Category Archives: Spring 2018

Black Lightning – Crossover Contender #3

Posted on by

Before the premiere of Black Lightning, several articles and news stories were written that speculated the possibility of the series doing a crossover with the other DC comic series on the CW. Mark Pedowitz, the current president of CW Television Network, stated in May of 2017 that the Black Lightning world would be separete from the other series known as the “Arrowverse”. They claim that the network at this time is not planning on doing a five way cross over.

Now that the show was premiered, there has been no word from the network if there is a change in that original plan. According to TV Line, Black Lightning is the networks best series launch in 2 years (since Legends of Tomorrow, one of the hit DC comic crossover shows). With the show’s constant ratings between a .8 and .6 with viewers 18-49, the network may have reason to re-consider there initial response.

 

Sources:

So, Is Black Lightning In the Arrowverse?

http://tvline.com/2018/01/17/black-lightning-ratings-season-1-premiere-cw/

 

The Resident #3

Posted on by

Chances of renewal seem likely for “The Resident”. According to a TV by The Numbers columnist, the chances are better than 50/50 despite the shows’ average ratings in its Monday 9PM time slot. Fox’s sister studio 21st Century Fox owns the show, which almost always guarantees renewal. However, there are major changes happening at 21st Century Fox, so by next fall the studio could very easily not own “The Resident” anymore. When the new schedule is being set this May, the heads of Fox will also be running the studio. This is very unusual and will cause big changes in the business model at the company.

A better explanation of what is happening to Fox here:

Fox’s other new drama “9-1-1” is performing very well and will definitely be picked up for a second season. Something interesting to look out for in the coming weeks is Fox decided to pair up “The Resident” and “9-1-1” for a special to gain exposure for both shows. I think that the mashup will enhance “The Resident”’s chances of getting picked up for a second season.

Life Sentence #3

Posted on by

This past week has been on a status quo for Life Sentence.  Their social media has continues to tweet and post on their Instagram and Facebook on the new promotional videos and art content.

Lets take a look at the people who have worked to create the show. The creators of the show are Erin Cardillo and Richard Keith. Erin is an actress, director, producer and writer all wrapped into one. She is known best for her writing in Life Sentence, acting in Passions, and many  one time appearances on over 40 shows. She co-executive produced 13 episodes of Fuller House and now she’s on to executive producing 2 episodes of Life Sentence. Both Erin and Richard created 11 episodes of Life Sentence and have written two of the episodes. Richard Keith, just like Erin, is known for his work across the board. He is known best for the coming Life Sentence, a writer for Fuller House and many acting rolls from one time appearances to multiple episode appearances.

The production companies used in the making of Life Sentence are Doozer, In Good Company, and Warner Brothers Television. The CW Network is the distributor for the U.S. and Bravo Network for Canada.

Deception #3

Posted on by

by Anjani Iman

With the premiere of ABC’s new crime drama, “Deception”, less than a month away, its marketing team is pushing social media with more force. The target demo for the new series is A18-49, so its social media presence is important for its success.

Unsurprisingly, the show is most prevalent and popular on Facebook as it is the #1 leading social media site in the world. On FB, the page rakes in 22,429 likes and posts with a wider variety of multimedia ranging from articles to livestreams (by ABC Television Network, not “Deception”) to promo videos.

On Twitter, the series’ second most prioritized social media, the account is just shy of one thousand followers, a huge difference from Facebook. This social media account reposts a lot of the stars and producers’ Twitter content, as well as Boomerangs from Instagram. On the whole, the account is weaker than Facebook and less personal.

The weakest link for “Deception” is their instagram, which has even lagged on the logo rebrand that is prevalent on Twitter and Facebook. There are only 8 posts and just over 700 followers.

Social media does not seem to be a driving force for the “Deception” series, whether that is the folly of the social media/marketing team or simply not a priority for the producers and development team.

“Deception” will premiere on Sunday, March 11 at 10/9c on ABC.

Station 19 #3

Posted on by

#Station19 has had more traction this week as they have begun shooting and posting pictures. Wendy Calhoun, a producer for Station 19, tweeted a picture of the real life firefighter tech and stunt crew, showing their incorporation of real life heroes into the show. Even though the post did not receive a lot of attention, I think this is an important factor of the show that will most likely be brought up in interviews and press tours. In regards to the buzz around the show, ABC has announced that Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19 will be having a crossover episode on March 1st, titled “You Really Got a Hold On Me.”. This will be a great introduction to the Station 19 actors and will be airing before the Scandal and How To Get Away with Murder crossover episode. It will be a full night for #TGITCrossover and will garner a lot of social media attention.

 

 

Turchiano, D. 2018, February 08. ABC Announces ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and ‘Station 19’ Crossover Episode. Retrieved from http://variety.com/2018/tv/news/greys-anatomy-station-19-crossover-abc-air-date-1202693199/.

 

Alex, Inc. (3)

Posted on by

Zach Braff, Alex, Inc.’s star, director, and producer has a large social media presence, most notably on Twitter. With 2.03 million Twitter followers, Braff is able to reach a large audience without any filter. He also has over a million Instagram followers and 1.6 million likes on his official Facebook page. Braff has used his significant social media following to promote his new show, from tweeting out cast photos to alerting audiences of trailer premiers. The actor/director also promotes the twitter account for the show itself (@AlexIncABC), yet the account only has slightly over 2,500 followers. This can easily be explained by the fact that the show has yet to air, but it is still notable that the account lacks ample followers. Given Braff’s large social media following and his tendency to reference the show’s twitter account in his tweets, though, it remains likely that the program’s social media accounts will gain followers as the premiere approaches.

Splitting Up Together #3

Posted on by

Poster Analysis:

As we near closer to the air date for the show I have begun to notice trailers and promos for the premiere begin to appear in things such as ads when watching other ABC shows online through the ABC app. I thought with that in mind it would be interesting to spend a week or two analyzing the shows marketing. We learned that the best way to attract an audience to TV is to create curiosity.

In looking at this promotional flyer/banner for the show, the marketers appear to be using the phrase “nothing brings a family closer together than being apart” in order to create that curiosity. The phrase seems paradoxical which immediately engages viewers to wonder what that means and to learn more about that show. Time will tell if it will get viewers curious enough to actually tune in for the premiere to see just how living apart can make the heart strings grow fonder.

 

A.P. Bio #3

Posted on by

What are the Critics Saying?

Critics have had 4 episodes of the show given to them for reviews so I thought it would be appropriate to see what early reviews say before the show moves into full schedule next month. Rotten Tomatoes has given the show so far a 55% score with an audience approval of 60%. So far those critics have yet to reach a consensus on the show. On TVBytheNumbers, the show was recently given a 3/5 bear score. This means the show is currently dead center of the road for if it is likely to be picked up or not for another season.

In a review in the Hollywood Reporter, the show is described as being set up for success in all qualifications except its humor. It has the right cast for the job but the show is lacking a consistent and humorous plot. according to the review most of the characters except the two male leads are still very under developed which could be the shows saving grace if that is corrected in future episodes.

Splitting Up Together #2

Posted on by

Analyzing the Splitting Up Together Twitter:

The show has been on twitter ever since it was ordered by ABC into production in May 2017. In the recent weeks as the show has begun to advertise more and more on air the twitter has begun to push its trailer as well. Many posts on the account include clips or stills from the trailer with a quick one liner joke related to the show. In my opinion this formula works well to get viewer attention. An example of a post is from January 18th and reads “When only a squirrel is checking you out … you know something has gotta change in your love life. #SplittingUpTogether”.

As the show is a family comedy it seems wise that you would advertise the show in a comedic manner. Its a great lure because if a viewer finds the joke about the show funny they are likely to then want to check out the show for that same humor used in the ads. With the show still more than a month out from premiere though it will be interesting to see  if the advertising scheme changes as the premiere draws closer.

Black Lightning – Still Going Strong #2

Posted on by

Going into week 4 of Black Lightning, the show still holds strong in ratings. The premiere episode received a 0.8 for viewers ages 18-49 and a total of 2.31 million viewers. In the second week of the show’s premiere, TV by the numbers claims that the show is the CW’s best debut in nearly 2 years and is a sure bet for renewal in 2018-2019. Much of this success may be do the the shows placement after The Flash. Having two DC comic book hero shows back to back may draw in similar (if not more) viewers invested in the hero’s. Even when competing with the State of Union in its third week, Black Lightning still pulls in 2.2 million viewers and a 0.8 for viewers ages 18-49.

The views for tonight (week 4) will be one to watch with the show competing with new episodes of This is Us (NBC), Bull (CBS), and Blackish (ABC). Tuesday nights at 9:00 p.m. are difficult nights to pull in live viewer ratings. 

Sources:

http://comicbook.com/dc/2018/01/31/tv-ratings-tuesday-black-lightning-flash-high/

Cancel Bear vs. The CW, week 17: ‘Black Lightning’ opens as a sure bet for renewal