Sci-fi dramas like ABC’s FlashForward may have a tough time attracting new viewers when it returns with originals on March 18: The freshman drama lost 43 percent of its viewers last fall while the network’s V was down 35 percent over four airings (it also doesn’t help that FlashForward is on its third show runner now that co-creator/executive producer David Goyer has decided to leave the show to focus on his film career). So it’s hardly surprising that none of the Big Four nets have a sci-fi show in development for the 2010-11 season (ABC’s superheroes pilot No Ordinary Family starring The Shield’s Michael Chiklis comes close).
At least the ABC-owned FlashForward (unlike the Warner Bros. owned V) has an ace in the hole: It does well in the U.K., Italy, and Spain, and the robust international sales could sway the network to pick up the Joseph Fiennes series for another season. ABC may not make a decision on FlashForward and V, which returns March 30, until right before its upfront presentation in New York this May. Several ABC dramas, in fact, have yet to receive pickups for another season, though Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice and Brothers and Sisters are slam dunks. Comedies like Cougar Town, The Middle and Modern Family have already been picked up, while shows like Ugly Betty have already been cancelled. Long shots include Better Off Ted, The Deep End, Scrubs and The Forgotten.
For more on Fall 2010:
Renewal scorecard: what’s in, what’s out, what’s in limbo
Why wasn’t Castle mentioned in there? Are there doubts on it’s renewal???????
Nope. Do not fret my funny named friend. It’s a sure thing.
Thankfully Castle has been doing pretty awesome in the ratings, increasing every week and even hitting double digits lately. It’s definitely getting renewed! Yay!
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Please god let Scrubs end.
But not Ted!!!!!!!
I love Better Off Ted!!! It reminds me of Arrested Development!!!
I’m so sad about Ted
I hope it gets picked up.
I’ve actually been surprised to find that I kind of like the new Scrubs. Certainly not as much as the original, but honestly, JD was getting annoying anyway, and I hated JD and Elliot as a couple (they were perfect as friends! terrible as a couple!)…so less of that turned out fine for me. And I utterly love a couple of the new characters and of course all the originals that remain, so it’s still fun for me. I kind of hope it’s renewed.
I’ve found that most people who complain that Scrubs should end haven’t bothered to watch many (or any) episodes. It started slowly, but the later episodes were quite good. I’d love to see it (and BOT) renewed!
Of course, if I had to pick one survivor out of the 2, I’d go with BOT because it’s only had 2 small seasons so far.
I really like Flash Forward. Hope it survives.
Me too. This show is great. V i really don’t care if they cancel or not.
its getting to the point for me that I dont want to get into any shows because half of them get cancelled, it is becoming a JOKE!
Yeah they are going to alienate all the viewers…..just keep shoving the reality BS down our throats!
Me too. And I thought it was getting better right before it went on hiatus. I actually find the most interesting angle of the show to be between Bryce (former suicide attempter) and his mysterious Japanese woman. I hope FF stays on for a long time.
Big surprise. They show it for what, two months and then take it off the air for four. How is anyone going to stay interested with that schedule?
if a show is good, it shouldn’t matter too much. Look at Glee. There was one episode aired last year (in March or April?), and that was enough to get people hooked for the fall. and they haven’t had a new show since november, but when it returns in april, there will be plenty of folks watching. yes, i’d like more consistency with the airing of shows, but that’s hard to get nowadays.
Yeah but people’s attention spans are only so long. I might’ve been interested, but it was taken off the schedule for months and in the meantime I found a really great slew of shows that come on at the same time, so I’m not even considering FF at this point, and I’m certain I’m not the only person this hiatus has put off.
It also helps when websites (like EW) hype the show to death and constantly promote it and keep in the public eye. If FF or V were treated the same way as Glee, there would be more interest.
You really can’t compare Glee to FlashForward. How important is it to remember the details of Glee after not watching it for several months? Zilch However, it is important to know the details of complex shows like FF and Lost. ABC is not doing FF any favors.
Lack of interest is not due to scheduling it’s because of the quality or lack thereof. The writing is terrible and the acting is almost as bad.
Says you.
Its true. Pity that just because a couple of crappy sci-fi shows aren’t successful the networks stop producing sci-fi shows altogether.
It sucks that Flashforward had so much hype and then was pretty lame for its first set of episodes. I love sci-fi shows, and yet I can hardly remember most of the things that happened! I’ll be back for the last episodes because I hope it’s going to get better once they really start delivering on everything.
Of the two shows, though, I’d pick V over Flashforward. Granted, V has had much less time to convince me one way or another, but it seems like V has more promise. The first four eps were fine, and a lot of the big plot points have been set up now. I hope it comes back and blows everyone away. And maybe they should take a hint from Doc Jensen, because his ideas for where that show should go are sweeeeeeet. Also, I swear by anything Elizabeth Mitchell touches, so that helps.
I agree totally !
I love FlashForward! I really hope it’s renewed…
I would really like Scrubs and The Deep End to be picked up. And I hear Better Off Ted is good. And I like V. And they should reconsider Ugly Betty…
oh my, I think I just really like the shows they had this year.
Flashfoward had potential as a show but the writing shows that said potential has totally crashed and burn. The writers should just work on wrapping this show up by season’s end.
Agreed. It started so strong, but by the last episode before the break I was wondering why I was still watching. I like most of the actors, but I can’t help but feel like they are phoning it in a lot of the time. The woman who was Penny on Lost was great on that show, awful on FF.
Really? I had the opposite effect. Right before the break up I became even more interested in FF because of the Bryce/Japanese woman angle. I find that a lot more interesting than whether Mark and his wife will stay married or not.
FlashForward and V both have a lot of potential, even though the execution so far hasn’t been fantastic. I hope both shows can get it together this month and get renewed for a second season.
The Deep End and The Forgotten need to be canceled. They’re both horrible.
Really hoping for Better Off Ted to get a renewal. ABC really does not seem to know what they are doing with that show. They handled it so poorly. It’s one of their best comedies and it should have gotten a spot in their Wednesday lineup, especially once Hank was canceled. There was no reason for ABC to just show repeats of Modern Family, Cougar Town, or The Middle in that empty slot instead of Better Off Ted. It’s like they wanted it to fail miserably. One of the producers must have run over the mother of an ABC exec with his car to deserve this kind of treatment.
As for Scrubs, well I don’t care much one way or the other. As far as I’m concerned, the real Scrubs ended last year. The new version is a different show. But I will say that it’s still far better than some of the crap sitcoms on CBS.
I don’t like FF, hope it gets axed.
V is much better!
Oh, my, Mr. King of the Universe, you don’t like, so you hope it gets axed? Well, those of us who do like it thank you for your insight and invaluable guidance – we should stop liking it at once! Now seriously, if you don’t like it, don’t watch it. But saying you hope it gets cancelled just because you don’t is kind of mean, petty and egotistical.
I would enjoy Flash Foward so much more if they got rid of some of their bad actors, like Genevieve Cortese.
She was pretty good on Supernatural last year (she’s no Katie Cassidy but she was alright) so it makes me sad that she’s underperforming now. :/
I hated her on Supernatural! I thought she was awful. Her line delivery was really poor and her lisp didn’t help matters.
what show were you really watching? because she was aweful! really bad acting… can’t stand her.
Genevieve Cortese is terrible in FF! I always wondered if it was just this show she was bad in, but it seems like she was awful in Supernatural too. How does she keep getting roles????
To me, the plot lost all its credibility when the black guy jumped off the roof.
I’m talking about FF.
I second that.
Keep Better Off Ted!
Yes!! Save Better Off Ted! It’s one of the best comedies on TV right now.
I really like Flash Forward, V, and Better off Ted!! It would be a shame if ABC did not give them chance to find an audience since they are responsible for the horrible scheduling decisions this season. Wake up ABC!!
sci fi shows have a hard time holding an audience, look at Lost. its not just quality of the writing and acting, its the inability of the audience to put up with complicated plots. even shows like mad men have a hard time attracting new viewers as plots develop slowly over the course of the season. i hope abc sticks to its guns and allows these shows to flourish.
Don’t forget, Lost during season 1 wasn’t a ‘sci fi’ show. There were mysteries, but it was pure sci fi the way it is now. It was much easier for people to get hooked onto the show.