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Uncovering Why ‘Undercovers’ Went Wrong
It’s the end of the road for J.J. Abrams’ spy drama Undercovers as NBC today decided not to pick up additional episodes from the freshman series beyond the original 13-episode order. The Warner Bros TV-produced show is now filming Episode 12. The news comes on the heels of Undercovers hitting another series low last night when it slipped to a 1.3 rating in the 18-49 demo. The slickly produced light drama, whose pilot was directed by Abrams, broke primetime ground by featuring two black actors as the leads. But it got off to a disappointing start in the Wednesday 8 PM slot and never found traction with viewers. The series will stay on for the next 2 weeks and will air its last original (for now) on December 1. It was already set for preemption on Nov. 24 when NBC is airing a DreamWorks Animation holiday special. The fate of the remaining original Undercovers episodes is unclear. This is the second new NBC series to get cancelled, along with legal drama Outlaw. The rest of NBC’s freshman class all received back-nine orders two weeks ago. At the time, Undercovers got a pickup for four additional scripts.
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It’s about damn time.
When is NBC bringing back THE JAY LENO SHOW? Clearly people DO want comedy at 10pm. #TeamLeno
Has anyone watched this show!! Two attractive spies run around and catch bad people!! AND GUESS WHAT THERE ARE BLACK!!!! What is not to like?? Bad time slot and day!! There are shows that need to be cancelled that have been on too long like chuck and that stupid show on cbs with the two gay guys.
Not my cup of tea show wise. But I hope this won’t scare network execs into not giving future shows more diversity for the lead actors. But somehow I think it will.
I know I’m not JJ, so nobody should listen to me…
But if I had been in a room somewhere along the path of this show’s development, at some point I would have said, “Wait a minute. The entire hook of this show is, ‘But they’re black!’ Really?”
I mean, it’s 2010. We have a black President. I can’t believe the show went to air with so little thought given to finding a stronger premise.
I’m pretty pleased to see that having two spies that are black isn’t particularly novel enough to draw attention. That’s progress for the country, but not for network tv.
The hook wasn’t “black spies.” It was “married spies” and during casting they decided on two black leads.
I think the biggest problem was just that those leads ended up being super boring and could not carry a show.
Very well said. Christopher has a point, though, more related to the buzz about the show. Premise was about married spies, but all the buzz was about them being black, with the hope that many people would tune in for that reason alone. They then followed up with very poor casting. I hope networks realize that the failure of the show had nothing to do with casting black leads and everything to do with casting beautiful yet very boring people. Boris did a decent job, but half of the jokes were missed, poorly executed, etc. Maybe this can be a teachable moment on both fronts – 1) there’s nothing novel about having black leads, so let’s incorporate a lot more diversity in our programming, and 2) talent will win out over looks every time.
Thanks saddened, you unpacked my point very well.
“Married spies” is a lame concept as well — it’s “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” without the secrecy — which means you’re left with — not much.
Which meant all the show was left with was the casting.
And, like saddened, and others on this board, I hope the lesson learned isn’t about the risks of diverse casting, but the need for solid hooks and execution. But I’m not holding out a lot of hope.
Network and studio execs always learn a lessons from their failures — but they always seem to learn the wrong lessons.
Unfortunately, there will not be another show with two BLACK leads, just like there won’t be another Black president anytime soon.
Believe me with I say that the Network Execs and the Advertisers have a LOOOOONG (and skewed) memory when it shows that prominently feature minority leads… and they will ALWAYS point to that as a reason to say “no” without considering other factors… show could have worked with different
The married angle never crossed over into their non-spy lives, they never did anything that would engender suspicion and the OPs were too damn easy (i.e. lazy writing, wrong tone)… It’s no worse than Nikita, but Nikita works better (marginally) because of the tone.
Mr. and Miss smith was a hit why?? Same idea with white stars!!
No, there was NO HOOK to the series…
Loved lookin’ at the both of them, but just “being married” ain’t gonna cut it. JJ should have known that… so should NBC.
J.J. should have known that??? Really? Cause nearly ALL his shows have compelling pilots, but stumble afterwards… and the other people on the show make is sink or swim (Lindelof and Cuse on Lost, Akiva on Fringe)…
Could’ve fooled me, what with NBC’s ever-so-subtle “More Colorful” slogans plastered over every bus in LA…never once saw a sign that read “More Married.”
I wouldn’t say that they’re super-boring (Gugu is at least as compelling as Jennifer Garner, and looks better), I would say the tone of the show is the problem… it should have been a 10pm show, with the commensurate serious tone, and it shouldn’t have been a procedural (the most asinine thing about network TV drama… look at EVERYTHING on AMC, Lost and 24… people will watch and DO watch week).
My argument all along was: who IS this show for? If 18-49, for women? But trying to attract men with some action?
I agree with this….I watched the first episode and turned it off before the end. The female lead (? name?) was super articulate and non-sexy. Totally unbelievable. They needed a tough woman in that role who was also sexy….someone like Viveca Fox who could talk trash and had personality. They were too young to be “retired”…just a boring casting. And the scripts/storylines were by the numbers, nothing we haven’t seen before.
Fully agreed!
Well said.
It felt like a failure from the beginning. Maybe the show would’ve done better on USA but I doubt it.
NBC probably jumped on it because Abrams was involved, and believed that he’s name would fix everything.
you know….i think you are totally correct (it could be more ” ” on usa anyway).
It’s the right move. It’s ratings were a nightmare and I suspect it was a very expensive show to produce.
Let us hope that this cancellation will not stop anyone else from trying to cast diverse leads.
Now you know why Damon Lindelof gets so angry when JJ hogs all the credit for Lost. Undercovers follows an HBO pilot JJ directed that failed to go to series (which his reps have wiped off his IMDB page). Not to mention Six Degrees and What About Brian which went down fast and the many other “development failures” that have happened every season. In television, he is dramatically over-paid for the results he achieves.
And Bruckheimer’s drama record outside of the CSI franchise is an even greater disaster, including two expensive bombs this season. He has never had a single drama hit for ABC, NBC or FOX. Not a single one.
Networks should keep this in mind next season.
This guy is an idiot who said the stuff about Lindelof getting angry when JJ hogs the credit for Lost. That is the exact opposite. During any interview that I ever saw or read when JJ was talking about Lost, he always gave proper credit.
And as for mentioning someone’s TV batting average – I can only imagine that this writer is a hater, who has maybe sold one script and can’t stand seeing other people succeed.
You can’t hit ‘em all out of the park, it’s just not possible. Don’t kick people while they’re down…
I don’t know if the guy is a hater or not, but he makes a valid point. Both JJ and Bruckheimer keep selling projects on the strength of their name and networks keep putting them on the air thinking that the average viewer gives a shit about who EP’ed the show. Newsflash: audiences just want to see a good show, regardless of the provenance. Instead of paying the outrageous sums to JJ and Bruckheimer for one project, the studios would be better off buying and developing 10 projects from unknowns. It would dramatically increasing the chances of making a hit.
And what is your point?? Even big names have failures!!
It wasn’t the best show, but it was miles better than “House of Payne” & Meet the Browns….
So is watching paint dry.
Ha, perfect. What ISN’T better than those shows?
While the show wasn’t good, sadly Hollywood will say “oh yeah…the show with the black couple…no…we can’t cast black leads because of that show….”
Which will be plain stupid.
As noted above, I hope it doesn’t stop networks from casting people other than whites in lead roles.
that will be a general response, but anyone whose worth their salt can refute that premise with the many shows canceled this season so far (wow, i can actually say “many shows canceled” that had real actors and not someone from bumf usa hogging up the airwaves tryna get their 15mins…..awesome!). it will be and easy scape-goat for “i don’t like that idea” likely, but convincing producers who do their work could convince….its a tough environment out there period
Lukeandlaura, you are a galloping idiot, an ignoramus extraordinaire.
To refute your notion of black leads not being able to carry a show on the BIG NETWORKS I provide you with the following evidence:
THE COSBY SHOW
DIFFERENT WORLD
SANFORD AND SON
FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR
How many of the shows you cite are dramas? Blacks being funny is not threatening. Drama is longer, more expensive & serious, therefore discomfiting. That’s the distinction.
It was an unimaginative show with dull models for actors, run-of-the-mill villains, & no hook. Its failure had nothing to do with race.
I personally loved this show. I had great characters and yeah it wasn’t complex like other JJ shows but still way more enjoyable than any of the other new shows this season on the big networks.
I fear quality TV not on channels like HBO, AMC, Showtime, etc is dead
i enjoyed the show, and will miss it. The music was exceptionally good.
The only problem with the cast was they looked like soap actors and the show was to bright and cheery. I could not believe it came from the same producers as Alias. A little grit would have gone a long way.
Exactly. Take Alias, for example. JJ casts this beautiful young absolute unknown, then shows her getting wailed on for much of the pilot, which is akin to punching a dolphin or a panda on live tv. Then to turn things on upside down, it turns out she was letting herself get wailed on to complete her mission, setting the tone for not only her character, but for the entire series. To add even more drama, not only is she a spy going on dangerous missions, but it turns out that she is a double agent for the CIA, forcing her to lead a double life and balance working for the bad spy agency with working for the good spy agency, and trying to keep the two separate for the safety of herself and her loved ones.
Undercovers, in comparison, features two beautiful plastic leads who are allergic to punches or something, and escape mortal danger with the power of lingerie. To add insult to injury, their double-lives balancing act comes in the form of managing a restaurant. Seriously. A restaurant. Is this the tv version of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, or is this Ace of Cakes with freaking automatic weapons? Long story short, this whole concept was flawed before they decided to cast two beautiful blocks of wood with no chemistry and even less talent.
Exactly! I would have preferred an Alias type of pilot and series. It grabbed you and kept the anticipation going for the next episode. I literally kept forgetting Undercovers was on….while Alias I made a point of making time for.
And just the thought of the future mini plots circling around the tension of a restaurant and their sister left juggling it….was tiresome.
They should have realized that would be a dull mix from the first edit.
I’m glad they decided to cancel it because of ratings, and not use the race card to help the show find an audience, since it didn’t have a strong one to begin with.
I watched this show and was trying to figure out why I disliked it so much. Conclusion was that the leads had no flair to them. I feel the network heads wanted to downplay the fact that they were ethnic and so they made them act as white as possible. I am a white woman in my 30′s and I loved the show Soul Food, so when I heard Boris had a series I literally jumped for joy. But I soon was deterred by the fact that he didn’t/ wasn’t allowed to bring his “isms” to the role. It really is tragic. The show ended up being very “granola.”
I’m black, went to a black church and a black college and I didn’t perceive Boris Kodjoe as “acting white” and had no problem relating to him. I think its more the actors’ lack of charisma and acting skill/experience than whether or not they acted “black enough”.
Another thing, I think you are confusing race and culture. The actors were black, but they were not black Americans, they were both from Europe (Boris is from Germany and grew up speaking German and the actress is from Britain), therefore according to you they were “acting white” because they didn’t act like stereotypical black Americans. For future reference, Black Americans have a distinct culture which is different from and is not interchangeable with the culture of black people in Europe, Africa, the Caribbean, or Latin America.
@LL, yeah, you’re exactly right, and I was going to point that out… the trickle down slave culture that too many Black actors and actresses are forced to perpetrate (show out for the Man, cooning) is all that’s expected (and perhaps tolerated) by many mainstream people working with black americans in entertainment.
And yet, most people WILL make that mistake between culture and race… as the continued ignorance thrives! Now go out a buy George W. Bush’s memoir for the execs at NBC, because that’s their reading and intellectual level…
Unfortunately, Tyler Perry is more guilty of forcing black actors and actresses to perpetrate stereotypes than any other high profile producer, writer, actor, etc. out there.
Not that it hasn’t been a huge problem….it certainly has. But Tyler seem to thrive on cliches and stereotypes in his productions.
I thought he would have stepped up by now.
Anyway, it was nice NOT to see any of those in Undercovers…maybe cable will pick them up.
Very good point. That’s probably why we are more likely to see Blacks cast as leads in comedies than in dramas. Due to the history of Blacks in Hollywood, mainstream America is used to seeing Blacks as merely one-dimensional entertainers (Bill Bojangles) and not as complex, multi-dimensional individuals. Unfortunately, in addition to “slave culture”, Black actors also have to deal with “ghetto culture”. However, I still have hope for the future.
Oh climb down off your cross. Quit throwing around the race-card so hastily. The irony of you and LL’s posts is that it further perpetuates the stereotype that every black person wants to jump down your throat with a diatribe about oppression and “the struggle” at the drop of a hat. Modern black people are tired of being typecasted, stereotyped, and “white-washed”. (Most) modern white people are tired of being held accountable for the horrible actions of a bunch of bigots from hundreds of years ago. Everybody needs to take themselves way less seriously.
You get off your high-horse. You do not know me, have never met me, and have no idea what I want, so speak for yourself. I have no idea what you mean by “white-washed.” Next, I said nothing about blaming white people for anything. If you have some unsolved racial tension issues, please deal with it and leave me out of it. You may not agree with my perspective and probably didn’t even get my point, but it is my right to speak my mind.
Love what you said, Ras.
The film director Spike Lee actually had a phrase that fits to describe the Hollywood phenomenon you are describing — he called it “COONERY and BUFFOONERY”
@LL well said. I totally agree.
“Ethnic?” “Isms?” Really? Interesting to hear a white woman think that she knows how a black man should act to be authentic.
But typical of the white oligarchy of Hollywood. I once worked on a show where the EP claimed a certain bric a brac wouldn’t be in the (black) star’s kitchen because no one would believe she would own it. Even though the star brought it from her own kitchen. They all believe they know everything; including how minorities think & live w/out actually knowing let alone dealing w/ them.
My God, those are two beautiful people.
I also can’t help but wonder if the male assistant who was smitten with the husband may have turned off the red half of America. I know they said he wasn’t gay and it was all just hero worship, but come on now….
Agreed, that character turned me off to the show completely.
I wanted to like UNDERCOVERS (as someone who watched every episode of Alias) but after one viewing, I never had the desire to go back.
It had its moments, but there were not enough of them. Sharper writing amd edgier storylines might have helped it keep an audience.
It’s true that JJ and Bruckheimer have far more misses than hits, but the TV execs want the prestige of being in business with them and will always come running back. Perception matters, quality does not.
“It’s true that JJ and Bruckheimer have far more misses than hits”
It’s TRUE? Explain how they have FAR more misses.
The statement is true, but it is true of everyone from James Cameron to Spielberg. All we hear about are everyone’s successes – but many in non-industry states have no idea how many failures these people endure before they find a hit.
“For every hit, there are 100 misses.”
TV Execs also want accountability fully covered. Taking risks is just that risky…and, with Jerry or J.J. as the source of the material CYA is much better achieved.
Finally.
One of the most unpleasant sets, I was told by people close to the production.”Toxic environment” one thespian labeled it. A producer so adamant to be on (or bellow) budget that he drove everyone crazy with impossible demands. Then he bad mouthed everybody in front of everybody else! Experienced, good directors included… Behaved as if everyone is there to screw him up, personally, and he ended up screwing the show!
very short sighted of NBC, which is why they are in the dumpster.
The show is great entertainment. op of the game writing, directing and producing. Boris Kodjoe and Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Steven and Samantha Bloom couldn’t be better, bringing an honest portrayal of a comtemporary marriage in extraordinary circumstances.
Shame on NBC for not having the courage to stand by them.
Problem: writing, writing, writing. Not very engaging.
I wanted to like this show, I really did! The diversity was refreshing and unfortunately all too exotic on network TV these days. The latter is not why the show failed; it wasn’t clever or sexy enough, and 8PM is a terrible time for a show without kids in the cast. NBC could’ve been more gracious.
Well I am Black and the show could not peak my interest at all. Poor premise, writing and the acting was just that “acting.” Return the concept to the drawing board and work it out but until then … CANCELLATION is real good!
And Law & Order was cancelled to make room for these type of shows? Duh … what’s wrong with this very bad picture?
The talent was great but the premise was terrible.
No actor could have been expected to do a good job with these thoroughly undefined characters. Plus, the decision to keep them conflict-free was one that robbed the relationship of any possible interest. Putting it on the air in the first place was NBCs biggest mistake.