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.
Tag Archives: Sitcom
Weird Loners – Blog Post 3
Casting galore! Reports state that Becki Newton may also guest-star on the show’s sixth episode. Newton — known for The Goodwin Games, Ugly Betty and How I Met Your Mother — may make a meaningful addition to what may turn into a hit show.
Something tells me FOX is shaking in their boots. All these “guest” appearances seem to be their primary publicity ploy. I can only imagine what are they trying to compensate for…
Why bother launching a show you think will tank? Time will tell!
For more information about Becki Newton and Weird Loners, click here.
The Odd Couple: Countdown to Premiere
Although The Odd Couple won’t be airing until February 19th, there is still buzz about it and it is getting coverage in the entertainment media. As I count down the days to see whether this new incarnation of the beloved 1970s is a hit or a miss, it’ll be interesting to compare The Odd Couple then and now. The original Odd Couple, based upon the hit Neil Simon play, premiered on ABC in 1970 and ran for five seasons. It was produced by Garry Marshall and starred Tony Randall and Jack Klugman. There are similarities between the show’s incarnations. Although the show has new producers, Matthew Perry, Eric Tannenbaum, Kim Tannenbaum, Sarah Timberman and Carl Beverly, Garry Marshall is returning as a consultant. There are also similarities in casting; they are relying on casting one star name with a large Q rating and an actor who has worked steadily but may not have solid name recognition. For example, Tony Randall (Felix Unger in the original) was a movie star and had widespread name recognition at the time of his casting in the original series. His co-star Jack Klugman (Oscar Madison) had worked steadily on Broadway and in television, but was not widely known.
In the new series, Matthew Perry is well-known for his role on the sitcom Friends, while his co-star Thomas Lennon has been a familiar face on television in such shows as Reno 9-1-1 and Sean Saves The World, he may not have wide name recognition (as pointed out in a January USA Today article). However, unlike their predecessors, Klugman and Randall had not been involved in high profile flops. Both Perry and Lennon have had their share of primetime failures since appearing on the successful programs that gave them their big break. Perry has had several failures, including NBC’s short-lived Go On (2012-2013) and Lennon flopped just last season with NBC’s Sean Saves the World (2013-2014). Therefore, with recent flops under their belt, it will be interesting if Matthew Perry, in particular, can excise the Friends curse with this revitalized favorite.