Economic pressures have begun to intrude on the desire to use
high-quality drama to draw new viewers. Citing ratings and economic
factors, FX declined to pick up "Damages" for a fourth season,
despite noted actress Glenn Close starring in the show in a
critically acclaimed performance as a conniving attorney. For
similar reasons, FX has also ended its runs of two other
well-received dramas, "Terriers" and "Lights Out."
Despite winning near-universal acclaim for airing two seasons of
"Men of a Certain Age" -- and significant support for the program
from General Motors -- Time Warner 's TNT opted to end the program,
citing business factors. Over at AMC, "Mad Men" sends fans into
paroxysms of compliments but still has never been TV's most-watched
offering, and some of the program's fiscal failings were put on
public display this past spring during negotiations between the
network, production studio Lionsgate and showrunner Matthew Weiner
to keep it on the air. AMC is now in the midst of negotiating over
the economics of another top drama, "Breaking Bad," and recently
sparked headlines over popular zombie serial "The Walking Dead"
when showrunner Frank Darabont left the series, ostensibly over
budget squabbles.
Yes, there's a lot of drama surrounding the drama these
days.
The shows can create loyal, hardcore followers, the lifeblood of
any emerging cable network. But the trappings they carry --
big-name actors, on-location shoots and long, complex narratives --
often mean the programs cost more to produce than other genres,
including reality and comedy. And they often don't fare well in
repeats, as fans have already seen the stories play out. That means
dramas (not to be confused with highly successful "procedurals"
that solve a crime, legal case or medical conundrum in 60 minutes'
time) don't have as much strength in syndication, an increasingly
important factor in determining whether a TV series is the sort of
asset that can keep generating revenue for a media concern.
"The back end is where the real money is made," said Brian
Hughes, VP-director of audience analysis at Interpublic Group of
Cos.' Magna Global. "Comedy and reality are cheaper to produce and
comedies tend to have a better life in syndication."
To be sure, the drama still has life in it -- but perhaps not as
much as it once did. AMC is set to launch "Hell on Wheels," a
prime-time Western, and NBC will attempt to boost an American-ized
version of "Prime Suspect" come fall. Yet the broadcast networks,
which run the greatest amount of original TV programming, will
mount 42 hours of drama in the new fall season. That's down from 53
last year, according to Magna Global data. NBC, ABC, Fox and CBS
have all committed to creating new comedy bastions during the
prime-time week, said Mr. Hughes, leaving less room for new drama.
What's more, the broadcast outlets appear to be ceding valuable air
time to super-sized versions of top reality programs, including two
nights a week for Fox's "X Factor" and "American Idol," or two
hours each Tuesday for NBC's "The Biggest Loser."
There is room for something new. CBS has had some success with
hour-long serials such as "The Good Wife" that attempt to mesh the
need for a procedural element -- in this case, a legal case -- with
story arcs that run for multiple episodes. And the networks are
experimenting with new tricks, including retro-themed dramas such
as NBC's "The Playboy Club" and ABC's "Pam Am." There's also a lot
of anticipation for Fox's "Terra Nova," a sci-fi epic about time
travel and dinosaurs. In a signal that the industry's economics are
top of mind, however, Fox has not committed to the series beyond an
initial run in the fall, and "Terra Nova" is not slated to appear
this spring.
Indeed, there's a greater sense of the risk in trying to be
innovative. One of Fox's great drama hopes last season, "Lone
Star," was described as a high-concept sudser centered in the
high-stakes oil industry, but the program's complexity threw off
potential viewers who clamored instead for simpler-minded
Monday-night competitors elsewhere on the set-top box. "Lone Star"
lasted just two weeks before being canceled.
Even so, the allure of a particularly well-crafted drama
remains. Launching a successful one can bring a network the Emmys
and Peabodys, as well as the tinge of high-minded arts and letters,
that draw the desirable high-income audiences that marketers covet.
For cable outlets hoping to emerge from early days of airing
repeats of old shows and movies that make viewers think of other
networks, an original drama can put a network on the map, as "The
Shield" did with FX or "Mad Men" did with AMC.
Perhaps that 's the main function of some dramas in these times.
At DirecTV, the fourth season of "Damages" -- which can't be seen
anywhere but the company's Audience Network -- is already on air,
with actor John Goodman joining Ms. Close in the cast. "We're
always looking for exclusive programming to help differentiate us
from our competitors," said Paul Guyardo, exec VP-chief sales and
marketing officer at DirecTV. "Picking up 'Damages' is part of that
strategy."
And, perhaps, part of a new business model.
On DirecTV, "Damages" isn't interrupted by commercials, and
DirecTV has no stake in the program's aftermarket sales (Sony is
the production partner on the series). Instead, executives at the
satellite-TV concern are counting on the program's appeal to
high-income, highly educated viewers to make such folk feel more
connected to their service. DirecTV used emails and phone calls to
reach subscribers who had elected to receive such promotions to
alert them to new "Damages" episodes, and also placed ads on its
interactive program guides. The results? The first episode of
season four of "Damages" reached 1.02 million viewers across four
telecasts, a number the company said exceeded its expectations.
"Damages" is DirecTV's first effort with producing wholly
original episodes that air only on its service. In the past, the
company has run content that aired previously elsewhere or that was
created for another network. (DirecTV has run episodes of "Friday
Night Lights" before NBC has, for example.) In the future, it might
want to invest in more originals, said Mr. Guyardo. "We're talking
to working producers all the time."