Posts tagged The CW
Has Ringer Become Ridiculous?
Dec 5th
Don’t you just hate it when this happens?
You get into a show, investing time into a series and then just when you’ve passed the point of no return it starts to go south! Unfortunately that’s what’s starting to happen with one of my Fall favorites, Ringer.
I’ve been in DVR catch up mode this last week – and so I only just caught the Ringer Fall finale. And I hate to say it, but the Sarah Michelle Gellar saga is in imminent danger of collapsing under its own weight.
Okay so Ringer wasn’t exactly realistic from the start! The tale of twin sisters who swap identities after one of the twins goes missing, but guess what, she’s still alive and conspiring against her sibling – was never going to be believable TV. But I don’t mind suspending my disbelief to a certain extent for the entertainment value of a show.
But there’s crazy – and then there’s just plain insulting!
Are Primetime Soap Operas Back?
Nov 8th
It’s been a great Fall season so far with plenty of terrific new shows to tuck into – and hopefully many more launching in the New Year (I’m especially excited for The River and Smash)
But for me one of the most heartening aspects of this new season has been the return of the primetime soap opera, a genre that’s been sadly out of favor in recent years.
The two most obvious examples of this of course are The CW’s Ringer and ABC’s Revenge. Ringer plays like a telenovela – a totally preposterous series featuring identical twins, murder, adultery and a bad guy who’s the spitting image of Taboo from the Black Eyed Peas. But while Ringer is great fun I just can’t see how the show sustains itself for more than two seasons – hence my comparison to a telenovela rather than a straight up soap.
Ratings Roundup: 23rd October 2011
Oct 23rd
Winners and Losers From The Last 7 Days
WINNERS
HORROR TV: It’s been a big week for horror on TV as Halloween approaches and ratings for scary series continue to rise
First up of course is The Walking Dead. AMC’s zombie epic blasted back onto our screens on Sunday night with an amazing 7.25 million viewers and an eye popping 3.8 18-49 demo number (a further 2.17 million watched the encore showing immediately after the show). That’s the biggest 18-49 rating for a cable drama series EVER!
Meanwhile over on FX, American Horror Story is proving to be quite the hit. After a predictable week 2 decline, this week Story bounced back, up over 100,000 in viewers, and scoring 2.58 million and a 1.5 18-49 share. Plus with reviewers and audiences starting to embrace the show – and an Entertainment Weekly cover this week – look for American Horror Story to continue to grow in the weeks to come.
And finally, we’ve The Vampire Diaries over on The CW. This week the teen friendly vampire drama managed 3.03 million viewers and a 1.4 18-49 share – the ONLY show on The CW all week to climb above the 3 million mark (most of the CW shows can’t even bring More >
Ratings Roundup: 8th October 2011
Oct 8th
Winners and Losers From The Last 7 Days
WINNERS
AMERICAN HORROR STORY: I think we all saw this one coming!
After all the pre-publicity hype and hoopla, American Horror Story finally launched this week, scoring 3.18 million viewers and a 1.6 18-49 rating for FX. That’s the best cable demo score of the night and good news for FX, following the failure of their last big drama, Lights Out.
Since Halloween is just around the corner I could see the Horror Story ratings staying strong. But reviews were definitely mixed – and though I liked the show, I would certainly admit it’s not for everyone. That was one seriously dark and twisted premiere.
THE X FACTOR: It’s been quite an up and down ride for the Simon Cowell talent fest. After sky high expectations at the start of the Fall season, Cowell’s ego came crashing down to earth after the X Factor premiere attracted with just 12.5 million viewers – well below the 20 million the British talent judge had hoped for and his chief rival, American Idol.
Sneak Peek: The Vampire Diaries – The Season 3 Trailer
Sep 9th
Looks like The CW are still keen to spend money on their hot little vampire show!
Yep, after a summer of zero original programming – The CW are blasting back with high expectations for new shows like Ringer and H8R, and renewed buzz for the likes of The Vampire Diaries.
Personally I think the network may have a bit of an uphill struggle ahead after essentially taking 3 months off – but I do think Ringer has huge potential and could become the network’s biggest breakout hit.
As for The Vampire Diaries – now entering season 3 – ratings started to hit the skids at the end of last season. Season 1 NEVER fell below the 3 million mark. By contrast the last 7 episodes of season 2 couldn’t even reach that key figure. So will the slide continue into season 3?
The CW hopes not – hence this kind of glossy promo. Plus the show’s stars have been doing the publicity rounds recently and Dairies will have a very compatible sister show in the Fall – The Secret Circle – to anchor Thursday nights.
On the downside, VD will now be up against the X Factor Results shows – although to be fair the vampires often More >
2011 Fall TV Preview: The Secret Circle
Aug 22nd
When Does It Start: Thursday 15th September at 9pm EST on The CW
In A Nutshell: Move over vampires and zombies – this Fall it’s all about witchcraft!
What’s It About: Cassie Blake is a normal teenager until tragedy strikes when her mother dies in a freak fiery accident. But when Cassie moves to the beautiful small town of Chance Harbor she discovers that her mother’s death wasn’t all that it seemed.
As Cassie adjusts to her new life and makes a new set of friends (cute boy, tick, mean girl, tick, BFF, tick) she realizes she’s part of an ancient secret circle, endowed with magical powers and descended from powerful witches. But there are dark forces afoot in Chance Harbor and great danger ahead… cue high school drama, teen romance and plenty of PG-13 rated thrills!
2011 Fall TV Preview: Ringer
Aug 15th
When Does It Start: Tuesday 13th September at 9pm EST on The CW
In A Nutshell: It’s double trouble for Sarah Michelle Gellar as she plays twin sisters in a twisted thriller. Paging Brian De Palma!
What’s It About: Twin sisters Bridget and Siobhan have never been close – until their two lives start to unravel. Bridget is a recovering alcoholic, on the run from the mob, while Siobhan is her icy but wealthy sister. When the two take a boat trip and Siobhan mysteriously disappears overboard, Bridget assumes her sister’s identity. But Siobhan’s life isn’t all that it appears and Bridget finds herself in a whole world of double and triple crosses…. Check out the twist at the end of the trailer below…
Fall TV First Look: The Secret Circle
May 27th
Here’s another sneak peek at the TV season to come – and this time we’re back at The CW.
A few days ago we previewed Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Ringer – which I have to say looks pretty darn good! And now we’ve The Secret Circle, the latest creation from Kevin Williamson, the guy behind the Scream movies, The Vampire Diaries and Dawson’s Creek. A pretty good track record wouldn’t you say?
The Secret Circle is based on an adult teen book series of the same name and is essentially a TV version of the teen witchcraft movie, The Craft. A young girl, mourning the death of her mother, moves back to her old home town and finds she’s part of an ancient secret circle that together possesses amazing powers.
All the high school cliches are there – cute guys, the pretty bitchy girl – but I have to say The Secret Circle does look fun and is smart programming for The CW. I just wish they’d made the characters a little older and avoided so many of the typical teen TV stereotypes.
There’s a fair few new names in the cast alongside some familiar faces: Thomas Dekker (the ex Terminator star who really should be onto More >
Fall TV First Look: Ringer
May 25th
Now this looks interesting!
Check out the just released trailer for Ringer, the new Sarah Michelle Gellar series coming to The CW in the Fall.
I’ll be honest, I dismissed Ringer as a one note idea a couple of weeks ago – but having seen the new trailer I have to say this looks good. REALLY, REALLY GOOD!
In Ringer, Gellar plays an alcoholic twin who trades places with her dead sister and assumes her upscale lifestyle in order to evade the mob.
The trailer is very slick, stylish and smart – promising an intricate and involving show that feels very adult in tone. So what the heck is this doing on The CW???
Turns out Ringer was originally developed for CBS who then felt it would fare better on their sister network. I think that’s a mistake. The show looks far too adult for The CW (even Gellar looks beyond the CW demo) But then again the show looks too hip for the stodgy CBS brand. This would have been a great show on ABC or NBC.
Oh well – let’s just hope the show can find an audience alongside Top Model, Nikita and The Vampire Diaries.
So are you excited by Gellar’s return to TV? Start More >
Ratings Roundup: 23rd April 2011
Apr 23rd
Winners and Losers From The Last 7 Days
WINNERS
MOB WIVES: First up this week, some good news for Vh1!
We’ve talked about the network a lot over the last few months – and most of the time it hasn’t been pretty with Vh1’s ratings in free fall for much of last year. But last week there were definite signs of recovery and this week Vh1 can even boast a bona fide hit show.
Yep, on Sunday night, new reality show Mob Wives scored 1.41 million viewers and a 0.8 18-49 share, pretty good ratings for a cable show and especially for Vh1 these days. Personally I’m a little tired of all the Real Housewives knock offs doing the rounds these days but people are watching them so I understand the network logic. Is this the beginning of a turnaround for Vh1 I wonder?
SWAMP PEOPLE: Who would have thought that a network branded History would end up becoming one of the hottest cable channels out there? But week after week the network keeps delivering mouth-watering ratings that are the envy of all its competitors.
You already know about American Pickers and Pawn Stars which often deliver in the 5-6 million viewer range, higher than many network shows More >
