Longevity in Primetime
Since we're in May, that means it is time for the season finales of prime time television shows. Who remembers when we were all speculating about this season-ending cliffhanger?
The speculation about "Who Shot JR" ran rampant until the fall. It was 1980 and an election year. In fact, Republicans distributed literature claiming "A Democrat Shot JR." The result was when the reveal episode ("Who Done It") was broadcast in the fall, it was the highest rated television episode in history. Spoiler: "Kristin Shepherd" (Mary Crosby) did it.
Ratings are what creates longevity for prime time television shows. They are the reason that just this week, NBC renewed Law & Order: SVU for a record-tying 20th season. It will tie the record currently held by the original Law & Order and Gunsmoke.
CBS has ordered a 16th season of NCIS. ABC ordered a 15th season of Grey's Anatomy. Both of those shows are ending their seasons with the departure of characters who have been long-term main characters of the show. Pauley Perrette's "Abby Scuito" has been the female lead on NCIS since it began as a spin-off of JAG in a two-episode roll-out in 2003. Now she's gone. The show has already lost two of its other main characters with the previous departures of Cote de Pablo and Michael Weatherly. I noticed an article someone wrote saying that CBS should make the 16th season of NCIS the last.
Will the quality of the show decline with the departure of Abby? That's something that every viewer will have to decide for themselves. The show began with Sasha Alexander as the main female agent and killed her off after two seasons. Then Cote de Pablo replaced her and that went on until the end of season 11. Now Emily Wishersham's "Ellie Bishop" occupies the role.
Sarah Drew and Jessica Capshaw have been on Grey's Anatomy for a long time as well. Both are leaving the show, whose season finale is next week. Shonda Rimes is on the record saying that Grey's Anatomy will end if Ellen Pompeo's "Meredith Grey" chooses to leave the show. Given the show's continued success in the ratings, as long as she is going to stay with the show, will it go on endlessly? An interesting question.
When the original Law & Order began, it had a very simple structure. One hour, part of which two detectives, supervised by a higher ranking detective, would investigate a crime. The next part of the show focused on two assistant district attorneys prosecuting the case, under the supervision of the District Attorney.
There were only two higher ranking detectives in charge of the "squad" for the entire run of the show. Dann Florek's "Don Cragen" for the first three seasons, until he was fired to create a slot for a female character (he would later reprise the role for 15 seasons), and S. Epatha Merkerson's "Anita Van Buren" who played the role for the last 17 seasons of the show's run.
The Detective Sergeant/Senior Detective role saw six different characters rotate through it. two of them advanced from the Junior Detective role into the Senior Detective slot. Aside from those two, there were five other characters in the Junior Detective role.
Three characters were in the Executive Assistant District Attorney role. One of them eventually became the District Attorney.
After Richard Brooks was fired from the show after three season for the same reason Dann Florek was let go, six different women held the position of assistant district attorney working under the Executive ADA.
What is the point of all of this? The actors were replaceable as long as the show's structure worked. As long as the writing was good, the performances likewise. Each of the six women who portrayed the ADA brought different nuances to the role, but those were subtext. Backstory. The same was true of the detectives. Likewise the detective squad commanders and the District Attorneys.
NBC kept Law & Order on the air even when its ratings began falling. It didn't help that the show was moved from its traditional timeslot. As someone who has watched every single episode of Law & Order, I think that the writing in its final season was some of its best.
And that's what I think ultimately drives ratings. Good writing and good acting, in combination with scheduling a show and leaving it there to allow it to build a fan base.
I lost interest in NCIS with the departure of Michael Weatherly. Now that Pauley Perrette is gone, I probably won't watch another new episode. I'll stick to the reruns. But the departures of Sarah Drew and Jessica Capshaw from Grey's Anatomy won't bother me all that much. It's the depth of the characters that the show's writing team creates and the way the actors bring out that depth.
The speculation about "Who Shot JR" ran rampant until the fall. It was 1980 and an election year. In fact, Republicans distributed literature claiming "A Democrat Shot JR." The result was when the reveal episode ("Who Done It") was broadcast in the fall, it was the highest rated television episode in history. Spoiler: "Kristin Shepherd" (Mary Crosby) did it.
Ratings are what creates longevity for prime time television shows. They are the reason that just this week, NBC renewed Law & Order: SVU for a record-tying 20th season. It will tie the record currently held by the original Law & Order and Gunsmoke.
CBS has ordered a 16th season of NCIS. ABC ordered a 15th season of Grey's Anatomy. Both of those shows are ending their seasons with the departure of characters who have been long-term main characters of the show. Pauley Perrette's "Abby Scuito" has been the female lead on NCIS since it began as a spin-off of JAG in a two-episode roll-out in 2003. Now she's gone. The show has already lost two of its other main characters with the previous departures of Cote de Pablo and Michael Weatherly. I noticed an article someone wrote saying that CBS should make the 16th season of NCIS the last.
Will the quality of the show decline with the departure of Abby? That's something that every viewer will have to decide for themselves. The show began with Sasha Alexander as the main female agent and killed her off after two seasons. Then Cote de Pablo replaced her and that went on until the end of season 11. Now Emily Wishersham's "Ellie Bishop" occupies the role.
Sarah Drew and Jessica Capshaw have been on Grey's Anatomy for a long time as well. Both are leaving the show, whose season finale is next week. Shonda Rimes is on the record saying that Grey's Anatomy will end if Ellen Pompeo's "Meredith Grey" chooses to leave the show. Given the show's continued success in the ratings, as long as she is going to stay with the show, will it go on endlessly? An interesting question.
When the original Law & Order began, it had a very simple structure. One hour, part of which two detectives, supervised by a higher ranking detective, would investigate a crime. The next part of the show focused on two assistant district attorneys prosecuting the case, under the supervision of the District Attorney.
There were only two higher ranking detectives in charge of the "squad" for the entire run of the show. Dann Florek's "Don Cragen" for the first three seasons, until he was fired to create a slot for a female character (he would later reprise the role for 15 seasons), and S. Epatha Merkerson's "Anita Van Buren" who played the role for the last 17 seasons of the show's run.
The Detective Sergeant/Senior Detective role saw six different characters rotate through it. two of them advanced from the Junior Detective role into the Senior Detective slot. Aside from those two, there were five other characters in the Junior Detective role.
Three characters were in the Executive Assistant District Attorney role. One of them eventually became the District Attorney.
After Richard Brooks was fired from the show after three season for the same reason Dann Florek was let go, six different women held the position of assistant district attorney working under the Executive ADA.
What is the point of all of this? The actors were replaceable as long as the show's structure worked. As long as the writing was good, the performances likewise. Each of the six women who portrayed the ADA brought different nuances to the role, but those were subtext. Backstory. The same was true of the detectives. Likewise the detective squad commanders and the District Attorneys.
NBC kept Law & Order on the air even when its ratings began falling. It didn't help that the show was moved from its traditional timeslot. As someone who has watched every single episode of Law & Order, I think that the writing in its final season was some of its best.
And that's what I think ultimately drives ratings. Good writing and good acting, in combination with scheduling a show and leaving it there to allow it to build a fan base.
I lost interest in NCIS with the departure of Michael Weatherly. Now that Pauley Perrette is gone, I probably won't watch another new episode. I'll stick to the reruns. But the departures of Sarah Drew and Jessica Capshaw from Grey's Anatomy won't bother me all that much. It's the depth of the characters that the show's writing team creates and the way the actors bring out that depth.
posted by me at 9:35 AM
<< Home