Tag: Variety (Page 3 of 3)

TV Roundup: Chuck/Heroes finale ratings, more on Scrubs and Privileged

April 28, 2009 /

– Ratings for the season finales of “Chuck” and “Heroes” failed to impress. This is especially bad news for “Chuck,” which is definitely on the bubble to get a pickup.

– TV.COM reports that talks between ABC and the producers of “Scrubs” are heating up. The ratings haven’t been great, but ad sales have been solid due to the upscale nature of the show’s audience. This season has been up and down, and has suffered some with portions of the cast missing significant time (as a planned, cost-cutting measure). But when everyone’s accounted for, the show still has its moments.

– EW.COM is reporting that the CW is planning to run repeats of “Privileged” this summer, which could be taken as a good sign as far as the show’s future is concerned.

– VARIETY discusses the still-a-ways-off-series-finale of “Lost,” and how the producers are approaching it.

External Entertainment, External TV, Heroes, Lost, TV, TV Action, TV Comedies, TV Dramas, TV Sci-Fi

TV Roundup: Poor ratings for Prison Break, TiVo’s ratings plans and more

April 20, 2009 /

– The ratings for the return of “Prison Break” were poor, and TV By The Numbers says that it’s bad news for “Dollhouse.”

– One of my favorite shows, “The Unit,” is on the bubble, but the good news is that producer Shawn Ryan (“The Shield”) has been invited by CBS to present ideas for a fifth season.

– The NY Post says that Mary Louise Parker is thinking about leaving “Weeds” after next season.

– FOX’s “Sit Down, Shut Up” didn’t do all that well (ratings-wise) in its debut on Sunday, considering it was sandwich between stalwarts “The Simpsons” and “Family Guy.” I’m a fan of both of those shows, but I couldn’t make it through a full episode of “Sit Down, Shut Up.”

– TiVo is continuing to move into Nielsen’s territory. They’ve been offering national ratings since 2007, but now plan to provide market-by-market ratings as well. It makes sense — the TiVo is essentially a computer that can track what a household watches (if they choose to opt-in).

– Variety compares “Heroes” to “Lost” in that both programs started off really strong before faltering a bit. The question is — will “Heroes” find its way like “Lost” did? (Methinks maybe an end date two or three seasons down the line would do the trick.)

External Entertainment, External TV, Lost, News, Prison Break, Reviews, TV, TV Action, TV Anime, TV Cartoons, TV Comedies, TV Dramas

Variety ponders the fate of several “bubble shows”

March 6, 2009 /

In the world of sports, if a team is on the bubble, it usually means that there is no guarantee that the team will get a postseason berth. The term can be applied to television as well, as networks decide which shows will be returning in the fall (and which ones won’t).

Variety tackled this subject…

Most of broadcast’s comedies and dramas are in the midst of plotting their year-end finales. But for producers who still don’t have a clue about the fate of their shows, that creates a conundrum.

Do you tie up loose ends, and shoot a de facto series finale, just in case it’s all over? Or do you leave the viewers wanting more via a big, messy cliffhanger in hopes that execs will find it more difficult to cut things off midstream?

This year, the producers behind ABC’s “Life on Mars” came up with a third option: Persuade the network to announce the show’s fate right now in order to at least go out with a bang.

“The producers were really pushing for it,” said ABC Entertainment exec VP Jeff Bader. “Based on the ratings the way they are now, it didn’t look like it would be back.

So the producers of “Life on Mars” saw the writing on the wall and pushed for a quick decision. Now they can wrap up the show appropriately.

The whole article is worth a read. It discusses how each network is handling certain shows and how some networks are splitting up shows to air in into either the fall or the spring, but not both. The article mentions “Heroes,” which may only get picked up for 18 to 20 episodes. Few shows can truly stay fresh and entertaining for a traditional, 26-episode season. The shorter the season, the less fat/filler there can be. (Usually.)

External Entertainment, External TV, Heroes, Jericho, Journeyman, Prison Break, Reaper, TV, TV Action, TV Comedies, TV Dramas, TV Sci-Fi

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