ABC UPFRONTS REACTIONS

R.I.P. Shows : The death of human and alien suburbanites

So I guess ABC didn’t piss me off this year. I am even glad about some of the shows they cancelled (The Neighbors e.g.). I am going to miss Suburgatory, but I am not devastated to see it go either… It kind of lost its quirky magic lately [still think it was better than a lot of comedies on TV right now].

ABC may not be the No. 1 network, but they always seem to have at least a couple of exciting shows on their line-up [Let’s not forget ABC was home of Lost and Alias]. As of last season, I felt they were keeping true to their brand of “sexy-female-oriented” programs [not quite sure where they are going next year]. They may not have the “best” shows on TV, but I absolutely enjoy watching Scandal, Revenge, Grey’s Anatomy, Nashville and OUAT… And Rookie Blue! Let’s not forget about that one! [Guilty pleasures? Maybe, but that’s an argument for another post].

In fact, most ABC shows I love are hits… which is rare. ABC is clearly doing something right; they seem to be reaching their target audience pretty well… I need to study this further.

Expectations vs. Reality: Not a Happy Ending for Alice

My ABC pick lastyear was Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, which was a failure of epic proportions. I did not see it happening. I thought that show was going to be a hit for sure! I actually liked it well enough, but I may be the only one because even hard-core OUAT fans hated it.

In my opinion, OUATIW had many many flaws but wasn’t all bad either. I think the cast was great and the writing was pretty good, it had a nice flow and the storylines seemed well planned. It was clearly toned down and very family oriented [airing at 8PM on Sundays and all], and that was one of my biggest issues. It could [and should] have been edgier and darker.

In the end, I think OUATIW was a failure because they tried to do too much on a TV budget. The result was awful CGI sequences [and characters] that ended up taking center stage. I could have continued watching, but I actually forgot it even existed until I saw the cancellation/renewal list… So I am clearly not heart-broken about its cancellation either…

2014-15 Season: Shonda by the numbers

One thing is clear… ABC is one step away from becoming TSN (The Shonda Network). Gotta give it to the woman, she knows what she is doing… Although calling her “the Charles Dickens of this century” (as ABC’s programming chief did) was a little much…

So… Shonda is taking up a whole night. Grey’s is moving to 8PM Scandal at 9PM and her new show How to get Away with Murder at 10PM. Now… moving Grey’s to 8 caused a bit of a panic last week. ABC’s programming chief reassured advertisers that there is nothing to worry about because they have a great S&P department which will keep everything clean. Eh… good for the advertisers I guess… but as a viewer I am not interested in them keeping Grey’s clean and PG! That show became a hit because it was a sexy show! Well… let’s hope they don’t go crazy with the censorship. HTGAWM [I hate long names for shows] looks promising and I plan to watch it. But not even Shonda is failure proof… remember Off the Map? Yeah, me neither.

Now, for the rest of the shows… I’ve seen all the trailers for NBC and FOX so far and, in comparison, ABC’s new shows didn’t excite me much. The comedies look awful, although I must admit… the trailer for Fresh of the Boat made me laugh. But it is a touchy subject, way too easy for the jokes to become racist. We’ll see. I may check out Selfie… but… I don’t know, I think it will probably be bad.

The Whispers will probably appeal to the fans of Resurrection, but I won’t be watching it. Kids + supernatural themes really freak me out (perhaps because I am scared of both). American Crime looks good, like REALLY good… Perhaps too good for network television. I wonder if they will be able to realize all its gritty potential and accomplish the social critique it promises. Also excited about Agent Carter [no trailer yet] and Secrets & Lies [top notch cast].

Based on the concept, Agent Carter is probably the show I am looking forward to the most. But for now, I’ll pick a show that actually has a video to post.

My ABC pick of 2014-15 is: Forever

Why? No particular reason. The sneak peek was tiny, so who knows if it will be a good show. I find the premise intriguing [Dashing English dude who never dies? Yeah, count me in… Hey, it’s totally working on Sleepy Hollow]. Mostly, Forever is my pick because none of the other trailers excited me that much. But… let’s be clear… Much like Hieroglyphic [with Max Brown on Fox] I will watch Forever solely for Ioan Gruffudd’s charming looks and awesome accent.

Finally, let’s talk about Galavant. WTH? A fairy-tale comedy musical? They were surely on drugs when they wrote [and ordered] this, right? OK, the ridiculous premise cooould work. But… the trailer doesn’t look like something that is working. It looks campy and not in the good way. There is always the chance that I am totally misjudging the trailer and that this actually ends up being awesome [or SO RIDICULOUS it is funny], but… I am going to bet on disaster for now.

MORE UPFRONT REACTIONS HERE