The honest opinion of a non-fan
Last weekend NBC announced that it would stop
production of their new supernatural drama Constantine.
The first season of the show will consist of 13 episodes [no more, no
less]; and, although it is not “officially cancelled”, that’s what most are
assuming at this point.
First of all, I have NOT watched the show. So I
have no idea of whether it is awesome or awful. I probably wouldn’t love it
since it is a genre I don’t normally enjoy. I don’t watch Supernatural, Dominion or Grimm,
not even The Walking Dead [and
believe me I’ve tried]. Not be my cup of tea, but that’s not to say those shows
shouldn’t exist. By all means, I think supernatural/horror shows should be
allowed to live [for many years] in their own little niche.
This morning I tweeted out my support to
#Constantine fans. Instantly, I got quite a few replies informing me that the
show is well-loved and that #SaveConstantine campaign is in the works. Why
would I feel compelled to support a show I don’t even watch? Well… it is more
about supporting the fans and opposing outdated network programming tactics.
Deciding the fate of a show after it has only aired 4 episodes [and on Fridays]
seems premature to say the least. Sadly, this does not surprise me. Networks do
this all the time! On the contrary, cable channels tend to have more faith on
their shows and give them time to grow. That’s why AMC just renewed the low
rated Halt & Catch Fire and why Breaking Bad became a hit of major
proportions.
But it is not just about network programmers
crushing the fans’ TV-loving hearts; it is also about the entertainment
reporters who love to quickly say the “obvious” and proclaim shows “dead”, even
before any official announcements are made. I understand enough about ratings
and media economics to know some shows are beyond salvation. No matter how much
they try, Netflix is not going to pick up Star-crossed,
Almost Human is gone forever and moving
Smash to Saturday nights was a pretty
clear message. However… there is hope for other shows, more than there was
before.
Just a few days ago Netflix resurrected Longmire and before that, there was The Killing. Why these shows and not…
say Star-crossed? I would assume it
has to do with branding. Judging from Netflix’s originals (House of Cards, Orange is the New Black and LilyHammer), it is clear they are going for an AMC/HBO type of
programming. The Killing and Longmire fit that description and had a
large enough audience to attract new subscribers. Meanwhile, Amazon resurrected
the British show Ripper Street and
even picked up Crossing Lines after
it had aired only ONE season. [Amazon seems to be to going after European
markets for some reason]. In addition, Community
got its coveted sixth season [#SixSeasonsandaMovie!] thanks to YahooTV.
Finally, let’s not forget that “no official
decision has been made” sometimes means that NO OFFICIAL DECISION HAS BEEN
MADE! So… even if all the cancellation/renewal sites are calling hopeful fans delusional,
we simply can’t know until the network announces it. Yes, ratings matter, but
more than ever, other variables matter too; mainly fan engagement and potential
for online revenue, both of which are HIGH for cult-hits.
A few examples: Hannibal is still hanging in there with 13 episode seasons. This
show was left in limbo for several months after its first season, but NBC saw
the light and renewed it [Thank God because it is a MASTERPIECE]. Beauty and the Beast was taken off the
fall schedule last year with the remaining episodes to be “burned off” during
the summer. There wasn’t one single critic or reporter that thought that show
was going to get a third season but fans never gave up. They used their forced
hiatus to campaign as hard as they could, won a PCA, inundated the CW with
roses and raised 10,000 USD + for charity among other things. And… a third
season is being produced [and yes, I still think a 4th is a strong possibility].
So… to all the Constantine fans out there and fans of other brutally mistreated
shows I tell you: Even TV has underdogs… so just hang in there.
Thank you for mentioning our show Beauty & the Beast,we dearly love this show,our cast & crew are the best,very dedicated & fun loving people.We Beasties as we call ourselves are very busy Voting our little fingers off for our amazing series for a repeat of a win for 3 years in a row for the PCA awards.We are strong in numbers & we like to ROAR!!!
ReplyDeleteWell beasties definitely know how to roar, keep at it!
DeleteAmaizng blog.
ReplyDelete