TMC
04-07-2002, 12:55 AM
> From USA Today
>
> ABC's new plan: Back to its roots. Quirky comedies out, mainstream
> fare in, with occasional 'Millionaire'
> By Gary Levin
> USA TODAY
>
> ABC is going back to the ABCs of its history to recover from a serious
> tailspin.
>
> With ratings down 23% this season, ABC has commissioned 29 pilots --
> more than any other network -- to fix its woes. Family comedies and
> escapist dramas are priorities for new shows.
>
> Other changes: a return of TGIF, the kid-friendly comedy block on
> Fridays they abandoned almost two years ago, and an end to Who Wants
> to Be a Millionaire as a weekly series, though the quiz show will air
> in the short bursts that made it an instant hit.
>
> ABC's fortunes rose with The Partridge Family and Happy Days in the
> 1970s, Home Improvement and Roseanne a decade later. More recently, a
> series of programmers shifted focus, attempting to mimic NBC's success
> with yuppie comedies like Friends. Most failed. (Remember It's Like,
> You Know . . . ?)
>
> Disney's marching orders: Mainstream commercial fare that appeals to a
> wide swath of viewers, as opposed to quirky comedies such as The Job
> or rarefied dramas such as Once and Again, which pleased critics but
> not enough fans.
>
> ''For years, people knew what to expect when they tuned in to ABC,''
> says new entertainment president Susan Lyne. ''Family-oriented
> comedies were a staple for ABC and a big part of its success. There
> really is an opening for us there, and an opportunity to refocus our
> brand and re-identify us to our audience.''
>
> Will the new plan work? Like most entertainment, it's all in the
> details.
>
> ''It's very plausible, very safe, a very smart strategy,'' says David
> Verklin, CEO at top media-buying firm Carat North America. ''It's kind
> of like saying I want to hit the ball right down the middle of the
> fairway. But saying it and doing it are two different things.''
>
> ABC is encouraged by two modest new successes this season -- stylish
> spy drama Alias and comfy family sitcom According to Jim, which are
> near-templates for the kinds of new shows you'll see come September.
>
> But once-reliable hits like Dharma & Greg, Spin City and The Drew
> Carey Show faded fast, forcing the network to count on new hits that
> didn't materialize.
>
> Fall drama contenders include a Nancy Drew mystery, a series about
> astronauts, another about a family of Wutan temple warriors battling
> evil and an Indiana Jones-style saga about father-and-son
> archaeologists. There's also another attempt to revisit a
> Dynasty-style family soap, this one about a media baron from veteran
> writer Larry Gelbart (M*A*S*H).
>
> On the comedy side, ABC is mulling proposed series about a small-town
> mayor, an eccentric family, a group of solar-panel salesmen and an
> unglamorous secretary. Another comedy, 8 Simple Rules for Dating My
> Daughter, stars John Ritter -- a familiar face from ABC's Three's
> Company heyday -- who now plays an overprotective dad.
>
> ABC's new plan: Back to its roots. Quirky comedies out, mainstream
> fare in, with occasional 'Millionaire'
> By Gary Levin
> USA TODAY
>
> ABC is going back to the ABCs of its history to recover from a serious
> tailspin.
>
> With ratings down 23% this season, ABC has commissioned 29 pilots --
> more than any other network -- to fix its woes. Family comedies and
> escapist dramas are priorities for new shows.
>
> Other changes: a return of TGIF, the kid-friendly comedy block on
> Fridays they abandoned almost two years ago, and an end to Who Wants
> to Be a Millionaire as a weekly series, though the quiz show will air
> in the short bursts that made it an instant hit.
>
> ABC's fortunes rose with The Partridge Family and Happy Days in the
> 1970s, Home Improvement and Roseanne a decade later. More recently, a
> series of programmers shifted focus, attempting to mimic NBC's success
> with yuppie comedies like Friends. Most failed. (Remember It's Like,
> You Know . . . ?)
>
> Disney's marching orders: Mainstream commercial fare that appeals to a
> wide swath of viewers, as opposed to quirky comedies such as The Job
> or rarefied dramas such as Once and Again, which pleased critics but
> not enough fans.
>
> ''For years, people knew what to expect when they tuned in to ABC,''
> says new entertainment president Susan Lyne. ''Family-oriented
> comedies were a staple for ABC and a big part of its success. There
> really is an opening for us there, and an opportunity to refocus our
> brand and re-identify us to our audience.''
>
> Will the new plan work? Like most entertainment, it's all in the
> details.
>
> ''It's very plausible, very safe, a very smart strategy,'' says David
> Verklin, CEO at top media-buying firm Carat North America. ''It's kind
> of like saying I want to hit the ball right down the middle of the
> fairway. But saying it and doing it are two different things.''
>
> ABC is encouraged by two modest new successes this season -- stylish
> spy drama Alias and comfy family sitcom According to Jim, which are
> near-templates for the kinds of new shows you'll see come September.
>
> But once-reliable hits like Dharma & Greg, Spin City and The Drew
> Carey Show faded fast, forcing the network to count on new hits that
> didn't materialize.
>
> Fall drama contenders include a Nancy Drew mystery, a series about
> astronauts, another about a family of Wutan temple warriors battling
> evil and an Indiana Jones-style saga about father-and-son
> archaeologists. There's also another attempt to revisit a
> Dynasty-style family soap, this one about a media baron from veteran
> writer Larry Gelbart (M*A*S*H).
>
> On the comedy side, ABC is mulling proposed series about a small-town
> mayor, an eccentric family, a group of solar-panel salesmen and an
> unglamorous secretary. Another comedy, 8 Simple Rules for Dating My
> Daughter, stars John Ritter -- a familiar face from ABC's Three's
> Company heyday -- who now plays an overprotective dad.