Winners and bums
of the new season

Hot: 'Hope & Faith,' 'Handler' Not: 'Threat Matrix'
   

By Kevin Downey

   With week one of the new broadcast season ending last night, it might seem way too early to begin deciding which of the new shows are hits and which are misses. But have no doubts that the networks are already eyeing their lineups with erasers in hand.
  Here's some early inklings of shows in trouble, as well as emerging hits.
   ABC’s “Threat Matrix” looks headed for a short run.
   Also in trouble are CBS’s “Brotherhood of Poland, N.H.,” the WB’s “One Tree Hill,” “All About the Andersons” and UPN’s “The Mullets” and “Jake 2.0.”
   Fox’s “Luis,” which follows the returning “Wanda at Large,” is part of a Friday lineup that seems doomed.
   And these are just the first shows that face possible axing. Others will follow, as they do with each new season, amid great heaves of speculation by media buyers and critics and denials by the networks until, alas, the eraser sweeps the show off the schedule.
   About two-thirds of new shows each season don’t make it to season two, according to Magna Global USA, and based on recent seasons,  many will only get two or three airings to prove themselves. Then whish, the eraser takes over.
   Other shows off to a slow start include NBC’s “Coupling,” “Miss Match,” “Whoopi” and “Happy Family.”
   Having less-than-spectacular debuts are ABC’s “I’m with Her,” CBS’s “Navy NCIS,” the WB’s “Run of the House,” “Like Family,” “Steve Harvey’s Big Time” and UPN’s “Rock Me Baby.” 
   But there are some clear hits or hits-to-be.
   One is ABC’s “Hope & Faith,” which is giving the network cause to think its decision to resurrect its teen-skewing Friday TGIF block was a pretty smart idea.
    With “Joan of Arcadia” and “The Handler” having strong debuts as well, CBS also is emerging as a significant threat to NBC on Friday. 
   Other shows that are doing well so far include CBS’s “Two and a Half Men,” NBC’s “Las Vegas” and UPN’s “All of Us” and “Eve.”
   As for the clunkers, the WB’s “One Tree Hill” might be the most disappointing.
   After two seasons of successfully launching dramas -- “Everwood” last year and “Smallville” the year before -- the WB missed a step with this drama. “One Tree Hill” ranked No. 6 in its time slot among adults 18-34 and 18-49 Tuesday at 9 p.m. and lost more than half of “Gilmore Girls’” lead-in rating.
    That poor showing was made worse by the fact that it was beaten by the flailing “Rock Me Baby” and “The Mullets,” the weak half of UPN’s new Tuesday lineup.
   As for CBS’s “Brotherhood,” it only managed a 2.4 adult 18-49 rating for its premiere on Wednesday, although that poor showing was against very tough competition. ABC’s “Bachelor” had a 6.6 in its second hour and NBC’s “Law & Order” had a 7.6.
  Its fate will be clearer this week when it's up against ABC's new “Karen Sisco” on Wednesdays at 10 p.m.
   For some shows it is harder to tell at this point whether they can survive. Among those that are hurting are ABC’s “I’m With Her” and NBC’s “Whoopi” and “Happy Family,” but their prospects at this point are also tough to peg.
   “I’m with Her” ranked No. 1 in its time slot but got a boost from “8 Simple Rules,” which generated huge numbers following the death of John Ritter, the show’s star. “I’m with Her” lost 19 percent of its lead-in rating.
   NBC’s “Whoopi” competes directly with “8 Simple Rules,” so its performance is difficult to gauge. But after getting singled out by a slew of media buyers early this year as a probable bomb, the show got off to a strong start before the season officially started.
   Its lead-out “Happy Family” is getting far less attention than “Whoopi” but its ratings are encouraging, if a bit weak. Against light competition, it improved on “Whoopi’s” 18-49 rating last week but ranked No. 3 in its time slot.
   Another show on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. is CBS’s “JAG” spinoff “Navy NCIS,” which according to Magna is pulling a household share roughly 3 points lower than what “JAG” had in the time slot last year.
   When it comes to hits, CBS’s “Two and a Half Men” benefits the most from a strong lead-in. It follows “Everybody Loves Raymond” and in a good sign, held onto 91 percent of that sitcom’s 18-49 rating last week.
   Meanwhile, NBC’s “Las Vegas” came in last place Monday at 10 p.m. (the show will air at 9 p.m. starting this week). But it had a respectable 5 adult 18-49 rating against ABC’s “Monday Night Football” and CBS’s “CSI: Miami.” The show has a good shot if it can hold on until the football season ends this winter.
   But UPN’s “Eve” and “All of Us” are clearly hits, although on a smaller scale than hits on the Big Four networks.
   “Eve” has the benefit of following UPN’s long-running “The Parkers” but managed to improve on that show’s ratings in every demographic group.
  Following the less established “One on One” on Tuesdays, UPN’s “All of Us” improved on its lead-in rating and, almost assuring a long run, ranked No. 3 among the six major networks in its time slot in the 18-34 demo.
   By moving  “Law & Order: SVU” to Tuesdays, NBC freed up Fridays for ABC and CBS.
   ABC’s “Hope & Faith” pulled the night’s highest rating and improved on its “George Lopez” lead-in. CBS ranked No. 1 at 8 p.m. with “Joan of Arcadia,” beating ABC’s “Lopez” and NBC’s “Miss Match,” and No. 2 at 10 p.m., when “The Handler” beat NBC’s returning “Boomtown.”


September 29, 2003© 2003 Media Life


- Kevin Downey is a staff writer for Media Life.


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