Last week, the five major networks unveiled their new lineups for the fall TV season. Unfortunately, the odds are that less than one-fourth of them will be renewed for a second season. Another fourth probably won’t even make it through one whole season. You can call me cynical, but I prefer the term realistic.
A glance at the list of last year’s new shows and the fall schedules announced last week will serve as a reminder of how many lasted only a handful of episodes, and how many only survived for one season.
The same is true of the mid-season replacements offered each winter by the networks. Of the five mid-season shows I watched (The River, Alcatraz, Missing, Awake and Touch), only one (Touch) was renewed for a second season. Each of these shows was hyped either for star actors (Ashley Judd in Missing and Kiefer Sutherland in Touch), a clever concept (the parallel worlds in Awake) or a big name director/producer behind the show (J.J. Abrams on Alcatraz and Paranormal Activity creator Oren Peli on The River). Yet, for four of the shows, all they had was one short season to prove they deserved another chance. I’ll admit each of these shows had their faults, but the stories were intriguing enough to keep me coming back each week. Which can’t be said for every show, even ones that at first glance sound cool. Read the rest of this entry »
