The "Every Episode, Every Rating" series examines the Nielsen ratings history of a program during its broadcast run. Praise or criticism is in reference to the show's performance in the Adults 18-49 demographic.
Showing posts with label the neighbors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the neighbors. Show all posts
Timeslot Sinkers: ABC Friday, 8:30
Every schedule has holes to patch with times which deliver lackluster results. Since the start of the 2012-13 season when ABC relocated solid multicam sitcom Last Man Standing to Friday at 8:00, they have failed to locate compatible sitcoms for a sturdy hour. The network held a strong legacy on this evening from 1985-2000, eventually branding the evening its TGIF comedy block in 1989. That changed as solid players ended, leading the network to sample other varieties of programming to supplement. A brief yet less successful branding of TGIF developed from 2003-06, dispensing through several less-successful players. Flashforward to 2012-present, and the crippling 8:30 timeslot holds ABC back from successfully reviving a TGIF block due to lackluster results following sturdy players. Take a stroll down memory lane of scheduling fumbles.
Malibu Country (2012-13)
The Neighbors (2013-14)
Cristela (2014-15)
For more information on Cristela's premise, please visit HERE for an in depth analysis of this lost sitcom jewel.
Dr. Ken (2015-17)
Come season 2, the results delivered with a 0.9 debut out of strong LMS's 1.1. Save for a mild 1.1 reprieve in January 2017, the series tunneled as low as 0.7 by the season's close as it faced stiffer competion from CBS during the entirety of its run. ABC ultimately hocked Dr. Ken. Not only due to dwindling ratings, but it lost its compatible multicam lead-in, Last Man Standing as ABC president Channing Dugney desired a change to Friday viewing. LMS lost its solid meal ticket as it was (then) outsourced from FOX, where it would be revived the following season. Dr. Ken may have made a nice bench warmer for failed sitcom timeslots, albeit one of the last multicam sitcom helpings ABC ever offered.
No Laughing Matter without Sitcoms (2017-18)
Dugney's vision of sitcom-free Fridays appeared to be a solution which bundled the troubled 8:30 timeslot into aging Sunday transplant Once Upon a Time. Seeking an overhaul and update to the series by firing half the cast, the results not only underwhelmed long time viewers, but lowered the bar on Friday viewing. The silver lining was it lowered it so far, it relaxed the standards for ABC to shop out sitcoms to return to the ruined landscape.
Speechless (2018-19)
Fresh Off the Boat (2019-20)
Where Next, ABC?
8 seasons of modest to critical failures demonstrates a longstanding problem in scheduling. ABC tried new, old, unfunny and everything between. They house great opportunity with Fridays given American Housewife's sturdy deliveries leave an opening for the future. Perhaps relocating a middling player might be key, as they need all hands on deck once Modern Family bows out. Wednesdays are no longer powerhouse, and Tuesdays remain in an uneven rhythm with The Conners outlying a sea of middling players. Perhaps Bless This Mess or Single Parents may make a compatible piece for American Housewife. Or moving modest Black-ish and prequel Mixed-ish to this evening to create compatible family-friendly showings for ABC.
Sources: A special thank you to TV Series Finale for its dedicated vault of play by play episode data, helping readers remain educated in television history
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.
_____________________________________
What do you think? Any script descriptions listed on Futon Critic that you found more interesting? Let me know!
ABC Comedy Part 5: The Even Bigger Collapse
Part 5: The Even Bigger Collapse
Gone were the days of Modern Family consistently seeing ratings above a 5.0 in the main demo. By the latter half of the season, it started to plateau in the low 3s, still enough to make it the #2 comedy on TV. Fellow anchor The Middle did an admirable job of holding in the ratings, usually in the low 2 range. It wasn’t at all Modern Family, The Middle, or Last Man Standing, their three returning comedies on the fall schedule, being the centerpieces of the problems—it was all the other shows and ABC’s missed opportunities in scheduling.
Renewing The Neighbors in the first place was considered iffy by many considering its weak ratings behind The Middle. Being an ABC Studios comedy most likely saved it in an era where all the others were cancelled. However, when ABC announced its new time slot—Friday at 8:30 behind the very incompatible Last Man Standing—it was very clear that indeed it was primarily renewed as a save-face comedy for the studio.
And then there were the mishaps with the new comedies. Priority was given to Rebel Wilson’s Super Fun Night, which was rejected by CBS due to poor testing. Although premiering well, fans started to agree with CBS, as ratings started to tank, and fast. There was also Back in the Game airing after The Middle, which was oddly cancelled before its order was finished despite it being in the same range as the year-to-year The Neighbors, and the fact that there was no clear-cut hit amongst the freshmen batch.
The Tuesday Comedy Schedule Mishaps
On Tuesday at the 9pm hour, ABC aired two new comedies: The Goldbergs and Trophy Wife. Both had pilot episodes that reviewed mediocrely to outright terrible, but as the two series progressed it became clear that the former was a great companion for The Middle and the latter an even better companion for Modern Family. Trophy Wife was also produced by ABC, and even non-fans saw the mistake ABC made. Both struggled greatly on Tuesdays. When ABC announced that they were receiving a full season and the Wednesday at 8:30 and 9:30 comedies were not, many figured that one or both of them would get a fair chance on Wednesday to prove themselves capable of strong ratings. Instead, ABC opted to air another party comedy, Mixology, after Modern Family, while plugging veteran Suburgatory into the 8:30 pm time slot. How the latter ended up airing all three of its seasons on Wednesday is something I will never understand, especially in years where it was so desperately needed elsewhere. However, even Suburgatory struggled, and was not seeing the ratings it saw in its first or even second seasons. My guess is that shifting it from 8:30 to 9:30 and then back to 8:30 again throughout its run did not help.
As a fan, it was cringeworthy to see Trophy Wife flounder in the high 0s and low 1s when it could have much easily beaten Mixology if aired at the post-Modern Family time slot. The Goldbergs, which arguably took even more time to figure it self out creatively, typically settled in the mid 1s. While not great in any way, The Goldbergs picked the right year to do mediocre in the ratings. As a result of all the other freshmen comedies being cancelled (meaning there would be no returning comedies from ABC Studios), it was moved to Wednesday at 8:30 and given summer promotion like I’ve never seen before. With the channel’s three veterans starting to age at that point, it was clear that nurturing the highest-rated freshmen comedy would have to be at the top of their priority list, ABC-produced or not.
ABC Comedy Part 4: The Collapse
Sorry for the long wait while I was giving priority to other articles. Here is part 4/6 of the ABC Comedy article. To see Parts 1, 2, and 3, click here.
Part 4: The Collapse
The Wednesday Problems
Time to get a little bit gloomy here. ABC did not have the best next two seasons in the comedy department. It started with The Middle and Modern Family having their first ever year-to-year losses. The fall was much more dramatic for the latter than the former, but down is down. Then, there was an unnecessary scheduling change: Suburgatory aired post-Modern Family. Why this happened is anyone’s guess. First off, it was not owned by ABC Studios. Getting an in-house produced comedy should have been a priority for the network, and airing such a comedy in the best time slot they have would be the easiest way to do so. Their closest in-house production to syndication, Cougar Town, had recently been cancelled, which should have made it even more of a priority. However, instead of airing one of their three comedies (The Neighbors, Malibu Country, Happy Endings) after Modern Family, they picked a comedy which was doing just fine on its own, and which was drastically improving the 8:30 time slot. Believe it or not, Suburgatory underwhelmed there, and like Cougar Town, was renewed for a short third season to premiere mid-season. And its not like The Neighbors did as well or better than what Suburgatory was getting in the 8:30 time slot. In fact, it also underwhelmed, yet was issued a renewal. Later on in the year, Family Tools aired at 8:30, and completely flopped. Does goes another comedy.
The Tuesday and Friday Problems
With Last Man Standing off to Friday and Cougar Town, Man Up!, and Work It cancelled, ABC had to start over on Tuesday nights. They decided to do this with the two comedies which aired after Modern Family: Happy Endings at 9 and Don’t Trust the B in Apartment 23 at 9:30. Both were also two of the three ABC-produced comedies, making it somewhat surprising that they were both kicked off of Wednesday night. Unfortunately for ABC, both of them bombed badly. The last time they aired together, Happy Endings had a 1.3 rating, and Apartment 23 a 1.1. The former was burned off on Fridays at 8 and 8:30 in late spring, while the latter was pulled from the schedule after just 9 episodes (it would later air in the summer). Happy Endings dipped into the low 0s, and was subsequently cancelled itself.
Speaking of Last Man Standing being shipped off to Fridays, it saw close to a 30% year-to-year drop. Regardless, the ratings were still good enough for Friday standards, and was renewed for a third full season. Meanwhile, its companion, ABC-produced Malibu Country, also a multi-cam, was consistently hitting numbers in the low 1s. Despite compatibility, ABC decided to cancel the show.
The Missed Opportunity
In April, ABC premiered How to Live with Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life) after Modern Family. It had respectable ratings, and even when Modern Family was a rerun was in the mid 1s. That was enough to put it ahead of Happy Endings, Don’t Trust the B in Apartment 23, Malibu Country, Last Man Standing, and in the same range as The Neighbors. However, it was cancelled after one season, something ABC may have somewhat regretted after seeing what would happen the following season…
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