Saturday, January 1, 2011

FRESHMAN SCORECARD: January

Here is the monthly freshman scorecard. Each network's shows are ordered from best to worst chance of survival for next season.

ABC

Better With You - ABC is having modest success with its only new Wednesday night sitcom. It has held onto a decent amount of The Middle's audience and seems to repeat fairly well as we saw in December. The biggest indicator for this show's renewal chances will come when new midseason sitcoms Mr. Sunshine and Happy Endings premiere. Should they do well, its chances go down but should they flop, it will have a pretty good shot.

Detroit 1-8-7 - This show hit a series low in December and it will only have an 18 episode run that will end in March. That doesn't make a renewal likely but I still think it has the edge among the remaining two freshman dramas because it hasn't fallen as far from its premiere and it has been great for the city of Detroit. Still an unlikely renewal though.

No Ordinary Family - The other freshman drama has fallen tremendously from its promising premiere. Its trial run at 9pm instead of 8pm in December was very unsuccessful as it was falling behind Detroit in total viewers (though still beating it in the demo). If ABC can get any mileage out of midseason dramas Off the Map and Body of Proof, that's probably it for Family and Detroit.

Skating with the Stars - This fill-in for Dancing with the Stars was a huge flop in its December run.  It would be a shock to see it ever come back even as just another fill-in. It wiped ABC off the map on Monday nights in December. ABC let it run its whole competition but that should be it forever.

The Whole Truth/My Generation - Long gone.

CBS

Mike & Molly - Mike & Molly has fit in nicely to CBS's Monday lineup and like so many CBS shows, it has proven to be a durable repeater as well. It hasn't had the success in the 9:30 timeslot that The Big Bang Theory had last year but it has been CBS's strongest freshman sitcom in awhile. It's a shoo-in for renewal.

Blue Bloods - CBS's Tom Selleck drama has been a success on Fridays and now CBS will give it a 4-week run on Wednesday nights starting in January. The hope is that it will pick up new (and younger) viewers. Even if it stays at current levels when it returns to Fridays, it should be ok. But if it adds viewers, it will be another certain renewal.

Hawaii Five-0 - Hawaii Five-0 has stabilized after some pretty big drops and remains a popular DVR choice. With Monday Night Football ending and NBC's Chase moving to another night, it will have the male viewers more to itself. Because of that, it could see a bump. A renewal seems very likely especially with Scott Caan's Golden Globe nomination.

$#*! My Dad Says - The other new CBS sitcom will wrap its 18-episode run in February. Any show ending in February is not usually a good bet for renewal. The only hope for this show is that new midseason sitcom Mad Love flops or CBS considers going to two hours of comedy on Thursday nights. It has been ok but nothing stellar and that probably won't cut it for CBS.

The Defenders - CBS will send this show to Friday nights starting in February and then will end its run at the end of March. Both these moves seem to suggest that its renewal chances are very slim. Its still outpacing most dramas on other networks but on CBS, it has underperformed. There won't be room for this show on the 2011-2012 schedule.

NBC

Law & Order: Los Angeles - Los Angeles is in the middle of a long hiatus before it returns in February but it has been the most reliable performer among NBC's weak freshman crop. Given the current state of NBC, they have a lot more to worry about than the serviceable numbers this drama is delivering. A renewal is likely.

Outsourced - NBC is sending this show to 10:30pm starting January 20. If it can maintain ratings close to what it was getting at 9:30, a renewal could happen. But if it falls further, NBC will have no choice to cancel it. This show's chances also depend on how new sitcom Perfect Couples fares (and Friends with Benefits/The Paul Reiser Show if they ever premiere).

The Event - The Event is in the middle of a very long hiatus before it returns at the end of February. With such a serialized show, its unlikely that its whole audience (which was already greatly diminished) will return then. A renewal seems a long-shot at best but hopefully NBC will give the writers enough advanced notice to let them wrap up the storyline.

Chase - This drama has been an underperformer on Monday night and now it has to face Modern Family, Criminal Minds, and American Idol on Wednesday nights. Couple that with the fact that it saw its episode order slashed from 22 to 18 and that probably spells the end for this show. Its only hope would be if it can somehow improve on its Monday ratings on Wednesday but that seems unlikely.

School Pride - Not officially cancelled but it may as well be. It is very unlikely that this show, which has finished its run, will ever return for a second season.

Undercovers/Outlaw - Gone. Undercovers aired its last scheduled episode on Wednesday night while Outlaw is ancient history.

FOX

Raising Hope - FOX has found a cult hit in this freshman sitcom which has developed a small but loyal audience. It seems to hold its own whether lead-in Glee is up or down and will certainly be claimed as a success by FOX. Given its early full season announcement, an early second season renewal wouldn't be surprising.

Million Dollar Money Drop - This new game show had serviceable ratings in its premiere week, every-night airing. If it can maintain similar ratings throughout January, we may see it as a filler or summer series down the road. A regular weekly slot next fall is unlikely though.

Running Wilde - Not officially cancelled but it only had 13 episodes made and FOX hasn't even committed to airing them all. A renewal would be the shock of the year.

Lone Star - Long gone.

By the time the February scorecard comes out, we will be able to add Off the Map, Live to Dance, The Cape, Harry's Law, Perfect Couples, and Bob's Burgers to the list!

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