Television - Cancellations 2006/2007

Merlin_Bodhi · 09-26-2006, 10:21 PM

Hadnt seen this thread made yet.

According to EW.com, the first death of the season is:

Happy Hour (Fox)

No break out hits so far.

Quote:

The Hollywood Reporter
Sep. 26, 2006

No breakthrough TV series in season so far

By Andrew Wallenstein

With such titles as "Vanished" and "Kidnapped," no wonder new hit shows have gone missing so far this season, particularly at Fox Broadcasting Co.

If Fox could be seen as a bellwether of viewer appetites for first-year series, the early indications are not good: The network is again flagging in the fourth quarter, with all five of the new series it rolled out in August fading fast. With postseason baseball beginning Monday, Fox already is making schedule changes this week, including the pre-emption of "Happy Hour," a possible sign that the faltering comedy will not be back after the World Series.

Beyond Fox, none of the eight rookie series that rolled out during premiere week burst out of the gate the way NBC's "My Name Is Earl" and ABC's "Desperate Housewives" did in recent years. Hopes are still high for 10 more to come, including high-profile launches this week for NBC's "Heroes" and ABC's "Ugly Betty."

"I don't see anybody's shows really breaking out (of) the new shows," NBC Universal chairman Bob Wright said Monday during an Advertising Week event at New York's Museum of Television & Radio in Manhattan.

Fox seems to be sticking to the script it has followed in recent years in which season premieres -- scheduled weeks ahead of other broadcasters to accommodate baseball on its air for all of October -- struggle despite the head start. Last year, at least one series, "Prison Break," avoided the downturn, while the previous season an unscripted-laden schedule, including "The Billionaire: Branson's Quest for the Best," experienced a similar meltdown.

But Preston Beckman, executive vp strategic program planning at Fox, notes that his network actually held up in the first week of the season compared with the same period last year, up 11% in the 18-49 demographic.

"To come out of this week with growth versus where we were a year ago, that means we're moving in the right direction heading into January, when we bring out heavy artillery," Beckman said, alluding to the 2007 launches of "American Idol" and "24."

"Happy Hour" is taking a seat Thursday, when Fox will double-pump " 'Til Death" from 8-9 p.m. In addition, the finale of "Celebrity Duets," scheduled for Friday, has been shortened to an hour, making room for a repeat of the pilot of the legal drama "Justice," which will be replaced by a repeat of "House" the following Wednesday at 9 p.m.

The pre-baseball changes underscore how difficult Fox is finding it to seed new series. Monday 9 p.m. entry "Vanished" is running 31% lower in 18-49 from what its lead-in, "Prison Break," was doing there last year. "Standoff" has plummeted from a promising 4.7/12 three weeks ago to a 3.2/8, while "Justice" has dropped a full ratings point as well.

Sources indicate that Fox isn't ready to give up on "Justice," which is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and likely will find it a new time slot in November.

"Standoff" is on the schedule for now, though Fox confirmed that production on the series was suspended this week in order to let the writers "catch up," according to a network spokesman.

The production hiatus also will allow Tim Minear, who has come aboard "Standoff" as a consulting producer, to get up to speed. Minear has been tapped to help with day-to-day operations on the show that will continue to be run by Craig Silverstein.

One week into the season, Fox's rivals haven't achieved a breakthrough yet, either. CBS rolled out all four of its new shows and got decidedly mixed results. While the dramas "Jericho" and "Smith" were competitive second-place finishers in tough time slots, the heavily marketed comedy "The Class" did no better than "The King of Queens" in its Monday time slot, while "Shark" tanked in its high-profile Thursday 10 p.m. slot, dropping 44% of its "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" lead-in in 18-49.

"Shark" may have been hurt by the surprisingly decisive ratings victory "Grey's Anatomy" scored over "CSI" at 9 p.m., a gap Kelly Kahl, executive vp program planning and scheduling at CBS, expects to narrow. "That race will tighten up as the weeks go on," he said. "ABC went all in on the first hand, but there's a lot of poker left to be played."

The disappointment of "Shark" was somewhat mitigated by a collapse in the same time slot of ABC's "Six Degrees," which dropped 47% of its potent "Grey's" lead-in and a sharp drop-off in audience heading into the latter half-hour of the show. ABC got better first-week results from "Brothers & Sisters," which beat "Without a Trace" in the demo but still dropped 16% from the first half hour to the second.

"With all these 10 o'clock shows, it's going to be our job to hold that audience and build on it," ABC Entertainment executive vp Jeff Bader said, noting that new ABC drama "Men in Trees" managed to build slightly in its second week after a modest debut.

NBC may have suffered the biggest disappointment of the week with the flameout of the drama "Kidnapped," which managed half the audience of Wednesday 10 p.m. competitor "CSI: NY" and made it a strong possibility for NBC's first cancellation. "It's a good show that deserved a bigger audience," said Mitch Metcalf, executive vp program planning and scheduling. "That one surprised a lot of people."

Critically touted "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" also will be put to the test after a respectable bow that scored well in upscale demos but experienced audience erosion through the hour. The series' Hollywood focus has been criticized for being too insular to appeal to broad audiences.

Still, the next big thing could come as early as this week -- when new offerings include the ABC comedy "Help Me Help You" -- through next month, with more fall premieres, including NBC's "30 Rock."

In contrast to struggling new shows, plenty of returning fare came back strong. ABC won the week in the 18-49 demographic, propelled by robust returns for "Grey's" and "Housewives," while Fox's "House," CBS' "CSI: Miami" and even NBC's aging "ER" showed pep.

Still to be tested is the CW, which launched its first new series, "Runaway," on Monday. MyNetwork TV began stripping a pair of dramas, "Desire" and "Fashion House," that saw reductions of 13% and 11%, respectively, from their first to second week on the air among households.

Paul J. Gough in New York and Nellie Andreeva and Kimberly Nordyke contributed to this report.

Source

avaSpeaks · 09-26-2006, 11:47 PM

Is this the list of where we are going to keep count of cancelled shows? Because if not, then it should be.

**sunnykerr** · 09-27-2006, 06:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by avaSpeaks (View Post)

Is this the list of where we are going to keep count of cancelled shows? Because if not, then it should be.

It is. Bleh. I hate this thread, but thanks for starting it.

Tim Minnear on board Standoff, huh? I guess that's good. The only thing I fear is that he'll bring his Buffy "sex is evil" thing over.

Jacob1983 · 09-27-2006, 06:26 AM

There is a contest on Brilliant But Cancelled - DeathWatch - Fall '06 that lets you pick which new show will get cancelled first. You place bets every week on which new show you think will get the axe. Happy Hour, Men In Trees, and Ugly Better were at the top of the list for best odds of getting cancelled that last time I checked.

So Happy Hour is the first show to get the axe?
I read an article on Zap2it.com that said FOX had put Happy Hour and Justice on hiatus.
I think Happy Hour is a terrible show but I have really enjoyed Justice. I can't believe FOX replaced Arrested Development with a piece of crap show like Happy Hour.

Age-a-licious · 09-27-2006, 04:24 PM

Damn!! Why ugly betty? I'm going to tune into it jsut for the hopse that it doesn't get axed. It looks cute from teh commericals.

Merlin_Bodhi · 09-27-2006, 06:18 PM

I actually love this thread. Not because we are doing a "death watch" for shows, but the fact that there are usually some good conversation about what works and what doesnt work on TV or some certain networks.

**sunnykerr** · 09-28-2006, 06:41 AM

Sarah- You're entirely right, this isn't a death watch. That's not what I meant. And the discussion that comes out is interesting.

I just meant that I hate it because this is usually where I find out that my shows have been cancelled. And, let's face it, no one likes to hear bad news.

Jacob1983 · 09-28-2006, 12:05 PM

You are right that no one likes to hear bad news. However, let's face it. There are some new shows this season that should have never been given a chance. I will not say which shows those are but I'm sure you have an idea.

Merlin_Bodhi · 09-28-2006, 05:04 PM

Jacob, can you PM me with your views of which shows?

cherrios · 09-29-2006, 02:04 AM

If Ugly Betty gets cancel, I just have no faith in the television. Well actually I have very little faith in television, sadly we live in a world where Everwood gets cancel to keep 7th Heaven on.

ColinsChica · 09-29-2006, 06:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cherrios (View Post)

If Ugly Betty gets cancel, I just have no faith in the television. Well actually I have very little faith in television, sadly we live in a world where Everwood gets cancel to keep 7th Heaven on.

I agree 100% that was a VERY bad call, the acting alone should have been a no brainer in leaving Everwood on.

avaSpeaks · 09-29-2006, 07:28 AM

Well I lost faith when the WB got rid of both Felicity and Roswell...two shows that fit the WB's profile and image

stephrox · 09-30-2006, 09:53 AM

I hate when shows get cancelled....especially really good ones!
The only new show im gonna be watching/have been watching is Runaway. Great show imo.

Merlin_Bodhi · 09-30-2006, 06:34 PM

Brilliant But Cancelled

cryurname · 10-04-2006, 09:09 PM

Wait, Runaway is already cancelled?