Members KLN Posted January 17, 2007 Members Share Posted January 17, 2007 Variety Article The Peacock has pulled the plug on "Passions." Net today will announce the cancellation of the nearly eight-year-old soap, which was known for its young-skewing supernatural storylines. Death had been anticipated in the wake of NBC's decision to expand "Today" to four hours (Daily Variety, Jan. 15). NBC's contract for "Passions" runs until June, but since the extra hour of "Today" won't begin until the fall, it's expected the Peacock will try to extend the show through August. Net still needs to negotiate those deals with talent and producers. Peacock was proud of "Passions," often touting its young femme numbers. Just last week, net issued a ratings release noting the sudser's No. 4 ranking among all serials among women 18-49 and its first-place tie with "Days of Our Lives" as the top sudser among women 18-34 for the first week of January. NBC also pointed to the fact that it owns "Passions" outright, allowing it to keep any profits from the skein. Cancellation of the skein points to the increasingly harsh economic climate for sudsers. Daytime insiders say it's likely one or two more daytime dramas could be killed by the end of the decade. Because "Passions" is such a strong brand among young femmes, it's believed NBC will try to find a way to keep the show alive somewhere other than the network. An Internet platform is a possibility, while NBC might also talk to Disney to see if the conglom would be interested in producing a shortened version of the sudser for its successful SoapNet cabler. Another potential home might be News Corp.'s barely breathing MyNetwork TV, which has had no luck drawing auds with its cheaply produced telenovelas. Launched in July 1999, "Passions" was created by former "Days of Our Lives" scribe Jim Reilly, who remains exec producer and head writer. Lisa de Cazotte also serves as exec producer. Skein was set in the town of Harmony, and at various times featured characters such as Timmy the doll-turned-human and Tabitha, the 300-year-old witch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bellcurve Posted January 17, 2007 Members Share Posted January 17, 2007 I would LOVE for PASSIONS to live on...BUT NOT with Jimmy Reilly in charge. And for Christ sakes, keep Reilly AWAY from MyNetworkTV. A telenovela under him would last 8 years. And a finale more disjointed than that of FASHION HOUSE. LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Toups Posted January 17, 2007 Administrator Share Posted January 17, 2007 There's hope afterall!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mason Posted January 17, 2007 Members Share Posted January 17, 2007 They may say they're "trying" to find a new outlet for PASSIONS, but it'll never happen. It'll go the same way that AW was supposed to move to ABC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KLN Posted January 17, 2007 Author Members Share Posted January 17, 2007 Well, that should provide some hope to fans. Passions on the internet wouldn't work. I mean... seriously. In order for it to be even remotely the same show, they would have to keep their same budget... and with the show canned, that's impossible. As for a "shortened" version on SoapNet... it's better than nothing, although Canada wouldn't be able to see it. Would NBC sell the show to SoapNet entirely? I doubt it. MyNetworkTV is a better idea... though that itself is struggling, no? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mason Posted January 17, 2007 Members Share Posted January 17, 2007 PASSIONS would die out quickly in any of those forms. As much as I hate to say it, I think we all need to accept the fact that once it leaves NBC, PASSIONS is gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Toups Posted January 17, 2007 Administrator Share Posted January 17, 2007 A 30 minute Passions is good enough for me. Cut down the cast and make the show cost less. Passions still has good demos in 12-17, 18-34, 18-24 something that AW/SuBe/PC never had. So MAYBE just MAYBE that those other outlets will be interested in those young demos. Keep the faith, my Passsion fans! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KLN Posted January 17, 2007 Author Members Share Posted January 17, 2007 Yeah, Passions would never last on MyNetworkTV, on the internet or even on SoapNet very long. And honestly, the likelihood of any of that panning out is very slim, IMO. Either way, Passions is gone from NBC. And that leaves Days a lone soldier... a scary place. The result is the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ryan Posted January 17, 2007 Members Share Posted January 17, 2007 The only reason AW didn't get picked up by another network is because of PGP. It has nothing to do with NBC. Both ABC and CBS were interested in the show, but PGP decided to cut it's losses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mason Posted January 17, 2007 Members Share Posted January 17, 2007 I know. I was just comparing the two situations. Fans got their hopes up all for nothing, and I have a feeling the same might happen here, unfortunately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaysnPassionsFan Posted January 17, 2007 Members Share Posted January 17, 2007 I think its better for Passions to just end its run on NBC and go out with a bang rather than die off somewhere else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Toups Posted January 17, 2007 Administrator Share Posted January 17, 2007 Good point, Ryan. If NBC is actively trying to still air Passions on another network, there's still hope for us fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mason Posted January 17, 2007 Members Share Posted January 17, 2007 That's just the point. NBC is not going to be interested in letting PASSIONS air on another network. They own it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KLN Posted January 17, 2007 Author Members Share Posted January 17, 2007 Well, to all Passions fans, NOW is the time to start a letter writing campaign to MyNetworkTV and SoapNet, telling them that you want the show aired on their networks. Still sucks for daytime, though. And definitely sucks for Days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bellcurve Posted January 17, 2007 Members Share Posted January 17, 2007 NBC would do good with putting the show in syndication...for the NBC affiliates that can't acquire anything else and for the FOX/CW/MyNetworkTV affiliates that desperately need cheap programming in the afternoon. Trim the fat(including Jimmy Reilly), make it into a faster paced soap, and give the show time to cool off at least one month during the summer. At to cheapen the cost, tape everything like a telenovela(scenes out of order, location stuff in Oxnard, etc). Do a recap episode for Saturday. PASSIONS in syndication could work. They just need a different head-writer and approach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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