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[Rhaknar]

I still like B99 you fuckers

that being said, that is a bizarre crossover. In fact, crossovers in general are weird

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Josef Adalian - The Winners and Losers of Summer TV

WHAT WORKED:

Preacher:

While OWN’s Greenleaf is the summer’s biggest new cable hit, AMC’s adaptation of the comic-book series Preacher is a close second. It’s averaging about 3 million viewers per week, about half of whom are in the key demo of adults under 50. It’s regularly near the top of the cable charts each week, and it’s doing well without the benefit of having an existing AMC hit as its lead-in (save for the series premiere, which was paired with the finale of Fear the Walking Dead). And while Preacher did take a ratings hit early in its run, it’s since rallied back, showing ratings growth during most of the second half of its season. More important, in key demo groups, Preacher outperformed almost everything else scripted on basic cable so far this summer, including buzz-worthy shows such as Mr. Robot and TNT’s heavily hyped Animal Kingdom. At a time when cable networks are in the business of creating series brands with loyal audiences, Preacher feels like a show likely to be around for years to come.

NBC:

The Rio Games assured NBC a win for the summer, but even before the Olympics arrived, the Peacock had been having a great few months. America’s Got Talent accounts for most of the network’s success: In its second decade, the talent show not only towers over everything else on TV this time of year, but it’s actually drawing bigger ratings. This season is currently on track to deliver the show’s biggest audience in five years, a remarkable feat at a time when almost everything on TV is headed down. But NBC can also claim some other big wins. Sticking by America Ninja Warrior has paid off, with the show likely to have its most-watched season yet this year. And while it doesn’t get much attention, the drama The Night Shift gets more viewers than any other network scripted series and ranks in the top 20 among adults under 50. Most impressive for NBC: If you look only at regularly scheduled non-sports programming, the Peacock is up 15 percent this summer in the key demo — while every other network is down. Having a strong summer doesn’t automatically translate to success during the regular season, but having millions more viewers watching promos for new shows such as Timeless and This Is Us certainly doesn’t hurt.

WHAT DIDN’T

Fox:

Once Empire hit its final note of the season last May, Fox might as well have just signed off the air completely. The network has seen its ratings sink to shockingly low levels over the warm-weather months, with audience levels falling to an average of fewer than 2 million viewers during several weeks last month. Compared to a year ago, Fox has lost roughly a third of its viewership in both overall audience and key demo groups. It’s not hard to diagnose what’s happening: Longtime summer staples have either faded (Gordon Ramsay’s various cooking shows) or completely collapsed (So You Think You Can Dance), season two of Wayward Pines was a dud, and new reality shows like American Grit and Coupled tanked. Worse, Fox doesn’t seem to have a strategy for summer. NBC mixes megahit AGT with a smattering of scripted fare; CBS has Big Brother and at least tries to do some summer dramas; ABC leans into beach TV with The Bachelorette and its Sunday game shows (with the NBA Finals providing a big assist). Fox, on the other hand, seems to have abandoned former chief Kevin Reilly’s year-round strategy and now seems content to just turn off the lights for four months, spend as little money on originals as possible, and hope audiences will return in September.

Last summer’s big cable hits:

Sophomore slumps are real, and this year they seem to be hitting USA’s Mr. Robot and Lifetime’s UnREAL pretty hard. It’s not that their ratings are awful: Once DVR replays were factored in, both series demonstrated year-to-year growth compared to their 2015 launches. But given the critical love and awards nominations, execs at both networks have to be a bit bummed these two potential tentpoles are doing just a little bit better. Networks, of course, have learned to temper their Nielsen expectations and now realize series can take years to find an audience, and that said audience won’t always be immediately be captured by linear ratings and must now be cultivated year-round. The problem for Mr. Robot and UnREAL is that the buzz around both shows’ second seasons has turned mixed to negative. Cable networks crave positive word of mouth in the early years of their prestige shows, especially when said shows are lower-rated. It’s the model that helped build Breaking Bad into a slow-motion smash and kept FX behind The Americans all these years. The meh response so far to UnREAL and Mr. Robot is hardly fatal, and it won’t stop either show from returning. But execs at USA and Lifetime were almost certainly hoping for better season-two narratives.

More at the link.

 

[firehawk12]

"The meh response"

Okay, I guess writers have just given up now. I honestly am not sure what I hate more, Variety's fake insider language or everyone else just using internet language. lol

On topic, both Mr. Robot and Unreal feel considerably worse in their second season, so it's no surprise that people stopped watching. They both feel like one season stories that have been expanded because you just can't do a one season TV show in America.

 

[Grizzlyjin]

They perfectly described why I'm not watching Fox during the summer. I'm burnt on Ramsey, and So You Think You Can Dance is doing a weird kids only thing this season that I have zero interest in watching. Huge misstep with that, they should have done a spin-off if they wanted to experiment.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

To be honest I'm a little surprised it's lasted as long as it has. I stopped watching a few episodes into the second season, but the show always existed in the grey area between like and dislike for me.

I think I watched the first 5 or 6 episodes of S1 and either didn't laugh or gave a few mild chuckles. Meh.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

"The meh response"

Okay, I guess writers have just given up now. I honestly am not sure what I hate more, Variety's fake insider language or everyone else just using internet language. lol

On topic, both Mr. Robot and Unreal feel considerably worse in their second season, so it's no surprise that people stopped watching. They both feel like one season stories that have been expanded because you just can't do a one season TV show in America.

Is Mr Robot compelling, since olympics pushed Nascar on sunday to USA, it was my first time seeing Mr Robot ads (basically the same ad every commercial break) and I wasnt sold.

The only compelling show this summer is CBS Zoo, but otherwise, Id have to agree with the article, never turned on to fox, or even the other channels, and with no new Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune and even Price is Right, its basically just been zoo, nascar, and well other stuff for me this summer. Sad state of tv really.

 

[CrichtonKicks]

"The meh response"

Okay, I guess writers have just given up now. I honestly am not sure what I hate more, Variety's fake insider language or everyone else just using internet language. lol

On topic, both Mr. Robot and Unreal feel considerably worse in their second season, so it's no surprise that people stopped watching. They both feel like one season stories that have been expanded because you just can't do a one season TV show in America.

Doesn't sound like people have stopped watching- article notes that both shows have seen year-to-year growth. It's just not as much as the networks may have hoped for given last seasons' buzz.

 

[firehawk12]

Is Mr Robot compelling, since olympics pushed Nascar on sunday to USA, it was my first time seeing Mr Robot ads (basically the same ad every commercial break) and I wasnt sold.

I think people were impressed by the fact that characters use actual command line commands and that the show depicts hacking in a manner that is more than just "hack the visual basic firewalls with your IPs" that you get on a CBS show.

It also has a very specific visual aesthetic that is completely different from anything that you get on TV, which helps it stand out.

But as a story... like this season has been 5 episodes of the main character sitting in a standstill. And the first season everyone guessed the twist after the first few episodes anyway, so even then it wasn't that interesting.

Doesn't sound like people have stopped watching- article notes that both shows have seen year-to-year growth. It's just not as much as the networks may have hoped for given last seasons' buzz.

Maybe GAF isn't the best place to judge (at least Unreal anyway), but the response seems rather anemic compared to the first years. Maybe the numbers are still there in the broader public.

 

[Fuzzy]

On topic, both Mr. Robot and Unreal feel considerably worse in their second season, so it's no surprise that people stopped watching. They both feel like one season stories that have been expanded because you just can't do a one season TV show in America.

This is what worries me about a second season of Stranger Things.

 

[firehawk12]

This is what worries me about a second season of Stranger Things.

Yeah, I'm quite disappointed that they're making more when it already feels like a complete story.

 

[Freeza Under The Shower]

Josef Adalian - The Winners and Losers of Summer TV

More at the link.

Mentioning BrainDead under 'didn't' somehow angers me. That show works hard for your love, goddammit. But it's a weird concept to release during summer, yeah. It's absolutely relevant in the context of the shitshow previously known as the 2016 election though.

 

[CrichtonKicks]

This is what worries me about a second season of Stranger Things.

I'm not worried at all- The Duffer Brothers seem pretty confident in their approach when they talk about a potential S2. Plus they were able to keep S1 to 8 episodes instead of giving into the temptation to pad it out to be a more conventional length. Just feels like they are very protective about the show and wouldn't opt to maintain this story in lieu of an anthology approach if they didn't really think it was for the best.

Further I think the idea of approaching it as a "sequel" is pretty interesting. Offhand I can't really think of any series where subsequent seasons were viewed threw that lens instead of a straight up continuation. The Wire perhaps.

 

[Jason Frost]

Do we need an S3?

Spoiler

they already killed off best character

I don't know, I only saw the first season for the moment.

That's like the most random crossover ever.

Can't say that after Sleepy Hollow and Bones crossed.

To this date, I still don't understand why they did that crossover.

 

[sparky2112]

On topic, both Mr. Robot and Unreal feel considerably worse in their second season, so it's no surprise that people stopped watching. They both feel like one season stories that have been expanded because you just can't do a one season TV show in America.

THIS.

 

[Father_Brain]

Mentioning BrainDead under 'didn't' somehow angers me. That show works hard for your love, goddammit. But it's a weird concept to release during summer, yeah. It's absolutely relevant in the context of the shitshow previously known as the 2016 election though.

The show whose guiding thesis of politics is basically "partisanship is bad, both sides are bad, we should all put aside our silly political differences and get along?"

That vision has always been popular with a very influential segment of the Beltway elite (see: Broder, Fournier, etc.), but it's never been less relevant than it is today.

 

[Cornballer]

Annual Peak TV numbers from Landgraf and FX:

Other notes:

Landgraf notes that FX’s programming budget is a third of HBO and a sixth of Netflix.

Landgraf notes that this year is on pace to top 500 scripted shows. This year. Alone. Expects #PeakTV to carry over to 2018.

We’ll hit a peak in next two and a half years. Decline will begin in 2019, John Landgraf says.

“Making and marketing a television today is about 4 to 5 million dollars.” - Landgraf.

Landgraf says that Netflix has announced 71 scripted series THIS YEAR.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

FXX news!

In January 2017, FX’s flagship animated series Archer will migrate to FXX, This is part of a major animation push for the comedy-centric FXX, FX Networks CEO John Landgraf indicated at TCA on Tuesday.

"We are really happy with FXX, it’s growing, particularly in the younger end of the spectrum,” Landgraf said. “As freestanding studio, ADHD shut down, but you will see FXX going really aggressively in animation, and short-form animation.”

via Deadline

 

[Sober]

500 scripted shows?

Someone pls let me know when cloning is a real possibility

 

[Stumpokapow]

wow archer, a show about 4 years past its prime, fxx is really heating up

 

[firehawk12]

I thought FXX turned into the Simpsons channel.

 

[kevin1025]

Annual Peak TV numbers from Landgraf and FX:

Other notes:

Landgraf always delivers the goods!

...and I'll never catch up at this point.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

Landgraf always delivers the goods!

...and I'll never catch up at this point.

By the way, does anyone have stats on whether this entertainment boon extends beyond TV? My son is about to go to college for a BFA in Theatre Production. Just wondering whether plays/musicals are seeing a similar increase.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

wow archer, a show about 4 years past its prime, fxx is really heating up

lol

But a focus on animated comedies is an interesting direction to take the channel in, and a logical one after the success of The Simpsons reruns.

 

[Freeza Under The Shower]

The show whose guiding thesis of politics is basically "partisanship is bad, both sides are bad, we should all put aside our silly political differences and get along?"

That vision has always been popular with a very influential segment of the Beltway elite (see: Broder, Fournier, etc.), but it's never been less relevant than it is today.

I don't know those names to be honest (I'm not American), but yeah, I do see that that is it's weak point and obviously know that's not how things work now. To be entirely fair, it's hard to see how things will or would work if the result in November doesn't lead to an overwhelming Democrat victory on all fronts. But I'm ignoring that for the sake of entertainment though. And Gustav being a legit smart character (in both good -reads a lot- and bad - paranoid - ways), which is interesting for me to see at least.

 

[Father_Brain]

I don't know those names to be honest (I'm not American), but yeah, I do see that that is it's weak point and obviously know that's not how things work now. To be entirely fair, it's hard to see how things will or would work if the result in November doesn't lead to an overwhelming Democrat victory on all fronts. But I'm ignoring that for the sake of entertainment though. And Gustav being a legit smart character (in both good -reads a lot- and bad - paranoid - ways), which is interesting for me to see at least.

It has its entertaining qualities. As political satire goes, it's morally vacuous and absolutely terrible.

Something like Veep can get away with non-partisan satire by virtue of ignoring actual politicians and political parties, but this show just can't.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Also, UnREAL ended last night and it hasn't been retroactively cancelled, so that's -1 contender for that rumor from a while back.

 

[dead souls]

FXX moving heavily into animation? Cool, another channel I can mostly ignore.

I know we're in peak TV and everything but this summer has had the least amount of stuff I've watched in ages.

I can't wait for the fall season to start.

 

[DrEvil]

Also, UnREAL ended last night and it hasn't been retroactively cancelled, so that's -1 contender for that rumor from a while back.

That ending though. Felt almost like a shark jumping moment.

 

[berzeli]

There won't be a season 3 of Zoo with those ratings, right?

So, the season 2 will probably end on a cliffhanger and the story will never be resolved because the show will be cancelled...

Do(n't) despair!
‘Zoo’ Renewed For Season 3 By CBS -TCA

CBS has ordered a third season of drama series Zoo to air in summer 2017.

CBS’ summer scripted series are all owned by CBS and have streaming deals, making them financially advantageous even at modest broadcast ratings levels. Zoo‘s deal is with Netflix. While Live+same day is not a very reliable indicator, Zoo most recently drew 4.4 million viewers and 0.9 rating in adults 18-49 while American Gothic did 2.5 million and 0.5 and BrainDead 1.7 million and 0.3.

 

[xrnzaaas]

FXX moving heavily into animation? Cool, another channel I can mostly ignore.

I know we're in peak TV and everything but this summer has had the least amount of stuff I've watched in ages.

I can't wait for the fall season to start.

The only good thing on FXX imo is You're the Worst.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

Do(n't) despair!
‘Zoo’ Renewed For Season 3 By CBS -TCA

Omg yes I cant wait for more bad writing, some of the stuff is really dumb but I cant stop watching. I love this!

Hopefully s3 keeps General Davies, best boy Jackson, and also Mitch's stepmom, and Dariela.

 

[kevin1025]

The only good thing on FXX imo is You're the Worst.

And it's coming back super soon!

 

[Hobbun]

Do(n't) despair!
‘Zoo’ Renewed For Season 3 By CBS -TCA

That's good to see. I am still enjoying the show through season 2.

 

[Jason Frost]

Do(n't) despair!
‘Zoo’ Renewed For Season 3 By CBS -TCA

Well, color me surprised!

 

[Joni]

In my hopeless desire to finish my backlog, I'm watching Friday Night Lights. First season is very good. I just can't believe that my StarCrossed heroine is as 'old' as any of the other kids on the show.

 

[Jason Frost]

In my hopeless desire to finish my backlog, I'm watching Friday Night Lights. First season is very good. I just can't believe that my StarCrossed heroine is as 'old' as any of the other kids on the show.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=160550926&postcount=639

 

[maxcriden]

In my hopeless desire to finish my backlog, I'm watching Friday Night Lights. First season is very good. I just can't believe that my StarCrossed heroine is as 'old' as any of the other kids on the show.

Once of the greats IMO. I hope you enjoy it immensely.

P.S. S2 is polarizing, but please do stick with it through its S2 strangeness. It gets just as good again, if not better than ever, afterwards. And keep in mind when S2 ends that it wasn't the planned finale, it eas meant to get a full season but they had to make episode 15 the finale due to the writer's strike.

 

[Grizzlyjin]

In my hopeless desire to finish my backlog, I'm watching Friday Night Lights. First season is very good. I just can't believe that my StarCrossed heroine is as 'old' as any of the other kids on the show.

I adore that show. I regret not going to the open casting calls when I lived in Austin. They were always looking for people to play students in the high school scenes. And they filmed them on...Friday Nights! It's like poetry.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

In my hopeless desire to finish my backlog, I'm watching Friday Night Lights. First season is very good. I just can't believe that my StarCrossed heroine is as 'old' as any of the other kids on the show.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=160550926&postcount=639

Once of the greats IMO. I hope you enjoy it immensely.

P.S. S2 is polarizing, but please do stick with it through its S2 strangeness. It gets just as good again, if not better than ever, afterwards. And keep in mind when S2 ends that it wasn't the planned finale, it eas meant to get a full season but they had to make episode 15 the finale due to the writer's strike.

I adore that show. I regret not going to the open casting calls when I lived in Austin. They were always looking for people to play students in the high school scenes. And they filmed them on...Friday Nights! It's like poetry.

Amazing show. Just binged it a few months ago. I highly recommend sticking with it throughout the entire series. Such amazing work by the cast.

And Aimee has aged quite nicely, like a fine wine.

 

[dead souls]

FNL is god tier television.

I wish I could watch it again for the first time.

 

[Coolluck]

The only good thing on FXX imo is You're the Worst.

Worrying that they're focusing more on animation then. I swear it was a sigh of relief when it got renewed for a Season 3. I couldn't really recommend Season 2 the same way as 1 simply because of accessibility issues. I hope that the show continues if Season 3 stays just as strong, though.

 

[Matush]

The only good thing on FXX imo is You're the Worst.

What about Man Seeking Woman? I think it's one of the smartest comedies on television.

 

[berzeli]

I was ranting a bit about how CBS seemingly were hellbent on making sure that their streaming platform was not a success a while back

I think it is fair to droop the "seemingly" from that statement.
CBS All Access Exec On Doing SVOD Service With Ads, Original Strategy

But unlike its streaming competitors like Netflix or Amazon, CBS All Access charges a monthly fee, $6, and also runs commercials on everything but classic shows from the CBS library. That applies to current and past seasons of the series that are still on the air as well as to all CBS All Access’ original series.

What the fuck are you doing CBS, why do you think people would be opting to pay for a streaming service which has ads in their show rather than for one which doesn't?

“The value, depth and breadth of content consumers can’t get anywhere else,” said Marc DeBevoise, the president and COO of CBS Interactive

Um. Sure. There are 90 shows total on CBS All Access.90. That isn't impressive at all, and I'm including shit like "Victoria's Secret Fashion Show" in those 90.
Now I can't do the math on American streaming services, but I crunched some numbers on Swedish ones (4 different streaming services + 3 streaming services from trad. broadcasters) and there is literally only one which has fewer shows on it and that one markets itself on its film offerings. There just isn't any "depth and breadth of content" on CBS All Access. I said it before and will say it again, the audience which may subscribe for Star Trek (why the fuck they would want to do that if they'll get ads) is not the same audience that will stay for NCIS, NCIS: LA, NCIS: NO or whatever NCIS branded shit will come next. They really, really, really need at the very least to bring over the CW (and kill the ads for fucks sake).
Fucking hell, they still are seeing digital as an extension of traditional linear broadcast. I almost want to rant more about this, but I fear that if I try it will just be a string of profanities.

 

[Joni]

Thomas Gibson has been suspended from Criminal Minds for kicking a staff member.
http://tvline.com/2016/08/11/thomas-gibson-criminal-minds-suspended-season-12-hotchner/

 

[Grizzlyjin]

Thomas Gibson has been suspended from Criminal Minds for kicking a staff member.
http://tvline.com/2016/08/11/thomas-gibson-criminal-minds-suspended-season-12-hotchner/

Lol a leg kick. Usually someone throws something or takes a swing. Never seen an argument get physical and start with a leg kick.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

I was ranting a bit about how CBS seemingly were hellbent on making sure that their streaming platform was not a success a while back

I think it is fair to droop the "seemingly" from that statement.
CBS All Access Exec On Doing SVOD Service With Ads, Original Strategy

What the fuck are you doing CBS, why do you think people would be opting to pay for a streaming service which has ads in their show rather than for one which doesn't?

Um. Sure. There are 90 shows total on CBS All Access.90. That isn't impressive at all, and I'm including shit like "Victoria's Secret Fashion Show" in those 90.
Now I can't do the math on American streaming services, but I crunched some numbers on Swedish ones (4 different streaming services + 3 streaming services from trad. broadcasters) and there is literally only one which has fewer shows on it and that one markets itself on its film offerings. There just isn't any "depth and breadth of content" on CBS All Access. I said it before and will say it again, the audience which may subscribe for Star Trek (why the fuck they would want to do that if they'll get ads) is not the same audience that will stay for NCIS, NCIS: LA, NCIS: NO or whatever NCIS branded shit will come next. They really, really, really need at the very least to bring over the CW (and kill the ads for fucks sake).
Fucking hell, they still are seeing digital as an extension of traditional linear broadcast. I almost want to rant more about this, but I fear that if I try it will just be a string of profanities.

I'm with you. I would imagine very, very few people are going to sign up for this. I don't see the new Trek as being a reason to burn $6/month, that's for sure.

 

[dead souls]

Thomas Gibson has been suspended from Criminal Minds for kicking a staff member.
http://tvline.com/2016/08/11/thomas-gibson-criminal-minds-suspended-season-12-hotchner/

Dharma needs to teach him to meditate and relax.

 

[Joni]

Dharma needs to teach him to meditate and relax.

They were fighting quite a bit when they visited Two and a Half Men.

 

[Stumpokapow]

One problem with CBS All Access: You can't read two treatment effects with one instrument. What I mean is that suppose that people love CBS All Access but hate Star Trek, or far more likely vice versa, it's going to be difficult to interpret the results as one or the other. They'll have very very rough evidence based on whatever viewership data Netflix gives them, but there it'll be impossible to distinguish between "CBS All Access is failing" and "the show is a bigger hit internationally than locally".

It's bad experimental design, to be honest. Imagine if you had two promising cancer drugs and it turns out that one of them saves lives and the other kills people, but then to test, you separated everyone into either a control group, or a group that gets both drugs. Then you check for a treatment effect and, wait, that's weird, numbers are all over the place in treatment group!

 

[Patryn]

Thomas Gibson has been suspended from Criminal Minds for kicking a staff member.
http://tvline.com/2016/08/11/thomas-gibson-criminal-minds-suspended-season-12-hotchner/

Everything I read about him and that show has him being a prima donna. As I recall, didn't he throw giant hissy fits in the beginning when CBS would prominently feature Mandy Patinkin in their ads while he'd be pushed to the background and he kept insisting that he was the lead and demanded star treatment?

As for CBS All Access... just lol.

Seriously, who in their right minds sets up a streaming service with ads nowadays? Especially a brand new service that is very, very niche and will have to fight for an audience in the first place.

Star Trek Discovery is going to get pirated like crazy. That's if people even realize it exists...