Monday, February 12, 2007

The Case Against Cancellation

Since the recent news of "60"'s open-ended hiatus, there's been little intreptation of the announcement as anything other than an ominous strike in a series of ominous stikes against the show. Therefore, this piece (entitled "Seven Reasons Why It's Not Cancelled") is notable if only for the contrarian approach:

1. network support. A few weeks ago, Sorkin said that, when Studio 60 was picked up for the additional nine episodes in late 2006, now NBC Universal President and CEO Jeff Zucker assured him of the show's future. Zucker told Sorkin that he wasn't focusing on the back nine episodes but more in terms of seasons two and three of the series.

2. Even more network support. At the recent Television Critics Association (TCA) press tour, NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly vowed to stick with several quality freshman shows that have struggled to find a large audience -- including Friday Night Lights, 30 Rock and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Quite honestly, the network doesn't have a lot of other options.

The remaining reasons are predictable (the ideal demo, the ambiguity of the ratings #'s, even [gasp!] that NBC wouldn't dare cancel on Aaron Sorkin b/c he is, after all, Aaron Sorkin).
Network support is, in the end, the only route through which "60" can survive but it shouldn't be underestimated. I, like any other fan of the late, great "Arrested Development" can tell you, that critical network support, as well as a lack of other scheduling options to pursue, can buy a under-performing show two extra seasons (and an offer from boutique cable outlets like Showtime).

Obviously, "60" and "Arrested Development" differ greatly, most important of which being that "60" actually has a an average rating of at least 2-3 million more viewers (though declining) than "AD" did when it was cancelled.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Well said.