David Bauder Looks at Fall's Network Serial Plans

From the Associated Press' David Bauder:

There were two lessons from this season that television executives clearly didn’t forget: Don’t overdo the serial dramas with complex story lines that require a serious viewer commitment, and keep interruptions for successful ones to a minimum.

More dramas — and network TV is primarily in the drama business these days — will tell stories that won’t baffle the viewer who happened to miss last week’s episode.Three successful serials were particularly hurt this season by long intervals with reruns. That was fatal to CBS’ “Jericho,” which was canceled. The other two, ABC’s “Lost” and NBC’s “Heroes,” will run their new episodes uninterrupted next season, following the model of Fox’s “24.” So will the CW’s “One Tree Hill.” CBS will try the same thing with “Swing Town,” one of its most promising newcomers.

“I don’t know if we know the ideal model yet for each of them,” said Kelly Kahl, chief of scheduling at CBS. “We’re looking, experimenting, trying to find the best way to do it.”

Fall Primetime Schedules Start Shaping Up With Additional Cancellations

James Hibberd updates us on how the primetime landscape is shaping up for dramas next season:

In rapid succession, a flurry of struggling shows are being yanked from the schedule. NBC’s THE BLACK DONNELLYS, the CW’s 7TH HEAVEN,” Fox’s The Wedding Bells and ABC’s SIX DEGREES have either been pulled off the air or ceased production early this week as networks reconfigure their schedules for May sweeps.

The David E. Kelley’s dramedy The Wedding Bells has ceased production, but the network plans to air three more episodes. The Friday night drama most recently earned a mere 1.4 rating among adults 18 to 49.

ABC pulled SIX DEGREES last fall, then brought back the show as a March addition to Friday nights. Its last airing earned a 1.1 rating. Repeats of Wife Swap will air in its place.

NBC’s mob drama THE BLACK DONNELLYS filled a Monday night hole vacated by STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP, and has bled viewers nearly ever airing. Last night’s episode earned a 2.0 rating. Donnellys will be replaced by the reality series The Wedding Crashers.

The 7th Heaven will finish its final season, with a finale to air May 13, but will not return this fall.

College Viewers Continue to Deliver for Soaps Under New Ratings System

Soappipe has already explored how better measurement techniques by Nielsen Media Research of college students has revealed significantly greater viewership for daytime soaps (including NBC's PASSIONS and CBS's GUIDING LIGHT), boosting ratings in what was seen as a long-overdue move (and sadly, one made after the decision was made to cancel PASSIONS) to fully capture the viewing habits of young adults--often considered the key demo by advertisers.

In his MediaWeek piece "ABC Benefits From Out-of-Home College Viewers," writer John Consoli notes how the change is affecting the prime-time landscape (and clearly benefiting nighttime soaps like GREY'S ANATOMY and UGLY BETTY, and satisfactorily solving the mystery of why the seemingly lagging Anne Heche vehicle MEN IN TREES snagged a much coveted early renewal from the network.)

"MARCH 29, 2007 - ABC ratings have benefited more than any other broadcast network in prime time from Nielsen Media Research's new measurement of out-of-home viewing by college students,according to an analysis by media agency Magna Global USA. And, ironically, The CW, with the youngest median age, had the second to the fewest number of shows among the Top 20 which benefited most.

According to the Magna analysis, ABC Thursday night drama Grey's Anatomy has gained three rating points among the
18-24-year-old demo group, from a 6.0 to a 9.1, and that has boosted its rating by one rating point in the overall adult 18-49 demo group, since Nielsen began measuring out of home college viewing in January. ABC's other Thursday night dramas Ugly Betty and Men in Trees have also gained among the 18-24 audience, off lower bases.

Betty rose from a pre-college out of home measurement 18-24 rating
of 2.4 to a post measurement rating of 3.7, a gain of 56 percent, while Trees went from a 1.4 to a 3.3, a gain of 140 percent."

Read the full article here.

Read earlier article Nielsen's Change, Soaps Benefit.

Television & Diversity: Progress (and the lack thereof)

A pair of excellent stories in The Morning Call on race, diversity, and interracial relationships on-screen focus on nighttime dramas, but could easily apply to the advances (and lack thereof) on daytime today (click on the titles to read the full stories):

Interracial Romances Flourishing on TV with Little Fanfare

and

Diversity on TV Up, but Stars, Producers, Writers Still Mostly White

Writer McFarland Handicaps Primetime Faves Ripe for Cancellation

In her article, Spring Can Be the Cruelest Season for Favorite Shows, Melanie McFarland of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer handicaps the mid-season status of primetime network shows in the cancellation crosshairs, including several serials.

Including each net's point-of-contact information for the action oriented, MacFarland runs down her list, which includes:

CBS: JERICHO

"Proving how fickle fortune and audiences can be, the post-apocalyptic drama had momentum and buzz on its side last fall, only to be crushed by American Idol when it returned in February. CBS could move it, but finding a suitable fit is going to be problematic. Besides, why shift JERICHO if replacing it with a show potent enough to fend off the Idol threat makes more sense?"

ABC: No serials/no dramas

"Only a few seasons ago, ABC had no luck landing a decent drama. Now that it's lousy with 'em, including a couple that are among television's highest-rated, it can't score a decent sitcom to save some development executive's neck. No one could blame the network if it scrapped the lot and started completely fresh..."

NBC: FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, Crossing Jordan, Studio 60

"The Peacock is facing a bit of a dilemma as is flies into May. HEROES became a hit, but other freshmen such as FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS suffer from a mismatch between acclaim (high) and ratings (low); and veterans, even [the original] Law & Order are barely treading water. NBC fumbled the promotion campaign for [LIGHTS] last summer, but it can make up for that in the run-up to season two....there's less hope for the likes of Crossing Jordan and Law & Order: Criminal Intent, which might be pushed on top of the cancellation grenade to preserve the mother ship L&O—and save the cost-cutting NBC some money."


FOX: PRISON BREAK, Standoff

"PRISON BREAK has yet to be renewed, but it's safer than Standoff, which is getting a last chance to justify its existence by turning around the Friday night death slot. (Not gonna happen.)

THE CW: VERONICA MARS, GILMORE GIRLS, 7th HEAVEN

"VERONICA MARS fans are used to hearing gloomy predictions about its survival odds this time of year, but now they really have to be worried. First, its season order was shortened. Then, hiatus replacement The Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll drew in higher ratings. Another whammy: The stars of GILMORE GIRLS haven't decided whether to extend their contracts for another year. Without GILMORE, Neptune's finest might be done. If those shows go down, they had better take [HEAVEN] with them."

(Read the full story, including McFarland's sitcom pics, here.)