FALL PREVIEW 2013: The Sophomore Class

Today officially kicks off my Fall Preview week with a night by night look at the new season! But before that starts tomorrow, here is a look back at last year's freshmen who will be returning for year #2. The blog gives more focus to the newbies between pilot reviews, freshman scorecards, and season in review so here is one final look at the shows that are soldiering on. Only 33 new shows premiered last year in-season (down from 47 in 2011-12 and 40 in 2010-11). Of those 33, only 9 are returning which just goes to show how tough it is. Of course, last year was a pretty down year for new shows as well. If interested, check out my sophomore class previews from last year and 2011. Before we begin, here are some stats from the last three years (and first three years of the blog!)

2010-11:
40 new shows
10 returned for a second season (25%)
6 are still on the air entering their fourth year (Mike & Molly, Blue Bloods, Hawaii Five-0, The Voice, Raising Hope, Bob's Burgers)

2011-12:
47 new shows
20 returned for a second season (43%)
11 are still on the air entering their third year (Once Upon a Time, Revenge, Last Man Standing, Suburgatory, Scandal, Celebrity Wife Swap, 2 Broke Girls, Person of Interest, Grimm, New Girl, The X Factor)

2012-13
33 new shows
9 are returning for a second year (27%)
and here they are!

NASHVILLE (ABC) - One of the most talked about shows heading into last year, Nashville was ultimately a ratings disappointment and went through some creative growing pains. However, it was ABC's highest profile drama and their others were mostly instant bombs. Plus, the show did still get some critical love as star Connie Britton received an Emmy nomination for her role. Nashville will get to keep its Wednesday 10pm slot after ABC learned their lesson with Revenge. It also will follow one of ABC's "split schedules" which will hopefully mean less random repeats which plagued it last year. If there's consistency in airings and quality, Nashville has a chance to surprise in year two. I watched all of season one but this is probably #1 on my list of shows I'm likely to replace with newbies. I'll watch the season premiere but I'm skeptical about my future with the show.

CHICAGO FIRE (NBC) - One of the biggest surprises of the entire season was the emergence of Chicago Fire. It debuted the same day and time as Nashville but to much less fanfare and lower ratings but then it didn't fall apart and in the spring, it beat Nashville on more than one occasion (and even beat CSI once!) It became one of NBC's more reliable and self-starting shows. As a reward, the little show that could gets moved to a more high profile timeslot - airing after The Voice on Tuesday nights. Most shows experience losses year to year but Chicago Fire could be one of the few shows to grow in the ratings this year. It had a series high when it followed The Voice for one night last season. Let's see how it does with a whole season. Just like the general ratings, I always surprised myself by liking Chicago Fire as much as I did. I'm excited for season two.

REVOLUTION (NBC) - NBC was not promoting Chicago Fire much last fall because they were all about Revolution and it paid off initially. With the biggest numbers for a drama or NBC premiere in years, Revolution shot out of the gate and did fairly well throughout the fall. Then NBC tried to protect it by not having it air without The Voice as a lead-in. That may have been smart but it still didn't work because Revolution returned after four months off to lower numbers that continued to taper off as the season went on. By the end, it was having Smash-like retention out of The Voice. Now it must survive on its own at 8pm Wednesdays. It has a 22 episode order but I think NBC might be stuck with some burnoffs because I just don't see it surviving in its new timeslot. I watched the first four or five episodes of Revolution last year but lost interest.

ELEMENTARY (CBS) - The lone CBS survivor from last year's brutal slate is Elementary. One of the two big CBS drama premieres last fall (the other being the cancelled Vegas), Elementary was called on to take over The Mentalist's slot on Thursday nights. It spent the entire year doing decently but not fantastically. It got extra exposure with a post-Super Bowl airing but then thanks to the Super Bowl blackout, it started extremely late which dulled its chances for finding new viewers. It also must now continue to face ABC's hot Scandal but also NBC's reliable Parenthood which will be an upgrade to anything NBC aired there last year. Still, CBS likes their brand shows and if a drama makes it to year two, it tends to stay awhile. It will be following a new four-sitcom block on Thursday which will be great if that works and a big problem if it doesn't. Like Revolution, I lost interest in this show after a few episodes.

THE MINDY PROJECT (FOX) - There are only two comedies among ALL FOUR broadcast networks returning this year and both were middling performers. Perhaps the winner of the "least deserving of a renewal" is The Mindy Project. The 9:30pm entry in FOX's failed comedy block was one of the biggest disappointments last year as it became a niche show with a small audience quickly. But FOX still wants it to work and it will get another chance in the same slot. Fans of the show say it has improved a lot creatively but it's hard to imagine things really going up especially with the promising Us & Them on the bench. I only watched the first couple episodes last year. I tried watching this year's premiere (posted early on hulu) but lost interest within about 5 minutes and turned it off.

THE NEIGHBORS (ABC) - While the ratings were only ok despite a renewal, I still have to eat my hat when it comes to The Neighbors. I thought it would be an instant bomb along the lines of Work It but to its credit, it was not. It did decently in the 8:30pm slot on Wednesdays and ultimately ABC chose to renew it over Malibu Country to pair with Last Man Standing on Fridays. I didn't stick with the show beyond the pilot but it's another one that fans claim has gotten better. I'd be surprised to see it eke out a third season but stranger things have happened. I never thought it would make it this far so I must give credit where credit is due.

THE FOLLOWING (FOX)/HANNIBAL (NBC)/THE TASTE (ABC) - These three shows are returning but not on the fall schedule. The Following was arguably the biggest success from a weak class of freshmen last year despite mixed fan reaction. As of now, it's slotted to return to its Monday 9pm slot in January. Hannibal was a very late entry by NBC and saw really low numbers as it aired into the summer but NBC admittedly renewed it for quality reasons over number reasons. It could be a Friday night candidate at some point. The Taste had a low rated midseason run but its a good reality filler for ABC and we'll probably see it sometime in January or March.