Have Reboots & Reality TV reached saturation point?

[DramatistDreamer]

Interesting article that uses specific shows (e.g. Murphy Brown) to illustrate why audiences may have reached their fill with certain genres, although the news is not entirely bad with some shows (e.g. Murphy Brown).  Although I have to say that it certainly doesn't help when a rebooted show's original run is unavailable for streaming online.

 

The New TV Season: Reboots and Reality Shows Are Sinking. Fallon Counters a Move by Colbert.

 

 

EDT: Alec Baldwin has a talk show??!!!

[DRW50]

 

He did.

[Faulkner]

It’s like his 2nd or 3rd attempt at a chat show, and they’ve all been flops. Not sure why network strain themselves to make “Alec Baldwin, talk show host” happen. I suppose he’s fine as a light game show host.

[DramatistDreamer]

After having discovered that none of the episodes from Murphy Brown's original run have ever been streamed on any platform ever, makes me think that the MB reboot was a bit of an afterthought but with Leslie Moonves still at CBS at that point, this doesn't surprise me. 

 

I mean, CBS has a whole entire streaming platform, either on their website or their paid streaming service and couldn't rerun the original series once before the premiere of the rebooted episodes?  That sounds like a network that is indifferent to their rebooted series' success.

It's actually a small miracle that the number for MB are even holding steady at this point.

 

The decline in viewing for reality TV shows doesn't surprise me.  What I'm actually surprised by, is that people have kept watching this long. 

Once, when I was stuck indoors by inclement weather, I attempted to watch a marathon of Keeping Up With the Kardashians and found that I couldn't make it past the third episode.

[Gray Bunny]

I watched the first few episodes of Murphy Brown, and honestly, with watching the news and late-night talk shows, I'm all Trumped out. 

[DRW50]

 

The best part of the revival is Murphy's relationship with Avery. It brings out the best in Candice Bergen, and he's just so watchable (and gorgeous). If it gets another season I hope that becomes their bigger priority. 

[Vee]

I like how all these recent stories try to cite The Conners having smaller numbers than Roseanne as proof of their thesis. Then they stumble around the fact that yeah, The Conners still does very solid numbers and has been a hit for ABC, but try to marginalize it.

[WTGH]

There's too much TV in general. 

 

With something like 500+ shows...it's insane! 

[Faulkner]

Yeah, that much content is not sustainable . Most networks have pulled way, way back, but we’ll see how these big streaming services (Apple, Disney, Warner, etc.) do in the next couple of years. 

[Gray Bunny]

 

The sane and practical people will point out that based on Roseanne's trajectory (as well as primetime TV in general), Roseanne would've been poised to bring in the same kind of numbers this year as The Conners. 

 

And, it gets higher ratings than Last Man Standing, neener neener neener. Cuz apparently it's a big win and a symbol of some sort of achievement for conservatives by having that show pull in strong numbers. 

[Faulkner]

The real failure has been Will & Grace. It once eclipsed its entire Thursday lineup by miles and is now outrated by Superstore (!) and The Good Place. It’s basically tying Murphy Brown in the demo. Poor scheduling ( that long gap last season) and, more importantly, poor creative.

[Soapsuds]

If they were going to do a reboot it should be Mama's Family. 

[Khan]

 

No.

[Wendy]

No more freaking reboots! And if Reality TV died, too, even better.

[Faulkner]

When “reality” is done well, it can be wonderful. I love The Great British Bakeoff and Terrace House. RuPaul’s Drag Race has seemingly lost something as its profile has grown, but at its peak, it was up there with the best shows on TV. 

 

Too often producers focus too much on the concept and not the content. And we’re subjected to way too many copycats. We certainly don’t need more singing shows, but if someone managed to put a more authentic twist on the format, I’d watch.