Fall 2011 New Shows: Little To Be Thankful For

Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks for what you have in life. So as ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and The CW, take stock after their “fall finales”, (a new term that justifies re-runs during Christmas), it’s time to take a look at the new shows of 2011 and see what they should be thankful for.

What NOT to be thankful for is easy. The Playboy Club, H8R, Free Agents, How To Be A Gentleman, and Charlie’s Angels, are all gone. Prime Suspect is not officially cancelled, but production was shut down after filming its first 13 episodes. ABC’s Man Up and Pan Am also look to be on the chopping block. A small ray of hope for Pan Am is that five additional scripts have been requested. Perhaps ABC is not ready to give up on Mad Men-in-the-sky just yet.

The bright spots, while none are a runaway hit, are 2 Broke Girls, New Girl and Once Upon A Time, which in its first three weeks is the highest rated non-football show on Sundays. It even bests cable hits Walking Dead, Dexter and Boardwalk Empire. The X Factor, while not an American Idol-sized hit, has ratings most shows would kill for. For other shows “success” is a little more subjective. NBC is happy enough with Up All Night to order additional episodes beyond its full season pickup and to move it from Wednesday to Must See TV Thursday. It has yet, with good reason, to embrace the mediocre Whitney whose good numbers seem to only be due to its Office lead-in. We’ll see once it takes Up All Night’s spot in January. NBC also liked Grimm’s 1.2 ratings on a night where the highest rated show gets a 1.7 enough to order a full season.

CBS seems pleased with Person of Interest and Unforgettable although neither comes close to the higher rated shows on their prospective nights. A Gifted Man seems to be doing as well as show can on Friday. But it will have to do much better to survive.

ABC has been happy with Wednesday’s Revenge and Suburgatory. But to put in perspective both shows average around a 2.7, while on the same night ABC’s Modern Family averages between 5.6 and 6.1. Last Man Standing’s premiere seemed to mark the triumphant return of Tim Allen. The show’s ratings in the following weeks were good enough for a full season, but may not insure a second.

The CW has Ringer and Secret Circle, which seem to be holding their own, but Hart of Dixie is fading fast.

The rest is well…the rest. For Fox the super expensive Terra Nova seems to not be making much of a return on its investment, and Allen Gregory seems to be only occupying the post-Simpsons spot until Fox finds another cartoon. The Sing-Off is not exactly a new show, but it seems to be making no impact. And despite a one week spike with Bob Costas’ Penn State exclusive, Brian Williams Rock Center, is doing worse than the show it replaced, Playboy Club.

So as we watch the Fall 2011 season fade away and await the 2012 Mid-Season there are a few shows to be thankful for. Mostly we should be thankful that 2012 will bring a half way decent shot at some better TV.

- Jason Williams

Share

Related posts:
Comments
November 24th, 2011 | Mara | Comments Off |