ABC Turns to Comedies, Seeking Ratings Rebound
May 17 2016 - 3:00PM
Dow Jones News
By Joe Flint
Walt Disney Co.'s ABC is betting heavily on comedy for the
2016-17 television season with 12 sitcoms planned for the fall and
spring, as the network tries to rebound from a disappointing finish
in the ratings race.
Besides returning eight comedies including "Modern Family,"
"Blackish" and "Fresh Off the Boat," ABC is premiering four new
ones. The network relies far more on sitcoms than its rivals.
Among the sitcoms ABC will debut next season are "American
Housewife," about a woman trying to raise her less-than-perfect
family in a wealthy suburb and "Downward Dog," which is based on a
quirky Web series about a young woman and her wise dog from whose
perspective the show is told.
Comedies were once considered safe bets for television networks.
A successful comedy such as CBS's "Big Bang Theory" or Fox's "The
Simpsons" could play for many years without running out of steam
and typically performed well in reruns. Conversely, many dramas
fizzled out or didn't perform well in syndication, especially those
with serialized plots.
The emergence of Netflix, Amazon and Hulu as buyers of drama
repeats, however, has increased the appetite for soapy dramas. In
addition, dramas tend to sell well overseas while U.S. comedies
aren't as relatable to international audiences. Last season 10 new
sitcoms were cancelled and only four made it to year two.
ABC is also moving slightly away from its reliance on serialized
dramas in favor of so-called procedural shows in which each episode
has a self-contained story. Among the new hour-long shows is
"Conviction," about the daughter of a former first lady-turned-New
York-senate-candidate who becomes a prosecutor to make a drug bust
go away. New ABC Entertainment President Channing Dungy joked that
it's "Chelsea Clinton meets the Bush twins" and is "the procedural
we've been looking for."
Coming off a season in which its average prime-time audience
fell 14% to about 7 million, ABC finished third behind CBS and NBC.
The network finished in fourth place among adults 18 to 49, with
viewership in that group dropping 15%, according to Nielsen. ABC
doesn't have the benefit of some major sporting events that its
rivals do. Among the disappointments for ABC on the entertainment
side this season were the new dramas "The Family" and "Wicked
City."
Ms. Dungy took over for Paul Lee earlier this year so the
schedule ABC is unveiling Tuesday to advertisers still has her
predecessor's fingerprints on it. She called the last three months
"a whirlwind" and added, "I'm just glad we have a schedule."
Besides "Conviction," ABC's other new dramas include
"Notorious," a hybrid serial and procedural show about a slick
criminal defense attorney who is expert at using the media to
advance his causes and "Designated Survivor," starring Kiefer
Sutherland as a low level cabinet member who becomes president
after a massive attack on the nation's capital wipes out everyone
else ahead of him.
ABC also has a new show from producer Shonda Rhimes -- the force
behind "Grey's Anatomy," "Scandal" and "How to Get Away with
Murder" -- called "Still Star-Crossed," a period drama about the
Montagues and Capulets of Romeo and Juliet fame after the young
lovers killed themselves.
Among the shows ABC canceled were the detective program "Castle"
and the musical drama "Nashville." Both had loyal followings but
"Castle" was aging and the audience for "Nashville" was not big
enough to justify another season. "The future for us did not
necessarily lie in those shows," Ms. Channing said.
Write to Joe Flint at joe.flint@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 17, 2016 14:45 ET (18:45 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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