Ranking the 2014-2015 TV season
As the summer approaches, another fall to spring TV season comes to a close. While the network execs are the ones who decide whether or not the keep this season’s new shows on the air, the fans are the one who give them the incentive. That in mind, I wanted to take a look back at all the shows that debuted this season, whether they clicked with audiences or were dead upon arrival.
The Hits –
Empire: Far and away the biggest success of the season, and for that matter, in years, was Fox’s musical drama Empire. The show not only experienced a bump in ratings nearly every week, ending its season with the highest numbers in nearly a decade, its success also branched out to other forms of media. The first season soundtrack debuted at number one on the Billboard chart (130,000 units sold) and the show garnered the interest of big name artists. Rita Ora, Jennifer Hudson, Courtney Love, and Mary J. Blige are just a few of this seasons’ guest stars, a list which is sure to get more impressive with time.
The Flash: Not only did the debut of the CW’s newest DC superhero show trump the debut of its last foray into comic book adaptions, Arrow, it also held remarkably well throughout the season. Bringing the smallest network it’s highest ratings in years, and getting some of this seasons best reviews (95% Fresh) The Flash was a success on all accounts. It’s no wonder the network has plans to debut a third superhero show, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, come this fall.
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Jane the Virgin: Speaking of impressive reviews, the CW’s new soap, Jane the Virgin, scored the best reviews of the season with a 100% Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes. From there, it was able to ride that critical high to score two Golden Globe noms, with a win for series breakout star Gina Rodriguez (which then helped her land a starring role in Deepwater Horizon opposite Mark Wahlberg). More impressive? The fact that ‘Jane’ is the first show from the CW to ever be nominated for such a prestigious award, let alone win one.
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How to Get Away with Murder: ABC makes it onto the list thanks to Shonda Rhimes new show, How to Get Away with Murder. Never count out Shonda. This show started gaining momentum as soon as Oscar winner Viola Davis signed on. From there, it debuted to the best numbers of any new show during the fall season (Empire debuted in the spring). It came as no surprise when Davis was nominated for both a Golden Globe and a SAG in her role as Annalise Keating.
Scorpion: The last big success comes from CBS. That’s right, Scorpion made its way onto this list as well. Considered by some as The Big Bang Theory but in drama form, the show loosely based on the life of Walter O’Brien was a strong performer for CBS throughout the season. As was mentioned with The Flash above, it’s not easy for a show to retain an audience. Scorpion was able to accomplish that and more, often growing on it’s well established comedy lead-ins.
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[tps_footer] Next page: The Misses [/tps_footer]
The Misses –
NBC comedies; A to Z and Bad Judge: Now, I’m no big time TV exec, but I can’t for the life of me understand trying to launch a new comedy without any lead-in. Unless you know you’ve got gold on your hands, which was not quite the case for these two 30-minute comedies, you can’t just leave a show to fend for itself in the highly competitive league of primetime television. The simple problem here was that these shows just couldn’t catch an audience from the start.
ABC comedies; Selfie and Manhattan Love Story: The same can be said about these two ABC comedies as well. Both shows were left to fend for themselves against juggernauts NCIS and The Voice. Even Selfie, starring fan favorites John Chow and Karen Gillan, couldn’t launch itself against such stiff competition.
Battle Creek: What could be more difficult than trying to launch a new show? Trying to launch a new show on a Friday night. Sure, there’s Live +7 numbers to justify the measly Friday ratings, but there’s only so much that can be said about a CBS show having a ratings average of 0.8. It’s a shame too, as the program seemed a good fit for long time Friday night dweller, Blue Bloods.
The Messengers: The ultimate perpetrator of terrible Friday night scheduling is The CW with The Messengers. Not only did they launch the supernatural drama on a Friday night, they launched it at the end of the season, and with nearly no marketing effort whatsoever. The CW never even gave the show a chance, as it truly was dead upon arrival.
[tps_footer] Next page: The In-Betweens [/tps_footer]
The In-Betweens –
Gotham: Fox’s first attempt at the comic book related show started off great. And if it had retained such high numbers, it would have easily landed a spot back on page one with the other ‘Hits.’ But, unfortunately, especially towards the end of the season, the show took a big hit in the ratings. Though it did well enough to garner a second season renewal, it’s hard not to feel like Gotham had much more potential.
Agent Carter: ABC had a similar occurrence, albeit with a Marvel property. Their Captain America spinoff Agent Carter is another comic book show that could have exceeded its own performance. The sturdy, and yet low, ratings contender was renewed for a second season. I’m sure ABC is hoping they’re able to bring in more than die hard Marvel fans during the shows second running.
iZombie: Wrapping up the theme of comic book related shows that could have fared better is The CW’s iZombie. Being placed after The Flash was both a blessing and a curse for this show. On one hand, it provided the necessary crowd for the program’s launch- which then got the show a second season. On the other hand, it also overshadowed the show and I can’t help but feel like this is the kind of program that could have really broken out.
Secrets and Lies: Maybe it’s just me that was expecting more out of a show in vain of Gone Girl and staring Ryan Phillippe and Juliette Lewis. While always a solid performer ratings wise, the drama never really pulled in numbers to brag about. Still, it scored a second season renewal so ABC brass must be happy with how the show turned out creatively.
ABC comedies; Blackish and Fresh off the Boat: With the ratings these shows pulled in, especially Blackish, you’d think they deserve to be on the ‘Hit’ list. And they could be too, but these comedies owe a lot of their success to their lead-ins. Both shows got their starts directly after ABC heavyweight Modern Family. With the other ABC comedies firmly in the ‘Misses’ category, I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if these comedies switched schedules.
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