UPDATE: The CW has announced that Gossip Girl will Return in Fall 2008
If you follow the conventional wisdom, the CW is after young female viewers. Then surely Gossip Girl at 9PM Eastern Wednesday is an attempt to get them, but has it been successful?
Once again we ask, Renew or Cancel?
Gossip Girl’s Rank among New CW Shows, All New Shows
| Date | Rank among New CW Shows | Rank among all New Shows |
|---|---|---|
| 9/26 | #2 of 4 | #17 of 20 |
| 10/3 | #1 of 6 | #15 of 23 |
| 10/10 | #1 of 6 | #19 of 24 |
| 10/17 | #2 of 5 | #21 of 24 |
| 10/24* | #2 of 5 | #21 of 26 |
After week 2 Gossip Girl was leading the weak new CW show line up, which as a whole is at the bottom of the new English language broadcast shows for the season. Recently, it has slipped back to #2 among new CW shows behind Reaper.
For the week of Oct 22-28 it was the 115th broadcast show for all viewers, and #9 of 13 for all viewers and #8 of 13 for 18-49 viewers for CW.
A below average performance for a very below average network.
How is it doing against its competition on Wednesday?
Gossip Girl’s Viewership and Rankings for its 9PM Wednesday Timeslot.
| Date | Viewers (Rank) | Adults 18-49 (Rank) | Adults 18-34 (Rank) | Adults 25-54 (Rank) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9/26 | 2.48m (6) | 1.47m (6) | 1.06m (6) | 0.88m (6) |
| 10/3 | 2.75m (6) | 1.60m (6) | 1.12m (6) | 1.13m (6) |
| 10/10 | 2.80m (6) | 1.67m (6) | 1.17m (6) | 1.19m (6) |
| 10/17 | 2.41m (6) | 1.63m (6) | 1.13m (6) | 1.08m (6) |
| 10/24* | 2.31m (6) | 1.42m (6) | 0.96m (6) | 1.05m (6) |
After increasing somewhat in weeks 2 and 3, Gossip Girl has settled back to approximately its debut week viewership.
However, it trails its competition so badly in all categories that its running the race by itself.
Gossip Girl’s Lead-In Audience Lost from America’s Next Top Model.
| Date | Lead-In Audience Lost |
|---|---|
| 9/26 | -49% |
| 10/3 | -40% |
| 10/10 | -48% |
| 10/17 | -51% |
| 10/24* | -45% |
Gossip Girl follows CW’s biggest show, America’s Next Top Model, but almost half the audience tunes out before watching. The worst performance we’ve analyzed to date.
Conclusions
Negatives
- Pitifully low viewership in all categories for an English language broadcast show.
- Far below average performance for all new broadcast shows in general.
- Below average ranking for CW network shows in general.
Positives
- #1 or #2 among new CW shows.
- CW new shows have done so poorly that the standard for success is very low.
Verdict: Marginal Cancel
The only reason I think it’s only a marginal cancel is that I think CW may want to try and salvage at least 1 or 2 of its new Fall shows. If Gossip Girl goes, it’s likely the Fall is a total loss for them.
Note From Seidman: There’s another positive Bill didn’t list: Gossip Girl’s website is in the top 10 among all shows according to the Hitwise Top TV Show Websites list. From a perception perspective at the network, this may be considered a fairly big deal.
Wondering about other shows? Check our all our Renew or Cancel? posts.
________________________________________________________
*10/24 data is Live, all other nights are Live+SD
Nielsen TV Ratings Data: ©2007 Nielsen Media Research, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
November 2nd, 2007 at 1:17 am
I found this site, and I have to write to say I LOVE GOSSIP GIRL, please do not cancel it, I look forward to it every week, you all do not advertise it enough, people just do not know about it.
November 2nd, 2007 at 1:57 pm
I love Gossip Girl. Its not too deep but its quirky and well written and not too saccharin like the OC became(being that they share creators). Also 1 major point. Every episode of Gossip Girl has topped iTunes sales for a number of days. Staying in the top 10 in its 2nd week and all 5 can be found in the top 30 of iTunes programs. i think that is a victory as it beats out Grey’s Anatomy episodes which consistently topped in last season.
November 5th, 2007 at 11:06 am
Something else that needs to be considered in analyzing GG’s ratings is how many viewers it loses in its second half hour compared to its first half hour. I’m pretty sure it always loses viewers.
Obviously, the CW can’t cancel it now because they have nothing to replace it with. But when One Tree Hill returns, I’d definitely recommend they put it in GG’s timeslot. Put GG on Sunday night. Let it air its remaining episodes, but cut the budget significantly. The show might have enough diehard fans so that they can eke out something close to a profit. Then cancel it at the end of the season.
December 20th, 2007 at 9:39 am
U kidding right?? It just wrong to have OTH on while Gossip Girl is cancelled. Gossip girl is getting a lot of good buzz for the network. There always NUMBER ONE on itunes (beating GRey’s anatomy EVERY WEEK), and they do good with DVR ratings…
December 26th, 2007 at 7:26 am
i hate gossip girl. i would live to see it canceled. i would DIE to have it be canceled. i hate it with a passion and i would love to see it go. maybe like a final last episode or something? and before you say “watch it before you judge it” i’ve watched like four episodes, waiting to get “hooked”, and nothing, NOTHING sparks in my brain saying “watch next week” what does spark is, “how can ANYONE bear to watch this show, week after week after week???” so this comment is for the small but determined posse of people who hate gossip girl. I HATE GOSSIP GIRL AND I DON’T CARE ABOUT PEOPLE WHO DONT AGREE. THE RATINGS JUST PROVE HOW BRAINWASHABLE OUR YOUNG SOCIETY IS (im 14, so shut up) IF YOU HAVE A BRAIN IN YOUR HEAD, BOYCOTT GOSSIP GIRL!!
December 26th, 2007 at 9:35 am
You put your finger on it. The CW is a complete ratings washout and they need to do something drastic to change this.
The first thing they need to do is cancel 90% of their line-up and tell the audience that they’ve listened and will stop making superficial shows cast with a bunch of dead-eyed model-types.
Why not do something drastic? It’s not like the old WB Network recipe ever worked!
December 26th, 2007 at 9:40 am
Once again we see how “#1 on iTunes” is completely irrelevant to what a show does on the market.
December 26th, 2007 at 10:24 am
Rena, I agree that here in late 2007 iTunes is pretty much completely irrelevant. When something is the “most” downloaded, we’re talking about thousands, not hundreds of thousands or millions. If it was even a religous half a million people doling out the $2/week for iTunes, The CW would be specific with the numbers. They aren’t specific with the numbers — that’s probably because when you add them all up, they’re still not very good.
December 26th, 2007 at 6:18 pm
Please don’t cancel Gossip Girl.
I absolutely love this show, and what really upsets me is the fact that I haven’t seen it in weeks? Has it already been cancelled, or are the episodes just not airing as they should be?
=(
December 27th, 2007 at 12:04 pm
Well observed, Robert.
The other reason they’re not publishing numbers is that they don’t control them, so if they wanted to do their usual exaggeration, iTunes could contradict them (unlike what happens with Box-Office numbers for movies).
Knowing that, they’d only publish them if they were significant, which they obviously aren’t.
That said, if you could get a million people paying $2 each, you’d really have something that could play independently of being on a network at all.
January 4th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
I agree with Rena and Robert. Just because something is “most downloaded” on iTunes, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s doing well. The CW probably doesn’t have very good ratings so they’re trying to spruce it up with vague references and what little good things they have. People do it all the time.
I also agree with Reena about the fact that the CW needs to cancel most of their line-up. Why do we want or need to watch shows about who’s sleeping with whom, backstabbing, lying, people cheating in relationships, etc.? Poor rich kids. They have it so hard (I’m being sarcastic for those who didn’t catch that). I mean look at the problems in this show. Don’t we have enough of that in the world already? It’s so superficial. It does not stimulate the brain at all. What’s the point of the show really?
All in all I think that if the CW wants to get its ratings back up it needs to cancel this show and most of the others. I am seriously worried about the young minds watching this show.
January 5th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
Thank you for the kind comments Elizabeth.
You were particularly nice to CW to say they could go back to high ratings, since they’ve never had high ratings either in its current incarnation or as “The WB” (to my eye, CW is a lot more WB than UPN).
The problem the CW has is caused in great part with its obsession to target a very small sliver of the population.
It may sound good to executives when they read the press release and they may opine in public about how they’re gonna stalk their audience (can’t get over that one), but the result is shows that talk down even to their target audience and please very, very few.
My advice to them is: if you want to be a broadcaster, make programs for a broad audience, and quality storytelling with compelling actors is a start (as opposed to the parade of dead-eyed models that characterizes most CW shows).
January 5th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
Good god, please put this show out of its misery. It’s superficial, insipid, and insulting to everyone involved. Also, the ad campaign for it is intrusive to the point that even if it was a show I was interested in watching, I would not watch it due to the over-hype.
CW needs to stop trying to pander to an audience made up of 13-16 year old rich girls that doesn’t exist and just make good watchable shows that people of any age bracket or demographic can enjoy if it wants to survive as a network.
January 5th, 2008 at 5:18 pm
I can’t believe someone on here actually claimed that Gossip Girl doesn’t get enough advertisement. Are you serious? It is the ONLY CW show that gets advertised - over advertised if anything. Every time I blink there’s a freaking advertisement with that insipid, weird-looking Blake Lively’s face on it. I hate it for its advertising campaign alone. Not only that, it’s all the CW ever discusses, and they even handed over episodes for MTV to air. Did that boost its ratings? Not a bit.
Face it, no one over the age or IQ of 20 wants to watch it.
January 9th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
You cannot cancel this great show!
I love it, it has in my opinion a bit of O.C. feeling to it but the whole Manhattan setting changes that, not in negative way but its different, and we were ready for something new. It’s sad to say i do not influence the view rate cause i watch it a day later in Holland.
I loved The O.C. and i love GG don’t cancel it please.
January 9th, 2008 at 10:41 pm
Hmm…
Only a hand-full of people like it. The plot is lackluster and unrelatable, I mean watching a bunch of rich white chicks and their high-life seems like euphoria to my female friends but that’s them. Yet the CW pitches it constantly and it’s rated to be the top 10 websites online or whatever and the media has a lot of buzz and positive reviews from critics telling people that it’s good. And people beleive it.
Websites can be modified. Critics can be bought. People can follow instead of lead.
You know what would be a great idea for the CW? A series that isn’t based off of a little book serial or a cliche, Gossip Girl happens to be both of those. CANCEL IT. I’ve never missed the 90’s so much in my life.
January 10th, 2008 at 11:36 am
n.m. and Blar, very nicely said
CW is in dire need of a change. They’re keeping to the formula that killed UPN and CW.
Ever since they merged the two networks, they’re getting lower ratings than either of the old ones (correct me if I’m wrong).
Blar, you are very right about the tricks that the networks use to try and pass abject commercial failures like Gossip Girl as hits.
Something I have noticed is that critics almost universally endorse shows that are heavily hyped as “hip”. Whether it’s because they’re bought by the Pr departments directly or whether it’s because critics have a deeply held need to feel “hip” I’m not sure, but in the end, it doesn’t matter. Their reviews can be effectively bought with PR, whether directly or indirectly.
sadly, that hype seems to work among Hollywood people who will tell you with a straight face that shows with little audience are “hits” and then quote such things as supposed internet popularity and sales of DVD sets that are only measured by the PR departments issuing the press releases.
Back to Gossip Girl, it does epitomize everything that is wrong about the CW network and why it can’t get ratings.
CW needs to grow up and make shows for wide audiences. Otherwise, it may as well MyNetwork TV into irrelevance and oblivion.
January 10th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
I have to say i am a guy and i look forward to this show every week, who cares what the charachters portray its entertainment and not a culture we want our kids raised in. so relax and watch the show to enjoy its ride. i love the charachters and the story line and yes blair is the 2nd hottest girl in hollywood
January 10th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
you can tell your 14 becaue you sound like an idiot!!!!!!!! you should boycott a show its hard enough trying to find a good show let alone wasting time boycotting a show. tell you what go to school and learn something. then when you have kids push your beliefs on them , i like the show and i hope its on for a next season
January 11th, 2008 at 5:36 am
i hate gossip girl. shows like that only send the wrong message to young girls. not to mention no one in real life lives like that. i hate every character on the show, and do believe the show should be cancelled. that time slot could be taken up by something better.
January 11th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
please do not cancel the show i love this sohw me and alll my friends watch it every time it comes on
just advertise more
and you will be fine
i love gossip girl its the best show ever!
January 23rd, 2008 at 6:51 am
Saying it isn’t realistic, or sending a wrong message to young girls isn’t a great motivation to cancel the show i think. We watch television for our entertainment, its fiction and if parents can’t teach their kids that, then that’s a whole different problem.
January 23rd, 2008 at 10:29 am
CW has all the motivation it needs to cancel this show: it doesn’t have an audience. But then again, it’s CW where shows without an audience are allowed to survive zombie-like for years.
January 24th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
just RENEW it.
CW has nothing else anyway (except for One Tree Hill)
please just STICK THIS ONE out
there’s just too much potential here that doesn’t deserve to be wasted
January 25th, 2008 at 9:29 am
I’m sorry, but where exactly is the ratings potential in Gossip Girl.
This was the CW flagship show for the year, and like Bionic Woman for NBC sank almost immediately.
January 25th, 2008 at 11:53 am
Yeah, seems like this whole series is “NO WE PROMISE THE GOOD PART IS COMING NEXT WEEK!!!”
This show needs to be cancelled SOON. Fill it in with One Tree Hill or reruns of Dawson’s creek- I don’t care. It’s better than this mind-numbing bullshit.
January 25th, 2008 at 11:55 am
Wait did I just read someone say to advertise MORE???? MORE?! DO YOU WATCH CW??? Every other commercial break is a advertisement for Gossip Girl!!!
God, I don’t know what’s more aggravating, CW’s stupidity or fans’ who can’t accept that this is a bad TV show.
January 27th, 2008 at 10:06 am
Please DO NOT cancel Gossip Girl! It’s the only showIve stuck with since the beginning. It’s my favorite.
January 27th, 2008 at 11:49 am
You’re very right Jay. Gossip Girl was the CW’s choice for the show to push the most.
Let’s review the list of annointed shows this season:
CW - Gossip Girl
NBC - Bionic Woman
ABC - Pushing Daisies
CBS - Hard to tell - they were going all out on Viva Laughlin and then cut off the promotion, regardless all their new shows bombed (sorry Les, but even if you pick up a bomb, it’s still a bomb)
FOX - K-Ville
There’s a patten here: an unerring way to pick shows the audience is highly unlikely to like. ABC did best with Pushing Daisies, which is the only one in the list that didn’t bomb outright.
The result:
4 outright bombs
1 mediocre performer
One really awful TV season.
January 28th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
“you can tell your 14 becaue you sound like an idiot!!!!!!!! you should boycott a show its hard enough trying to find a good show let alone wasting time boycotting a show.”
-John
In order to boycott a show…you just don’t watch it. And according to the ratings, it’s VERY EASY to boycott Gossip Girl.
It may be easy to sound like an idiot, but from that eloquently put quote above, you are born and raised an idiot.
January 28th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
I, personally, am a fan of this show. I love it and I refuse to believe that cancellelation is being taken into consideration. For all of who don’t like Gossip Girl. Don’t fucking watch it! Simple as that. Watch your own shows and get a life. Quit bashing on it because there are people who love it. I think they should keep it. It’s just creative and I love it. I love the books too, but the show is good in its own way and they should definitely keep it!
January 29th, 2008 at 9:47 am
Cancellation is in consideration because the ratings are awful. The only thing that helps GG is that it’s on the CW where every show has awful ratings, and the executives at CW are certainly going to continue to renew most of those dead shows to show “success”.
On a side note, GG was on the front cover of the L.A. Times as being a show with “buzz” on the internet.
The only “buzz” GG has is coming from the CW PR department, trying to convince journalists they should give GG free plugs in order to be “cool”.
The public, however, has soundly rejected it, and like Friday Night Lights on NBC, keeping it on is just prolonging the red ink hemorrhage.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:42 am
I think the main problem with the show is that they try and place stupid teenagers in adult situations- while on paper (and in previews) it seems promising, when you watch it the character come off so damn annoying you don’t really give a crap what happenes tot hem.
And why is it that at least once a month they keep advertising “NOTHING WILL BE THE SAME” do they think that’s clever? Does anyone clear these advertisements before they launch them out of their PR nuke?! The series barely has any continuity to begin with, everyone is screwing everyone, some guy tried to rape two chicks and he just kinda gets off and still hanging around- or another “for instance” with the people who watch this show:
OMG they trashed the gym and now one of them is going to get expelled GEE- I hope they turn out okay!!!!! OMG, one of them screwed another best friends boyfriend I HOPE THEY AREN’T PREGGERZ!!! OMG, these guys are rich socialitees with a ridiculous amount of power and money, yet undermine their potential with stupid decisions and stilted dialogue- I so hope they have a happy ending!!!!!!
…….The critics say it’s genius though.
January 31st, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Luke, obviously you haven’t seen the show. Because half the things you saying never even happened in the show. Watch a show before you say crap about it.
This show IS HUGE. Ratings don’t show it but man it doing good on all other mediums.
1)ITUNES..CONTINUOUSLY NUMBER ONE every week all the episodes are still in the TOP 50.
2) Ratings increase 30% with DVR ratings
3) The buzz is amazing
4) It always the most viewed, discussed, watched clip on youtube whenever the episode goes online (for a day before it removed)…gets almost 100000 hits a DAY!!
Even the Neison executive, said that the ratings of Gossip Girl DONT represent how popular this show is!
5) Teh CW website has already gotten 6 MILLION hits for watching the show by streaming video.
This show represents a CHANGE in measuring ratings. Everyone talking about adn lots of people ARE WATCHING IT…BUT NOT LIVE!!! The audience tehy going for DONT WATCH TV LIVE. I’m 21, the last time I watched tv live was 2 years ago! (I love my PVR…) In fact, out of the average of 2.6 million live viewers they get, only 500 000 are teens…BECAUSE TEENS ARENT watching live. If CW can somehow get them watching live….this show wouldnt have a problem.
This show is actually doing VERY well in other countries. For instance, in Australia it just started on cable adn its the HIGHEST ratings that channel ever had.
In Canada, GG comes on a at a HORRIBLE time slots (7PM)…and it get about 700000-800000 viewers (very good for Canada since popular shows get about 1.5 million and the highest rated show get max of 2.5 million). It is also the most watched show on CTV broadband (tv show on network website).
And its HUGELY popular on bitorrent and other online ways to watch free tv shows.
This show aint going anywhere. Everyone that has seen it have been pleasantly suprised. It’s great entertainment. CW has never gotten buzz for a show like this before. They would be stupid to cancel it. And the critics are right, this show is AWESOME. One of the best new fall shows!
January 31st, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Stargate Atlantis is HUGELY popular on Bit Torrent and WAY more popular than Gossip Girl…they still won’t stick it on a broadcast network.
January 31st, 2008 at 5:52 pm
Kara, are you by any chance related to Dawn Ostroff? That’s the only explanation for your post.
1. iTunes makes the networks almost no money. Only Apple is profiting, and barely. PLUS - THIS YEAR NBC AND ITS AFFILIATES PULLED ALL OF ITS SHOWS FROM ITUNES. NO OFFICE, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, ETC. All the big shows are gone - Gossip Girl has no competition!
2. 30% of 2.4 million viewers is still nada, and it doesn’t give the show more viewers than, say, Supernatural or Smallville.
3. What Buzz? The only buzz is that of the CW lying through its teeth about what a hit the show is. Buzz means that something gets viewership, and Gossip Girl does not
4. There was also a clip of a guy picking his nose that had a million hits on YouTube. So what?!
February 1st, 2008 at 12:49 am
Luke, you are so right on the Pr nonsense.
I think the networks don’t realize what a turn-off it is to hear about yet another “very special episode” that “you can’t afford to miss”.
As for GG and its imaginary buzz, I agree with Angie wholeheartedly. The only place where Gossip Girl has buzz is in the CW PR offices.
They look for reasons to say the show is a hit, when it’s clearly the second biggest disappointment of the season (after Bionic Woman and before Viva Laughlin - but only because Viva Laughlin was essentially torpedoed by CBS even before it aired - I wonder what happened).
February 1st, 2008 at 1:00 am
Angie, speaking of Dawn Ostroff, do you remember her presentation earlier this season when she essentially said CW was going to stalk their audience (”play where they play, eat where they eat”)?
I wonder what Barry Meyer and Les Moonves think of her strategy now?
February 1st, 2008 at 10:52 am
Rena it seems like your bitter about Gossip Girl for some reason.
Don’t like it don’t watch it.
It is popular. It’s the most mainstream show CW got. People that don’t know about any CW shows do know about Gossip Girl.
It just seems like your angry that supernatural doesn’t get the buzz you want.
And to let you know Gossip Girl is one of the only three shows that have increased in ratings since September.
Obviously you dont’ watch GG so why do care about its ratings. Go worry your other strugling CW shows you watch.
February 1st, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Miranda:
By your logic- anything that whores itself constantly is popular??? Maybe that works in high school, but we’re talking about what’s on the table- DVR is just an excuse that people keep clinging to that holds no relevance to evidence already given (IE ratings), multiple websites can be hosted by one person *coughCWPRcough*, and the only buzz this show gets is whatever CW wants you to believe is true.
To Kara, show me another show on TVBTN that’s exhibiting the exact same “low ratings/good quality” that this is and then you can talk to me.
And to everyone else saying that this is the best show on CW- IF THAT WAS TRUE that doesn’t really mean much- if anything since the CW debuted it’s done worse then the two companies when they were separate.
So logically speaking, if I’m working at CW and spent most of my budget, time, and reputation on promoting a show which is just…crap… I would probably cling to the idea, pay off youtube, whore it on itunes, so that it was a success because with the WGA strike that’s all they have. And that’s just sad that this is the best they can come up with and that they are so desperate.
And that’s why people are pissed, they want quality entertainment, not some Laguna-beach made-for-tv book series with tired plots and stupid, stupid, characters. It’s like the other guys said, “Do I give a crap about kids on the Upper East side” The answer is a resounded hell no.
February 1st, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Kara are YOU part of their PR campaign? Or just on crack?
February 2nd, 2008 at 4:07 pm
Miranda,
Please look at the page above your post and then tell me that Gossip Girl’s numbers have gone up since September. NO. They have gone down! It has shed viewers since it’s premiere. It has never gotten 3 million viewers (Supernatural has, by the way).
Furthermore, if it’s the most mainstream show on the CW and people that don’t know about any CW shows do know about Gossip Girl that begs the question - why are its ratings so low? Perhaps they know about it and choose not to watch it? I certainly do.
It IS aggravating to watch a show perform poorly (iTunes does not count - Dawn Ostroff herself said that’s not what makes them money, live viewing does) and then have it still get renewed and promoted over all the other shows that have done better (Smallville, Supernatural, and Reaper all have higher ratings). I am sick of watching the CW whore itself over this show. It’s a pile of well-dressed steaming dung.
So put that in your pipe and smoke it.
February 2nd, 2008 at 10:43 pm
Miranda, the only reason I am talking about Gossip Girl is because the intensity of its PR campaign is direct inverse proportion to its commercial success (and I would argue its quality).
When you say “Don’t like it don’t watch it.” you do describe most people in the country. They don’t like it and are not watching it. CW, however is trying to convince people that it’s a popular show. It’s not.
I agree with you that people do know about Gossip Girl. It was the most hyped show of the CW network. They spent a fortune, rivaled only by the amounts wasted by NBC over Bionic Woman, to promote that show.
People know it and they’re not watching it.
As Angie pointed out, I am baffled why you say GG’s ratings have increased, when they haven’t.
Do you think, like so many network PR people, that by repeating something that’s not true you’ll convince people that it is?
As for the argument that you should only talk about shows that you watch, it implies that only fans would talk about shows and that there would be no place to challenge and refute false PR, like the PR that CW is spreading very thickly.
February 3rd, 2008 at 11:02 pm
I’m just tired of seeing it 24/7 every day of the week on CW. I’m trying to watch one of my other favorite shows and suddenly the little graphic comes up on the bottom of the screen or the “Next Week” preview is preempted by the “MOST BUZZED ABOUT PHENOM ON THE PLANET EARTH” and the every-other-commercial promo that pops up.
I mean, at least when they had new episodes it was expected- but they have NOTHING left and they keep running that one commericial about “We have the most beautiful buzzed about cast in hollywood” ending with the metro dude going “EVERYONE WANTS TO BE US”.
Seriously, if the show wasn’t so full of itself then we wouldn’t even know what it was (Ala Hidden Palms), but if it does get renewed then who is CW really trying to entertain? What interest do they hold when making a product not only as an entertainment outlet, but as a company in general.
As soon as this WGA crap gets taken care of (which I hear can be happening pretty soon- good for them) I doubt GG will remain for long.
February 4th, 2008 at 10:21 am
CW is in a difficult spot.
They essentially have nothing that works.
When that happens executives go into overdrive to show that they have a “hit” any sort of “hit” on any level they can think of.
Sometimes it works. With apologies to fans who cared deeply for that show, but that’s exactly what happened with Buffy.
It was a very low-rated show (albeit slightly higher than the rest of the network, which is not the case with Gossip Girl) and it was hyped as if it were a massive hit, which it wasn’t. It was the quintessential cult show with devoted, if few, fans.
Gossip Girl fits that pattern, except it’s not even at the top of its low-rated network, which really gives the CW executives nothing to hang their hat on after they placed their bets so heavily on it this year.
February 4th, 2008 at 11:10 am
Seriously, if you don’t like GG, don’t watch it. It’s doing really well down here in Australia and also in other countries.. Teens hardly watch any TV live these days…
February 5th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
I agree with if you don’t like it, don’t watch it. If it’s on the network then it means it’s better than any other ideas they had. Why not just leave it alone and let the people that do enjoy it, watch it. It doesn’t matter what demographic the show is about, the key issues that it deals with can be applied to most people, rich or not. As for the Age/IQ generalization, completely irrelivent and insulting.
February 8th, 2008 at 10:16 am
OMG YOU CAN NOT CANCEL GOSSIP GIRL IT IS THE BEST SHOW IN THE WORLD AND I EVEN GOT MY FRIEND TO WATCH IT SO WE WATCH IT EVERY WEEK!!!!
February 8th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Gossip Girl is a great show. Most people that have ACTUALLY TUNED into the show have found its suprisingly entertaining.
The only reason its not a success is because its on the CW! CW barely gets ratings for any of their shows except ANTM and maybe Smallville. Everything else is around the 2.6 million range (like Gossip Girl).
However, what proves Gossip Girl to be a success vs. all the other CW shows with mediocre ratings is how WELL Gossip Girl is doing in other contexts.
True, itunes don’t count…but its beats out Grey’s antomy episodes every week! And Gossip girl has 10x less the ratings. Can you please explain that?
Gossip Girl has always been on the top 5 most DVR shows (not based on the amount of viewers but how the percentage of ppl that don’t watch live).
Plus there was a article on GG lately that stated of the live viewers, only 500 000 viewers are teens. But its the number one show for teens. BECAUSE TEENS ARE NOT WATCHING LIVE!!!
Also, the number of people watching GG by CW streaming is over 6 million views. Again, explain to me why you think this show isn’t popular?
Tonnes of people are downloading (its popularity is huge on these sites…HUGE).
Usually when shows aren’t doing well in ratings, they don’t do well in other mediums…but Gossip Girl is definitely the exception.
Plus Gossip Girl is the number one most watched show in Australia channel that its on and in Canada, a greater PROPORTION (canada only has a population of 30 million) of Canadians are watching the show than Americans at a worse time slot (7PM).
True ratings in other mediums and Countries don’t count…but you can’t deny that its not a popular show and there are many many people that watch this show.
The only people that seem to be hating this show, seem to be in love with other CW shows which they feel are better. These people are just mad that Gossip Girl is a favourite for CW (by the way for all the fans, if the strike really is over…GG coming back for its full season (9 episodes).
February 8th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
yeah, it’s successful in every other medium- EXCEPT THE ONE THAT MATTERS.
Wow, well that’s great in Canada- but it’s in America.
Websites are just PR feeds, don’t trust them.
PR feeds can go as far as people starting their own fan websites and tricking people into joining.
International stuff can be embelished, and in America that doesn’t mean crap.
Torrents give away other shows for free and yet, they have a fanbase that watches live for the sake of having high ratings.
And how many times does anyone have to say this- Critics can be BOUGHT- and if you have a cell in your brain you’d be able to make decisions for yourself so it shouldn’t matter at all what they say in the first place- which is obvious why you like the show so much because you buy into that crap about how great it is in the first place.
And for the record, CW in general sucks, proclaiming Gossip Girl as it’s best show doesn’t say much, that’s like a remedial student being the best in his class, nice for him but in the end he’s just below average.
Finally, if you honestly think that Gossip girl is so great- you’d better work your ass off because there’s no way anyone else is going to care that much to keep it around. So go on, spread the hype. Because like it or not, Gossip girl is essentially the Scientology of primetime shows- everyone knows it’s a load of shit, but none of the cult following is willing to accept it.
Peace.
February 8th, 2008 at 11:56 pm
GG is great! Please don’t cancel it.
If you don’t like it DON’T watch it.
I love a lot of critically acclaimed shows like BSG, FNL, Lost, Ugly Betty, etc….and I STILL LOVE Gossip Girl.
“Jay” obviously you’ve never seen the show. You just hate the concept so you hating the show without see. At least watch an episode before hating it.
This show is pure entertainment and I can’t get enough of it!
You may be hating it but its the coming back for a FULL SEASON!!! WOHOO! (if the strike really is over)
February 9th, 2008 at 12:00 am
Hey Jay, ya Gossip Girl may not be doing well in ratings but you still haven’t explained why a show that is “supposedly” deserves to be cancelled is SO SUCCESSFUL on other mediums??
I have yet to see any other cancelled show EVER that has ever been as successful as Gossip Girl on other mediums and in other countries.
This show definitly represents how tv watching is changing and television ratings my not always be the best indication of a show that deserves to be cancelled.
February 9th, 2008 at 9:28 am
EVER, Mike? Are we being serious here? How about Star Trek? Firefly. Farscape. And as for shows in other mediums - Gossip Girl isn’t special, it just caters to the type of guillable, impressionable audience that actually believes the lies they hear.
Gossip Girl is not special, and it is not outperforming other shows in other mediums - you’ve only been told that by CW PR reps, and were silly enough to believe it.
Gossip Girl has NEVER been in the top 20 DVR’d shows, despite what the CW would have you believe (what is has been is in the top 20 DVR’d shows with a 20% or more audience increase. But as I’ve said, 20% of 2.34 million is still nada compared to other network shows). And as for iTunes . . . it no longer plays any NBC or NBC-affiliated show (like SciFi), so the competitive landscape has changed drastically this season.
Face it: not only do people not watch to watch Gossip Girl (they put it on MTV, too, and it tanked there as well, so they stopped airing it), they also do not want to watch the CW. Any show on the network is a goner, but the network is gonna go buh-bye shortly.
February 9th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
Kara, read the other posts before replying so that you know what you’re talking about. Obviously you don’t so I’ll go ahead and reinstate what everyone’s problem is. Gossip Girl is crap, that’s fine. If people want to mindlessly watch this crap and believe the hype then it’s their time and right to throw their lives away watching it.
Whereas, for the rest of us.
Every other commercial, during credits, below the screen during a show we DO want to watch, on other channels, on myspace, on the radio, on itunes, on websites, I have to hear about how Gossip Girl is the PHENOM OF THIS GENERATION and so yeah, I watched and episode or two with my girlfriend and I found that it was crap. Satiating my curiousity I continued to go on with my life but at least twice a day I see or hear some crap about it. Now it’s not just a reminder “Gossip Girl is on Mondays- blah blah- slutty socialites- blah blah-” no, I have to hear about how everyone is talking about it, how every cast member is so beautiful, and how you’re not someone unless your talked about, ad finally, Everyone wants to be like the people on Gossip Girl.
It’s neurotic. Hypocritical. Egotistical. Pointless. Self-centric. Rehashed OC storylines. Laguna Beach ripoff. Paris Hilton/Kim Kardashian inspired. And valid evidence as to why other countries HATE us.
Mike, I sincerely hope you girlfriend made you watch the show, and if that’s the case, I salute your effort for trying to get into their pants. If not…Well… That disturbs me.
And for people who aren’t brainwashed by the PR Campaign- fuck it- ANYONE CAN SEE- that the CW is shoving this crap down our throats.
I don’t know how I can put it any more easy for you to understand why people don’t like it- but i have a feeling if it were on TV with an endorsement by some CW-owned magazine, you’d beleive every last syllable.
February 13th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Don’t cancel Gossip girl! This show is great and I can’t believe I missed the last new episode. I want to see more of what happens.
February 26th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
To start off, I am not a mindless or brainwashed viewer of GG. I don’t care about the ads or the buzz. I watch the show beause there’s something sweet about two highschool sweethearts whose children are in love, ther’s something entertaining about a young girl trying to fit in, and there’s something emotional about two friends who understand eachother, forgive eachother and need eachother for reasons that continue to unravel in each episode. So you wonder why CW should renew GG. Maybe because when critics can get passed their complex and the shows beautiful faces, amazing wardrobe, rich lifestyles and(I’ll admit) few imperfections… There’s something about GG that is deep, sincere, and even fun. After all, isn’t that what TV is all about?
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:05 am
Is this a show or a bunch of teens doing what they want to.Well how dull i vote to cancel want a real show about teens that 70’s show would get my vote.They don’t make cool shows no more.I mean really a bunch of spoiled brats doing what they want pretty much sums this one up.If your a clueless teenage girl around 12-14 years of age then this is for you.But to me it’s a crappy corn dog on a stick.Also it sets a slutty example for teens everywhere congrats.
April 30th, 2008 at 11:08 am
this is a painfully narrow minded analysis. it’s aimed at the younger audiences. younger audiences are far less likely to stay in and watch the same time every week when they can download at their convenience. it’s the same as music and to an extent, movies. as well as itunes and the cw website, it’s readily avalible on youtube, and various other upload sites and blogs. it’s broadcast ratings betray it’s actual popularity.
May 6th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Oh, don’t cancel it, please ! It’s such a great show and, in fact, is the only one i really watch.. Don’t cancel the serie..
May 8th, 2008 at 2:54 am
I’m tired of waking up in the morning to GG hype. It’s getting annoying. Axe the show, now!
May 8th, 2008 at 8:49 am
Well it’s official- Gossip Girl is coming back for a new season. Possibly an extended season at that.
So this is it. Proof that executive decision outweighs any opinion or majority rule. Critics can be bought of, executives can blatantly lie to us like we’re idiots, and people can be swerved by simple-minded writing in this MTV generation that it’s saddening and disheartening.
I don’t agree with everyone who wants to blame GG, because that’s not the issue- GG can’t be stopped because the executives love it and that’s all that matters. The real issue is the people who nod and agree and can’t seem to grow their own spine. The little trendsetters and sheep that is pretty much the CW’s demographic since day one. GG is bad, but those people are worse.
Enjoy your show, next to MTV, our crappy line of movies, and our little celebutards, GG is yet another piece of evidence as to why America gets bashed so much by Europe.
May 20th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
so is it going to be canceled now after the fall episodes are shown?
May 21st, 2008 at 12:22 am
Shelly, It's coming back in the Fall. After that it all depends on the level of success.
October 3rd, 2008 at 5:58 am
i can not believe how much they fucked up such a good thing.
the books are amazing, cecily von ziegesar is unbelievable. her writing, and depiction of new york is so raw, but still beautiful.
have you heard what she’s said about it?
“at least it’s set in new york.”