Media Reaction To Southland Cancellation – Part 1 @ matthewmilam.com
Media Reaction To Southland Cancellation – Part 1
This entry was posted by Matthew Milam on Friday, 9 October, 2009 at
The Southland cancellation story is one that is gaining traction. Not only is it seen as the biggest blunder by NBC, but it’s a sign that clearly more than ever Hollywood is turning it’s back on scripted television. Most people attribute the worthiness of saving a show like Southland to the show itself and whether it’s worth saving.
I think the need for it’s return is bigger than a matter of quality. I think it’s a matter of people losing jobs, money being wasted and basically aborting a show before it had a chance to gain a life. For this post (which will be part one of many parts), I will post a few links to blogs and magazines that offer commentary on the cancellation of this series.
Linda Holmes of Monkey See, a pop culture blog on NPR’s website, wrote about this show’s abrupt ending. Some of the interesting highlights for this piece that scope how terrible this looks for NBC are here:
The act of renewing a show and then canceling it without giving the episodes an opportunity to run is the kind of thing that infuriates fans and, more to the point, seems highly likely to destroy the network’s credibility in dealing with creative people. Yes, everybody understands networks want to make money; yes, it’s a very cynical industry. But there remains, remarkably, a capacity to be disappointed. The first place I saw the news about Southland was actually on the Twitter feed of Shawn Ryan, the showrunner of FX’s highly regarded The Shield, who later commented, “This is an awful story for people like me.”
It’s gotta be something when the creator of The Shield gets upset. The article goes on to suggest that the same could have happened to any one of Shawn’s shows:
When someone asked Ryan whether he thought the same thing could happen to him, he said, “They would in a heartbeat. Wells is top notch, they did it to him.” Now, that may not be specific to NBC, which is not the only network to ever cancel a show prematurely in a way that seems unfair to a respected showrunner.
Another good point brought up in the article is the fact that USA Network, which is own by NBC Universal, has been doing better than it’s parent company’s network:
A Newsweek profile in July of this year discussed the remarkable successes of the USA network under the guidance of Bonnie Hammer, who helped turn USA into a major moneymaker. What’s her strategy?
Good scripted shows, for one thing. Burn Notice, Monk, Psych, the new Royal Pains, and others. From that profile: “Of all NBCU’s properties, including the namesake broadcaster NBC and its Universal studio, USA has become the biggest earner, delivering roughly $1 billion in profits last year.” Hammer is not a snob — she has embraced USA’s relationship with professional wrestling. But her big strategy is good shows people like, and she’s making money. NBC Universal owns this network — how is its broadcast network making worse shows than, and making less money than, one of its cable properties? They’re all in Rockefeller Center — they’re in the building. Go ask them how they’re doing it.
The New York Magazine also covered this story recently and makes light of the fact that John Wells has a bigger beef with NBC. The fact that NBC loves Leno:
In a somewhat ironic twist, Wells — who also happens to be the president of the Writers Guild of America, West — was complaining about NBC’s decision to cede five hours of programming to Jay Leno in August. He told the Los Angeles Times that “We lost five hours’ worth of time periods that have been known throughout the history of the network for putting some really terrific shows on. I wish NBC and Jay Leno well; personally, he’s a very nice guy, but I hope he falls flat on his face and we get five dramas back.” Sadly for Wells and fans of quality television, NBC’s decision that Southland is “too dark and gritty for 9 p.m.” means that, unfortunately, Jay Leno gets the last laugh in this situation. We’re betting it’s the only laugh he’ll get tonight.
As the days go on, I will post more and more reports. This story isn’t going to die anytime soon and it’s something worth fighting for in my view.
Related posts:
- RT @tweetmeme Media Reaction To Southland Cancellation – Part 2 @ matthewmilam.com http://retwt.me/LuiX / #savesouthland RT @tweetmeme Media Reaction To Southland Cancellation – Part 2...
- RT @tweetmeme Media Reaction To Southland Cancellation – Part 2 @ matthewmilam.com http://retwt.me/LuiX / #savesouthland RT @tweetmeme Media Reaction To Southland Cancellation – Part 2...
- New Blog: Media Reaction To Southland Cancellation – Part 3: If you aren’t familiar with NBC’s gritty.. http://bit.ly/qaupu New Blog: Media Reaction To Southland Cancellation – Part 3:...
- David Latt: Talked to Death David Latt: Talked to Death David Latt Emmy-Winning Television Writer,...
- Here’s another clue that NBC doesn’t care anymore | CliqueClack TV Here’s another clue that NBC doesn’t care anymore | CliqueClack...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
