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Showing posts with label suburgatory. Show all posts
Showing posts with label suburgatory. Show all posts

THE SKED'S WEDNESDAY NETWORK SCORECARD





February Sweeps go out not with a bang, but with the other thing.

ABC:  The first "midseason arc" episode of REVENGE looked almost exactly like all the other episodes, so it was fitting that the rating stayed even.  The show will now take a break from fresh episodes until the end-of-season push in April.  (Meanwhile, the network will air REVENGE FOR REAL, some kind of "ABC News" concoction about actual rich-people crimes.  If it works, no doubt NBC is poised to launch Smash For Real.)  Elsewhere, even with a 2-hour Idol as competition, HAPPY ENDINGS had a very nice 0.4 bump over the last 2 weeks--and continued to pile up its pre-Community Random Pop Culture Reference points with a nod to Krippendorf's Tribe that must have made Richard Dreyfuss very happy.  THE MIDDLE was also up a gratifying 0.4, while SUBURGATORY was slightly up and MODERN FAMILY was even.  


FOX:  AMERICAN IDOL 2-hour Wednesday was in the same position as its Tuesday:  dreadfully down from the parallel episode last year (44%, ouch), but only slightly down from last week.  The days of its dominance certainly seem to be over.

CW:  Audiences were not waiting with baited breath for the US vs. Brit version of AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL, which had a 0.6 that was down a disastrous 45% from last year's Spring premiere, and even down from its lead-in ONE TREE HILL.  (And for anyone looking for excuses, sorry:  last year's premiere also aired against a 2-hour Idol.)

NBC:  On the plus side, nothing got worse. ARE YOU THERE, CHELSEA and SVU remained tied with their all-time lows, while WHITNEY and ROCK CENTER were a wildly exciting 0.1 above theirs'.  Next week, the network begins its Wednesday roundelay, with a new version of the schedule practically every week.  Fun!

CBS:  No good news here, either:  CRIMINAL MINDS tied its season low, while SURVIVOR and CSI were 0.1 above their respective lows.  The latter, though, still had enough to win the 10PM hour.

When NBC chose tonight for the debut of its difficult, highly conceptual AWAKE, the plan was for it to face no competition at 10PM but reruns.  Which is true, except ABC had the interesting idea of re-running its star-studded JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE post-Oscar special in the slot as counterprogramming.  Otherwise, little is new on the schedule:  FOX has another 2-hour Idol, and CBS stuck a new ROB amidst the rest of its otherwise all-repeat night.




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THE SKED'S WEDNESDAY NETWORK SCORECARD




At FOX, perhaps the most terrifying 7 words in the English language:  AMERICAN IDOL May Not Have Hit Bottom.

FOX:  Despite no special competition on any other network, Idol's 5.1 was down a full ratings point from last week, and down a horrible 35% from last year's parallel episode.  This is still, of course, a very high rating (FOX easily won the night), and Idol, as Mitch Metcalf has shown, skews fairly well with high-income viewers, but make no mistake:  these declines are costing FOX millions of dollars.  Even worse, since advertiser refunds are customarily made in the form of free "make-good" spots on the schedule, and nothing else on FOX rates anywhere near Idol's numbers, the network will have to give away either more Idol inventory or a lot of time in other shows.  And worst of all, it's not clear that these drops are going to stop anytime soon. 


NBC:  So this is NBC, 2011-2012:  nothing but football in the winter, and nothing but The Voice in the spring.  The network is certainly entitled to a little dancing in the street over the fact that they really do have this season's music competition show of choice (at least so far), but the rest of the schedule is an atrocity.  Last night's 1.2 has to be one of the lowest non-holiday, in-season (let alone sweeps) Sun-Thurs nights for any network ever.  The highest rated show of the night was SVU, with a 1.6 that was its lowest rating in a dozen years on the air.  WHITNEY was the night's "success story," as its 1.5 managed to stay 0.1 above its series low.  ARE YOU THERE, CHELSEA? hit a new series low 1.3 (Chelsea may be there; no one else is).  And let's not even talk about the unbelievable 0.6 for ROCK CENTER

ABC:  But then, not a lot of good news for anyone last night. THE MIDDLE and SUBURGATORY hit new season lows of 2.3.  MODERN FAMIILY and HAPPY ENDINGS were, respectively, 0.2 and 0.1 above season lows.  (Endings, however, did win the prize for Random Pop Culture Reference Of the Week--a prize Community usually owns when it's on the air--when Brad, whose cologne attracts pigeons, was referred to as "Mr. Tuppence A Bag," about as sweet a Mary Poppins gag as you'll ever find.)  The idea of pre-empting Revenge with a special pre-Oscar "Before They Were Stars" installment of 20/20 must have seemed like a good idea at the time; at 1.4, it wasn't.

CBS:  The hits keep coming:  SURVIVOR's 2.8 was the lowest regular episode in that show's 12-year history, and CRIMINAL MINDS tied a season low 3.1.  But then--gasp!--something good:  CSI, with its 2d Elisabeth Shue episode (but probably helped as well by the weak competition on ABC) went up 0.2 from last week, with a 2.8 that almost equaled the NBC and ABC ratings combined.

CWONE TREE HILL's 0.7 was higher than last night's Rock CenterREMODELED, though, continued marching graveward with a 0.3.

Tonight FOX airs an hour of Idol, followed by THE FINDER.  All the networks feature new episodes, except NBC, which airs its last Grimm rerun at 10PM (Awake starts next week), and CW, which moves to its own drummer and is already in Thursday reruns even though we're still in February sweeps.

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THE SKED'S WEDNESDAY NETWORK SCORECARD




Somewhere, Edward R. Murrow weeps.

CBS:  The attempt to resurrect Murrow's 59-year old celebrity interview vehicle PERSON TO PERSON with Charlie Rose and Lara Logan flopped badly with a 1.1 (wait, people didn't want to see the inside of Warren Buffet's house?).  But Survivor will be back next week, so no long-term damage done.  CRIMINAL MINDS was in its recent neighborhood (its lead over Mobbed on FOX will likely look better when final ratings are released and the Idol overrun into Mobbed's hour is removed).  As expected, CSI took a big hit from the last new episode, which was Marg Helgenberger's finale, but still won its hour.  Next week Elisabeth Shue debuts as the show's new female lead, and we'll see if that does anything for the show.


FOX:  AMERICAN IDOL held at a 6.0, which naturally destroyed the competition but was still down almost 30% from last year at this time--and was also about 10% below Monday's number for The VoiceMOBBED was purportedly up for the night, but again that may well change once the Idol overrun is removed.

ABC:  THE MIDDLE and SUBURGATORY were basically even with their earlier numbers against Idol, while MODERN FAMILY and HAPPY ENDINGS, which had last aired new episodes against a 2-hour Idol, predictably did better against MobbedREVENGE matched its last few originals--we'll see if next week's arc finale gives the show a bump.

NBC:  Even though Idol was stable, its NBC competition of WHITNEY and ARE YOU THERE, CHELSEA? managed to be down to a pair of 1.5s, which is even with the series low that Up All Night had when it aired on Wednesdays.  ROCK CENTER unsurprisingly was slaughtered in its new 9PM timeslot, with a 1.1 against 3 networks that all averaged a 3.0 or more in the hour.  SVU was in last place at 10PM, although considering the difference in lead-ins, a 2.2 (only 0.5 behind CSI) was almost a moral victory.

CW:  ONE TREE HILL continues to hold nicely with a 0.7, while REMODELED continues to need one of its own with a 0.4.

Virtually all new sweeps episodes on every network tonight.  NBC will air a 1-hour 30 ROCK at 8PM, preempting PARKS & RECREATION, which should have little effect on the ratings, and while the network waits to launch AWAKE after sweeps, it'll re-air the post-Super Bowl edition of THE VOICE at 10PM.


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THE SKED'S WEDNESDAY NETWORK SCORECARD



America gives a warm "Welcome Back" to ABC's Wednesday line-up.

ABC:  With new episodes airing for the first time in a month, the network's shows (admittedly airing against lots of repeats and low-level specials on the other networks) took every half-hour of the night.  Everything was up from its last new episode in early December, although glass-half-emptiers might note that SUBURGATORY and REVENGE were only up 0.1 from what had been (excluding Thanksgiving Eve) their previous series lows.  Still, up is up, and a particularly ingenious HAPPY ENDINGS was only 0.2 off its season high.


FOX:  An off-night GLEE repeat didn't give much of a lead-in to a new MOBBED, which could only manage a 3d place 1.2 in its hour.

CBS:  A special I GET THAT A LOT pulled a not-bad 2.3, good enough for 2d place in the hour, then repeats held on to 2d place the rest of the night.

NBC:  The network's last night of repeats until it launches its "unfunny women in their 20s" 8PM hour of sit-coms next week.  The night's high point was a 1.1 for the SVU repeat.

CW:  Finally new episodes return to CW tonight, but there was still time for one more night of SECRET CIRCLE repeats with their 0.3 ratings.

Tonight, yes, CW unwraps new episodes of guilty pleasure Vampire Diaries and guilty not-so-much-pleasure Secret Circle, while ABC has 2012's first new chapters of Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice.  CBS, FOX and NBC (goodbye for now, Community) air reruns.

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THE SKED'S WEDNESDAY NETWORK SCORECARD



It was ABC's turn for some post-preemption malaise.

ABC:  The network's Wednesday schedule returned from its CMA Awards break to drops across the board.  The 2 new shows were hit hardest, as SUBURGATORY dipped 0.3 and REVENGE 0.4.  Neither of the declines were anything to worry about (Revenge still tied for 1st place in its hour), but as we enter the holiday season with its frequent repeats and specials, the night suggests how difficult it is for networks to fill roughly 36 in-season weeks of programming with (usually) 22 episodes of regular series, while managing not to lose the attention of viewers.


FOXX FACTOR didn't return to its pre-baseball level, but it's stabilized at a 3.8 that was easily good enough to win the night.

CBS:  Without the CMA Awards as competition, all the network's shows were up, especially CRIMINAL MINDS, which had a nice 0.3 bump from last week.  

NBC:  Is there an emoticon for "Oy"?  UP ALL NIGHT was up a tick but still under a 2, while SVU's 1.9 was below last year's average of Law & Order:  LA--which, as you'll recall, was cancelled.  Worst of all was HARRY'S LAW, which managed to hit a season low 1.1.  (Soon to be a star of your post-football Sunday night programming!)

CWAMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL was steady at 0.8.

Tonight's big event will be a heavily-promoted 2-hour "intervention" episode of PRIVATE PRACTICE on ABC.  

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THE SKED: Wednesday Ratings - Network Scorecard



It was a great night to be ABC.

ABC:  With the World Series tricking FOX, it was all treat for the Alphabet.  Noteworthy in the general wave of success was that HAPPY ENDINGS shot to a 3.5, and while that won't happen again against original programming on the other networks, it means a lot of new eyeballs watched last night's particularly funny episode, so ABC can hope some of them will like what they saw and come back.  SUBURGATORY also set a nice new high, and REVENGE got solid viewership for a fairly pivotal episode.


NBC:  Even against a repeat CSI on CBS, no one was interested in watching PRIME SUSPECT.  Tonight's rating will be critical for the show, which is approaching deadline on a back order and will never get more promotion than it received this week.

CBSSURVIVOR was buoyed by the lack of competition to win its hour, and even with repeats, CRIMINAL MINDS and CSI were strong seconds in their hours.

FOX:  With the last minute scratch of the World Series game, they used GLEE reruns as filler.

CW:  Reruns of RINGER continued to barely register.

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THE SKED: Wednesday Ratings - Network Scorecard



The arrival of the World Series meant remarkably little to the other networks last night.

FOX:  Last night's was the lowest rated non-Saturday Game 1 in history, and basically did the same rating for FOX as X Factor has been getting on Wednesdays all season.  If there's to be any upside for the network in carrying baseball, it will only kick in if the Series is a long one.


NBC:  The network pushed the birth flashback episode of UP ALL NIGHT like it was a series launch, and barely even budged its needle--up 0.1 from last week's early numbers.  (Last week the show crept up an additional 0.1 when finals came in, and that could happen today as well.)  Creatively, the episode showed the series still flailing for a consistent tone, wavering between the naturalistic comedy of Applegate/Arnett and Maya Rudolph's broad silliness. Next week Up All Night will be a repeat, so NBC will have to pray they don't lose any additional audience during the 2-week gap till a new episode airs.  Last night's ratings for HARRY'S LAW and SVU were stable, which is to say very bad.

ABCSUBURGATORY proved its full season order to be well-earned, with a rock-solid 3.1 that built on its lead-in.  The rest of the schedule was down a couple of ticks, but nothing to be concerned about, especially against atypical competition.  (10PM ratings are particularly out of the norm this week, as FOX doesn't usually even program in that hour.)

CBS:  World Series?  What World Series?  The network's numbers hardly moved from last week.

CW:  A RINGER repeat did just about the same number that the reviled H8R was scoring at 8PM, and AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL was likewise at the same level it's been this season.

Last year's World Series Game 2 was down about 20% from Game 1, and if that pattern holds, FOX's ratings tonight could be even lower than what it's been doing with regular programming on Thursdays this season.  Meanwhile, NBC will have the season's first full night of repeats, as they conserve fresh episodes before November sweeps begins.  CBS and ABC will hope the absence of THE OFFICE brings some extra eyeballs to PERSON OF INTEREST and GREY'S ANATOMY

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THE SKED: Wednesday Ratings - Network Scorecard


A smiley face for one network and a frowny one for another, on the third night this week disrupted by postseason baseball.

ABC:  Everything came up fairly rosy last night at the Alphabet.  SUBURGATORY should be inches away from a full season pick-up after its third consecutive strong outing, and even better, REVENGE went in the opposite direction from Pan Am, and had a nice bump from last week.  That might be partly due to CSI being hurt by the unexpected baseball game at 10PM, but ABC will take it.  Combine all that with the stellar MODERN FAMILY number and an impressive increase for HAPPY ENDINGS (which also might be partly attributable to the absence of X Factor on FOX), and it was a pleasant evening at ABC.


NBC:  Here's where NBC is these days:  their good news last night was that the repeat of WHITNEY with its 1.3 decisively outrated the new episodes of Free Agents that it replaced.  (Incidentally, BBCAmerica has started airing the original British Free Agents--albeit in heavily edited form--and it's a tutorial in how a network can duplicate a show's premise, basic characters and even storylines and turn it into something completely different and far worse.)  UP ALL NIGHT, with its full season order, declined to a lousy 2.0, while the best that can be said for HARRY'S LAW and SVU is that they were consistent.

CBS:  SURVIVOR  and CRIMINAL MINDS barely moved from last week.  The CSI decline was a little steeper, but as noted, that show faced unusual competition in its timeslot.

FOX:  Even though a network benefits financially from a long playoff series, at this point FOX is probably hoping Texas can just win its next game today/tonight/whenever it stops raining and put the network out of its misery.  Last night's unexpected primetime game was down at least 20% from X Factor, and that will probably get worse when final numbers are released later today.

CW:  Repeats of RINGER (back ordered yesterday) barely kept the lights on with a 0.4, which was even with last week's H8R and didn't affect AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL.  

Tonight NBC will find out if the extra reruns this week have helped Whitney and Prime Suspect at all, and CBS will hope for an uptick from Person Of Interest.  

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The Sked: WEDNESDAY RATINGS October 12

ABC's Wednesday is humming along and won the night with a 3.4 Adult 18-49 rating in the fast nationals.  Modern Family at 9 led the way of course with a 5.7 (the same as last week).   Suburgatory seems to be stabilizing at a 3.0 (the three-week track is 3.3...3.1...3.0, and it could very possibly go up in the official nationals).  The Middle is settling in at a 2.8 (four-week track: 3.1...2.7...2.8...2.8).  Happy Endings (which was pushed in promos the past few days -- "If you like Modern Family, you'll like Happy Endings" along with guest star Megan Mullally) bounced back to a 3.3.  The three-week track for Happy Endings is 3.1...2.8...3.3.  Stunts still work.  And Revenge (the biggest promo priority) rebounded to a 2.7 (four-week track: 3.4...2.7...2.4...2.7).


CBS was a close #2 at a 3.2 for the night:  Survivor 3.2, Criminal Minds 3.7, CSI 2.6.  Survivor and Criminal Minds were each down 0.1 from last week, while CSI was down a disappointing 0.3.  CSI's four-week track: 3.2...3.1...2.9...2.6.  Pending adjustments in the official nationals, it looks like CSI will lose the 10 pm hour to Revenge.

FOX coverage of the rain-delayed Game 4 of the ALCS is a preliminary 3.0 in the fast nationals (the primetime portion from 8:00-10:30).  But the fast nationals have been wildly inaccurate with baseball recently -- expect that number to go down substantially.  

NBC was fourth with a 1.7 for the night, equalling the Wednesday rating last week.  Up All Night, fresh of its full-season order, declined to a 2.0, a series low.  In the time period, Up All Night has tracked:  2.4...2.1...2.3...2.0.  A repeat Whitney at 8:30 (1.3) over-performed the moribund 1.0 turned in by last week's Free Agents.  Harry's Law did its consistent 1.2, while SVU pulled a 2.1, third place in the 10 pm hour.  SVU track: 2.4...2.1...2.1...2.1.

The CW featured a repeat Ringer (0.4), which didn't help America's Next Top Model (0.8).

     

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THE SKED: Wednesday Ratings - Network Scorecard


The bell tolled for another failed new series last night, which was otherwise fairly stable.

ABC:  If SUBURGATORY can hold its rating around last night's 3 for another week, it should be a strong candidate for an early back order.  (See our PILOT + 1 review.)  The night's other sitcoms slipped a bit, but nothing to be concerned about--in fact, a mere 0.2 fall for the second week of HAPPY ENDINGS isn't bad at all.  REVENGE can keep going at last night's 2.5, but it needs to hold steady around there. 

FOXX-FACTOR continues to hold at or around a very solid 4, and gave FOX the win again last night.  The only disquieting news for the network was that its lead-in did nothing for the new episode of RAISING HOPE that aired at 9:30PM, which may mean that the reality show won't provide the launching pad later this season for I HATE MY TEENAGE DAUGHTER that FOX was hoping for.

NBC:  Here's what you have to say about the newly back-ordered UP ALL NIGHT:  its 2.2 rating was the highest scored by any NBC show on the network's Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday night schedules this week.  Grading on a curve, that makes it a success.  FREE AGENTS, though, was too low even for the Peacock, and has bitten the dust.  HARRY'S LAW  and SVU were steady, albeit at cruddy numbers. 

CBS:  The network's Wednesday average was even with last week:  you just plug it in, and it works.

CW:  It's hard to believe that even CW can live for long with H8R's 0.4 rating.  AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL has stabilized, but 30% below last season.

Tonight there are several shows to keep an eye on:  CHARLIE'S ANGELS on ABC, HOW TO BE A GENTLEMAN on CBS (look for our Pilot + 1 Review), and WHITNEY and PRIME SUSPECT on NBC.

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The Sked: WEDNESDAY RATINGS October 4

Wednesday ratings are settling into predictable patterns for the most part, and Suburgatory on ABC had a decent second week.  FOX's The X-Factor seems to settling around a high-3 or 4 rating.

ABC's Suburgatory fell to a still-good 3.0 rating in its second episode but still grew from its Middle lead-in.  Last week Suburgatory grew from a 2.7 lead-in to 3.3; this week was a 2.7 to a 3.0.  Modern Family seems to be settling in around a mid-5 rating, which is a full rating point ahead of last year at this time.  Revenge dropped another 0.2 from last week to a 2.5.  To have any life on the network longterm, the Hamptons drama really needs to stop eroding immediately and stay at this level.  For the night ABC was a very close #3 with a 3.2 (only 0.3 away from first place).  On the same night last year (10.6.2010), ABC was in third place for the night, averaging a 2.5 rating: The Middle (2.5), Better with You (2.3), Modern Family (4.6), Cougar Town (3.0), The Whole Truth (1.3).



FOX won the night narrowly with a 3.5 rating.  A 90-minute The X Factor did a 3.9 and a 9:30 episode of Raising Hope crashed down to a 2.3.  Last week's X Factor was a 4.1 in the final nationals -- we expect the show to get its usual bump in the finals this afternoon to a 4.0.  For now it seems that The X Factor is settling at a nice level.  This night last year, FOX was in second place with a 3.1 rating: Hell's Kitchen (3.0) at 8 pm and Hell's Kitchen at 9 pm (3.3).     

CBS is tied for second for the night with a 3.2 rating.  Criminal Minds bounced back to a 3.8 rating (up 0.2 from last week), while Survivor dropped 0.1 and CSI fell 0.2 from last week.  All in all, the CBS shows seemed to have found their basic levels though.  CBS won the third Wednesday last year with a modest 3.2 rating: Survivor (3.8), Criminal Minds (3.5), Defenders (2.2). 

NBC's Up All Night has stabilized at a 2.2 rating (up 0.1 from last week), and Free Agents has settled into its grave at a 1.0 rating (same as last week).  Harry's Law and Law & Order: SVU look steady at a 1.2 and 2.1 rating, respectively.  The Peacock averaged a fourth-place 1.6 for the evening.  NBC was in fourth place on this night last year with a 2.2 rating: Undercovers (1.5), Law & Order: SVU (2.6), Law & Order: Los Angeles (2.4). 

The CW's H8R dropped back down to an ignominious 0.4 rating, while America's Next Top Model has stabilized at a 0.8.  

Season to date (through 17 nights of the season), CBS leads with a 3.2 rating, followed by FOX with a 3.1.  ABC remains in third (2.6) and NBC trails (2.4).  The CW is averaging a 0.7 season to date.


WEDNESDAY FALL 2011 Estimates         Episode Rating     
                                #1   #2   #3   #4   #5   #6   Avg
ABC
 800 The Middle        2.7      3.1  2.7  2.7                 2.8

 830 Suburgatory       2.4      3.3  3.0                      3.1
 900 Modern Family     4.6      6.1  5.7  5.6                 5.8
 930 Happy Endings     2.9      3.1  2.9                      3.0
1000 Revenge           2.3      3.4  2.7  2.5                 2.9

CBS
 800 Survivor          3.6      3.4  3.2  3.2  3.1            3.2
 900 Criminal Minds    3.7      4.1  3.6  3.8                 3.8
1000 CSI               2.6      3.2  3.1  2.9                 3.1
NBC
 800 Up All Night      2.1      3.7  2.4  2.1  2.2            2.2
 830 Free Agents       1.6      2.1  1.3  1.0  1.0            1.1

 900 Harry's Law       2.2      1.2  1.2  1.2                 1.2
1000 L&O SVU           2.3      2.4  2.1  2.1                 2.2
FOX
 800 X-Factor          3.5      4.4  4.1  3.9                 4.1
 930 Hate My Teenge    2.5      11/30
CW

 800 H8R               n/a      0.6  0.4  0.6  0.4            0.5
 900 Next Top Model    n/a      0.9  0.7  0.8  0.8            0.8

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THE SKED'S PILOT + 1 REVIEW: "Suburgatory"


A lot can happen between the creation of a TV pilot in the spring and production of episodes for the regular season:  a writing/producing team is hired, audience focus groups weigh in, networks and studios (which may have had their own turnover in the off-season) give plenty of notes, both helpful and otherwise, and critics begin to rear their ugly heads.  The results can include changes to tone, pace, casting and even story.  Here at THE SKED, we're going to look past the pilots and present reviews of the first regular episodes of this year's new series as well.

Previously... on SUBURGATORY:  Tessa Altman (Jane Levy) was a perfectly happy urban New York teen, until she's outraged to find herself uprooted by single dad George (Jeremy Sisto) to the suburbs, where he thinks--after finding a condom in her room (that was actually her friend's)--she'll find a safer, more wholesome life.  The joke's on him:  he's as out of his element as Tessa, and the two of them, alternately bemused and horrified, have to survive their new surroundings, and their strange new neighbors, together.  By the close of the pilot, Tessa has found her first friend, outcast Lisa (Allie Grant), and George has been taken under the wings of old friend Noah (Alan Tudyk) and the somewhat rapacious Dallas (Cheryl Hines)--whose daughter Dalia (Charley Chaikin) embodies everything Tessa despises about her new life.


Episode 2:  The second episode, written by veteran sitcommer Bob Kushell and directed by pilot director Michael Fresco, is somewhat less acrid than the pilot.  The main storyline has Tessa torn between despising Lisa's hunky idiot brother Ryan (Parker Young) and wholeheartedly lusting after him, and it's cute, but not in a particularly satiric way.  Notably, the characters of Dallas and Dalia, who were key in the pilot, have little to do in the episode, as the main neighbor characters are Lisa and Ryan's parents (Ana Gasteyer and Chris Parnell).  In the B story, George is informed by Noah that he has to hold "the barbecue" or forever be considered a stranger in their midst.

The regular series tone of Suburgatory is broader and less distinctive than the pilot suggested it would be.  (The episode's big joke--repeatedly twice for good measure--has two stereotypically campy gay neighbors turn out to be married to women and apparently heterosexual.)  Combined with Jane Levy's Emma Stone-ish appeal, the show feels more like an unofficial spin-off of Easy A than ever.  That's not to say the series isn't fun:  Levy is still enormously likable, and the relationship between her and Sisto as her TV dad is comfortable and funny.  But Tessa's anger at being taken from her New York life, and the surliness that went with it, are gone, and what originally seemed reminiscent of My So-Called Life is now considerably less edgy. 

It'll take a few more episodes to determine whether Suburgatory has been, well, suburbanized for good, or whether ABC chose a particularly toothless episode to ease it into its place in the Wednesday line-up, sheltered between The Middle and Modern Family.  The hope here is that as the show goes forward, it'll recapture some of the originality that made it seem special in the first place.

Original Verdict:  Potential DVR Alert

Pilot + 1:  Bring Back the Rough Edges
 

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THE SKED: "2 Broke Girls" A Little Less Broke


In one of the least surprising developments of the young season, CBS has given a full season back-order to 2 BROKE GIRLS. Considering that the show did a 4.4 this past week, and NBC has given back orders to UP ALL NIGHT (2.1) and WHITNEY (2.5), it would be an understatement to say that the vote of confidence is deserved.



Now that CBS, NBC and FOX (with NEW GIRL) have rewarded their new shows with early pick-ups, who's next?  If THE SECRET CIRCLE holds up tomorrow night, expect CW to move quickly on a back order.  ABC may have to wait a little longer to see where their shows are headed, but if SUBURGATORY holds up anywhere close to its premiere number, it'll have a good shot, and either or both of PAN AM and REVENGE should get good news if their ratings stabilize at current levels.

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THE SKED: Week 2 + 1 - ABC Network Scorecard


The third week of a network season is a critical one.  Ratings erosion after a series or season premiere is expected and even acceptable, because it's understood that not every viewer drawn by hype and marketing will be a satisfied customer.  But a continued fall in Week 3 can be a sign of trouble, and if that decline is from a number that wasn't great to begin with, the trouble could be serious.  That being said, let's take a look at where the networks stand as they begin this crucial week.  (Note:  since only 2 networks debuted their Monday schedules on the season's first official day, we'll include the next Monday in our review of the week.)

ABC
Thriving:
SUBURGATORY -  Only one airing so far, but it premiered well.

Holdovers - MODERN FAMILY, THE MIDDLE, PRIVATE PRACTICE, CASTLE


Struggling:
REVENGE -  Not really "struggling" yet, but last week's drop was worrisome.  The question is whether it can stop the fall.

PAN AM -  Same here.  It's won the battle of the 1960s shows, and it's beating CBS, but the ratings need to hold where they are now.

GREY'S ANATOMY - As with Glee, this show is still a hit, but it's substantially less of one than it used to be.

DANCING WITH THE STARS - The question is whether this disastrous cycle is just an aberration of bad casting, or if it signals the beginning of the end for this show.  That would be seriously bad news for a network that needs it to fill multiple hours per week.

Holdovers - BODY OF PROOF, HAPPY ENDINGS

Dying:
CHARLIE'S ANGELS - No one cared to see a remake of this, and besides, it's not any good.  Now that NBC has issued the season's first cancellation, expect this one to be close behind.

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES - Dead show walking!  No one expected it to go out as dismally as it has.  A warning of the perils of hanging on for one season too many.
 
GRADE:  C-plus
 

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THE SKED: Wednesday Ratings - Network Scorecard


Everyone was down, as the new season started to settle in on itself--but some were down more than others.

ABCMODERN FAMILY is doing quite spectacularly, more than 20% above last season's average.  The results in other timeslots were more mixed.  SUBURGATORY had a very nice debut at 8:30 (again, kudos to ABC Marketing this Fall), but it's a little disappointing that THE MIDDLE wasn't able to capitalize on NBC's increasing woes at 8PM, although it was still slightly above last season's average.   HAPPY ENDINGS was up a whopping 50% from its average last season, and almost double last year's season finale (which was admittedly in the less attractive 10:30PM slot)--and by the way, rightly so, since in a way Happy Endings had last year's most impressive reboot, miraculously becoming funny after a terrible first few episodes.  REVENGE is still OK, a solid second place in its timeslot, but it's no longer looking like a hit (other than in comparison to last season's disaster The Whole Truth)--and because of its serialized nature, once viewers have left, it'll be awfully hard to get them back.


FOX:  More of the same for X FACTOR:  it's not a blockbuster, but it's a big enough hit to win the night.  I'm not sure how FOX's coverage of the baseball post-season will affect X Factor's schedule over the next few weeks, but if the show has to skip many episodes, that'll be something to keep an eye on.

NBCUP ALL NIGHT has pushed past being a dubious success story to a show on the brink of trouble.  Last night's 2.1 puts its numbers squarely into COMMUNITY/PARKS & RECREATION territory, and as much as I love those shows, that's not where you want your big new comedy to be.  FREE AGENTS is just waiting for its cancellation notice, which may be delayed for PR reasons if NBC doesn't want to be the first network to admit to Fall failure.  HARRY'S LAW can't even pull in its presumed older audience, let alone 18-49s.  And the arrival of Danny Pino did nothing for SVU--if the show falls any lower than its current 2.0, it would be a candidate for cancellation anywhere but NBC, where they have too many bigger problems.

CBS:  Stability, thy name is CBS.  SURVIVOR and CSI barely budged from last week, and although CRIMINAL MINDS is now a bit below last season's average, it's facing very strong competition from Modern Family and X Factor.  

CW:  H84 was slightly less DOA than last week (it's unutterably sad to think that may be because Kim Kardashian was featured), and AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL continues to be more than 30% below last season's average.

Tonight, quite a few shows will be airing their second episodes and waiting to find out how many viewers come back for more (look for plenty of Pilot + 1 Reviews tonight).  For NBC, the critical numbers will be for The Office and Whitney in the 9PM hour, which is all that's keeping the network from complete non-football oblivion.

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The Sked: WEDNESDAY RATINGS September 28

Put ABC's Suburgatory in the conditional win column, while Revenge is on a watch list to see where it settles.  FOX's The X Factor suffered a decline in week two, but the Simon Cowell performance show still powered FOX to a victory on the second Wednesday of the season.  CBS was down a bit at 9 pm, but otherwise fairly stable.  The bleeding continues at NBC.

ABC has launched another show successfully.  Suburgatory debuted to a 3.3 Adult 18-49 rating, building off the The Middle's 2.6 (which was down 0.5 from its premiere last week).  Modern Family also declined 0.5 from its premiere to a 5.6 rating, and Happy Endings returned to the schedule with a 3.2 rating.  (That's a hefty drop from its lead-in, but in this tough network TV environment, a 3.2 at 9:30 is not a disaster.)  Week two of Revenge declined to a 2.7 (down a full 0.7 from the premiere), but more disturbing is that it dropped from a 2.9 in the first half hour to a 2.6 from 10:30-11:00 pm.  Going forward, Revenge will be lucky to hold on to a mid-2 rating week in and week out.  We need a few more weeks to see where the audience sorts out.  ABC averaged a 3.4 rating for the night (in second place), up substantially at 10 pm and up in the 8:30-10:00 comedy half hours.  On the same night last year (9.29.2010), ABC was in fourth place for the night, averaging a 2.4 rating: The Middle (2.5), Better with You (2.2), Modern Family (4.6), Cougar Town (2.8), The Whole Truth (1.2).



FOX won the night with a 4.0 for The X Factor, which turned in a 3.6 from 8-9 pm and a 4.3 at 9 pm.  This is down from a 4.4 rating last week but up significantly from last year.  This night last year, FOX was in second place with a 2.9 rating: Hell's Kitchen (2.8) at 8 pm and Hell's Kitchen at 9 pm (3.0).  Next week will be incredibly important for The X Factor -- can it hold at the 3.9/4.0 level or sink to the mid-3 rating range?   

CBS is a close third or tied for second for the night with a 3.2 or 3.3 rating, depending on rounding.  Week to week, Survivor was down a tick to a 3.1 rating, while Criminal Minds dropped 0.5 to a 3.6.  If anyone was hurt by the ESPN coverage last night of Major League Baseball's incredible final night of the regular season (when the two wild card spots were decided in three very close games on the various ESPN networks), it would be older-skewing CBS.  CSI dropped 0.2 to a 3.0 but won the time period thanks to decline of RevengeCBS won the second Wednesday last year with a modest 3.2 rating: Survivor (3.5), Criminal Minds (3.6), Defenders (2.5). 

NBC has not found bottom yet in the 8 pm comedy hour.  Up All Night dropped again to a 2.1 rating (down 0.3), and Free Agents hit a lowly 1.0 rating (down 0.3).  Harry's Law was steady week to week with a 1.2, while Law & Order: SVU drifted down to a 2.0 (down 0.4).  The Peacock averaged a fourth-place 1.6 for the evening.  NBC was in third place on this night last year with a 2.5 rating: Undercovers (1.6), Law & Order: SVU (2.8), Law & Order: Los Angeles premiere (3.2). 

The CW's reality shows perked up a bit.  H8R was up 0.2 to a 0.6 rating (a Kim Kardashian episode), and America's Next Top Model was up one tenth to a 0.8.  

Season to date (through ten nights of the season), FOX leads with a 3.4 rating, followed by CBS with a 3.3.  ABC remains in third (2.8) and NBC brings up the rear (2.4).  The CW is averaging a 0.7 season to date.


WEDNESDAY FALL 2011 Estimates         Episode Rating     
                    May   Sep   #1   #2   #3   #4   #5   #6   Avg
ABC
 800 The Middle     2.7   2.7   3.1  2.6

 830 Suburgatory    2.3   2.4   3.3
 900 Modern Family  4.6   4.6   6.1  5.6
 930 Happy Endings  3.0   2.9   3.2
1000 Revenge        2.2   2.3   3.4  2.7

CBS
 800 Survivor       3.6   3.6   3.4  3.2  3.1  
 900 Criminal Minds 3.7   3.7   4.1  3.6
1000 CSI            2.6   2.6   3.2  3.0
NBC
 800 Up All Night   1.9   2.1   3.7  2.4  2.1  
 830 Free Agents    1.6   1.6   2.1  1.3  1.0

 900 Harry's Law    2.2   2.2   1.2  1.2
1000 L&O SVU        2.3   2.3   2.4  2.0
FOX
 800 X-Factor       3.3   3.3   4.0  3.6 
 900 X-Factor       3.7   3.7   4.4  4.3
 930 Hate My Teenge 2.6   2.5   11/30
CW

 800 H8R            n/a   n/a   0.6  0.4  0.6  
 900 Next Top Model n/a   n/a   0.9  0.7  0.8

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THE SKED PILOT REPORT: ABC's "Suburgatory" - PREMIERING TONIGHT


Disclaimer:  Network pilots now in circulation are not necessarily in the form that will air in the Fall.  Pilots are often reedited and rescored, and in some cases even recast or reshot.  So these critiques shouldn't be taken as full reviews, but rather as a guide to the general style and content of the new shows coming your way.

SUBURGATORY -  Wednesday 8:30PM on ABC:  Potential DVR Alert

After the one-two punch of Last Man Standing and Man Up, it's a relief to report that ABC has a promising new comedy in SUBURGATORY, a smart, appealing and funny show created by Emily Kapnek,  most recently been a writer on Parks & Recreation


The title pretty much sets out the premise:  Tessa (Jane Levy), a dyed-in-the-wool New Yorker who's been raised by her single dad George (Jeremy Sisto), is abruptly uprooted from her downtown existence and planted in the suburbs when George finds a box of condoms in her drawer and decides she needs a more wholesome upbringing.  (It's a little cowardly that the show is at great pains to reassure us that Tessa was just holding the condoms for a friend (?), but that's network TV for you.)  Tessa is aghast to find herself in a world of malls, nose jobs, fashion obsession and high school mean girls, and the series is about her and her father's culture shock.

This could easily be a one-note joke, but even in the pilot Suburgatory shows signs of aiming for something more rounded.  Terrifically funny people like Alan Tudyk and Cheryl Hines are around in supporting roles, as, respectively, an old friend of George's and a local woman a little too eager to become Tessa's surrogate mom, and  before the pilot is over, Tessa finds there are others in the suburbs who don't quite fit in.  It's also encouraging that Tessa's dad is only moderately clueless, and that the two of them seem to like each other.  Michael Fresco directed the single-camera pilot, which finds a tone that's stylized but not too exaggerated to be a believable view (at least in Tessa's mind) of reality.

Easy A is clearly one of the inspirations here, and along with the wry humor and voice-over narration, the show, like that movie, needed a strong, likable lead.  Luckily, Jane Levy has the right Emma-Stone-ish charisma, and if the material doesn't let her down, she could become a breakout star of the season.  Sisto is a surprisingly effective choice to play the dad, more charming than the dark roles he often plays. 

Suburgatory has an enviable timeslot, nestled between The Middle and Modern Family, and with reality shows airing on CBS and FOX, its only risk would be if the NBC combo of Up All Night and Free Agents take off.  (Mitch Metcalf's Wednesday night projections have the show behind Survivor and X-Factor, but well ahead of NBC.)  If Suburgatory can follow through on the potential of its pilot, it could be My So-Called Life with, to be sure, less complexity, but a few more laughs.

 


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THE SKED: WEDNESDAYS This Fall

WEDENESDAYS this Fall officially start September 21, although several series get an early start tonight: Survivor on CBS, Up All Night and Free Agents on NBC in a special 10-11 pm time period after the finale of America's Got Talent (the comedies settle into their 8 pm hour next week), and the reality duo H8R and America's Next Top Model on The CW.  Click "read more" to see the latest ratings projections for Wednesday nights.



At ABC, we have raised the ratings projection for Suburgatory and Revenge but reduced Happy Endings one-tenth of a rating point each.  The net effect on ABC's Wednesday night average is minimal.  CBS ratings projections are the same as we issued in May, as the three shows are returning, known quantities.  On NBC we have raised Up All Night, thinking the heavy promotion and tinkering with the series' workplace arena are positives.  Free Agents has the same projection, meaning its fall-off from Up All Night will be even steeper and prompt a quicker call to the bullpen.  FOX is basically the same as the May projections, with X-Factor a solid but not dominant force.

An important note:  the ratings estimates are for original episodes across the entire Fall (from mid-September through mid-December).  Generally, a series will premiere at a high level and then settle into a more normal number by week four-six.  The important number to look at as the season unfolds is the average-to-date column at the far right.  By the time episode four rolls around, look at the average of episodes one-four and you should have a pretty good idea how the fall -- and the entire season -- will sort out.  CW shows are not currently estimated because we have incomplete historical data for the network's time periods.  CW estimates should be available later this season or early next season. 


WEDNESDAY FALL 2011 Estimates         Episode Rating     
                    May   Sep   #1   #2   #3   #4   #5   #6   Avg
ABC
 800 The Middle     2.7   2.7   9/21

 830 Suburgatory    2.3   2.4   9/28
 900 Modern Family  4.6   4.6   9/21
 930 Happy Endings  3.0   2.9   9/28
1000 Revenge        2.2   2.3   9/21 

CBS
 800 Survivor       3.6   3.6   9/14
 900 Criminal Minds 3.7   3.7   9/21
1000 CSI            2.6   2.6   9/21
NBC
 800 Up All Night   1.9   2.1   9/14
 830 Free Agents    1.6   1.6   9/14
 900 Harry's Law    2.2   2.2   9/21

1000 L&O SVU        2.3   2.3   9/21
FOX
 800 X-Factor       3.3   3.3   9/21   
 900 X-Factor       3.7   3.7   
 930 Hate My Teenge 2.6   2.5   11/30
CW

 800 H8R            n/a   n/a   9/14
 900 Next Top Model n/a   n/a   9/14



Click below to read the UPDATED RATINGS PROJECTIONS for the other nights of the week:

                      MON      TUE      WED      THU      FRI      SAT      SUN     

Click below to read the ORIGINAL RATINGS PROJECTIONS for the other nights of the week (from May):  

                      MON      TUE      WED      THU      FRI      SAT      SUN      FULL WEEK


Click below to find out what to watch this fall:


                      MON      TUE      WED      THU       FRI      WEEKEND

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THE SKED: WHAT TO WATCH THIS FALL ON WEDNESDAYS (1st Draft)


The networks have proclaimed their Fall schedules, the new series have been (partially) unveiled, so... what now?  What will actually be worth watching when network TV comes back to life in a few months?  SHOWBUZZDAILY is here to help you out.  The good news is that since virtually all TV series are available these days via DVR, on-demand and online streaming, we're well past the days when you had to choose one show in a timeslot and live with it--so where a slot offers a multitude of worthwhile entries, well, the only thing better than spending an hour watching TV is spending 2.  Also, these are "1st Drafts" because once the pilots come to light, some arrivals may look even better than they do now, while others will be far less impressive.  So consider this a work in progress.

8PM: X FACTOR is certainly the event of the early evening, and those who can't get enough singing competitions in their life will flock to it.  For scripted fans, a split hour seems wise:  start with the star value of NBC's UP ALL NIGHT at 8PM, with Christina Applegate, Will Arnett and Maya Rudolph; but then skip what looks like its fairly woeful slot mate at 8:30, FREE AGENTS, and switch to ABC and the moderately promising SUBURGATORY.

9PM:  MODERN FAMILY is a no-brainer on the hour.  At 9:30, I HATE MY TEENAGE DAUGHTER seems less funny than its title, and HAPPY ENDINGS has slowly been improving, so ABC gets the nod.

10PM:  ABC's REVENGE will have to offer more than its promo if audiences are to stick with it for more than a couple of weeks; however, the alternatives of arthritic procedurals CSI and (newly Chris Meloni-less) SVU may make this a good hour to catch up on DVR recordings or check what's on cable.

WHAT TO WATCH THE REST OF THE WEEK:

Monday    Tuesday    Wednesday    Thursday    Friday    Weekend 

ALSO SEE MITCH METCALF'S PREDICTIONS OF FALL 2011 RATINGS:
MON      TUE      WED      THU      FRI      SAT      SUN      FULL WEEK

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THE SKED: SHOWBUZZDAILY’S FALL 2011/12 WEDNESDAY TV SCHEDULE




Welcome to ShowbuzzDaily's coverage of the upcoming TV schedules for the 2011/12 TV season!  Above you see our guide to what to expect on Wednesday nights this Fall:  the numbers are our projected Adults 18-49 ratings for each show; the capitalized titles are the new shows; and italics are for shows changing their time slots.  Here’s our analysis of what will really be going on behind the numbers:

The network making its big move on Wednesday will be FOX.  We think they'll use the night to launch both of their highest-profile new shows.  The night will begin with X-FACTOR, which they hope will extend their TV victory lap all season long, from fall till AMERICAN IDOL picks up in early 2012.  As with IDOL, the show will probably air twice per week on Wednesday and Thursday.  With THE VOICE proving that America's appetite for musical competitions is nowhere near satisfied, and with IDOL's Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul in the judge's seats, there's no reason to think this strategy won't work.  FOX can follow FACTOR with their biggest scripted gamble, the dinosaur spectacle TERRA NOVA.  If it feels like you've been hearing about that show forever, you have--it was originally supposed to debut exactly a year ago with a "preview" episode, then in the fall, then this spring, and recently it was still unavailable for both a year-late preview and its own network's pilot screenings, supposedly because the CG effects still aren't finished.  Color us skeptical.  But no question:  TERRA NOVA has the potential to be a blockbuster--if it's any good.  Even if it's not, X-FACTOR should lift FOX for the night.

The other networks are likely to be quiet against FOX's onslaught.  We see ABC staying with its successful comedies from 8-10PM, and then launching its reboot of CHARLIE'S ANGELS at 10.  It's a marketing department's dream, because all the promos have to do is show the hot girls (Minka Kelley, Rachael Taylor and Annie Ilonzeh) and utter the title... but remember the reboot of THE BIONIC WOMANKNIGHT RIDER?  ABC hopes you don't.  Still, the title alone should improve the timeslot over last year's bleary duo of THE WHOLE TRUTH and OFF THE MAP.

CBS will similarly stick to its pairing of SURVIVOR and CRIMINAL MINDS.  Then it should launch the SUSANNAH GRANT PROJECT.  Grant wrote the script for ERIN BROCKOVICH, and the pilot was directed by the great Jonathan Demme of SILENCE OF THE LAMBS fame, so even though the plot sounds like a classier version of THE GHOST WHISPERER (Patrick Wilson is a doctor who gets beyond-the-grave lessons in healing from his deceased wife), it deserves some benefit of the doubt, and should do at least as well as the CRIMINAL MINDS spinoff in that slot.

We think NBC, having made room for THE VOICE on Tuesdays, will move its still-successful BIGGEST LOSER franchise to Wednesday, where it should do well against the declining SURVIVOR.  At 10PM, they'll keep their only stalwart hour, LAW & ORDER:  SVU.

The CW will stick with AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL at 8PM, and although NIKITA hasn't lived up to its VAMPIRE DIARIES lead in on Thursday, it's done OK (and is a potentially valuable property for international sales), so we think it'll get another chance to prove itself on a different night.

Be sure to follow ShowbuzzDaily all through Upfront week:  we'll cover the actual network schedules as soon as they're announced, with our own brand of instant expert analysis... and stay tuned for reviews of the shows you'll be watching (or not) in the fall!

WANT MORE?  Click on any link below to read predictions for another night:


MON     TUE     WED     THU     FRI     SAT     SUN

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