Monday, May 13, 2019

It's pick-up and cancellation time

With a lot less intrigue and rumors and fanfare the networks have been ordering shows, cancelling shows, and renewing shows in advance of cobbling together their fall schedules for the Upfronts. There used to be much more suspense. A show’s fate wasn’t determined until the fall schedules were announced. Then the networks would address mid-season and back up pick-ups. “You didn’t get on in the fall but there’s still a chance.”

Now networks are picking up everything they think they might need at once and then deciding who goes where when.

The only thing not surprising about this year’s process is that it’s changing. Everything in network television is changing. First of all the stakes are lower. Getting a show on a broadcast network schedule was the be-all and end-all. Not anymore. Producers and studios have way more options, way more buyers, and in most cases would prefer to be on the newer platforms that have more of a future.

It’s also less of a horse race since each network has its own feeder studio and buys mostly shows they own.

And then of course this big change: The networks no longer make their decisions primarily on ratings. If they did, each network would cancel 99% of its schedule. Network numbers are shamefully small. How many broadcast network shows do you watch these days?

But there are other considerations now – protecting your investment by making more episodes, foreign sales, commitments, maintaining relationships, testing, demographics, costs of the shows, disappointing development, etc. Tired franchises remain on the schedule because even with dwindling numbers they’re better than the risk of new fare.

Don’t kid yourself. Decisions are made out of fear.

As for the same-old/same-old, the pick-ups were all standard fare. Comedies about dealing with diversity, family members forced to live or work together, etc. The hot producers like Chuck Lorre and Mike Schur got their new shows on. But then the hot producers like Chuck Lorre and Mike Schur know how to make and execute the best pilots. Their shows deserve to get on. New dramas follow the familiar cop/doctor/lawyer/family/spy/procedural/star-driven pattern. Only thing missing this year seems to be reboots. But one or two of those might still sneak in. Where’s Gilligan when we need him?

The fall schedules will be announced very soon. Congratulations to those involved who got picked-up. I should say a cautious congratulations because the next step in the process is the networks firing a bunch of series regulars and replacing them with recycled series actors whose pilots did not get on. I’m sure there will be one or two “Max Greenfields” who will pop up on new series within the month.

But as I like to say, if you’re a writer/showrunner and your pilot is either picked-up or not picked-up, you have the exact same reaction: “OH SHIT!”

Let the staffing season begin!

NOTE:  In my podcast that drops later in the week I devote my entire episode to the Constance Wu  ungrateful reaction to her show being picked up.  I needed more than a few paragraphs.  Please tune in.  Tune in every week but for that episode especially. 

26 comments :

  1. >>But as I like to say, if you’re a writer/showrunner and your pilot is either picked-up or not picked-up, you have the exact same reaction: “OH SHIT!” <<

    This also apparently applies to actors whose series were unexpectedly picked up for another year.

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  2. Ken, what do you think of Jimmy Kimmel producing a live airing of All in the Family and Jeffersons episodes (with Norman Lear's blessing) on May 22? Woody Harrelson and Marisa Tomei as Archie and Edith, Jamie Foxx and Wanda Sykes as George and Louise.

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  3. When I was a kid, I used to thrill to TV Guide's annual autumn issue of new network shows. That kind of thrill faded decades ago. As you certainly know, a lot of classic sitcoms (including something called "Cheers") weren't instant hits but were given chances to grow by thoughtful TV execs. Nowadays, they're just as happy to cancel an iffy show after the first commercial break.

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  4. Looks like there is going to be a Game of Thrones spinoff with Khalessi in a new version of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. She follows Jon Snow to a San Fernando Valley town and stalks him with her dragon.

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  5. Curt Alliaume, I'm guessing you've heard about Constance Wu and her reaction to her show "Fresh Off the Boat" being renewed...

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  6. Things sure are different these days! I was surprised when I nearly got to the end of this blog entry with no mention of Constance Wu. Thanks for not only addressing that situation but also devoting an entire podcast to it. I can't wait to hear your thoughts! Assuming that she has something else that she would rather be doing, I can certainly understand her reaction... but did she really need to share it in public?!

    I don't watch a lot of network shows these days, but I'm sad that The Kids Are Alright is being cancelled. It was a fresh take on well-worn family sitcom tropes. Some memorable characters and sharp humor.

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  7. It's so funny you're going to do a podcast on the whole Constance Wu meltdown, because as soon as she lost her shit on Twitter and Heigl-ed herself, I thought about all the actresses in Hollywood, both unknown or very well-known, who would love to be in her shoes.

    You made comments in the past about certain actresses you've worked with for whom you wish all the success in the world, namely Jenna Elfman. And poor Jenna's been saddled with a couple of failed sitcoms these past few years (I remember the Bill Pullman show she starred in about the first family, but I know there's another more recent one I can't remember). I thought about how Jenna would probably kill to be on a fairly successful show like Fresh Off The Boat and how grateful she would be that she gets to work for at least another season on it.

    Maybe the Fresh producers would consider killing off Wu's character and bring on Jenna as the new love interest for the lead?

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  8. Just saw the news about Doris Day. Were you a fan, Ken? I've only seen Calamity Jane, which I enjoyed.

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  9. One: Superstore.

    Too much competition in my household with cooking shows on cable and what is available on Amazon Prime and Netflix.

    And also the ones still on which I at one point really liked eventually got tired and stale. Modern Family definitely and, to a lesser extent, black-ish. The only one which I thought stayed consistently good to the end was The Middle, and that, of course, ended last season.

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  10. I glazed over the articles about the producer of a show being upset that it was renewed. Now that I have read the Note:

    For the record:

    1. I never heard of Constance Wu
    2. I never heard of her show "Fresh Off The Boat" and it's been on the air 5 seasons!
    3. Once again, Twitter/Instagram/Facebook rants demonstrate there is ZERO upside for almost anyone connected to the entertainment business to be on social media.

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  11. Friday question - Have you ever been on a show and just hated the direction the show runner was taking it? How do you deal with that? I know you've often said that you really disliked the short term gain of a funny joke that dings a character's integrity. What about when the whole direction of the show takes a left turn and you just can't get behind that left turn.

    This comes to mind because right now people are really divided on the way Game of Thrones is wrapping up and I'm wondering what writers (comedy or drama) do if they disagree with the way the boss is driving the show.

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  12. Well, as much as it wasn't as good as the original series, I'm still sorry they've cancelled MURPHY BROWN. I enjoyed seeing the characters again (although I think they should have skipped the hipster kid and instead made the young vs old theme a look at contemporary feminism vs Murphy and Corky-era feminism instead of making tired jokes about older people and technology - Murphy and the others were journalists. They'd be all over Twitter.). The Murphy/Avery relationship was good fun, too.

    wg

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  13. Will definitely listen to your podcast this week. I'm curious, if you were the producer of "Fresh off the Boat", how do you handle Constance Wu? Reports say the rest of the cast and crew already hated her before her twitter-rant. How do you keep the set from becoming even more toxic?

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    1. I bet they'll kill her character off, like they did with Roseanne Barr on her own show.

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  14. Many of the cancellations were not a surprise considering that some of those shows never should have gotten on the air in the first place. "Happy Together," The Kids Are Alright," et al. However, some renewals caught me by surprise. "Man With a Plan" for instance. It exemplifies what you said, "...they're better than the risk of new fare." It makes me wonder if the networks are holding back the better quality shows for their subscription/streaming services. It's a mute point to me. All I have is an antenna on the roof. Yet, considering how many people are "cutting the cord" these days you'd think that the networks would have greater incentives to give us something we would want to watch.
    M.B.
    P.S. I'm withholding my comments about Constance Wu until later in the week.

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  15. Hey Ken-

    I wonder about the people that get series announced at upfronts as a midseason premiere and then every year some of those don't see the light of day. Have you ever worked on a pilot or show that was a mid season replacement that didn't end up airing? What happens with the writers/actors on those show and what is the timeline of their year like while they wait for the show to have a spot on the schedule? Do they keep working on the show? When do they know it's dead?

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  16. Wendy - I thought it would have been cool if the Murphy Brown reboot had begun with Murphy being promoted, (albeit, kicking and screaming), into management, with at least one new character to bounce off of who practically worshiped her as a kid but is as bratty and bossy as the 90's Murphy.

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  17. Friday question: 1) Why do the networks hate me? Anything I like gets canceled, and most don't make sense. How is Life in Pieces canceled, but Man with a plan still on? MORE reality shows?
    2) How much is hollywood politics in the placement of shows? Seems like a death sentence when they start moving shows around, and never get advertised (Life in Pieces), but if you keep a show in same spot, it stays. Do shows get placed dependent on the show itself, or if the network likes that producer/director, and they get the stink eye with a Saturday 7pm showing?
    3) How much do you think shows no longer having re-runs do with renewals. Used to be, shows would repeat episodes which would allow people to catch up on missed episodes. Summer repeats would get everyone geared up for new seasons, and get new viewers.
    p.s. You don't need to answer all these, and probably, you are part of the network, and hate me too.....

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  18. I'll miss SPEECHLESS and THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT, which actually outrated several of the renewed shows like BLACKISH, FRESH OFF THE BOAT and the hideous BLESS THIS MESS. But the new ABC bosses have deals with producers from their FOX days which is why that mess and SINGLE PARENTS were inexplicably renewed. Tim Doyle called the process "high school with money". Meanwhile, I'll support Ms. Wu by not watching her show anymore. I'd rather they give that slot to one of the canned shows.

    Aren't you excited Fran Drescher is coming back to TV?

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  19. Tweet by Carl Reiner:

    "This morning I was saddened to learn that Doris Day who starred in a film I had written "The Thrill Of It All" had passed away at 97. Just a week ago, I contacted her and welcomed her to the 97 Year Actor's Club."

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  20. Disappointed but not surprised that MURPHY BROWN was canceled. While it wasn't as good as the original- and I didn't expect it to be anyway- what I miss is that it was one of the few comedies on network tv that didn't insult my intelligence. I'm sure it probably helps that I like our current President about as much as you do, Ken. I did like that it wasn't 13 straight weeks of strictly Trump bashing because that would have gotten old, too. I mean there's a reason that Alec Baldwin doesn't play Trump every single week on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE. And we knew 15 years ago this month- when FRASIER signed off- that the big loss was the smart comedy. For the most part, I feel that THE BIG BANG THEORY has been good although this season it has been showing its age. I know as a long-time reader of your blog that you've written that the longest CHEERS could have run would be 12 seasons; one more than it ran for.

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  21. Constance Wu's gut reaction was regrettable, but consider this scenario: Her show was on the bubble. She's riding the wave of a big hit movie. Seems likely her "people" were planning many things for her, on the assumption that the sitcom was toast. Instead, renewal, and some opportunities lost. Her disappointment is understandable, though her public venting is unfortunate.

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  22. "Where’s Gilligan when we need him?"

    Bite your tongue.

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  23. I'm going to miss "The Cool Kids," which might've been retained had Fox not assured the WWE it would go to Fridays next fall and the suits were uncertain the series could succeed earlier in the week. It wasn't a brilliant show by any means (and Martin Mull was terribly underused), but it followed the formula of "The Golden Girls" and "Hot In Cleveland": Let veteran comic actors do their thing and watch laughs ensue.

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  24. Douglas Trapasso: Or/and - and this was what I thought they might do, but didn't - put Corky in Murphy's old shoes, facing a younger, fresher, vapid-seeming version of herself, and having to go through what Murphy went through in the original show. (That would have been a lot better than menopause jokes.)

    Nonetheless, I really did enjoy and look forward to the reboot every week. It was desperately uneven, but the best parts - Avery, and guest star John Larroquette - made me happy.

    wg

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  25. @therealshell I doubt they'd kill off Constance Wu's character on "Fresh off the Boat." Unlike with Roseanne, she's the only reason to watch the show, and certainly the only reason it's been renewed.

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