View Full Version : If any network brings back TGIF…


Frank Gannucci
06-30-2023, 05:50 PM
…we can all agree that it won’t be ABC since they had many failed attempts. TGIF doesn’t work on a broadcast station anymore.

But what about a retro digital sub channel? I think RewindTV is the most likely since they are generated towards shows from the 70s until the 2000s. Also, there would be less pressure to deliver ratings. I don’t think there would be trademark issues but what do I know?

I can also see a family cable channel like Disney Channel doing it (albeit with current shows.) Once again there would be lesser pressure to deliver ratings (albeit there would be lesser pressure to deliver ratings for a digital substation to do it.)

What do you think?

TMC
07-01-2023, 12:41 AM
Here's what ChatGPT - Poe (https://poe.com/ChatGPT) has to say about the matter:
It's difficult to say definitively whether the TGIF sitcom block could work on a broadcast network today, as there are many factors that can affect the success of a programming block. However, it's worth noting that the television landscape has changed significantly since TGIF's heyday in the 1990s, with more viewing options available to audiences than ever before. This means that networks may need to adapt their programming strategies to remain competitive.

While ABC's recent attempts to revive TGIF have not been successful, it's possible that another broadcast network could try to bring back the concept with a fresh approach. However, as you mentioned, it's also possible that a retro digital subchannel like RewindTV could be a better fit for a nostalgia-focused programming block like TGIF. Such a channel may be able to attract a dedicated audience of viewers who are specifically interested in revisiting classic sitcoms from the 90s and early 2000s.

Ultimately, the success of any attempt to revive TGIF will depend on a variety of factors, including the quality of the programming, the marketing strategy, and the overall viewing habits of audiences. However, it's certainly possible that there is still an appetite for the kind of family-friendly sitcoms that defined TGIF in its heyday, and that a modern-day version of the programming block could find a new audience in today's television landscape.

FHCastmember
07-02-2023, 04:06 PM
…we can all agree that it won’t be ABC since they had many failed attempts. TGIF doesn’t work on a broadcast station anymore.

But what about a retro digital sub channel? I think RewindTV is the most likely since they are generated towards shows from the 70s until the 2000s. Also, there would be less pressure to deliver ratings. I don’t think there would be trademark issues but what do I know?

I can also see a family cable channel like Disney Channel doing it (albeit with current shows.) Once again there would be lesser pressure to deliver ratings (albeit there would be lesser pressure to deliver ratings for a digital substation to do it.)

What do you think?

WB may bring back their "The WB friday night" block when their fast streaming service comes out. The working name for it is WB TV.
Warner Discovery is launching a new nostalgia block on Cartoon Network called checkered Past starting in August full of 90s & 2000s cartoons and
I assume this new Fast TV service is going to be catering to that demo as well.

I could see Rewind TV doing it but who has that channel ?

favoriteshow
07-02-2023, 04:42 PM
Netflix or Apple TV could offer block of new family and high school teen shows, with new episodes released every Friday. The shows would probably add a dystopian setting element to match current interest though.

Yong Fang
07-02-2023, 10:52 PM
I think for some reason people fail to understand is that one does not have to wait a particular day or time to watch whatever program they want to see. Because of the internet and the so called “streaming” services, I can watch any show I want at my own convenience. I don’t need to wait for a particular day, if the program is first broadcast, it is out there immediately.

TMC
07-03-2023, 01:06 AM
I think for some reason people fail to understand is that one does not have to wait a particular day or time to watch whatever program they want to see. Because of the internet and the so called “streaming” services, I can watch any show I want at my own convenience. I don’t need to wait for a particular day, if the program is first broadcast, it is out there immediately.

I really don't know if something like TGIF could work today. I don't have a clear idea right how for why the latter attempts by ABC to program sitcoms on Friday nights didn't work out as well as they did back in the '90s.

But, it goes without saying and that TGIF during tis heyday, was really like "lightening in a bottle". The TV Tropes (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Franchise/TGiF)page on TGIF argues that the same teen and young adult demo that had proved lucrative in the '90s, and was just now being sought after by other networks, was quickly abandoning television on Friday nights period in favor of other activities (namely those that took place far outside the home) and the block was starting to get hammered by a then-new phenomenon - web-based entertainment.

Also, by the 2010s, Wednesday had become ABC's dominant family sitcom night, with shows like The Middle, The Goldbergs, Modern Family, and Blackish.

FHCastmember
07-03-2023, 12:30 PM
Netflix or Apple TV could offer block of new family and high school teen shows, with new episodes released every Friday. The shows would probably add a dystopian setting element to match current interest though.

I think tv is over that fad except for Last of us

FHCastmember
07-03-2023, 12:31 PM
I really don't know if something like TGIF could work today. I don't have a clear idea right how for why the latter attempts by ABC to program sitcoms on Friday nights didn't work out as well as they did back in the '90s.

But, it goes without saying and that TGIF during tis heyday, was really like "lightening in a bottle". The TV Tropes (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Franchise/TGiF)page on TGIF argues that the same teen and young adult demo that had proved lucrative in the '90s, and was just now being sought after by other networks, was quickly abandoning television on Friday nights period in favor of other activities (namely those that took place far outside the home) and the block was starting to get hammered by a then-new phenomenon - web-based entertainment.

Also, by the 2010s, Wednesday had become ABC's dominant family sitcom night, with shows like The Middle, The Goldbergs, Modern Family, and Blackish.

Abc should have secured the rights to Fuller House and Girl Meets World. They would have restored the TGIF feeling again, and of course when the Rosanne reboot came along ABC learned from their mistakes and grabbed it. The thing that really destroyed the TGIF brand was letting Sabrina go to WB and leaving Abc without a TGIF block for 2 seasons. In that time WB caught up and did their own block with an ABC show as the anchor. The 2018 reboot didn't even feel like real TGIF, I appreciate them having Carl Winslow and Topanga in the bumpers for the first week back but the shows themselves didn't feel sitcomy at all.