I really never thought I’d see the day. Like, I seriously didn’t. What day? The day when an original show on a basic cable channel was declared a ratings success while network programming viewership shrank so vastly that Jeff Zucker, President and CEO of NBC television, declared that the network he lorded over would never be #1 in primetime again. With almost every new program released in the last two seasons on major network television “on the bubble” (meaning it’s almost 50/50 if they’ll be renewed for another season), cable has swooped in to take the lead in original content. What started with a small healthy pedigree of shows on various cable networks (Nip/Tuck, Monk, The Dead Zone, The Shield, etc.) has now grown to such proportions that you’re not a major cable network if you’re not producing your own original programming. Battlestar Gallactica and Stargate: SG-1 both drew in fans to the Sci-Fi Channel. USA Network grew their stable from Monk and the Dead Zone to Psych, In Plain Sight, and Burn Notice. TNT’s experiment with the Closer paid off so well that they now have huge names headlining their shows including Saving Grace, Trust Me, and Leverage. Last, but surely not least, AMC, a channel no one really thought would try to enter into this arena, has not one but two sophomore success stories with Breaking Bad and Mad Men and both not only drew record ratings but awards for their cast and crews. All of this is occurring while NBC has canceled or is suspected to cancel almost all of its newest crop of shows. Life, Chuck, Knight Rider, My Own Worst Enemy, and Heroes all underperformed this season with Knight Rider and My Own Worst Enemy canceled, Life and Chuck on the bubble and Heroes, while renewed, will go under the knife for retooling for a third time in three seasons. CBS has had one break out hit in their drama catergory, the Mentalist, and successful new sitcom, the Big Bang Theory. ABC… well… Don’t ask. Fox is currently beating NBC in ratings even though Dollhouse and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, both relegated to the graveyard that is Friday nights, are both most likely doomed after this season. The networks breakout show this season, Fringe, scores well but cost a fortune to produce.
So what is cable’s secret? Frankly, they’re following the British model for programming. The seasons of cable television programs are shorter than network shows with 12-13 episodes a season being much cheaper to produce and thus allowing the budget to be focussed on production values, quality casts, and even marketing. Also, these shorter seasons allow for faster production time where there’s less downtime between seasons to lose your audience. The concepts are also simpler for mainstream audiences. Leverage and Burn Notice both owe their simple premises to 80′s classics like the A-Team and MacGyver while Psych and Monk both hail from the classic detective model that was made popular by Magnum P.I. and Simon & Simon. For the fans of the Sopranos and Dexter, both Breaking Bad and Mad Men offer more stronger writing and more complex storylines while pushing the boundaries of standards and practices.
Suffice it to say, as network TV begins to lose the race for quality and successful programming, cable seems to be picking up the slack to record returns and quality hits. With NBC effectively eliminating 10pm primetime programming next season (and replacing it with a nightly Jay Leno show), cable is about to pick up even more viewers looking for an alternative.
