SOMEDAY I may better understand the mechanics of the millennial mind. Until then I will wonder how shows like “Ghost Whisperer” keep going and a series like “Swingtown” fails to catch on. A period piece on CBS, “Swingtown” nears the end of its summer run with a dwindling audience despite all the elements that seemed to point to its potential for popularity. – Gina Belafonte in the New York Times’ piece, Swingtown and the Heyday of Average.
I was excited to read the rest of the piece because I thought it was going to be a commentary on the state of broadcast network television programming and how shows are positioned and promoted for success. But it wasn’t. It was just gushing praise for the doomed CBS generational show, Swingtown.
I don’t think the mechanics of the millennial mind are why Ghost Whisperer is on the air and series like Swingtown don’t catch on, but rather the mechanics of the business. You can’t push a program to Friday night and blame it on the millennial generation. They are the least likely to be watching TV on Friday. But let’s face it, by the time CBS moved it to Fridays, it wasn’t hoping the show would catch on. It was merely, as they say in baseball, playing out the string.
CBS may dismiss the notion of needing to target to 18-49 year olds and 18-34 year olds, but it’s on CBS’ mind regardless of its public comments. The question is whether a show like Swingtown would appeal to anyone under the age of 40 or so. I don’t doubt that it would, but I think what’s really going on is this: shows have a very limited time to catch on with the 18-49 crowd. The networks aren’t willing to wait it out. Genre shows like Moonlight get cancelled not because it didn’t have enough viewers, but because it didn’t have enough viewers who were 18-49 years old. If Moonlight had done 33% better in that category it would likely be back on in the fall.
It’s Not Ageism, It’s Supply and Demand
I feel obligated to write this disclaimer now anytime we right about age demographics. A lot of people cry foul at the age demos, but even though I am myself getting pretty aged, I don’t have a problem with it. Advertisers don’t want large 18-49 populations and 18-34 populations specifically because its where they want to hawk their products though in products specifically aimed at younger people that is certainly the case, as it should be. Advertisers want to reach these age demographics and are willing to pay more for them because they are far more scarce in the television world. Finding a show where you can find a large population of people in a specific age and gender are gold mines (think Grey’s Anatomy with women 18-34 and 18-49).
Reaching the 50 and over crowd is relatively easy. They watch a lot of TV, day and night, day in, day out. Availability is not scarce, and the advertisers have so many opportunities to reach that demographic in so many ways it’s less valuable to them. Because it’s harder to reach the younger demographics, it becomes more valuable to reach.
So What Was CBS Thinking?
I think CBS was believing in Santa Claus really. I understand it. It would be nice if there was a Santa Claus, the notion that such a thing could exist is very pleasing. The notion that because a show is good, and very creative and even interesting and different that just because of that it will succeed? That’s like believing in Santa Claus. Not just because of the millennial mind either but because of the nature of the way the business works these days.
A lot of the appeal of shows like Swingtown and Mad Men is just how well they nail the period they cover. I’ve yet to watch Swingtown, but I will give it a look after the Olympics and after I get caught up on Damages, Generation Kill and Weeds. But I trust the likes of Ms. Belafonte that Swingtown has captured the essence of the 1970s well. But who’s that aspect of the show going to appeal the most to? People who were alive in the 1970s! If you were even a young 18 in 1975, you’re over 50 now and outside of demos coveted by advertisers.
It doesn’t matter what the networks say publicly. Shows need to have at least moderate success among the under 50 crowd or they will fail. The leash isn’t typically long either. Shows need to score in the under 50 demos quickly. Swingtown started out OK out of the gate on Thursdays in that regard with modest success (at least for the summer) in the under 50 demographics, but then the show kept bleeding viewers.
A New Hope?
The networks actually do have the luxury of giving at least a show or two a longer leash. It’s not like the networks aren’t making money hand over fist as it is, or they wouldn’t mostly completely throw in the towel with the Friday night and Saturday night lineups. While shows like Moonlight and Jericho had a fairly sizable loyal fan base (both on the Internet and to some degree in terms of viewers) these shows struck out with the youthful demos, and they weren’t critically acclaimed.
I’m not going to fault Gina Belafonte for doing her part to save a show that she likes, I have seen several other TV critics who were digging Swingtown. I doubt in the case of Swingtown, it will make any difference whatsoever. We have two data points that suggest clearly CBS has already made up its mind on this show and is ready to move on:
- It switched it to Fridays, giving Flashpoint the better Thursday night slot. Kiss of death.
- It aired a *new* episode of Swingtown up against the Olympic opening ceremonies. While I’m sure not even NBC expected the stellar numbers the opening ceremonies drew, any programming executive at the other networks knew that the ceremonies would be the most-watched thing on television. That doesn’t explain why NBC Uni itself ran new episodes of Monk and Psych on USA network on Friday night, but still…
I don’t believe we need to wait for the formal announcement from CBS.
I don’t think critical praise is new hope for a show like Swingtown. Many viewers lament the “same old crap” that gets put on the air. Yay, another police, crime, lawyer, doctor procedural! I understad. But what works, works, and as long as it works, that’s likely just going to be the way it is.
A show like Swingtown needs to catch on, and catch on fast. That’s a circumstance that you’ll rarely see happen on broadcast network television, especially in the summer without a big budget for promotion.
At the end of the day, the best new hope for new, creative and different content is…cable.
Hey Linda Im with you in that it beat reality TV. Unfortunately reality TV still gets the numbers. It must be really cheap to make, I guess?
Why would anyone wonder why Ghost Whisperer hangs on while Swingtown got (or will) get axed? Only someone in Hollyweird…. Jennifer Love Hewitt is easy on the eyes for starters. And it costs alot less to make than a drama with a large cast like Swingtown. Plus Swingtown is creepy and sleazy – some people watched it the way they do those soft core porn movies on Showtime or HBO. You can watch it for awhile as a novelty or a guilty pleasure but after awhile, what else is there to see? More wife swapping, more three-somes? Yawwwwwwwwwwwn. Some people probably watched Swingtown pining for the tacky 70s fashions, porn star style mustaches, chest hair and and sticky floor atmosphere of the series. But in time they remembered why the 70s were awful – Nixon/Ford/Carter/stagflation/high inflation and turned the channel.
Swingtown – another smart show overlooked by a stupid populace that is American Viewers, truly a shame.
Just for clarity, the above post was a different Holly than the one who usually comments here.
I still think CBS was right to cancel Moonlight.
Thank for that clarification Holly (the regular), I was wondering what had gotten into you!
If you hover over the name, you can see some info and the last three posts made by that person. My profile will come up as verified.
Type your comment here.
Doris, if Moonlight was a derivative of any show it would be “Forever Knight” rather than Angel.
And if shows have to be original to be unique then why are CSI: Miami, CSI: New York and NCIS hits? They are all derivative of CSI.
Gwen, you bring up a great argument and I clearly see your side of the story. But a few problems.
1) CSI, CSI: Miami, CSI: New York are all by the same creator and producer. CSI: Miami, and CSI: New York are spin-offs, so in a odd way they don’t have to be unique.
2) Comparing the CSIs and NCIS is like comparing apples and oranges. The objectives of the CSIs are forensics and stopping crime within one city. While NCIS is global and main objective is stopping terrorism. Therefore NCIS is not a derivative of CSI.
3) It would be different if Moonlight was created by Joss Whedon, David Greenwalt, Barney Cohen or James D. Parriott. Moonlight was a rip-off, plain and simple. Thus you have to be crazy to think it’s unique.
4) You act like I am the only one who thinks that it’s to close to Angel for comfort. At the time the pilot was aired, several critics complained that it was close to Angel.
So there, you have it. That is my side of things. But thank-you for bringing up a good argument and I am sorry if I came off a little mean.
Since we both have lives, let me just settle this ridiculous little argument that we can both agree on.
I agree a hundred percent that there is a lot of TV shows that are very similar in plot. But most of them have found a little thing called solitary. Things that make them separate and unique compared to the other. Some shows and audiences have found solitary between different shows that make them more comfortable. For example; a person may find “Medium” to dark and violent to there taste. So they would watch “Ghost Whisperer” since it is more of an emotion and faith driven show.
Maybe Audiences could not find solitary with Swingtown and Moonlight. Nobody in my senior high school wanted to watch them since they seemed already done. There were a few that refused to watch Moonlight because the seemed pilferage from “Angel” and “Forever Knight” to others this might not be the case. So maybe Moonlight, Swingtown and (Dare I say this seasons big budget failure!) Bionic Woman did not get the chance to create solitary between similar shows. Or maybe networks just did not give them the chance they deserve. Or maybe they just needed better writers to make these shows unique to the audiences.
So let’s just say we are both right in our own way. And end this argument like civilized Adults.
I agree with Jackie about Moonlight being on Friday nights. Young people go out to parties and clubs on Friday nights. Young couples date on Friday nights, as do married people without kids. There is not a large crowd watching TV on Friday nights!
Moonlight won the 9:00 pm timeslot every week! If CBS was serious, they should have tried it on a different night before cancelling it.
I see now that they are swapping around a lot of these shows that get much lower ratings than Moonlight, trying to find a night that suits them, but the network did not even try this with Moonlight, not even once. They also did not market it as heavily as they are pushing both Swingtown and Flashpoint.
It is my opinion that CBS wanted to get rid of Moonlight because it was not PC enough to suit them, and no amount of winning its timeslot, or winning awards would dissuade them.
Doris
Perhaps you mean something other than “Solitary.”
Here are the definitions of “solitary” from the online dictionary:
1. alone; without companions; unattended: a solitary passer-by.
2. living alone; avoiding the society of others: a solitary existence.
3. by itself; alone: one solitary house.
4. characterized by the absence of companions: a solitary journey.
5. done without assistance or accompaniment; done in solitude: solitary chores.
6. being the only one: a solitary exception.
7. characterized by solitude, as a place; unfrequented, secluded, or lonely: a solitary cabin in the woods.
8. Zoology. living habitually alone or in pairs, as certain wasps. Compare social (def. 10).
–noun 9. a person who lives alone or in solitude, or avoids the society of others.
10. a person who lives in solitude from religious motives.
11. solitary confinement.
Perhaps you mean “solidarity?” This also does not fit what you are trying to say. Perhaps you would benefit by the use of a thesaurus.
Gwen
You are so right! There are many examples of shows that were slow starters and became big hits, like the original Star Trek, and like Seinfeld. Moonlight held up week after week, and always won its timeslot, while Swingtown continued to drop each week in a similar timeslot. Yet CBS keeps pushing ST in advertising, showing an unfair prejudice it its favor.
Sometimes I think Moonlight is like Louise, who always had it in her to be Gypsy Rose Lee, but Mama Rose spent all her time on Baby June. The suits at CBS had no idea what a superior show they had in Moonlight, and I think they are tossing away success with both hands because they fail to recognize what the average viewer wants to see.
I am so sorry to cause so much confusion over just one word!
You see I am French, so I use older definitions for words. Solitary awhile back meant “Separate or different from” Sorry to cause so much confusion. And I agree with Angelcrest statement about shows that are slow starters.
Hi Doris,
Perhaps “solitary” has a slightly different meaning in French than in English.
I have a thick book called “Faux Amis” that lists all of the words that English speakers may happen to use incorrectly when speaking French, because the word has a slightly different meaning in each language.
Perhaps 1/3 to 1/2 of the English Language contains French words, and it is interesting to discover them once you know how to look for them.
Hi Gwen!
I am a huge Moonlight fan, and agree with your comments about Moonlight.
I also want to point out that Moonlight has much higher quality in every respect than either Forever Knight or Angel. I am not a fan of either show, but adore Moonlight.
I also want to point out that CBS still does not know if a younger demographic would watch Moonlight, because they put it on a night when all the young people go out to parties, clubs and movies. The only people who are staying home on Friday nights are either mature, or married with small children.
CBS never tried to test Moonlight on another night because they had already made up their minds to dump it.
Women of all ages like romance, and I think that CBS is missing the boat when they ignore this part of a woman's nature. Just look at how huge the romance section is in any bookstore, and if you think that only older women are reading romance novels, you should walk over to the teenage fiction section, and see that it is filled with romance as well, especially supernatural romances like Twilight.
If the network execs would descend from their corner offices once in a while and rub elbows with the hoy paloy once in a while, they may have a real education that they never got in business school.