Firefly. Freaks and Geeks. Pushing Daisies. What do these shows have in common? They were all cancelled. And now they’re all cult classics.
As we come out of the 2015 TV renewals and cancellations, I can’t help but wonder if the major networks (and some of the minor ones, too) are committing ratings suicide by cutting so many shows from their programs. The point of cancelling a show is to replace it with something that will perform better, but with such a quick turnover, are these networks giving their shows enough of a chance to bring in an audience?
I think you can guess what my answer is.
Let’s break it down
I won’t bore you with a flurry of meaningless statistics, but let’s take a quick look at how many shows have been cancelled this year. As of May 10, Fox has cancelled five, ABC has cancelled seven, CBS has cancelled three, The CW has cancelled two, and NBC has cancelled eight. That means five networks have cancelled a total of 25 shows. This doesn’t include MTV, BBC, HBO, or any of the other outliers.
Last year, those same networks cancelled nearly 40 shows combined. While 2015 has clearly been an improvement over 2014, cancelling such a large percentage of programs doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. You can never be certain whether a show will be a hit, but the very nature of series television is to slowly build a relationship between the audience and the show’s characters. This cannot be done in just a few episodes; it takes place over the course of several seasons.
Of the aforementioned 25 cancelled television shows, a staggering 17 of them only got a single season. And, in the case of such shows like Constantine and Selfie, some of those seasons were cut short, and fans had to make due with unsatisfying finales.
Of those that had been lucky enough to earn more than one season over their still short-lived careers, there were still some shockers. The Following had recently shaken up the very core of the show, promising fans a completely new direction for the main character. The Mindy Project continued to be beloved by fans. Even shows like Revenge, which had arguably been falling flat for some viewers, could’ve made due with some extra time to allow the audience to let go off their favorite characters.
But those shows at least had a few years to find their groove, to find their audience. Shows with a mere 10 or 15 episodes were on air for just a few months before being yanked off stage again. Is that truly enough time to establish a cast of characters we can care about and an overarching plot in which we can become invested?
Perhaps these shows are being too ambitious, too different. Maybe they should stick with what works, and have a case-of-the-week episode that’s kept shows like Supernatural and Criminal Minds on air for such an incredible amount of time.
Don’t we want our shows to shake things up and catch us by surprise? Selfie modernized My Fair Lady. Eye Candy brought more original content to a network saturated with reality television. Cristela starred Cristela Alonzo, who happened to be the first Latina to create, produce, write, and star in her own network show.
And now her voice has been silenced, along with the voices of so many others.
Who’s to blame?
The Following was presumably cancelled because it brought in 10 million viewers in its freshman year, but by season 3 it had dwindled to a meager 3 million. Can we really blame Fox for wanting to cut its losses?
Is it our fault then? Perhaps we are not watching enough television to warrant these networks to keep shows on air. Should we blame the showrunners for not creating engaging enough content? Should we blame the writers for not following a tried-and-true formula?
As with most issues with a lot of moving parts, not one particular person or action can be blamed for the downfall. In the end, however, I think the high turnover rate of new television shows is part of a much bigger problem. The truth is, we’re just not watching television in the same way we did 10 years ago.
During the era of shows like Friends, Xena, and ER, everything was set in stone. You knew exactly when the show would be on and there were hardly any interruptions in the programming. You could miss an episode or two and still follow the general trajectory of the show. Everything was straightforward. Everything was simpler.
Now, however, we have the internet. And Hulu. And Netflix. You can subscribe individually to networks like HBO and Starz and Showtime. There is so much content and so many avenues by which to view it that we’ve become overwhelmed with all of our options. We no longer need to sit down each night to watch our favorite TV shows. We can DVR them, or watch original programming on Netflix, or catch up using The CW’s app on our Smartphones.
What needs to change
It’s no wonder ratings have been falling so dramatically. Our lives are changing, and therefore so are our viewing habits. In response, networks are pulling the plug on shows faster than ever.
But something has to give. Networks must realize that Nielson ratings can no longer be the standard by which you determine your show’s worth. You have to figure out how many people set their DVRs to record an episode. You have to check your online media players to see how many people watched the episode several days later. Check Twitter, check Facebook, check Tumblr. There is an audience there, but you have to be patient.
If you make it, we will come.
After all, Firefly is more popular than ever before. Shows are being brought back to life years — sometimes even decades — after they were cancelled. Just look at Heroes and Veronica Mars and Twin Peaks for confirmation.
Companies like Hulu and and Netflix know viewers are turning to streaming services more than ever before. They’re snatching up cancelled shows left and right, becoming hubs for cult classics in the making. They’re also creating wildly popular shows and allowing instant access to an entire season all at once so people can watch at their own leisure.
This is the future. It’s high time network television gets on the bandwagon.
In the end, it’s our responsibility as fans to champion the things we love. Unlike ever before, we have a direct line to the creators and stars of our favorite shows — the #SaveConstantine campaign is proof of our potential power — but the networks have to be willing to listen.
That which does not bend will break, and I’d hate to see even the largest of networks crumble because they were too proud to change with the times.
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