Shondaland Power Rankings: An In-Depth Look at Every Show’s Impact
Showing posts with label shonda rhimes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shonda rhimes. Show all posts
Grey's Anatomy Spin-Off Ordered Straight to Series by ABC
What do you think of this pickup? Let us know in the comments below.
The Future of the Night: ABC Thursday
Welcome to a segment I call "The Future of the Night". The format is I take a look at a night on the network's schedule, see what could use improvement, and come up with scenarios which could potentially solve it. First, I present a short argument as to why it could work, then play Devil's Advocate with my reasoning, and then present the bottom line. Enjoy, and fee free to leave your opinions by leaving a comment!
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Just last year, ABC Thursday was Must-See TV. It went by many names: Shondaland, TGIT, Shonda Thursday, etc. Now, Grey's Anatomy remains on top of ABC's ratings, now their #1 drama, but Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder have fallen mightily. Scandal is no longer the show that seemingly there's someone walkabout about it at all times, and many associate a decline in quality with the ratings decline. At 10pm, the highly serialized nature of How to Get Away with Murder may have lost many old fans. In addition, spring replacement The Catch premiered to very low ratings, and is definitely not a force that can bring TGIT back up to where it once was. Thursday is far from being ABC's worst day, but it's also far away from its heyday not too long ago (in raw and relative ratings).
Option 1: Stay Steady
Why It Will Work: With Sunday and Tuesday being a mess, as well as holes on Monday and even Wednesday, does ABC really have the time to mess with Thursday? A network can only move so much in a season. Grey's Anatomy and Scandal are both expected to be above-average performers
next season, and Murder is still ABC's #1 10m show, so why not keep the block together?
Why It Won't: With declines like this, by next season How to Get Away with Murder risks going fractional. How do you promote the block as "Thank God It's Thursday" with ratings like that? Additionally, The Catch indicates that Scandal can't launch a show. And keeping the schedule stable would mean no launching a new show out of Grey's Anatomy, their #1 drama.
Bottom Line: This season, ABC played it safe by keeping almost every returning show in its old time slot. If ABC wants TGIT back, they should probably get experimenting. If they're OK with what they have now (and expect to get next season) and want to work on other nights instead, that's equally plausible, if not more plausible.
Option 2: New Drama at 10pm
Why It Will Work: Despite ratings declines, Scandal is still relatively high up there in terms of ABC scripted show rankings. Instead of having it leads into what is bound to be the weakest link of the night, move Murder to a problem slot and give a new drama a chance at Thursdays. Plus, there's barely any competition in the time slot. For promotional purposes they would probably choose Shondaland's Still Star-Crossed.
Why It Won't: Murder is bound to see declines next season just by its nature, but moving it from Thursday will do even more damage, and there's no way of telling if this new drama is going to be DOA or not.
Bottom Line: Trying a new drama at 10p after Scandal would be optimal to moving Scandal to 10pm and trying something at 9 just for the purpose of stability. If ABC thinks that it could better utilize Murder in a trouble time slot, then they should go for it. I don't see it as being utmost priority though.
Option 3: New Drama at 9pm
Why It Will Work: Opening up a spot after Grey's Anatomy will provide a new drama with its best chance at success.
Why It Won't: As mentioned earlier, a network can only do so much in one season. TGIT isn't what it once was, but that doesn't necessarily mean they go and move 2 of 3 shows.
Bottom Line: Grey's Anatomy is aging, so is it time that ABC use its lead-in on something other than Scandal? If they do go ahead and not only move Murder to another night but also shift Scandal back to 10pm, I wouldn't expect many other moves to be made on the schedule. I just don't think it's worth it.
What do you think? Are there any other somewhat-plausible options that I didn't cover? Let me know in the comments below!
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Just last year, ABC Thursday was Must-See TV. It went by many names: Shondaland, TGIT, Shonda Thursday, etc. Now, Grey's Anatomy remains on top of ABC's ratings, now their #1 drama, but Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder have fallen mightily. Scandal is no longer the show that seemingly there's someone walkabout about it at all times, and many associate a decline in quality with the ratings decline. At 10pm, the highly serialized nature of How to Get Away with Murder may have lost many old fans. In addition, spring replacement The Catch premiered to very low ratings, and is definitely not a force that can bring TGIT back up to where it once was. Thursday is far from being ABC's worst day, but it's also far away from its heyday not too long ago (in raw and relative ratings).
Option 1: Stay Steady
Why It Will Work: With Sunday and Tuesday being a mess, as well as holes on Monday and even Wednesday, does ABC really have the time to mess with Thursday? A network can only move so much in a season. Grey's Anatomy and Scandal are both expected to be above-average performers
Why It Won't: With declines like this, by next season How to Get Away with Murder risks going fractional. How do you promote the block as "Thank God It's Thursday" with ratings like that? Additionally, The Catch indicates that Scandal can't launch a show. And keeping the schedule stable would mean no launching a new show out of Grey's Anatomy, their #1 drama.
Bottom Line: This season, ABC played it safe by keeping almost every returning show in its old time slot. If ABC wants TGIT back, they should probably get experimenting. If they're OK with what they have now (and expect to get next season) and want to work on other nights instead, that's equally plausible, if not more plausible.
Option 2: New Drama at 10pm
Why It Will Work: Despite ratings declines, Scandal is still relatively high up there in terms of ABC scripted show rankings. Instead of having it leads into what is bound to be the weakest link of the night, move Murder to a problem slot and give a new drama a chance at Thursdays. Plus, there's barely any competition in the time slot. For promotional purposes they would probably choose Shondaland's Still Star-Crossed.
Why It Won't: Murder is bound to see declines next season just by its nature, but moving it from Thursday will do even more damage, and there's no way of telling if this new drama is going to be DOA or not.
Bottom Line: Trying a new drama at 10p after Scandal would be optimal to moving Scandal to 10pm and trying something at 9 just for the purpose of stability. If ABC thinks that it could better utilize Murder in a trouble time slot, then they should go for it. I don't see it as being utmost priority though.
Option 3: New Drama at 9pm
Why It Will Work: Opening up a spot after Grey's Anatomy will provide a new drama with its best chance at success.
Why It Won't: As mentioned earlier, a network can only do so much in one season. TGIT isn't what it once was, but that doesn't necessarily mean they go and move 2 of 3 shows.
Bottom Line: Grey's Anatomy is aging, so is it time that ABC use its lead-in on something other than Scandal? If they do go ahead and not only move Murder to another night but also shift Scandal back to 10pm, I wouldn't expect many other moves to be made on the schedule. I just don't think it's worth it.
What do you think? Are there any other somewhat-plausible options that I didn't cover? Let me know in the comments below!
ABC Comedy Development Watch: What Has Potential?
It’s
November, and you know what that means—we’re “only” six months away from
upfronts! All joking aside, ABC and the rest of the broadcast networks have
already started the development cycle for 2016-2017. Right now, everything is
in the very early stages—most shows in development have no more than a script
ordered. Eventually, ABC will narrow it down to approximately 12 comedy pilots
and 12 drama pilots, of which they will pick up a few.
Right
now, I wanted to take a quick look at a few of ABC’s comedy scripts, and what
may have potential. This may be a fun little article to look back at come
upfronts. To see the descriptions of ALL of the pilots/scripts currently in
development, go to The Futon Critic here. Now, let's take a look at four comedy descriptions that may have some potential based on ABC's brand and the holes they may need to fill.
What Has Potential
1. Splitsville
Main
Production Companies: ABC Studios and Shondaland Productions
Creators:
Emily Halpern (Trophy Wife) and Sarah Haskins (Trophy Wife)
EP:
Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers (Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder,
Private Practice), as well as Halpern/Haskins
Story
Line: Single-cam; About a bunch of divorced adults who come together in an
effort to raise the kids.
Why
Might It Work?: In my opinion, this one will be ordered to series in less the
script/pilot is a massive let down. The fact that they are trying to do more
business with the creators of poor Trophy Wife, as well as the fact that the
one and only Shonda Rhimes has come on board with her own company and colleague
Betsy Beers, tells me that ABC really wants this one to work.
Family
Show
Main
Production Company: 20th Century FOX
Creator:
Danny Zuker (an EP of Modern Family)
Story
Line: Follows the people who work behind the scenes of a family sitcom.
Why
Might It Work?: Family sitcoms has officially become ABC’s comedy brand, and
fans of their returning family comedies for next season may find this
enjoyable. I wouldn’t mess with Wednesdays to launch something like this, but
it seems like a cute little show that could work on a Tuesday night.
3.
The
Fluffy Shop
Main
Production Company: ABC Studios
Creator:
Gabriel Iglesias (Cristela)
Story
Line: Multi-cam; Loosely follows the life of stand-up comedian Gabriel Iglesias
and his home life when he isn’t touring.
Why
Might it Work?: ABC cancelled Cristela, but apparently they are more than
willing to do business with Gabriel Iglesias, who discovered Cristela and
played a recurring role on the show. If ABC can’t bring back Last Man Standing
and want to continue Dr Ken, maybe The Fluffy Shop (possibly with a different
title) is the way to go.
4.
The
Second Fattest Housewife in Westport
Main
Production Company: ABC Studios
Creator:
Sarah Dunn
Executive
Producer: Aaron Kaplan (The Neighbors, Life in Pieces, The Mysteries of Luara,
Instant Mom)
Story
Line: A single-cam family comedy narrated by a “slightly larger wife” who lives
in a dysfunctional family in a world where everyone else is perfect
Why
Might it Work?: Despite the terrible name, this one seems to be on ABC’s family
comedy brand, from the voiceover to the dysfunctional family to the
assimilation aspect. If they don’t focus on the weight of the woman and focus
more on a dysfunctional family, maybe they could have something. Of all those
listed here though, I like it’s chances the least.
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What do you think? Any script descriptions listed on Futon Critic that you found more interesting? Let me know!
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