According to
the Live Feed
, the broadcast networks launched more than a dozen new TV shows this summer, and not a single one of them took off. Among the most spectacular failures: ABC’s space drama
Defying Gravity
and its retro pro-am sports contest
The Superstars
; NBC’s
The Listener
(a crime show),
The Philanthropist
(a globe-trotting do-gooder drama),
Merlin
(a British import), and
Great American Road Trip
(a reality contest); Fox’s “scripted psychological procedural”
Mental
; and CW reality show
Hitched or Ditched
.
I haven’t seen a single episode of any of these eight shows
—
and not because I’m a TV lightweight. I’ve been a shut-in all summer, killing my eyesight by soaking up new shows like
Drop Dead Diva
,
Make It or Break It
, and
Royal Pains
and returning favorites like
Burn Notice
,
The Next Food Network Star
, and
The Closer
.
It’s one thing not to have watched the networks’ new summer shows, but it does seem weird that I hadn’t even
heard of
most of them. Well,
The Superstars
I knew because I was a big fan of its original incarnation;
The Philanthropist
was on my radar because a screener came in to the office (if I’d known that
Law & Order
alum Jesse L. Martin and
The Wire
‘s Michael Kenneth Williams
—
Omar!
—
were series regulars, I’d’ve given it a shot), and I heard about
Merlin
in the British press. Oh, and some sci-fi nerds I follow mentioned
Defying Gravity
on Twitter. Still, I had no idea of the shows’ time slots or stars or selling points.
I suppose there are lots of explanations for my ignorance of network programming. Among the most obvious: Hulu and its ilk chipping away at “appointment viewing,” the “they all look alike” quality of reality shows, and the rise of the mid-major cable networks. But I put the brunt of the blame on the failing print media. I read the newspaper carefully each morning, but I do so on an electronic device that doesn’t even include the TV listings. I subscribe to
TV Guide
and
Entertainment Weekly
, where I take viewing suggestions from very brief capsule write-ups. I don’t even look at
TV Guide
‘s listings pages
—
they’re just recycling-in-waiting as far as I’m concerned. Between recommendations I get from magazines,
blogs
, and Twitter feeds, and my DVR’s season pass recordings, I have more than enough shows to fill up my viewing hours without looking at an old-school “what’s on tonight” grid. If the networks can’t make a TV geek like me aware of their new shows, what hope is there?
Photograph of The Philanthropist star James Purefory courtesy of Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images.
