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 21st-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.
Even in 2017, when viewers have never been hungrier for television, it just takes one hit.
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