Midseason TV Is Back, and Sorrier than Ever

By Daniel Dessinger

January 14, 2009

Well, well, well. Look whose come crawling back, begging us to watch TV.

In the aftermath of last year’s writer’s strike, viewership of network TV is down 9 percent across the board. It seems that during the hiatus, we viewers discovered there are other places where we can spend our time, either on the computer, or gaming, or, gasp!, with friends and family or reading. And many of us haven’t bothered coming back.

January is mid-replacement month and February is a ratings month. During this time, the networks are hoping to lure eyeballs back to the screens by returning some old tried-and-true favorites, like Lost, 24 and American Idol. They will also unveil new offerings such as, Howie Do It, a hidden camera show on NBC, True Beauty, an ABC reality game show, and crime drama shows Lie To Me, Castle, and The Unusuals.

Nothing sounds promising, does it? You may be saying, “Of course, network TV stinks, Lisa, that’s why I watch cable shows.” I hear you. Cable TV does offer some edgier programming. The problem is that network execs tend to think that edgier equals cussing, violence and nudity. I don’t need to see or hear all of that to draw me to a show. What I do need is an appealing, quirky, yet plausible story idea with compelling characters that make me want to stop what I’m doing and make time to watch them. If I never see a cookie-cutter sit-com or a crime procedural drama again, I’ll be fine. And think of how much of my life I didn’t waste.

Who knows how long the new shows will last. The patience of a TV network executive is even shorter than that of a 15-year-old male Family Guy viewer. Even if a show is half-way decent, it isn’t likely that the networks will give it a chance to catch on and will yank it off the air after three episodes.

There have been rumors that Hollywood actors are considering striking, too — for the same reasons the writers went on strike — but they are reconsidering since viewership is down. Given the slate of shows the networks are releasing, I think it would be a wise decision. I don’t see viewership rising any time soon.