At the beginning of every television season there’s at least one show
generating a huge amount of advance buzz as a high-budget, big-concept bomb waiting to
crumble in a heap at the first sight of viewers. It's often on NBC.
Last year, it was "Coupling." This year it's "Father of the
Pride."
NBC has a lot riding on “Pride” as one of only four primetime
comedies airing on the network this season, so it was not heartened when the show debuted
last Tuesday to decidedly unfavorable reviews, even if ratings were respectable.
The network has to be downright depressed after the show's second airing
Tuesday night, when ratings took a tumble.
Tuesday’s episode of “Pride,” which features sexually charged lions
and real-life Las Vegas stage staples Siegfried and Roy, was off 20 percent in total
viewers as compared with the previous week, according to overnight ratings from Nielsen
Media Research.
Week two of “Pride” was also off 20 percent among the coveted
18-49 demographic.
There are at least two reasons why NBC should be concerned.
First, “Pride” is extremely expensive to produce, costing a
reported $2 million per episode.
Second, considering the lackluster nature of NBC’s comedy offerings, the
network needs all the successful new programming it can muster.
NBC ordered “Pride” to fill the hole left by Tuesday-night
mainstay “Frasier,” which ended in May.
And the network’s only other first-year comedy, “Friends”
spinoff “Joey,” is no safe bet either – although, like “Pride,”
the curiosity factor should boost “Joey’s” early performance.
For its part, NBC insists it is pleased with “Pride’s” initial
showing. The network also believes numbers will stabilize further into the season, which
traditionally begins in late September.
Of course, last year the shows that NBC premiered early ("Whoopi"
and "Happy Family") sunk very quickly once other network competition
bowed.
“Pride” did beat out the series premiere of Fox’s boxing
reality series “The Next Great Champ,” averaging a 4.1 in 18-49s to
“Champ’s” 2.0. |
