Posts tagged The Biggest loser
Keep Or Cancel? NBC
Apr 7th
It’s Keep Or Cancel time again – and this time around we’re talking about NBC, the once mighty network king that’s had a rough ride over the last few years.
But things are looking up for the network with some interesting new projects slated for the Fall – I’m excited for Smash, the behind the scenes Broadway show, A Mann’s World, set in an LA hair salon and the much talked about Playboy TV series. Beats your usual cop shows!
But first NBC has to decide what to keep for the Fall – and as you can see from the very short list of already renewed shows there’s not much Must See TV on the network currently. So what stays – and what goes? Here’s the Remote Patrolled take…
NETWORK SCORECARD: NBC
Jan 7th
It’s Network Scorecard time again and it’s the turn of NBC, the troubled network that’s desperately trying to turn the corner. But is it working?
WHAT’S WORKING:
THURSDAY NIGHT COMEDY: ‘Working’ is a relative term when it comes to NBC, but by the standards of the network, Thursday is one of the brighter spots in their line-up. Both 30 Rock and The Office bring in good 18-49 demo numbers and decent ratings, generally in the 7-8 million range for the latter. Earlier in the evening Community is critically acclaimed and can manage passable demos, though its overall ratings are poor. And the likewise lauded Parks And Recreation returns later this month.
On the downside, none of the above are really more then a cult hit and let’s be honest Community’s ratings are downright ugly at times. Plus newbie Outsourced is neither a critical or ratings hit. The days of Must See Thursday feel very long ago now…
THE SING OFF: After a bleak 2010, NBC ended the year on a bit of a high note – literally. Nick Lachey’s a capella singing competition returned surprisingly strong in the ratings, up an average of 25% year to year and pulling in around 8-10 million viewers during the More >
THE BIGGEST LOSER BATTLE
Nov 15th
Pickets, Protests And A Very Public Dispute
Wow, it’s all kicking off down at The Biggest Loser ranch today – and not just in front of the cameras. This time it’s not Jillian’s shouting or a near comatose contestant making headlines – but an ugly behind the scenes dispute that is causing a whole lot of controversy.
In case you haven’t heard, large sections of The Biggest Loser crew – many of whom have been with the show for several years – have gone on strike. They’re demanding the right to unionize which will apparently help members accrue health and pension benefits. The crew are allegedly also unhappy that they’ve received virtually no wage increase since Season 6 (the show is now on Season 11) while the show has stayed a profitable franchise for NBC due to its constant product placement (many segments of the show are virtually paid advertisements) and relative ratings stability – at least for NBC.
Meanwhile the show’s producers – 3 Ball and Reveille – allege crew members are paid above scale for the show and that the series recent declining ratings mean there simply isn’t any more money to go around, especially in these tough economic times. For the full More >
WEIGHT-LESS
Sep 27th
Dropping Pounds And Dropping Ratings – Are Weight Loss Shows Over?
So recently I took a look at Thintervention, Bravo’s new weight loss show, anchored by lesbian gym owner Jackie Warner.
In typical Bravo fashion it was a very polished and well-produced show – full of upscale contestants with strong personalities, tightly edited and with some nice touches (I liked how Jackie would literally turn up on contestants’ doorsteps at just the worst moments)
But as much as I liked the show I can’t help but shake the feeling that weight loss as a whole is a really played out genre on TV today. And it seems I’m not alone. Lifetime’s Diet Tribe and Oxygen’s Dance Your Ass Off both collapsed in the ratings from series 1 to 2, Losing It With Jillian could only scrape together 3-4 million an episode in its summer slot on NBC, and over on Vh1, Money Hungry has the dubious distinction of being one of the lowest rated shows of the year – just 225,000 viewers tuned in for the show’s last installment!
15 TV LESSONS WE LEARNED THIS SUMMER
Aug 28th
Summer is almost over so it’s time to put away those BBQ sets and beach towels for another year. But before we settle down for the Fall TV Season – here’s 15 Lessons We Learned From Summer 2010…
Networks Execs take note!
1) Scripted Network Dramas Are Dead: Witness NBC’s Persons Unknown (aka Persons Unwatched), ABC’s Happy Town and the Sunday night snoozers The Gates and Scoundrels. All four struggled to attract more than 3 million viewers a week and barely made it through their runs. And the only real scripted ‘hit’ of the summer, ABC’s Rookie Blue, was a middling 5 million rated cop show.
2) …But Scripted Cable Shows Are Hot: Where to begin – Rizzoli and Isles, Covert Affairs, The Closer, Haven, Melissa and Joey, Hot In Cleveland… this summer audiences switched over to cable big time, a cultural shift that will only continue in years to come… fact is viewers are loyal to shows NOT networks. If you want an audience now you have to work for it!
3) Weight Loss Shows Are On The Way Out: The Biggest Loser is still a hefty hit but too many copycat formats failed this summer… Dance Your Ass Off was down year to year, Vh1’s Money Hungry was an outright bomb More >
BIG BUSINESS
Jun 28th
TV Goes Plus Sized – But Is It A Good Thing?
It seems like everywhere you look these days big is in!
Dance Your Ass Off is a smash on Oxygen while The Biggest Loser continues to rank as NBC’s most valuable franchise. Over on TLC there’s One Big Happy Family – a docu-soap about an overweight North Carolina family while Style’s Ruby follows an obese woman’s weight loss journey.
On the drama front there’s Drop Dead Diva on Lifetime, following a skinny blonde girl resurrected as a plus size lawyer and now there’s Huge on ABC Family, a series set at a camp for overweight teens. Come the Fall we’ll be seeing Mike and Molly, a CBS comedy about a couple who meet at an Overeaters Anonymous meeting. Sure you probably won’t be seeing too many fuller figures on The CW, but elsewhere the message is clear – America’s body shape is changing – in real life, and now on the not-so-small screen.
For many this is a good thing. I recently read an article in Entertainment Weekly in which the National Association For Fat Acceptance applauded the increase of plus size figures on our TV’s. But personally, I’m not so sure it More >
10 WAYS TO MAKE TV BETTER
Jun 13th
Wow, things aren’t going well for Hollywood this summer!
The A Team, Sex and the City 2, Splice, Robin Hood, MacGruber, Prince of Persia – the list of outright flops and underperformers continue to grow. And let’s face it – why should we be surprised that people aren’t spending their money to pay inflated cinema admission prices when there’s a whole world of great TV, at home, and (mostly) for free.
We often talk of a new golden age of TV – but people, we really are living it at the moment! I think most of us would agree that the likes of 24, True Blood, Mad Men, Damages and Modern Family are better than 99% of the sheer dreck released into multiplexes across the US (and the world) each week.
But before we get too complacent let’s not pretend today’s TV is perfect. For every Desperate Housewives there’s yet another Real Housewives spin-off. For each terrific reality series like Vh1’s OCD Project there’s an equally vacuous E! series like the dreadful Pretty Wild. And for every Breaking Bad and Nurse Jackie we must also suffer another NCIS or Law and Order spin off (check out the very clever Law and Order and Science for More >
EXCESS BAGGAGE
May 24th
Why The Biggest Loser Needs To Seriously Shape Up
And so another season of The Biggest Loser comes to a close. Hundreds of pounds have been lost. Personal trainer Jillian has screamed at contestants a few thousand times. There’s been tears, sob stories and millions of excuses. And now the drastically diminished contestants will return to their ordinary lives – and resume their weight loss battle for real.
When I first heard about The Biggest Loser, I honestly thought it was going to be a horrible exercise in exploitation and humiliation. But I actually think the show has a positive message at its heart and is generally a really effective force for good on TV. And from a producing point of view it’s a very well put together show – full of inventive challenges, endless twists and turns and some really clever surprises each season.
For NBC the show is probably their most valuable property currently on air – generating strong ratings (it averages around the 8-9 million mark), good demo numbers, endless product placement opportunities and numerous branded spin off products (the books, the DVD’s, the weight loss products). Plus the show is much cheaper than a scripted drama or comedy series, More >
