TV success depends on right shows on right networks
- From: David <dimlan17@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 30 May 2007 02:01:22 -0400
from variety
TV success depends on quality, network
Right show on the right channel part of 'hit' equation
By RICK KISSELL
The broadcast nets would like to think of themselves as all-embracing,
capable of casting as wide a net as necessary to snare the next smash.
But when it comes to developing, producing and scheduling a hit
series, each has its limitations.
For better or worse, the Big Four broadcasters possess fairly
immutable strains of DNA, and while each offers examples of
brand-busting hits (think "American Idol" on counterculture Fox),
certain shows simply have a better chance at succeeding on certain
networks.
It's hard to imagine "Everybody Loves Raymond" doing as well on a net
other than CBS, "Friends" flourishing away from NBC or "Prison Break"
busting out anywhere but Fox.
Landing the right show on the right net, then, is an important part of
the "hit" equation -- but the best fit isn't always the most obvious
suspect.
As 20th Century Fox TV president Gary Newman says, success also rides
on who wants a show most.
"Every net has a show working that you wouldn't necessarily think of
them first," he says. "It's more important than ever to land a show at
the right net, but it might be the right net because of their passion
and commitment for the project."
He adds that the decision on a network begins with the pitch,
following discussions with the writer.
"We have conversations about where we see it fitting in, and typically
have a best place in mind," Newman says. "We may go to a network
preemptively, but more often we shop it.
"It's not until you sit in the room and gauge their reaction and the
questions they ask that you know where it should go."
Another studio exec says he's recently seen more examples of nets not
wanting to be pigeonholed.
"They're now all after the same 18-49 audience," he says. "It's not as
simple as saying a traditional show goes to CBS or a hip show to NBC.
"They're bound to overlap, and they do."
Over the years, CBS could count on a core following among older
viewers and strength outside of the big cities, while ABC fared well
in bigger cities while also appealing to suburban families. NBC has
come to excel among urban, affluent white-collar crowds, and Fox
consistently skews younger and more male.
But these road maps don't always lead to success, and a hit show can
redfine a struggling net.
A rudderless NBC, for example, hadn't developed a hit drama for years
until it connected with an unlikely one, "Heroes," last fall.
The tale of ordinary people with extraordinary powers instantly became
not only the net's youngest drama but also its most male-skewing --
this in a fall when NBC also launched the glossy "Studio 60 on the
Sunset Strip" and "Kidnapped," which fared well among upscale auds but
drew puny overall numbers.
"Heroes" paired with "Deal or No Deal," a not-so-upscale gameshow, to
give NBC its strongest night.
Tim Kring, creator of "Heroes," believes his was the right show at the
right time for NBC.
"I think the fact that they found themselves suddenly having gone from
first place to fourth, they were very willing to take a chance on what
was seemingly a bold idea," Kring says. "And I think it was really
important for them to try and reinvent and go for a different
audience."
(The "Heroes" success has informed the net's fall roster, with NBC
adding a time-traveler drama and a new take on "The Bionic Woman.")
Joining "Heroes" as rookie successes of the 2006-07 season were a pair
of ABC series -- "Ugly Betty" and "Brothers & Sisters" -- that fit
perfectly into a brand that crystalized with "Desperate Housewives"
three years ago.
The audience for both "Betty" and "Brothers" is heavily female and
upscale, and they tap into the comedy and family elements that worked
with "Housewives."
While NBC hasn't produced an upscale hit scripted show in recent years
(excepting "The Office"), ABC has excelled and is now the leader in
these categories.
At CBS, the desire is to break out of the creative cul-de-sac the net
created for itself as a result of devoting well over half of its
schedule to crime-solving procedurals.
"It's a case of the 80/20 rule, where 20% of the audience is
contributing to 80% of the ratings," says Brad Adgate, an analyst at
research firm Horizon Media. "You want to put on something that
viewers outside your core might find (while) channel surfing."
"Jericho," about a Kansas town coping with the aftermath of a nuclear
bombing, was a step in that direction this past season, but its serial
format didn't go over well with Eye auds that had grown accustomed to
neatly resolved endings.
Fox, whose key scripted shows remain edgy ("24," "The Simpsons,"
"House"), struggled with its development last season, most believe,
because series like courtroom drama "Justice" and domestic comedy
"Happy Hour" were too generic.
And while it has seemingly returned to its roots with fall shows like
the "Terminator"-inspired "Sarah Connor Chronicles" and "New
Amsterdam," about an immortal detective, it's playing it safe in
comedy. "Back to You," starring Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton as
bickering news anchors, is about as un-Fox as you can get.
"Of all the nets, they're not as concerned about their mold," says
Adgate. "Maybe because they're younger, they will try stuff and are
more likely to go in another direction."
Newman of 20th, which produces "Back to You," admits that "CBS seemed
like the natural place for it," but that Fox "blew everyone away with
their passion and financial commitment."
Whether it works as well on Fox remains to be seen, and Newman still
laments that another of his studio's comedies, Reba McEntire starrer
"Reba," never realized its full potential.
"The WB didn't really know how to communicate with advertisers or
expand their audience to make it work," he says. "I'm convinced that
it could have been a big hit on CBS or ABC."
.
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