THE CW UPFRONTS REACTIONS

R.I.P. Shows : The Anatomy of the Cult-hit

Beauty and the Beast

I think I’ve written about The CW more than any other network, so I’ll try to avoid repeating myself [will probably fail]. The CW has a history of making baffling programming decisions and I don’t think this year was an exception, although… for once I do agree with their reasoning.

The CW cancelled The Carrie Diaries, The Tomorrow People and Star-crossed. I don’t think any cancellation was particularly shocking. What was truly shocking was that Beauty and the Beast was renewed. And I say shocking because 1) Ratings were awful, probably the worst of the entire network [and of all networks], closely matched only by Star-crossed and TCD. 2) The show was taken off the schedule with the remaining eps to be “burned off” during the summer, creating a panic among fans. However, after going through the 5stages of loss, I accurately predicted it may not be the end after all.

Why was BATB renewed rather than TTP, TCD and Star-crossed? Well, Mark Pedowitz basically explained it in the pre-upfront conference with reporters: 

1. They are a “different network” and ratings aren’t everything- I’ve said it before, CW operates at loss and it is more of a first platform window for the content of its parent companies: CBS/WB
2. It does well digitally and has a high level of social engagement – I am going to assume that by “digitally” he means streaming is high and it is part of the bundle deals with Hulu and Netflix. There is also iTunes and Amazon to consider. Another side of the digital equation is fan engagement on social media and we know BatB has a lot of that. I also think everything the fans did didn’t go amiss. If only to give BatB an edge over the similarly rated shows.
3. Finally, Mark P. explained the show really works in the international marketplace and I think this may have been the main reason. It is clear the show has generated a lot of international interest and the potential revenue from all those international license fees must be damn high.

I actually agree with this completely, and it goes beyond me liking the show. I was very happy about this renewal for reasons that had nothing to do with the show. I’ve been preaching the “optimization of profit by maximizing ALL revenue sources, not just advertising” for years! [way before BatB and these other shows even existed]. With a global, digital marketplace; the idea of renewing shows based solely on ratings [advertising is only a fraction of the total revenue] was ludicrous. So yes I am happy.

Now about the other shows… I’ve written more extensively about this here; also discussed the “fairness” of cancelling Star-crossed, CW’s treatment of midseason shows and tried to figure out why The 100 was a surprise hit.

Read: Fallen Stars, Zeitgeists and Teen of the Flies

I gotta say, it looks like Mark P. may know what he is doing after all. Programming all those super-hero shows and appealing to a wider audience does seem like a good strategy. However, I don’t agree with everything he is doing. I believe, in the long run, The Tomorrow People and Star-crossed had more revenue making potential than… say Hart of Dixie. I think HOD should have been cancelled a long time ago. The Secret Circle should have been renewed instead; since that didn’t happen, HOD should have been cancelled after its second season. By the way, I actually watch HOD and I like it, but I still think it wasn’t the best move to keep it for so long.

Hart of Dixie

HOD was probably renewed because the ratings were decent and the network loves Rachel Bilson [I love her too], but I don’t see it having much of an after-life [which is where shows generate most of their money]. I believe TTP and Star-crossed, had more potential to sell internationally, sell DVDs, etc. Perhaps it was a creative decision… I don’t think TTP was better than BatB, but I do think it was better than HOD. I can’t really say about Star-crossed because I haven’t watched it, but it seems to have amassed a cult-following in a very short period of time.

However, HOD was entering its 4^th season and that gave it an edge. But in all fairness, I don’t think HOD should have lasted so long and probably one or both newbies deserved a shot. It also looks like they were trying to avoid a similar situation with TCD and cancelled it before it was too late [I do agree with that decision]. I also think they jumped the gun with Reign. Not necessarily saying they should have cancelled it, but it failed to deliver the Thursday ratings they were hoping for [it ended with ratings similar to BatB last year]. I don’t think keeping it on Thursday was the best move and maybe they should have given it a shorter season. I think The 100 could have worked on that Thursday elusive spot.

Expectations vs. Reality: Looks like my predictions were "Ultra" wrong

The Tomorrow People

If you had asked me last year, I would have bet The Tomorrow People was going to be the hit of the season. But man, I am terrible at predicting this stuff. I am actually really good at predicting cancellations/renewals once the shows are airing, but I never get it right before they premiere.

Did I love The Tomorrow People as much as I expected? Not at all, but I did like it. The main issue, in my opinion, was that they never quite developed the mythology to “geek standards”. The rules of the world were unclear and the stakes weren’t high enough. In addition, much like cousin Stephen, Robbie Amell never really did it for me. But still, the show had its moments and Mark Pellegrino is truly awesome. Had it gotten renewed I would have continued to watch.

Read: Most Promising shows of 2013-14 season

2014-15 Season: Apparently I like Zombies [and Forrest Gump references]

Let’s get right to it.

My CW Pick for 2014-15 season is: iZombie!

This may come as a shock, but I am actually very confident about it. The show is about a medical student who accidentally turns into a zombie. Do I like the premise? Not at all! I don’t like supernatural, I hate zombies [I don’t even watch The Walking Dead]. But I love Rob Thomas to death [no pun intended]. He created two of my favourite shows: Veronica Mars and Party Down, and he resurrected Veronica Mars [and totally pimped out iZombie on the VM kickstarter updates, but I don’t blame him]. So basically I’ll watch this out of love for the writer. I will write more about it later when we get more news. Unfortunately this show is relegated to midseason. I am worried about it because CW has a tendency to cancel midseason shows…

I don’t know enough about The Messengers to comment about it and Jane the Virgin has got to have the most ridiculous/unappealing premise ever [Let’s skip the sex and go straight to the pregnancy… am I alone in thinking this is the worst idea ever? And why is she Latina? Am I the target audience?].

As expected, The Flash looks really great [that Forrest Gump line was pretty funny] and it is safe to say the CW will probably spend most of its money in promoting this show. If it is not a hit I will be surprised [but wouldn’t be the first time I am terribly wrong].

So, I do plan to watch The Flash. The fact that I adore Tom Cavanagh helps a lot too. Of course there is always the chance that this is another case of “Expectations and reality don’t meet” “Bad trailer/good trailer”. Who knows? I may end up liking The Flash well enough and LOVING Jane the Virgin [HIGHLY doubt it]. It has happened before…

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TVEmpress

The TV Empress is a Media Management graduate, screenwriter in the making (and financial engineer in the meantime). She has serious plans to take over global television. You can follow the TVEmpress on twitter @TVRepublik