"THE DAY THEY TOOK MY SHOW AWAY"

Reason alone to watch this week's MARK TWAIN PRIZE FOR DAVID LETTERMAN.

I've brought a clip.

2000-2001 PART II: MAKING HIT SHOWS MEGA-HITS

During the seismic shifts of the 2000-2001 season, new shows were taking the shared experience concept to a higher level.  Cable, home video and the internet were already luring the 21^st-century consumer away from network television.  It was especially thrilling to have new shows everyone was talking about.  

HBO later prided itself on the term "watercooler television."   Yes, before social media, we talked about we watched last night.

Two tactics were utilized to give audiences what they wanted, while adding to the networks’ revenue.   Some shows, like CSI, had come out of the gate as promising hits and were later moved where they could elevate to even bigger ratings.  The other tactic, involving the 1999 break-out, WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE, had a hit scheduled in multiple timeslots throughout the week.   Of course, both strategies were not brand new and continue to be patterns that networks use to retain viewers.

Schedulers, of course, had moved an emerging hit to make it a bigger hit a few years earlier with TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL and THE X-FILES.  Prior to this, many famous shows had been moved to help a struggling night, like FRASIER to Tuesdays in 1994 or when THE SIMPSONS went head-to-head with THE COSBY SHOW in 1990. These had been long-term strategies.  The hope was that an aging show can be eventually taken down over time.  These game-changers were moved in so that when the dominant show vacated, the younger hit would already be associated with its new night.  We’ve seen it backfire before (again, looking back to 1979 with MORK & MINDY taking on ARCHIE BUNKER’S PLACE).   Often, the moved shows never recover.  But, since they were growing, TOUCHED and X-FILES moved to Sunday nights (on CBS and FOX, respectively).  TOUCHED vacated a prize spot between DR. QUINN and WALKER on Saturdays and X-FILES had been an instant starter on Fridays.  They both ran for many more seasons. 

But, in retrospect, no shows adequately replaced these shows on Saturday and Friday.  CBS had moderately successful shows on Saturdays at 9 until a few years later, it was no longer profitable to run scripted dramas on that night.  Fox Friday has had a slew of shows that tried to match X-FILES, often from the sci-fi genre, but there was never a hit show for them on that night again.   More recently, THE BIG BANG THEORY moved to Thursdays at 8, became a bigger hit, but left vulnerability in the CBS' signature Monday comedy line-up.  Sometimes, the move comes with a price.

CBS VS MUST SEE TV

There had never a better time for CBS to take on NBC’s long dominance on Thursday nights in 2001.  “Must See TV” had lost SEINFELD and even FRASIER had moved out in favor of younger demos with WILL & GRACE in 2000.   CBS had premiered reality hit, SURVIVOR, the previous summer and there were expectations that season 2 would be used against Must See TV.  Thursday was a highly-viewed night where NBC’s competitors were often forced to counter-program as best they could, usually with older demo shows like DIAGNOSIS MURDER and MATLOCK.  Quite importantly, there was also additional revenue in advertising for motion pictures on Thursday nights that arrived in theaters on Fridays. 

CBS had high hopes for its remake of THE FUGITIVE, which had been a 1960s tv hit and 1990s movie smash.  It was scheduled in fall 2000 on Fridays at 8, where CBS had struggled for a decade.  The surprise came when the lesser-anticipated show, CSI debuted on Fridays at 9 and became a breakout hit.  SURVIVOR and CSI were moved to Thursdays in 2001 and changed everything for the network.  CBS has been a dominant player on that night ever since.  Both shows have had long runs in addition to many valuable CSI spin-off series.

Another memorable after-effect of the CBS move was NBC’s counter-attack.  FRIENDS at 8 was still a force to be reckoned with, so “Super-Sized” extra-length episodes were used to fight off SURVIVOR.  For two weeks, at 8:40 PM, live SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE WEEKEND UPDATE specials with Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon were also produced.   Although there had been SNL repeats and anniversary specials in primetime for years, these topical live shows have been used as strategy many times ever since.   There was also a FRIENDS outtakes special:

CAN I PHONE A FRIEND?

The second tactic that season involved blanketing the schedule with a hit show, which was also nothing new.  In the 1960s, BATMAN ran twice a week and in the 1990s, networks used newsmagazines like DATELINE and 20/20 up to four-times-a-week.   These newsmagazines were far less expensive than scripted programming, were also familiar brands, and proved helpful to plug holes where the schedule was weak.   The holes were also the result of one-hour drama decline.  There were 90s mega-hits like ER and NYPD BLUE, and long-term hits like LAW & ORDER and JAG, but there were far fewer scripted dramas in those days.  (Also, there was less of a demand for drama reruns in syndication until LAW & ORDER became a rerun phenomenon on A&E.)  These 90s shows helped sustain the format and even lead cable networks to program new dramas.   

The unbelievable runaway success of MILLIONAIRE could not be overlooked.   It was first stripped during the summer of 1999, and came back even stronger in November 1999.  Eventually, shows like AMERICAN IDOL, DANCING WITH THE STARS or even repeats of cable reality shows were scheduled on multiple nights a week.  MILLIONAIRE engaged the nation so that audiences would come back night after night.  It made sense to build the schedule around MILLIONAIRE.  The show could lead in to new shows, giving them unparalleled exposure.

ABC’s aim was to emulate the five-nights-a-week strip of shows like JEOPARDY that maintained loyal followings for years.  However, game shows lose younger viewers as time goes on and MILLIONAIRE quickly lost appeal with a wide audience.

In hindsight, this has not been viewed as a good idea.  The show peaked much more quickly and ABC hadn’t ordered as many new scripted shows.  After MILLIONAIRE winded down, the network was left in the lurch for a few seasons.   No new shows benefited from the lead-ins and it wasn’t until 2004-2005 that ABC development provided fresh hits.   But, networks have to try new ideas.  There was a chance that, although the show does continue in syndication, it had no long-term potential for ABC primetime.  The network gave the audience what it wanted, then as cycles go, people move on to other things.  Sometimes, you have to run with a hit.  When BEVERLY HILLS 90210 heated up on Fox in its second season, the network added new episodes in the summer.  The seasons eventually became 34-35 episodes long.  You don’t know if a hit will last.  And those hits are needed to promote other shows.

FINAL ANSWER?

We have no way of knowing whether the scripted shows MILLIONAIRE displaced would have done any better.  Today, shows are stacked in multi-hour marathons.  Most shows are available at your fingertips to binge at your leisure.  MILLIONAIRE arrived just as LAW & ORDER had spun off SVU.  In the years to come, NCIS, LAW & ORDER, CSI and other series flooded the schedules with franchise spin-offs.   If you like it, they make more.   MILLIONAIRE predicted an appetite for content.  Sometimes, that appetite leads consumers to a different restaurant. 

So, again, was does this mean as we head into 2018?  There's no question that we have more of everything.   It’s also obvious that networks have to make sure viewers find new shows.   But how do you amplify a hit to a mega hit now?   It doesn’t help when shows are called hits immediately, whether or not they really are.  But, let’s look at bona-fide hits from recent years.   (There are popular streaming shows but their ratings results are often kept private.)  THE WALKING DEAD has unquestionably triumphed on cable, often surpassing broadcast shows.   Very quickly after it debuted, TWD was expanded to 16 episodes a season.  Wisely, they also didn’t make viewers wait until the following October for new episodes.   AMC split the season so that after a break, the episodes returned in February.  TWD also paved the way with after-shows like TALKING DEAD which gives us more time to spend with our favorite shows.

  

Similarly, EMPIRE has done the split seasons with 18 episodes after its initial success with 13.  Likewise, GOTHAM's first season was expected to be 18, then increased to 22.  ABC regularly adds episodes to their comedies from 22 to 23 or 24.  It’s not always easy since creative talent will now do television because contractually, they will only sign on for short seasons.  But, out of sight, out of mind.   There needs to be a way for even short-season shows to have a presence without disappearing for months at a time.   Maybe hiatuses can be reconfigured so that seasons premiere eight or nine months later, not a year later.

I also believe in the “wheel” strategy where networks rotate shows like how HBO and AMC do on Sunday nights.   If one of your favorite shows ends, it’s replaced with another, then another.   But don’t take a year to come back.  It's getting to be as if a year away is like when THE SOPRANOS would be gone for 18 months.  There is so much distraction.  I also think the formats should be explored.   Some one-hour shows could work as two-hours.  

This season’s breakout, THE GOOD DOCTOR, has the DNA to run a long time.   It is a procedural mystery combined with a fascinating lead character.   It’s not a coincidence that it’s HOUSE + optimism.  This is a rare modern achievement that should stay where it can be found with minimal interruption.  The audience could build into the second season and those who missed early episodes probably wouldn’t mind repeats on their DVR rather than pre-emptions when needed.  At a time where the 10 PM slot on broadcast networks has become increasingly troubled, this show is a gift.  Beyond scheduling, storytelling through a different perspective (in this case, autism) goes along with the fresh experiences CSI and MILLIONAIRE provided.  THIS IS US did this last season.

It's easy to say, but bringing excitement to a time period can change the game.  When the message is "we are targeting this day with this show" and the day becomes associated with the show, the audience believes it is being served.  There has been a noticeable difference even on weak nights like Friday when there is a strategy to give viewers a reason to invest (SHARK TANK, BLUE BLOODS).

Even in 2017, when viewers have never been hungrier for television, it just takes one hit.

11/17/87: ONE HIT SHOW, BUT WHERE ARE THE STARS?

While there is the question about certain shows continuing in 2018 without their stars, here's a quick look at 30 years ago:

Production chaos on MOONLIGHTING sent detectives David Addison to jail and Maddie Hayes to Chicago.  (Cybill Shepherd was on pregnancy leave for part of the season.  The series also stopped shooting for eleven weeks allowing Bruce Willis to become a movie star filming DIE HARD.)

This was hardly the first time the show had delays.  But it was unusual that a two-parter would be concluded two weeks later and not the following week.  (Also, not the first time for a MOONLIGHTING multi-parter to be stagnated.)  This was such a mega-hit show that reruns often did almost as well as new episodes.  And most Tuesdays at 9pm, you didn't know if the new episode had been delivered on time.

When part two aired, check out how the "network execs" handled the absence of their star about one minute into this episode:

By the way, the pre-emption on 11/24/87 was for a ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE 20TH ANNIVERSARY special.   HBO is currently airing the 50th.

PREMIERES: 11/15/80 SNL "THE NEXT GENERATION"

BONUS: 11/13/77: THE GODFATHER AND TWO SITCOM STAR LEGENDS

It was not easy not to have a vcr on 11/13/77.

The Godfather --- and The Godfather, Part II-- edited in chronological order with new footage was a huge multi-night event.

I thought I had stumbled onto a star who was on CBS on 11/13/77 and 11/13/17... but it turns out there were two:
           
         LINDA LAVIN, ALICE (1977), 9JKL (2017)

and

        JUDD HIRSCH, guest star on RHODA (1977) and SUPERIOR DONUTS (2017).

IN THE YEAR 2000

2000-2001 PART I

The original plan for this installment was to focus on a key move in the 2000-2001 fall schedule.  But, even a glance at the six-network universe will remind us of seismic shifts that set the course for the next few years.   Of  course, the reality-show phenomenon began here. CBS challenged the NBC Must-See-TV Thursday line-up.  ABC tried to strip WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE four nights a week.  FOX re-ignited its comedy line-up with MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE.  The WB began its "second wave" of teen dramas with GILMORE GIRLS.

While all of this was happening, there was a move at The WB that reflected the slow death of the repeat.  But first... 

Quick reminder of how few programming options there were in 2000:  

At this time, HBO had a small number of scripted series: OZ, THE SOPRANOS, CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, ARLI$$ and SEX AND THE CITY.  Over at SHOWTIME, it was THE OUTER LIMITS and BEGGARS & CHOOSERS.  MONK and THE SHIELD, which began the quality wave that defined networks such as USA and FX were still two years away.  Shows like LA FEMME NIKITA and SON OF THE BEACH called USA and FX home back then.  So, as I focus on the broadcast networks, remember that there wasn't the growing competition that was only around the corner.

Throughout television history, shows were really bought for two airings.  The ability to repeat the shows, mostly in the summer, helped finance them.  Viewers got a chance to revisit these episodes or catch those you missed the first time as NBC said in 1998, "It's New to You!"

BUT IT'S NOT NEW TO ME!

Repeats weren't always in favor.  In olden times, there were replacement shows in the summer for 60s and 70s variety shows.  As 1980s serial dramas such as the mighty DALLAS and DYNASTY lost traction with summer repeats in their later years, other programming was brought in.  Fox found themselves in a similar situation by the late 90s when hot shows like BEVERLY HILLS 90210 and MELROSE PLACE had repeats that wouldn't perform.   They started running promos that these shows would air "no repeats."  Occasionally, they would be pre-empted or air a "behind-the-scenes" special but for the most part, you could come back each week and follow the story from September to May.  30-34 episodes a season were produced!

ABC had a problem with its hit drama, NYPD BLUE which was closely identified with its Tuesday 10:00 slot.   For most of its 1993-2005 run, BLUE aired there and many shows have struggled in that slot since.   Production problems plagued the series the previous season making it difficult to schedule.  When the 1999 fall schedule was announced, ABC rested the show.  This did not used to happen with a network's top drama.  Networks didn't want to keep a hit off the schedule for months.  ONCE & AGAIN premiered in the slot that fall and BLUE was held until January 2000.

The good thing was that it had a full 22 episodes to run, resulting in no repeats.  BLUE was another of those serialized dramas that lost viewers when reruns were scheduled.

THE FROG'S PLAN

Since there was great appeal to having more original episodes during the traditional broadcast season, The WB made a calculated strategy in the fall of 2000.

I was lucky to get hired by The WB programming department in 1999 as a coordinator.   Having worked at other broadcast networks throughout the 90s, I arrived at the youth-driven "weblet" as an old-timer.   The shows were aimed at the 12-34 year old demographic, and its young staff was raised on television.  These were my people!  I had an amazing front-row seat at the hottest network at the time.   

The Big Four (ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX) still had big hits but were all in a state of flux.  SEINFELD was gone, THE X-FILES lost David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson and EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND proved to be the salvation of CBS's comedy line-up.  As mentioned earlier, reality shows such as SURVIVOR and MILLIONAIRE were changing television and we will look at that in Part II.  But the WB had the young stars with buzz-worthy shows that were blanketing magazine covers.   Sarah Michelle Gellar and James Van Der Beek were some among the youngest hosts ever on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, which then had been on for 25 years.  Gellar, Jessica Biel, Jamie Foxx and others cracked through to star in movies while still on television shows-- on a network that didn't even air seven-nights-a-week.   

How is this for mind-blowing trivia: ABC only had two hit dramas at the time (NYPD, THE PRACTICE), NBC had four hits and an up-and-comer (WEST WING, LAW & ORDER, ER, SVU, PROVIDENCE and THIRD WATCH), FOX had two (X-FILES, ALLY McBEAL) and CBS had at least half a dozen but a few were winding down (JAG, TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL, JUDGING AMY, DIAGNOSIS MURDER, WALKER, DISTRICT, NASH BRIDGES).   Although the bar was lower, The WB also had at least a half dozen (7TH HEAVEN, BUFFY, ANGEL, DAWSON'S CREEK, FELICITY, CHARMED).  This, along with THE SOPRANOS and OZ on HBO, was the backbone of television drama.

BUFFY and DAWSON'S CREEK were the GAME OF THRONES and STRANGER THINGS of their day.   I liked these shows but found my favorites to be the later shows that broadened the network, GILMORE GIRLS, SMALLVILLE and the short-lived GROSSE POINTE.  The network was building an empire of pop culture favorites and although I wasn't in scheduling at the time, I got to watch as the strategy came together.  And then, there was FELICITY, which is the inspiration for this chapter of the blog.

FELICITY premiered in 1998 after BUFFY on Tuesdays at 9.   The network had followed a traditional method of using hit shows to feed into new shows, night by night.  7TH HEAVEN (1996 premiere) had grown into a hit on Mondays and eventually was the lead-in for BUFFY.   Then, Tuesday was launched in 1998 with BUFFY and the new series, DAWSON'S CREEK.  DAWSON'S moved over to Wednesdays to make room for FELICITY that fall.  With FELICITY's success, it was decided to move it to Sundays at 8 in 1999 replacing an all-comedy line-up.  For the past three years, WB had aired sitcoms on this night.  As I mentioned with my 1979 installment about the mega-hit MORK & MINDY, moving a mega-hit can be dicey.  I also subscribe to the practice of moving shows close to where they were the previous season.  On the creative side, it is daunting for a sophomore season to live up to the popularity of the first.  Although there weren't drastic creative changes in season two, Felicity changed her look and her new haircut wasn't very popular.

Whatever caused viewers to lose interest, the urgency was clear.  Your new hit show is struggling and it's important to preserve it.  The WB schedulers wisely shifted FELICITY to a protected spot after DAWSON'S CREEK that January on Wednesday nights at 9.

TIME SHARE

As many fans of television know, the production of a 22-episode season is a train that has to keep moving from July to April.  By the time the holidays arrive, series often hit a wall and are only an episode or two ahead.  It's not unusual to pre-empt shows during December or run holiday specials.  But once January comes, followed by February sweeps, you've now used up maybe six or seven more episodes and there needs to be a rest on the schedule to save episodes for the May sweeps.

It doesn't seem unusual now, but The WB decided to avoid repeats in the Wednesday 9:00 slot by doing a time share.  They announced FELICITY would be there in the fall. Sophomore show JACK & JILL would run in January with FELICITY returning in the spring with its remaining episodes.  JACK & JILL, as many know, didn't last but this move helped preserve FELICITY so that it could get to a fourth season for syndication.  It also made the network more appealing with fewer repeats.  In previous years, shows had certainly been put on hiatus for a few weeks to return later within season.  But FELICITY clearly had one of the early "split seasons" that was deliberately planned.

Like NYPD and FELICITY, we've seen more of this strategy in the following years.  It wasn't often then that mid-season shows were given a deliberate January time slot.  Over the decades, shows would be renewed as mid-season replacements to be back-ups, or like in the case of SEINFELD in 1990, as an act of faith that this show may not be strong enough for the fall but let's bring it back and give it a chance.   They would replace failing shows but not necessarily known where they would wind up.   Now, January became more of a destination for your favorite shows to return.  Today, many shows don't return until January or later.

Now, if you want to talk about a runaway train, Fox's 24 grew into a hit and, in those days, would actually produce 24 serialized episodes.  But the gaps that would result during a 35-week season could hurt the show's momentum.  So, in 2004, Fox strategized that they would rest the fourth season of the hit and save all the original episodes to run uninterrupted in January 2005.

PROTECTING "YOUR" NIGHT

If you look at cable networks now, especially HBO which started the practice, many shows now air on the most-watched night, Sunday.   HBO started rotating shows so that every 13 weeks or so, you would have something new whether it be THE SOPRANOS, SEX AND THE CITY, SIX FEET UNDER or now, GAME OF THRONES and VEEP.   AMC does the same thing having hit gold with MAD MEN, BREAKING BAD and THE WALKING DEAD.  Showtime, Bravo and many other networks save their shows for Sunday.  

FX began a hit streak with THE SHIELD, NIP/TUCK and RESCUE ME on Tuesdays at 10.  They eventually moved to other nights at 10 but their viewers know where to look.  Netflix drops new shows often on Fridays, Hulu on Tuesdays, etc.  Your blockbuster movies often reach theaters on Fridays. 

HBO and AMC, for example, have tried to launch shows, even returning shows, on other nights and it's been a struggle.  The broadcast networks, which entered the 21st century with mostly movie nights on Sunday, eventually knocked them away for series.  I don't have to tell you how tough Sunday night is on your dvr now. 

Many signature nights have been hit hard by the changes in programming over the years.  NBC and CBS have abandoned their key comedy block nights, only to return to them in the hopes of marketing a familiar message.  They want you to remember Mondays on CBS and Thursdays on NBC are their homes for comedy.  CBS now has an important comedy block on Thursdays, as well.  Their competitiveness on this night can directly be sourced back to the 2000-2001 season.

  

Next time: More on the ramifications of the 2000-2001 schedule.  If you haven't examined it before, it's new to you!

BONUS "EPISODE": 11/7/82

http://ultimate70s.com/seventies_history/19821107/television

Before AMERICA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS and other reality shows that networks use to augment their schedules, there were Dick Clark and Ed McMahon.

Clark's TV'S CENSORED BLOOPERS and McMahon's TV'S GREATEST COMMERCIALS specials proved to be big hits.  On this date 35 years ago, they were such valuable arsenal that NBC put them against CBS's hit Sunday comedies and ABC's premiere of the Oscar-winning "Kramer Vs. Kramer."

Eventually, the shows merged into TV'S BLOOPERS AND PRACTICAL JOKES joining the NBC Monday schedule in January 1984.   NBC had launched nine new shows the previous fall and eventually, all nine failed.  BLOOPERS turned out to be a big help in turning their fortunes around.  It lasted on Mondays for a couple of years and would continue to be revived as specials beyond that.

Not missing a trend, ABC used its own reality/blooper shows to boost their schedule in 1984.  Comedies were believed to be a dying breed as HAPPY DAYS and THREE'S COMPANY were ending after long runs.  (No ABC comedy has lasted as long as HAPPY DAYS' eleven seasons since!)  FOUL-UPS, BLEEPS AND BLUNDERS with Don Rickles and Steve Lawrence propped up the Tuesday line-up and PEOPLE DO THE CRAZIEST THINGS debuted on Thursdays along with a freshman comedy, WHO'S THE BOSS?   Inevitably, both reality shows failed and BOSS shifted to Tuesdays where it became a hit.

http://www.nytimes.com/1982/12/16/arts/cbs-increases-tv-ratings-lead.html


In 2017, of course, AMERICA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS continues on Sunday nights, and was recently joined by SHARK TANK.   In 2018, ABC will revive AMERICAN IDOL on Sundays.   As this night continues to be a cornucopia of scripted shows, reality favorites still proves to be wise counter-programming.

BONUS "EPISODE": WHAT WAS THE FIRST BINGE?

JANUARY 25, 1977

To my recollection, this was the first night a network aired four episodes of the same show in a row.

During the twentieth century, it wasn't often even two repeats of the same show were back-to-back in syndicated reruns.  As reruns shifted to cable like Nick at Nite, marathons began but the regularly-scheduled programs usually were one series followed by another.

In the early 1980s, WNBC did air two MARY TYLER MOORE reruns at 2 am  (my friends and I dubbed it MTMTV).  But, it was more likely hit shows in syndication would run two episodes hours apart (like at 7 PM then 11 PM).  I think it was a while before evergreens like I LOVE LUCY and M*A*S*H would air back-to-back.

Sure, two-part comedies or dramas would air on networks, especially as one-hour and two-hour season premieres.  But to load up four half-hours of television's #1 show was a big deal.

HAPPY DAYS' fourth season premiere, "Fonzie Loves Pinky" originally aired in September 1976 as a one-hour special, with part three airing the next week.  ABC had the three half-hours re-edited for the second airing, following an all-new episode (notice below that they aren't quite at the point where promos emphasized the "all new episodes" yet!)  This is also when promos began to proliferate television.  Program content began to get shorter.  A few seasons earlier, promos were often just slides taking up five or ten seconds while an announcer read information. These longer promos with "preview footage" generated excitement for viewers, even if some of us couldn't stay up late enough to watch the end of the show!

The new episode, "A Shot in the Dark," by the way, had a meta joke referencing a popular 1976 Life Savers commercial in a show that took place in the 1950s.   Television was becoming slick.

I'd have to dig to find the next time four episodes aired in a row but networks did this a few more times such as a 90-minute clip show of three JEFFERSONS half-hours. 

JANUARY 23, 1977

Of course, ROOTS was a true event which made it accessible to watch a whole story in one week, long before Netflix, premiered on ABC that same week.   The HAPPY DAYS block led into night 3 of ROOTS.  There were few mini-series before ROOTS but it was unusual to have all 12 hours air in 8 nights.

ABC didn't think ROOTS would perform so they "burned it off" on eight nights during the winter so the damage would be limited to roughly one broadcast week.

The result was ratings history.  The last episode generated 100 million viewers.

Fred Silverman binged the whole mini-series in one weekend before it was scheduled.