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How fortunate that NBC’s TCA presentation was last week and not this week, as the network chief’s opening line “We had a really bad fall” would have to be changed into “We had a really bad fall and beginning of 2012.” Last night’s two-hour preview of the first of NBC’s new midseason series, The Firm, drew a disappointing 1.4/3 in adults 18-49, down a whopping 46% from the two-hour preview of now-defunct The Cape on the very same night last year. This marks NBC’s lowest in-season drama debut ever. The Firm, a sequel to the John Grisham novel and 1993 movie, moves into its regular Thursday 10 PM slot this week.
Great news for ABC’s Once Upon A Time. Despite facing the conclusion of the big Broncos-Steelers playoff game on the East Coast, the freshman fairytale series (3.7/8) was up a big 28% from its last original December 11. It was the highest-rated entertainment program of the night by a mile. Fox’s more male-skewing The Simpsons (2.3/5), also airing against the final minutes of the game, didn’t fare as well. It was down down 23% from its last original December 4. The rest of Fox’s animated lineup also slid: The Cleveland Show (2.1/5) was down 9%, Family Guy (3.0/7) was down 3%, and American Dad (2.1/5) was down 16%. Meanwhile, Once Upon A Time‘s ratings gains carried over to the 9 PM hour, where Desperate Housewives (3.0/7) was up 11% from its last original. But the halo effect did not extend to freshman Pan Am (1.3/3), which was down 13% to a series low, possibly sealing its fate.
An overrun from the Steelers-Broncos game led CBS to a landslide ratings victory. Because the network’s regular lineup was pushed by 18 minutes, reliable ratings for the CBS series will not be available until tomorrow.
TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.
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The Firm was pretty good. Pan Am is done.
Yet another big Oopsy from the people at NBC. But hey, if The Firm can keep that 1.4 in the demo on Thursdays it will be up compared to the 1.2 Prime Suspected has been doing for most of the season.
I don’t know about you guys I didn’t know any of the shows were on I watching Season 2 of Downton Abby which was good they open up in WW 1
Glad to see another cop/attorney/doctor show tank….get some imagination broadcast nets. All the truly great stuff is being done by the cable nets thinking outside the box with shows about ad men, zombies, vampires, male prostitutes, etc, etc. It’s even worse when instead of trying something new themselves, they just try and rip-off something like Mad Men and give us The Playboy Club.
Justified is technically a cop show, but it’s a cop show done right.
bummer, missed The Firm… I was watching HGTV and the hottest show of the night: a NASA tv program on the Sun.
Fact: People are sick of remake/reboot projects.
Fact: Before seeing a new show, if it’s a reboot/remake people are immediately turned off. They will not show up out of the gate out of spite. If they hear the show is good, they will show up later.
Fact: Networks cancel shows if they do not perform right out of the gate.
Lesson: Stop with the reboot/retool/remake/just like the movie type projects.
Why does a hump like me understand this, but net execs at the highest level do not.
Also, the show had no star power to make anyone show up just out of curiosity. Good actors? Yes. Stars? No. Personally, I prefer good actors, but most people want a familiar face with some weight.
Fact: The Firm isn’t a reboot, it’s a sequel.
I think it’s a little of both.
So happy For Once Upon a Time. It is a great show!!
Yet again another remake. Just dump it now. and come up with something besides another law show. How the hell many do we need anyway ?
I haven’t watched The Firm yet (still on DVR), but whoever is running NBC should be smacked. Why in hell would someone think it was smart to start a new show on a preview night opposite shows with hardcore fan bases (The Good Wife, Desperate Housewives, and the FOX animated shows). They would have done better premiering it in its regular time slot.
Yup, you are right. Stupid to preview it on the most competitive night of the week.
Well once upon a time is a great show but I loved the firm as well I love josh lucas and there wasn’t a boring moment of either show and since it will be on Thursdays I don’t even watch anything that interfers with it I hope both shows stay on
“The Firm” – and Grisham – is so passe.
To what do I attribute the rise in ratings for Once Upon a Time? Perhaps curiosity by fans of the show who wanted an explanation as to why Jamie Dornan’s character was wiped out with nary a chance to develop. Weird.
ABC was smart enough to leave all the episodes up on Hulu/On Demand through the break, and lots of people caught up. New viewers coming in.
Yup, that’s what I did. Didn’t catch it the first time around but got hooked over the holidays without anything else to watch and now, count me in as a loyal viewer.
Remember when NBC was the most watched network in the country? Boy, have things changed. The only thing I watch on NBC is the Today Show and I may stop watching that if they bring Ryan Seacrest in.
If I didn’t know better, I would say that the management of NBC really works for CBS.
I’ll watch the pilot of the Firm eventually – can’t stand Grisham or that genre at all, but Callum Keith Rennie will get me to watch just about anything.
But I certainly wasn’t going to tune into that when Downton Abbey was on!
Would have watched The Firm but could only DVR 2 shows at once at 9.00pm. My choices were Downton Abbey, The Good Wife, Desperate Housewives, and The Firm on Network TV and Shameless and House of Lies on Showtime. I chose to DVR (i watch same day) Downton Abbey, Desperate Houseswives (i know i know but it’s the last season and i am a creature of habit) and The Good Wife. As much as I am a Grishamite I wasn’t particular pressed to see The Firm in the midst of cooler shows! (btw Downton was AMAZING! What were the numbers for THAT!)
I was afraid of these numbers for Pan Am and with them competing against the Golden Globes next week and the end of the NFC Title game a week after, they needed to strongly rebound from the poor showings in November and the episode in December and they completely fell short of expectations. I see this show being done and over with on 2/19/2012, which is the 14th and possibly final episode of the series. They better prepare to make a proper series finale for the show on that said date. As for NBC, so what else is new with them? They continue to offer garbage and the people are saying no to all their offerings. Very impressive numbers for the NFL on CBS.
Amazing numbers for Once Upon a Time. A 3.7 demo with such a weak lead in, it is just awesome.
Funny that a show no one was talking about has turned out to be one of the highest rated TV network dramas in over 2 years.
It is a great show, very interesting. I love it. Great cast !
Abc has gone for something different than a soporific cop procedural or a soporific reboot of a cop procedural. Way to go ABC !!
I cannot wait for the next episode.
The Firm looked kind of Bleh!! But NBC will get lucky with Smash, that is a winner!
I loved the firm; lets not listen to snobs, it’s tv and good tv and that’s enough.
So, if someone doesn’t like THE FIRM, that person is a snob? Don’t be so insecure. Just own your love of the show!
I agree about the same ole law shows and cops shows.. but anyone who saw this show would know it is not the same ole, same ole.. i would also have a hard time saying its a remake.. well plotted, well written.. going into it i was like ‘eh cant be that good continuing a plot that ended decades ago’.. but i was wrong, it worked and was a good pilot..