Now that the writers’ strike is over, networks are airing new
episodes of their top shows once again. But early ratings returns
indicate that viewers might have left some programs for good.
Serialized dramas are suffering the most, presumably because of their complex story lines: Desperate Housewives just logged its four lowest-rated episodes of the season, while Grey’s Anatomy and Ugly Betty hit season lows on May 1 (15.3 million and 7.9 million, respectively). Even Gossip Girl
couldn’t parlay considerable anticipation into a ratings surge: Its
first two episodes after the three-month-long writers’ walkout each
garnered roughly 2.5 million viewers, under the series’ average from
last fall.
On the other hand, comedies, at least initially, seemed immune to the slump: The Office, How I Met Your Mother, and Scrubs all posted season highs their first two weeks back, and Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory
were strong, too. “There was obviously a lot of pent-up demand for
comedy,” says Mitch Metcalf, NBC’s head of scheduling. “Closed-ended
shows generally have been doing better as they’ve come back.” That, or
the laffers benefited from faster production schedules that allowed
them to get on the air sooner, without much competition. But they, too,
eventually succumbed to diminished ratings. Facing new installments of Grey’s and CSI, The Office dropped from its season high by 21 percent on May 1, while 30 Rock posted its lowest-rated episode this season. The lesson here? Depriving viewers of their shows is no joke. —Tanner Stransky
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The strike did hurt peoples watching habits, but…I think these ratings trends have more to do with the shows themselves. I like Ugly Betty. The newest episodes have not been there best. It’s actually kind of boring, and the whole Henry thing has really gotten annoying. I hate that 30 Rock does so poorly. It really is funny, and great. I guess to funny for its own good. (I will admit its continuing story line hasn’t been as exciting as previous stand alone episodes) The Office has been, and will be one of the top shows for quite awhile. It is just plain good. Anyone else think that 30 Rock is to smart for its own good? or that Betty is boring?
max:
I have to agree – I just don’t give a darn about Betty and Henry – I like Gio alot more for her. I’m sorry but henry is a dud. I missed UB when the strike came up, but I now have two eps sitting on the DVR and no plans to catch up any time soon. Since the Office has been back I have found it not as funny – last weeks ep with Stanley was just awful and NOT FUNNY. 30 Rock has been great since it came back from the strike with Dennis, Floid (sp?) and the Will Arnett character, all highlarious.
I love the Office so I can’t complain there, but 30 Rock was one of my favorite shows before the strike. Since it has returned, I think that the writers have changed Liz Lemon’s character too much. I find her annoyingly stupid now and unbelievable. She used to be the rock of the show (no pun intended) and now she seems barely brighter than Jenna. The whole sandwich thing last week was bizzare, and she seems to have lost complete control over the crew and cast of the show. To be honest the episodes have become forgetable since returning from the strike and I can’t remember from one week to the next what even happened on 30 Rock. Now Liz is supposedly pregnant. Its just not laugh out loud funny anymore.
It’s like getting back together after a separation in any relationship… you WANT everything to be just like it was before, but now you know you can actually live without them. Plus, we all know they are leaving us again for the summer.
If you weren’t that in to them before (I’m talking to you Desperate Houswives,) it’s a lot easier to notice all their flaws and “break up” with them. If you were really in love with them (Jim & Pam! Dwight & Andy!) before, absence has made the heart grow fonder… but you know they’re just going to break your heart again and leave you hanging all summer.
Maxwell: I agree with your comments about 30 Rock and the Office. The Office in particular is a masterpiece; I do not understand how it can fail to win Emmys for best sitcom (at least last year). It is the right mixture of funny (very) and serious (never too syrupy like, ahem, Scrubs). I really hope its audience keeps on growing, especially now that it has syndicated reruns on TBS. It deserves all the attention it can get.
It’s like breaking any habit if you change for 60 days, you broken your old habit. I used to dread missing any shows now if I am home and not doing anything and I happen to catch a show great, if not oh well. I think the writer’s strike broke the appointment tv habit. And I can’t remember why it was so important to watch…
I agree with everyone about The Office–true character development, drama, hilarity. 30 Rock cracks me up sometimes but that’s all. No real characterization like on The Office. And that sandwich day thing was a direct rip off of the much-better done and much-better explained pretzel day on The Office. Everyone but Alec gets on my nerves on 30 lately.
I actually think the writer strike was good for The Office. Not that any of the shows this season were really bad because they weren’t, but the shows after the strike have been consistently good and funny and the anticipation for the last two episodes of the season has been great. I’ve never watched Ugly Betty, Desperate Houswives, Gray’s Anatomy, or Lost, so I really can’t comment on them. I love 30Rock but some of the ones after the strike are just ok.. but I think the finale will tie it all up nicely.
Hey snarky…go watch According to Jim then if you don’t GET what the Office is all about!
i have found i have to remind myself that LOST is back on and at a different time. last week i missed the show cause i forgot it was on again after skipping a week too and i’ve NEVER missed an episode in 4 yrs til then!now they have 4 more and we’re done til next winter!? I don’t know who came up with this new schedule but it SUCKS and the ONLY reason i care enough to figure it all out is that i love LOST.
The only shows return I anticipated after the long strike was GOSSIP GIRL…I totally forgot about Greys and The office was so horrible in the fall that I just about gave up (thank god I ddidn’t cuz its back on track).
All other shows…I no longer care, during the strike you find other things to do…You no longer care if you miss episodes of TV shows…
I used to be addicted to many of these shows, but the strike has cured me of that addiction. Over the course of the strike, I was able to rediscover my passion for other things, and now that the shows are back, I’m reluctant to change course yet again. I wonder just how many people there are out there who have turned to reading or other things over TV. I can’t be alone in that, can I?
the only show I desperately had to catch up on was Supernatural and I think the strike was good for that show its better then ever. Everything else I realized that I could live without so all my former “Must see” shows are now my “catch them if I have time and interest” shows.
the only show I desperately had to catch up on was Supernatural and I think the strike was good for that show its better then ever. Everything else I realized that I could live without so all my former “Must see” shows are now my “catch them if I have time and interest” shows.
Some of the shows didn’t return after the strike like Heroes, Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money, etc. I guess the real effect of the strike will be seen more clearly when all the shows return in the fall season with brand new story lines. All these shows are still good in my opinion. Let’s wait and see what happens in the fall.
I don’t know if it’s just me, but I really feel like the shows that have come back are not written as well as they were prior to the strike. Desperate Housewives, Gossip Girl, Brothers and Sisters (to name a few) are all shows that have returned being far less interesting than they left off. How long i Mark Cherry going to continue to milk tghis Dana Deaney subplot. It’s getting boring.
I don’t understand why the networks didn’t show any repeats during the strike. Sure, nobody really wants to see repeats, but shows like The Office and 30 are always good a second time around. Maybe if people caught the repeats once and awhile during the strike they wouldn’t have changed their viewing habits.
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