D.: The Bible Continues brought in strong numbers with 7.75 million total viewers.  This could be helping keep some viewers for American Odyssey since the demographics may be similar.  According to Deadline, American Odyssey fell -27% from its first episode, which did not have the most successful turnout to begin with.  It is normal for numbers to fall a little bit from the pilot episode, but when the numbers start relatively low it is hard to come back from.  Deadline is already predicting the show to not be renewed, and possibly cancelled before all of the first season airs.  Tv By the Numbers is also predicting the show to be cancelled, but only time will tell.

Publicity wise, the Facebook page is doing another Twitter Q&A with one of the stars of the show, Jake Robinson, this Tuesday at 8:30 pm.  The Explore American Odyssey page has been updated to reflect material for each new episode. They have also been running promos on NBC, but there hasn’t been too much other publicity being pushed. I think the best way to sum up all of the reviews for the show so far is from Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus: “With a been-there-seen-that premise and multiple muddled plots, American Odyssey can’t escape the shadows of its superior predecessors in an age of solid spy/action television”.  The people who are already fans of the show are very engaged.

The writer/director of American Odyssey Peter Horton did an interview with the Hollywood Reporter about the show.  He said that he thought the show was better suited for a television network as opposed to cable because it’s a big enough show to handle a network, while it’s good enough quality to raise the bar for networks to compete with cable networks.  Horton also spoke about one of the show’s biggest challenges which is balancing the three separate main characters storylines.  He said that this season is mostly focused on Odelle and her journey home, but the focus will shift to the other two characters in the future.  You can find the full interview here.

 

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Weird Loners – Blog Post 9

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Surprisingly, Weird Loners has managed to stay fairly consistent in their numbers. The week of its premiere, it had a 0.7 rating with 1.91 million viewers from 18-49. This past week, it maintained its 0.7 rating with a slight decrease to 1.72 million viewers from 18-49. That’s pretty good given the reviews it got!

I know I have given Weird Loners a lot of grief, but I think it’s important to establish some factors that have contributed to the demise of this show…

  1. Competition:
    1. Not going to lie, its competition is pretty weak. The only real “competitor” is also a new show — One Big Happy — which has also been struggling to find a loyal audience. That said, Ellen has been promoting this show like no other (makes sense given that she is an executive producer on it). I can imagine the fan-base for Ellen may be more impressive than that of New Girl (which then leads into Weird Loners).
  2. Time Slot:
    1. It’s never easy to excel on a Tuesday night at 9:30pm c. I would argue that anywhere from 6-9:30 pm is a difficult time slot to fill. It’s, at the very least, a ‘transitional’ part of everyone’s day. The fact that it starts in the middle of the hour — at 9:30pm c — as opposed to 9pm c, adds an additional stress to this show. I can tell you, personally, that I would never watch a show in them middle of an hour for a half-hour if I didn’t like the show before it (New Girl). 
  3. Difference in Writing:
    1. As mentioned earlier, New Girl leads into Weird Loners. I think the network made this decision because they thought that both shows were very similar. Well, folks, these shows are NOT two peas in a pod. In fact, there is such a stark difference with regards to writing style and content that it would be unfair to clump these two shows together under the umbrella term “sitcom.”

As we near the season’s end, I will be curious to see if this show is able to make a comeback or if it will continue to descend to its imminent cancelation. Thanks for reading!

The Odd Couple: What the Critics Are Saying…

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Well, after a less than triumphant return from its NCAA imposed hiatus, CBS has yet to announce whether The Odd Couple will make it on to the Fall 2015 schedule. Apart from losing three million viewers from before and after the hiatus, The Odd Couple has received overwhelmingly mixed reviews, leaning towards the negative side. In order to take a closer look at the reviews for The Odd Couple, I have consulted the online review aggregator, MetaCritic (http://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-odd-couple-2015).

According to MetaCritic, The Odd Couple has received 20 mixed reviews, 5 negative reviews and 1 positive review. Based upon the reviews of 26 professional print critics, MetaCritic has given The Odd Couple a score of 42. Here are some highlights from the critics:

Newsday’s Diane Werts best shared my sentiments, writing “Their [Matthew Perry and Thomas Lennon’s] Odd Couple feels like the kind of time-filling time killer that’s chasing viewers to other options.”

Entertainment Weekly’s Jeff Jenson wrote, “There is a kind of bad show that might be the saddest kind of bad show. It’s the show that strands talented actors known for being funny on a sitcom that isn’t funny at all.” This confirms a number of the reviews which seem to feel that The Odd Couple has all of the elements of a successful series, but they all fail to come together in the end.

TV Guide’s Matt Roush, also felt that the show is an example of mediocrity, “There’s not a lot to love in this strained, often deafening update of the Neil Simon perennial.”

Therefore, coupled with the critics’ reaction and the low ratings, it looks like CBS should replace The Odd Couple with something that has more originality and substance, as well as the potential to become another 10 year-wonder like How I Met Your Mother and Two and a Half Men.

Secrets and Lies – Post Eight

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            Secrets and Lies was preempted on Sunday, April 5 for ABC’s annual airing of The Ten Commandments. It is the first time since the show began that a new episode was not aired. The show returns to its regularly scheduled 9:00 p.m. time slot on Sunday, April 12.

ABC is yet to renew Secrets and Lies for a second season. The show seems to have a solid following, as week in and week out the viewership remains at about 5 million people. Much like the expert reviews, which greatly vary, audience opinion does too. The show has a Metascore of 48 on Metacritic based on 22 critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the Secrets and Lies has a 36% score, with 21 people deeming the show rotten.

American Odyssey: The Pilot

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American Odyssey debuted on Easter Sunday in the 10 o’clock slot on NBC.  TV By the Numbers reported that it received a 1.2 rating and a 4 share with 5.4 million total viewers in 18-49.  It beat Battle Creek on CBS in 18-49 ratings and share, but lost in total viewership.  Battle Creek received a .7 rating and 2 share, but had 5.6 million total viewers. A.D.: The Bible Continues was the lead in which brought in 9.5 million total viewers, so there was a significant drop-off between the two programs, but I attribute that to the biblical nature of A.D. on Easter Sunday.

The first episode has received mixed reviews so far, with slightly more positive feedback than negative.  American Odyssey has a 55% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 59% on Metacritic– not overwhelmingly good, but not terrible for the first episode of a television series.  Critics are saying that there are too many storylines going on that are too contrived.  Another critique of the show is that there are a few lapses in logic and coincidences that held advance the storyline. Positive reviews of the show have complimented the complex storyline calling it clever and fresh.  It is difficult to make a conspiracy story with a unique story that also sticks as close as it can to reality, and it seems to me that American Odyssey is accomplishing that pretty successfully.

 

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Weird Loners – Blog Post 8

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   At this time, I would like to extend my condolences to the people who believed in the success of Weird Loners, which premiered Tues., March 31st at 9:30/8:30 c.

The show’s rating was 0.7 for ages 18-49 with a share of 2. Approximately 1.92 million people watched the show’s premiere.

Before we dive into how depressing these numeric figures are, let’s take a look at feedback for this show…

According to various sources, they are almost certain this show will be canceled by May of this year. The Daily Free Press, for example, notes that this show is neither, “genuine” or “funny.” In fact, the critic found, “none of the protagonists of “Weird Loners” [to] have anything in common with each other except for the fact that they’re all single and decently annoying.” While he notes the show is not entirely “unbearable,” he does urge viewers to search out other programming if this pilot is any indication as to what the rest of the season may look like.

While many publications and critics agree with the Daily Free Press, there has been some positive feedback, as well…

The Michigan Daily, for example, believes the show effectively targets a demographic that is otherwise neglected in the entertainment industry: 30-year-olds. On the same note — however — the author does acknowledge, “a degree of predictability that at times runs counter to its message, making it a strength as well as a hindrance to a new series that must set itself apart in a crowded field of similar sitcoms.”

If the ratings the premiere received are any indication of this shows success, this show will not make it to May. Tonight’s second episode may put the nail in the coffin to this show’s season. Thus, Weird Loners — on some level — is a wolf in sheep’s clothing: neither delivering on its promises nor satisfying the needs of the demographic in mind.

Is This the Beginning of the End for The Odd Couple?

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Well, after a hiatus for the NCAA Basketball tournament, The Odd Couple did not have a triumphant return to the CBS Thursday night line-up. Despite its lead-in from the hit comedy, The Big Bang Theory, the Matthew Perry and Thomas Lennon vehicle, has hit a major speed-bump. As TV Media Insights succinctly put it, “While no one expects any show to hold the “Big Bang” lead-in, slippage of this magnitude is too severe. Five-week household overnight track for “The Odd Couple”: 8.1/13 – 7.1/11 – 7.6/12 – 6.6/11 – 5.8/10.” (http://www.tvmediainsights.com/tv-ratings/cbs-tops-thursday-recent-entry-odd-couple-slipping/). Therefore, without some major adjustments, The Odd Couple may find itself off of the CBS fall schedule. The drop in audience does not surprise me, because on a night with such unique comedies on CBS, The Odd Couple, interrupts the Thursday night CBS comedy flow. Compared to The Big Bang Theory and Mom, The Odd Couple appears to be derivative, very formulaic and more importantly, mediocre. Nostalgia is big on TV now, we see that with revivals of shows, such as Hawaii Five-O and Girl Meets World and even Hot In Cleveland taps into this, through its cast, featuring four sitcom veterans. However, this version of The Odd Couple, is lacking the magic spark that gives viewers that warm fuzzy feeling that they first had when watching the original 1970s version, coupled with that feeling of satisfaction of watching something modern and contemporary. I would not be surprised if The Odd Couple is missing from the CBS 2015-2016 schedule.

Secrets and Lies – Week 7

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March 29 saw Secrets and Lies match its lowest rating of the season with a 1.3 in the key 18-49 demographic. On social media the show has a stable following. The verified Facebook page boasts more than 185,000 likes while the verified Twitter account has a greater than 14,000 followers. The show has a consistent presence on both major social media outlets posting content at least once a day. This results in audience engagement. Over the last week, more than 5,000 tweets contained the show’s name. Additionally, Melissa Gilbert, who stars in the show leverages audience engagement by tweeting about Secrets and Lies from her own personal account.

Additionally, the show will take a two-week hiatus from new episodes and show re-runs on April 5 and April 12.