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[10/01/09 - 12:37 AM] The 10 Things You Need to Know About the New Season: #4 - Genre Doesn't Matter Either By Brian Ford Sullivan (TFC) |
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Please note: As a courtesy, please do not reproduce these comments to newsgroups, forums or other online places. Links only please.
Welcome once again to "The 10 Things You Need to Know About the New Season," our annual feature about, well... the 10 things you need to know about the new season. The goal of this venture is to address not only common questions people have about television but to also demystify (or potentially reaffirm) stigmas out there about certain networks, time periods, genres and so forth. So with that in mind let us put on our journalistic caps and give you the cold hard truth about what's potentially ahead for some of your favorite new and returning shows...
4. No major genre fares better than another.
Are audiences giving up on traditional multi-camera sitcoms in favor of single-camera ones? Do dramas fare better than their comedic brethren? Or do reality shows perform the best? The answer to all the above: no. The truth is scripted and unscripted shows more or less succeed and fail at the same rate. Sure there are some problematic genres (animation, improv and newsmagazine) but the most prolific categories (multi-camera comedies, single-camera comedies, dramas, reality competition shows and docusoaps) all stay fairly close to the average 31% survival rate of new shows. Take a look at each genre's success rate in the past 10 years:
genre | abc | cbs | fox | nbc | upn | wb | cw | total |
comedy (animated) | 0/1 (0%) | 0/1 (0%) | 1/2 (50%) | 0/3 (0%) | 0/2 (0%) | 1/3 (33%) | | 2/12 (17%) |
comedy (improv/sketch) | 2/4 (50%) | | 0/6 (0%) | 1/6 (17%) | | 2/5 (40%) | | 5/21 (24%) |
comedy (multi-camera) | 9/29 (31%) | 10/25 (40%) | 6/18 (33%) | 4/26 (15%) | 7/15 (47%) | 5/14 (36%) | 1/1 (100%) | 42/128 (33%) |
comedy (single-camera) | 5/15 (33%) | 0/4 (0%) | 6/16 (38%) | 6/13 (46%) | 1/3 (33%) | 0/7 (0%) | 0/1 (0%) | 18/59 (31%) |
drama | 17/58 (29%) | 24/52 (46%) | 12/46 (26%) | 16/52 (31%) | 3/16 (19%) | 10/24 (42%) | 3/9 (33%) | 85/257 (33%) |
game show | 2/11 (18%) | 2/5 (40%) | 3/8 (38%) | 4/9 (44%) | | | | 11/33 (33%) |
newsmagazine | 2/14 (14%) | | 1/2 (50%) | | | | 0/1 (0%) | 3/17 (18%) |
reality (competition) | 8/22 (36%) | 5/13 (38%) | 6/27 (22%) | 11/37 (30%) | 1/7 (14%) | 3/10 (30%) | 1/5 (20%) | 35/121 (29%) |
reality (documentary) | 4/18 (22%) | 0/4 (0%) | 5/16 (31%) | 3/6 (50%) | 0/5 (0%) | 3/4 (75%) | 0/3 (0%) | 15/56 (27%) |
sports | 1/1 (100%) | | | 1/2 (50%) | | | | 2/3 (67%) |
total | 50/173 (29%) | 41/104 (39%) | 40/141 (28%) | 46/154 (30%) | 12/48 (25%) | 24/67 (36%) | 5/20 (25%) | 218/707 (31%) |
Among the more interesting trends: CBS has kept 40% of its new multi-camera shows around for a second season but none of its single-camera shows; NBC conversely is batting 46% for its single-camera comedies while just 15% for multi-camera ones. By the same token CBS has had success with 38% of its reality competition shows but none at all with its docusoaps whereas FOX and NBC have seen more failures in the former genre. All in all, you definitely can get the sense of each network's brand from the above data.
TOMORROW: Are cable channels really more patient than the broadcast networks?
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[04/14/25 - 01:00 PM] Music Powerhouses Sheryl Crow and LeAnn Rimes Join NBC's "The Voice" as Season 27 Mega Mentors Alongside the coaches, Crow and Rimes bring their distinct vocals, creative edge and deep industry experience to guide the artists into their most high-stakes performances yet.
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[04/14/25 - 12:25 PM] Apple Original Films Lands Sundance Festival Favorite "Come See Me in the Good Light" The documentary is a poignant and unexpectedly funny love story about poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley facing an incurable cancer diagnosis with joy, wit and an unshakable partnership.
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[04/14/25 - 10:30 AM] ESPN to Exclusively Televise Three 2025 SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament Games ESPN will also exclusively televise the Western Conference Play-In Tournament finale on Friday, April 18.
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[04/14/25 - 10:30 AM] Showtime Original Docuseries "Couples Therapy" Returns to Air Friday, May 23 The documentary series is returning for the second installment of season four, with nine new episodes and all new couples.
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[04/14/25 - 09:42 AM] Video: "The Order" - Official Trailer - Hulu Jude Law, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan and Jurnee Smollett star in the film, due on April 18.
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[04/14/25 - 09:06 AM] "Duck Dynasty: The Revival" Premieres Wednesday, May 28 at 9PM ET/PT on A&E The first season of one-hour episodes will run for 10 consecutive weeks.
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[04/14/25 - 09:00 AM] A24's Academy Award-Winning Film "The Brutalist" Begins Streaming Exclusively on Max May 16 The film stars Academy Award-winner Adrien Brody, Academy Award-nominated Felicity Jones, Academy Award-nominated Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn, Raffey Cassidy, Stacy Martin, Emma Laird, with Isaach de Bankolé, and Alessandro Nivola.
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[04/14/25 - 08:46 AM] FOX Nation to Debut "Greg Gutfeld's What Did I Miss?" in May The first of three episodes will drop on Monday, May 12 followed by episode two and three dropping on May 13 and 14 respectively.
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[04/14/25 - 07:00 AM] Video: "Another Simple Favor" - Official Trailer - Prime Video Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick) and Emily Nelson (Blake Lively) reunite on the beautiful island of Capri, Italy, for Emily's extravagant wedding to a rich Italian businessman.
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[04/14/25 - 06:02 AM] Going Bananas! ESPN and Disney Platforms Set for a Summer of Savannah Bananas Baseball The summer of the Savannah Bananas will be showcased on Friday and Saturday nights on ESPN or ESPN2, with all ten games also simulcast live on Disney+ and ESPN+.
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[04/14/25 - 06:00 AM] HBO Original Harry Potter Series Casts John Lithgow, Janet McTeer, Paapa Essiedu, Nick Frost, Luke Thallon, and Paul Whitehouse Newly announced guest/recurring cast include Luke Thallon as Quirinus Quirrell and five-time BAFTA winner Paul Whitehouse as Argus Filch.
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[04/14/25 - 05:02 AM] Video: Disney+ Releases Official Trailer for UK Original Drama "Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes" The four-part series is written and executive produced by Jeff Pope, with all episodes available to stream on April 30, exclusively on Disney+.
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[04/14/25 - 04:40 AM] Video: High Stakes, Higher Thrills - Netflix's "Jewel Thief - the Heist Begins" Trailer Sets Heart Racing Packed with style, speed and suspense, the film launches on April 25 and promises an edgy ride from start to finish.
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[04/12/25 - 01:47 PM] ESPN's Masters Tournament Second Round Coverage Averages 3.1 Million Viewers; Peaks at 3.4M The audience was up considerably from Thursday's first round, which averaged 2.3 million viewers.
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[04/11/25 - 02:36 PM] ESPN's First Round Masters Tournament Coverage Averages 2.3 Million Viewers The coverage aired from 3-7:23 p.m. ET and was the most-viewed sports program for the day across all broadcast and cable networks.
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