| medialifemagazine.com Broadcast recap
Only two new dramas, CBS's "NCIS: Los Angeles" and the CW's "The Vampire Diaries," can be called hits, and the former is largely thanks to a huge lead-in from sire "NCIS." Already this season, five dramas have been placed on hiatus or canceled outright, compared to just one comedy. Several others, including "FlashForward," "V" and "Melrose Place," started out with huge buzz but saw ratings dip sharply after their premieres. Last week ABC's now-canceled drama "Eastwick" hit a series low, averaging a 1.1 adults 18-49 rating. Granted, it aired the night before Thanksgiving, traditionally a night of low TV viewing, but "Eastwick" was even thrashed by NBC's competing "The Jay Leno Show," which averaged a 1.6. "V" and "FlashForward" both hit series lows during sweeps after strong starts. "Melrose" has seen its ratings rise since Heather Locklear joined, but they were so low to begin with that she may not be enough to keep the show on past spring. And already dramas like the CW's "The Beautiful Life: TBL," CBS's "Three Rivers" and Fox's "Dollhouse," a second-year show, have been yanked from the schedule. Meanwhile, "Hank" is the only comedy that has officially been canceled. New comedies such as "Modern Family," "Glee," "Cougar Town," "The Cleveland Show" and "Cougar Town" have either good ratings or good buzz, and some even have both. Of course one might argue that some of the dramas are struggling simply because they are not good, a problem that plagued comedy development for some years. "The Forgotten" and "Rivers" have forgettable characters and dull storylines, and even "Melrose" lacks the campiness of the original. But critics have embraced shows like "V," "Dollhouse" and "Trauma," while "FlashForward" has drawn comparisons to ABC's hit "Lost." Perhaps it's simply that investing in a new drama is time-consuming, and it's just not worth the hassle. Most comedies are only a half hour and require little time commitment. Conspiracy shows like FlashForward" and "Fringe," which is off by double-digit percentages this season, practically require a running scoreboard to keep track of the action. That could also explain why "NCIS: LA" is such a hit. While it's lots of fun, no one would accuse the show of being cerebral. ***
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