Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss
Can ABC's "The Conners" Carry the Torch at 8 PM? Sitcom has to maintain the buzz after viewers find out how Barr is written out, experts say
0 views
Skip to first unread message
Ubiquitous
Jul 3, 2018, 7:41:22 AM7/3/18
to
The Conners are coming back — just, you know, minus one. But can
“The Conners” carry “Roseanne’s” torch without Roseanne?
Well, it had better, because the “Roseanne” spinoff sitcom, which
ABC ordered 10 episodes of sight-unseen after weeks of negotiations
following its decision to fire Barr, has some big shoes to fill. The
Disney broadcast network has scheduled “The Conners” in its vacated
“Roseanne” time slot, Tuesdays from 8 p.m.-8:30 p.m. That spot kicks
off the entire evening’s lineup, and ABC saw huge Nielsen numbers —
a 5.3 rating/23 share among adults 18-49 and 18.652 million total
viewers, on average — there this past season.
Those figures, which include a week’s worth of delayed viewing, are
hard to come by in the modern television ecosystem, and will be
difficult to replicate. But Samba TV CEO Ashwin Navin believes Dan
(John Goodman), Jackie (Laurie Metcalf), Darlene (Sarah Gilbert),
Becky (Lecy Goranson) and D.J. (Michael Fishman) may be up to the
task.
“There aren’t many scripted shows that cater to this audience,”
Navin told TheWrap, referring to Trump supporters. That’s a group
who wants to relate to its TV characters — much like its
politicians, clearly.
But with Roseanne Conner — the Trump-supporter and Republican of the
bunch — out of the picture (and the credits), will the loyal
“Roseanne” audience revolt? Not if the “Conners” writers are smart
businesspeople, Navin said.
“As long as they don’t dramatically shift the narrative [from
‘Roseanne’],” the “opportunity is there to preserve the numbers” —
and perhaps even to grow them, he explained.
So how will ABC handle its post-Roseanne version of the show? Below
is ABC’s official description for “The Conners.”
After a sudden turn of events, the Conners are forced to
face the daily struggles of life in Lanford in a way they
never have before. This iconic family – Dan (Goodman),
Jackie (Metcalf), Darlene (Gilbert), Becky (Goranson) and
D.J. (Fishman) – grapples with parenthood, dating, an
unexpected pregnancy, financial pressures, aging and
in-laws in working-class America. Through it all, the
fights, the coupon cutting, the hand-me-downs, the
breakdowns – with love, humor and perseverance, the family
prevails.
That “sudden turn of events” almost surely refers to Roseanne
Conner’s (Roseanne Barr) sudden exit.
Tom Werner will executive produce “The Conners,” along with Gilbert,
Bruce Helford, Dave Caplan, Bruce Rasmussen and Tony Hernandez.
Helford, Caplan and Rasmussen are also writers on the spinoff. The
series is from Tom Werner and Werner Entertainment.
At least one ad buyer believes that “The Conners” could surpass
“Roseanne.” “Some of the characters they’re keeping are more fun
than Roseanne,” Barry Lowenthal, president of ad agency The Media
Kitchen, told TheWrap. “That actually might wind up being a much
better show.” He added that for ABC, bringing the show back without
Barr could go a long way towards placating fans who were upset by
ABC’s employment of her to begin with.
“It’s kind of a nice statement for ABC to say: ‘We believe in the
cast and crew. We believe what the show stands for without someone
like Roseanne,'” he continued. “Bringing it back without her is
almost a political statement within itself.”
But Navin argues ABC shouldn’t all-of-a-sudden let the show swing
towards the other side of the political aisle. After all, there
isn’t much on TV that skews Republican beyond crime shows, sports,
and Fox News, per Samba’s research. “There was something working
about this show,” Navin continued, emphasizing that it would be a
bad idea to alienate conservatives in a “reactionary” attempt to
continue distancing the remaining group from Barr.
Navin thinks the rush job for this fall is a good idea — “the sooner
the better,” as he put it. Otherwise, some other platform is going
to try to fill that vacuum. (And they probably still are, he said.)
The situation is reminiscent of the one NBC faced in 1987, when
Valerie Harper left after the first two seasons of her eponymous
sitcom, “Valerie,” over a salary dispute. As ABC just did, NBC
continued the show without its title character, renaming it twice:
First “Valerie’s Family” and then “The Hogan Family.”
ABC could take a page out of CBS’ playbook in handling the promotion
for “The Conners.” In 2011, CBS fired Charlie Sheen off its very
successful sitcom, “Two and a Half Men,” and replaced him with
Ashton Kutcher. The whole saga intrigued viewers who tuned in to
find out just how CBS would write out Sheen’s sudden departure.
CBS was able to convert the intrigue — even incorporating that into
its marketing — into record ratings. The Sept. 19, 2011 premiere,
which opened on a funeral for Sheen’s character, scored a gigantic
28.7 million viewers and a colossal 10.7 rating in the advertiser-
preferred demo — and that was just the “live” numbers.
But that didn’t last very long.
By the end of the season, the show drew fewer than 12 million “live”
viewers for its season finale, according to Nielsen data. The
following three seasons all averaged fewer viewers than when Charlie
Sheen was still on the show — though it went through even more
changes during those seasons, as Angus T. Jones left the show, only
returning for the series finale.
But getting viewers into the store is hard enough, and Lowenthal
argues that intrigue over Barr’s ouster already puts “The Conners”
ahead of a lot of other new shows that premiere this fall.
“Attracting an audience is a really difficult thing these days. Any
show that has buzz from the get go is probably a good place to
start.”
--
Dems & the media want Trump to be more like Obama, but then he'd
have to audit liberals & wire tap reporters' phones.
“The Conners” carry “Roseanne’s” torch without Roseanne?
Well, it had better, because the “Roseanne” spinoff sitcom, which
ABC ordered 10 episodes of sight-unseen after weeks of negotiations
following its decision to fire Barr, has some big shoes to fill. The
Disney broadcast network has scheduled “The Conners” in its vacated
“Roseanne” time slot, Tuesdays from 8 p.m.-8:30 p.m. That spot kicks
off the entire evening’s lineup, and ABC saw huge Nielsen numbers —
a 5.3 rating/23 share among adults 18-49 and 18.652 million total
viewers, on average — there this past season.
Those figures, which include a week’s worth of delayed viewing, are
hard to come by in the modern television ecosystem, and will be
difficult to replicate. But Samba TV CEO Ashwin Navin believes Dan
(John Goodman), Jackie (Laurie Metcalf), Darlene (Sarah Gilbert),
Becky (Lecy Goranson) and D.J. (Michael Fishman) may be up to the
task.
“There aren’t many scripted shows that cater to this audience,”
Navin told TheWrap, referring to Trump supporters. That’s a group
who wants to relate to its TV characters — much like its
politicians, clearly.
But with Roseanne Conner — the Trump-supporter and Republican of the
bunch — out of the picture (and the credits), will the loyal
“Roseanne” audience revolt? Not if the “Conners” writers are smart
businesspeople, Navin said.
“As long as they don’t dramatically shift the narrative [from
‘Roseanne’],” the “opportunity is there to preserve the numbers” —
and perhaps even to grow them, he explained.
So how will ABC handle its post-Roseanne version of the show? Below
is ABC’s official description for “The Conners.”
After a sudden turn of events, the Conners are forced to
face the daily struggles of life in Lanford in a way they
never have before. This iconic family – Dan (Goodman),
Jackie (Metcalf), Darlene (Gilbert), Becky (Goranson) and
D.J. (Fishman) – grapples with parenthood, dating, an
unexpected pregnancy, financial pressures, aging and
in-laws in working-class America. Through it all, the
fights, the coupon cutting, the hand-me-downs, the
breakdowns – with love, humor and perseverance, the family
prevails.
That “sudden turn of events” almost surely refers to Roseanne
Conner’s (Roseanne Barr) sudden exit.
Tom Werner will executive produce “The Conners,” along with Gilbert,
Bruce Helford, Dave Caplan, Bruce Rasmussen and Tony Hernandez.
Helford, Caplan and Rasmussen are also writers on the spinoff. The
series is from Tom Werner and Werner Entertainment.
At least one ad buyer believes that “The Conners” could surpass
“Roseanne.” “Some of the characters they’re keeping are more fun
than Roseanne,” Barry Lowenthal, president of ad agency The Media
Kitchen, told TheWrap. “That actually might wind up being a much
better show.” He added that for ABC, bringing the show back without
Barr could go a long way towards placating fans who were upset by
ABC’s employment of her to begin with.
“It’s kind of a nice statement for ABC to say: ‘We believe in the
cast and crew. We believe what the show stands for without someone
like Roseanne,'” he continued. “Bringing it back without her is
almost a political statement within itself.”
But Navin argues ABC shouldn’t all-of-a-sudden let the show swing
towards the other side of the political aisle. After all, there
isn’t much on TV that skews Republican beyond crime shows, sports,
and Fox News, per Samba’s research. “There was something working
about this show,” Navin continued, emphasizing that it would be a
bad idea to alienate conservatives in a “reactionary” attempt to
continue distancing the remaining group from Barr.
Navin thinks the rush job for this fall is a good idea — “the sooner
the better,” as he put it. Otherwise, some other platform is going
to try to fill that vacuum. (And they probably still are, he said.)
The situation is reminiscent of the one NBC faced in 1987, when
Valerie Harper left after the first two seasons of her eponymous
sitcom, “Valerie,” over a salary dispute. As ABC just did, NBC
continued the show without its title character, renaming it twice:
First “Valerie’s Family” and then “The Hogan Family.”
ABC could take a page out of CBS’ playbook in handling the promotion
for “The Conners.” In 2011, CBS fired Charlie Sheen off its very
successful sitcom, “Two and a Half Men,” and replaced him with
Ashton Kutcher. The whole saga intrigued viewers who tuned in to
find out just how CBS would write out Sheen’s sudden departure.
CBS was able to convert the intrigue — even incorporating that into
its marketing — into record ratings. The Sept. 19, 2011 premiere,
which opened on a funeral for Sheen’s character, scored a gigantic
28.7 million viewers and a colossal 10.7 rating in the advertiser-
preferred demo — and that was just the “live” numbers.
But that didn’t last very long.
By the end of the season, the show drew fewer than 12 million “live”
viewers for its season finale, according to Nielsen data. The
following three seasons all averaged fewer viewers than when Charlie
Sheen was still on the show — though it went through even more
changes during those seasons, as Angus T. Jones left the show, only
returning for the series finale.
But getting viewers into the store is hard enough, and Lowenthal
argues that intrigue over Barr’s ouster already puts “The Conners”
ahead of a lot of other new shows that premiere this fall.
“Attracting an audience is a really difficult thing these days. Any
show that has buzz from the get go is probably a good place to
start.”
--
Dems & the media want Trump to be more like Obama, but then he'd
have to audit liberals & wire tap reporters' phones.
anim8rfsk
Jul 3, 2018, 9:49:51 AM7/3/18
to
In article <phfnd1$j8i$1...@dont-email.me>,
"ALMOST"!??!
--
Join your old RAT friends at
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1688985234647266/
Ubiquitous <web...@polaris.net> wrote:
> “It’s kind of a nice statement for ABC to say: ‘We believe in the
> cast and crew. We believe what the show stands for without someone
> like Roseanne,'” he continued. “Bringing it back without her is
> almost a political statement within itself.”
"Almost"?
> “It’s kind of a nice statement for ABC to say: ‘We believe in the
> cast and crew. We believe what the show stands for without someone
> like Roseanne,'” he continued. “Bringing it back without her is
> almost a political statement within itself.”
"ALMOST"!??!
--
Join your old RAT friends at
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1688985234647266/
EGK
Jul 3, 2018, 10:23:20 AM7/3/18
to
On Tue, 03 Jul 2018 06:49:50 -0700, anim8rfsk <anim...@cox.net> wrote:
>In article <phfnd1$j8i$1...@dont-email.me>,
> Ubiquitous <web...@polaris.net> wrote:
>
>> “It’s kind of a nice statement for ABC to say: ‘We believe in the
>> cast and crew. We believe what the show stands for without someone
>> like Roseanne,'” he continued. “Bringing it back without her is
>> almost a political statement within itself.”
>
>"Almost"?
>
>"ALMOST"!??!
If they kill Roseanne off, look for a lot of jokes about how her support for
>In article <phfnd1$j8i$1...@dont-email.me>,
> Ubiquitous <web...@polaris.net> wrote:
>
>> “It’s kind of a nice statement for ABC to say: ‘We believe in the
>> cast and crew. We believe what the show stands for without someone
>> like Roseanne,'” he continued. “Bringing it back without her is
>> almost a political statement within itself.”
>
>"Almost"?
>
>"ALMOST"!??!
Trump is what killed her.
Ubiquitous
Jul 3, 2018, 10:55:46 AM7/3/18
to
memy...@null.net wrote:
crater.
> anim8rfsk <anim...@cox.net> wrote:
>> Ubiquitous <web...@polaris.net> wrote:
>>> “It’s kind of a nice statement for ABC to say: ‘We believe in the
>>> cast and crew. We believe what the show stands for without someone
>>> like Roseanne,'” he continued. “Bringing it back without her is
>>> almost a political statement within itself.”
>>
>>"Almost"?
>>
>>"ALMOST"!??!
>
>If they kill Roseanne off, look for a lot of jokes about how her support
>for Trump is what killed her.
Followed by cries of "Whut happennnnnnnnnnnnned?!??!" when it's ratings
>> Ubiquitous <web...@polaris.net> wrote:
>>> “It’s kind of a nice statement for ABC to say: ‘We believe in the
>>> cast and crew. We believe what the show stands for without someone
>>> like Roseanne,'” he continued. “Bringing it back without her is
>>> almost a political statement within itself.”
>>
>>"Almost"?
>>
>>"ALMOST"!??!
>
>If they kill Roseanne off, look for a lot of jokes about how her support
>for Trump is what killed her.
crater.
BTR1701
Jul 3, 2018, 2:00:10 PM7/3/18
to
> Can ABC's THE CONNERS Carry the Torch at 8 PM? Sitcom has to
> maintain the buzz after viewers find out how Barr is written
> out, experts say
How does one go about becoming a certified sitcom expert? Is there a
degree program where you can get a PhD in Sitcom Analysis? What would be
your thesis? Laughtrack Management or Studio Audience Warm-Up?
> maintain the buzz after viewers find out how Barr is written
> out, experts say
How does one go about becoming a certified sitcom expert? Is there a
degree program where you can get a PhD in Sitcom Analysis? What would be
your thesis? Laughtrack Management or Studio Audience Warm-Up?
Ubiquitous
Jul 3, 2018, 4:34:32 PM7/3/18
to
0 new messages