Fans got some closure and two gorgeous seasons. HBO has its reputation as the network who makes one-of-a-kind shows–but within limits.
TV Ratings
Smash Gets an Encore. Its Creator Doesn’t. Can the Show Change Its Tune?
I would not have been surprised to hear that NBC musical Smash had been picked up for a second season; it’s ratings have not been great, but in NBC-land “not great” is cause for a tickertape parade these days. I also would not …
Extinction-Level Event: Why You Should Care That Terra Nova Was Canceled
Terra Nova is now fossil fuel. Well, let’s be precise: after a long deliberation, Fox canceled its expensive sci-fi/time-travel/future-conspiracy show, and the Steven Spielberg production is being “shopped to other networks.” …
House Pulls the Plug. Too Soon or Too Late?
The patient had been diagnosed some time ago by TV-biz observers, but Wednesday Fox called House M.D.‘s time of death for the end of this season, after eight years on air. Fox cited “the decision” that Hugh Laurie and the …
Zombies Devour Ratings Record! 7.3 Million for Walking Dead
Amid the off-season drama over AMC’s The Walking Dead—in which the network cut the series’ budget and ushered out showrunner Frank Darabont—hung the question: was the network going to, er, cannibalize its zombie drama and …
Keith Olbermann's First Night Ratings Are Pretty Good, Probably, We Think
The numbers are in for Keith Olbermann‘s first night on Current. You can’t tell a lot from any new show’s first night ratings—ask Jay or Conan—and there is not much direct precedent for a cable-news star moving shop to an almost-unknown network.
But for one night anyway, I would bet Olbermann and Al Gore are happy. According to the …
Good News for Real Sarah Palin, Fake Sarah Palin
In the News About Sarah Palin and the Women Who Imitate Her department, some exciting developments! Sarah Palin’s Alaska premiered Sunday night as TLC’s top-rated debut ever, drawing nearly 5 million viewers. That, incidentally, is about the viewership for an original episode of 30 Rock—see what I did with that segue?—which NBC …
Conan Night One Beats Networks, By Stealing Their Young
The ratings are in for the first night of Conan on TBS, and Conan O’Brien has plenty to be happy about.
The big headline everywhere will probably be “Conan Beats Jay”—and yeah, I could not resist a variation on that here—but that’s probably not a big deal in the long run. Yes, Conan got 4.2 million viewers, to 3.5 for Jay Leno and …
Which TV Viewers Should Count?
It’s a common and understandable myth that TV shows stay on the air by getting as many viewers as possible. They don’t. In commercial television, shows stay on the air by making money, something that relates to, but does not correlate directly to, getting as many viewers as possible. If you’re a network that airs commercials, you …
HBO Renews New Hit Boardwalk Empire; Fox Puts the Lone in Star
I say this often enough that I should make it an annual boilerplate disclaimer: when I say that I like a show, I’m not predicting it will be a hit. It’s not snobbery, and it’s not not snobbery; they’re just two entirely different issues. There are great shows that have broad commercial potential (Lost) and great shows that are by …
Some Hope for America: Real Housewives of D.C. Ratings Only OK
I mentioned last week that I was especially curious to see how strong the ratings were for The Real Housewives of D.C. on Bravo, as a test of how fatigued America was with the Salahis and/or the Real Housewives franchise. When I saw the headline claim of the ratings release Bravo sent out, I could tell the show was not an out-of-the-box …
Ratings: He Shoots… He Just Misses!
Last night, in the what-I’m-told-was-exciting final game of the Stanley Cup playoffs (um, spoiler alert, I guess), the Chicago Blackhawks won in overtime to capture the title for the first time in half a century. But the exciting finish was not quite enough to take the night’s ratings over Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance, which edged …
NBC's Conanundrum: Is Jay the Smart Choice?
Let me take off my TV-critic hat for a minute and put on my TV-business hat. Everyone’s assumption now—a well-founded one, it seems—is that, forced to choose between Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien, NBC will pick Jay. Leaving aside fairness, funniness or cosmic justice, is that the right business pick?
Short-term, I have to say: …
