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Was 2010-11 the worst year for US shows?

Now we have seen the Upfronts, can we expect a better year than the titles from 2010-11?

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With the Upfronts now having taken place in the US we are getting a look at what we can expect from September onwards.

But it would have to be better than last year’s batch – wouldn’t it?

The 2010-11 shows from the US were a motley bunch most of which have failed to connect with Australian audiences.

The most successful new US show was probably Hawaii Five-0, which attracted positive reviews and got off to a good start. And that was a remake.

But consider some of the remaining shows: Harry’s Law, Blue Bloods, Detroit 1-8-7, No Ordinary Family, $#*! My Dad Says, Mike and Molly …….. while they aren’t all turkeys they haven’t attracted much buzz in Australia.

Programmers talked up their output titles like they were the next big thing.

The chances of another Lost / Desperate Housewives year is remote, everything is cyclical.

But if we can have one or two new hits that would be a start.

39 Responses

  2. Boardwalk Empire and Bob’s Burgers were the only new shows from this US season that I enjoyed. I would like to see Happy Endings pop up somewhere. That said, the previous US season was great, it delivered Community, Modern Family, Glee, The Middle, The Good Wife, Parenthood and that is not including the great cable shows.

  3. I like M&M Melissa McCarthy is great and Nine have dropped the ball not having this on before Big. Parenthood has been great and gets rave reviews from the critics in the US, it’s a pity the same hasn’t happened here given one of it’s lead story lines about autism.

    The Event could have been better, my main problem with that show was the long break in the middle. I think if it was just 16 eps from January through to May, no breaks. Tighten the script and it could have worked better and maybe got a 2nd season, apparently they had a 5 year plan.

    Another show I like but is unlikely to air here now is Breaking In, only lasted 7 eps but was showing real promise before the axe fell.

  4. I’m looking forward to Sarah Michelle Gellar’s ‘Ringer’ on the CW, and Persons of Interest with Jim Caviezel and Michael Emerson (aka Ben Linus) on CBS.

    Terra Nova could also be decent if they actually premiere it this year. NBC’s Awake looks like another remake of Life on Mars (carcrash, questionable alternate realities), with Lucius Malfoy in the lead role instead of Jason O’Mara.

    None of the comedies look interesting to me, I’ll probably just stick with HIMYM and Two and a Half Men.

  5. Australian networks fill their schedules with reality dreck and relegating shows like 30 Rock and Parks & Recreation to late night slots it’s no wonder audiences aren’t connecting with quality.

  6. H5O got silly quite quickly. It wasn’t a bad show and Sun is prob the best day for it but I couldn’t sustain my interest. Plus the F1 clashes with it and I’m not going to watch it chopped up into little bits on Ten’s catch-up service.

    Harry’s Law was also ok, but even Kathy Bates couldn’t do much with the leaden script and there was no way that I was chasing it around Nine’s dartboard. No Ordinary Family has been a disappointment. I thought the 7:30 slot was a bit early until I saw it. It’s not really a program for adults. It could have gone down either The Invincibles path or that of Misfits but is mired in some unimaginative no-man’s land instead, with the script ticking every single cliche box as it bumbles along a very predictable path.

    I suspect that similar things could be said about 1-8-7 and Blue Bloods but I didn’t care enough to watch much of either of them.

    The less said about Shat and M&M, the better. I’d rather watch 2.5 Spams. Ooh, I didn’t just say that.

  8. I really enjoyed Harry’s Law and Blue Bloods, it was like catching up with old friends, really miss them now they’re gone. Hope they come back in off-ratings at least, that seems to be when I do most of my tv watching anyway, and not-so-coincidentally is also the time when the networks are less likely to stuff around with timeslot changes …

  11. It’s probably worth mentioning that it wasn’t a very successful year in the US itself either. I think something like 12 out of 45 new shows are getting a second season.

  13. Considering the cancellations you could say yeah but America didn’t give some of the good shows a go and they were cancelled. ABC also cancelled V and that has really made me sad. It was out performing most new shows ABC had and well it would have been a perfect filler but ABC thinks they are right. You just wait.

    The only good new shows to come out of America is Body of Proof, Happy Endings and Mike and Molly. The latter though is getting a bit lame through the last few episodes.

  14. I do not mind Five O, Harry’s Law, Detroit and No Ordinary Family.
    Blue Bloods got too predictable, also, in one episode (The last one I watched), they managed to solve a case in very short time when other federal agencies could not solve it in ages. Just unbelievable.

    $#*! My dad says, well the forst word says it all.
    Mike and Molly, the first 15 mins of the first episode was enough to turn me off.

  15. Totally agree. There Must be some good stuff cooking.

    In the past year, Treme is possibly the best new show from the USA — thought Hawaii will do better with an international audience. Everything interesting has been new seasons of old shows.

  16. Four of the shows you mentioned above are definitely not turkeys. I believe that the shifting of time slots and the inability of a viewer to find a show in the same place twice causes frustration for the viewer and ultimately they give up.

  17. TV just seems to be getting worse and worse. I think now it’s all geared toward a particular market or demographic. They can’t make anything good these days.

  18. I think this would be especially hard on 9. 2010-11 was the first season in their new contract with Warner Bros. The $100mil/year contract. To only get one barely useable show out of it would be a huge disappointment.

    The fact that the biggest new import in Aus is No Ordinary Family, an axed show, says a lot.

  19. Basically, they are more of the same old, same old American predictability … completely lacking in inspiration and vision!
    Aus and the UK are leading the way these days!!!! About time!

  23. Overselling may be the problem here. The hype that networks make of a show needs to be lived up to. I watched Detroit 1-8-7 the first week based on the hype created by 7. I thought it OK, but not really different from a hundred other cop shows and I haven’t watched it since.

    Still the dilemma is what can the networks do. The need to sell, but underselling won’t work. Word of mouth doesn’t always work. My favourite cop show “The Wire” had a lot of buzz, but this never translated into viewers.

    Maybe the show is what it is. No need to oversell it, but just sell it like it is. I have no problem occassionaly watching a show like Castle, because I know what it is, but I may just be wanting a bit of fluff at that time of night.

  24. And what of the shows that never made it on TV here from the 2011-11 class, will we ever see the ones that are now cancelled, even if they ran a full 13 or 22 ep season in the US?

    Of the new shows for next ‘Fall’ again there are some I like but will we get a chance to see them and if so should we get hooked if 13 eps (or less) in the show is stopped.

    That said I’m looking forward to SMGs new show Ringer, on the CW it stands a chance, also Hart of Dixie looks like fun. On CBS Unforgettable looks promising but it’s another procedural cop show so who knows whether viewers will take to it. The New Girl on Fox looks like a laugh, Zooey Deschanel is cute 🙂

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