Growing 'Desperate'

[vashti1999]

New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.com
Growing 'Desperate'
By RICHARD HUFF
DAILY NEWS TV EDITOR
Tuesday, November 9th, 2004

Viewers are falling hard for a group of "Desperate Housewives."
An estimated 24.9 million of them tuned in Sunday night for ABC's red-hot drama, giving the new series its largest audience yet. It was also the biggest audience for any scripted show on ABC since the May 2000 farewell episode of Michael J. Fox on "Spin City."

No wonder. During the course of an hour, viewers got to see:


Felicity Huffman's Lynette Scavo tangle with a fellow parent at her sons' upscale school.

Eva Longoria's Gabrielle Solis ditch her mother-in-law at a casino to be with her boytoy.

And Marcia Cross' Bree Van De Kamp drop a fur coat to reveal her wearing red lingerie.

"I honestly think 'Desperate Housewives' is one of those shows that taps into the sentiment ordinary Americans feel," said Stacey Lynn Koerner, who analyzes viewing patterns for ad-buyer Initiative Media. "It's slightly over the edge of what the normal person would do, but it's certainly plausible."

Indeed, "Desperate Housewives" has connected with viewers in a way no ABC drama has in a decade and in a way few scripted shows have since reality TV hit big.

To that end, the upward viewing trend for "Desperate Housewives" mirrors that of early "Survivor" and "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire." Each generated extensive watercooler chatter as folks discussed the previous night's show.

"The best television shows have always had those water-cooler moments," said executive producer Michael Edelstein, citing "Seinfeld," "ER" and "Sex and the City."

"With reality TV, it's here, you got to know about it now," Koerner said. "With scripted TV, you usually don't fear that."

But viewers are following along in a big way.

Fan Web sites are flooded each night after the show ends with thoughts on plotlines, the characters and the future.

"You start to feel like you have a relationship and a responsibility with the audience," Edelstein said.

He's also quick to note that "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," which airs before "Desperate Housewives," had a huge audience Sunday, too, helping drive viewers to the drama.

Rival networks are also surprised with the show's performance.

Before the season started, executives at ABC's competitors believed the show would do well, grabbing much of the female audience on Sunday night, recalled an executive at another network. What they hadn't figured on was how many men were watching as well.

It should be noted, CBS' "CSI" remains the most-watched show this season and had more than 30 million viewers last week.

But "Desperate Housewives" is rapidly climbing in the rankings.

"It's not about the angst of young life, it's about the angst of real life," Koerner said. "It's figuring out where you are in terms of the choices you've already made. It's 'thirtysomething,' but more domestic."

Fan Web sites are flooded each night after the show ends with thoughts on plotlines, the characters and the future.

Sitcoms Online, maybe??

[*MIBabe03*]

Thanks for the article! I talk about Desperate Housewives here, and also abc. com. They have message boards for Desperate Housewives there too.

[spunkygirl]

I know of a few fan websites some pretty good ones.

I don't believe Extreme Makeover: Home Edition helped DH ratings at all, the show would be just as big without that show

[Teddy02]

Originally posted by Angela Micelli


I don't believe Extreme Makeover: Home Edition helped DH ratings at all, the show would be just as big without that show

I don't know if i agree with you. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition IMO is definately helping DH. I'm sure that the show would be just as big, but it would have taken longer. Lots of times people tune in to watch one show and then end up watching the show after cause there's nothing better on. lol, that's how i became obsessed with cheers!

of course it didn't hurt that abc had been majorly advertising for it either!

[spunkygirl]

Originally posted by Teddy02
I don't know if i agree with you. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition IMO is definately helping DH. I'm sure that the show would be just as big, but it would have taken longer. Lots of times people tune in to watch one show and then end up watching the show after cause there's nothing better on. lol, that's how i became obsessed with cheers!

of course it didn't hurt that abc had been majorly advertising for it either!

You're probably right, but I thought I read somewhere that Extreme Makeover: Home Edition's ratings weren't as high as they are now till Desperate Houswives came along(although the ratings were high). I know I've caught the end of it the past few weeks(even though DH is on after, the show can still benefit from DH), and that about all it takes sometimes to start watching a new show

[Mr. Television]

I think DH is a solid hit that doesn't depend on any show for lead in support. Its a solid top 5 hit and viewer erosion before and after is very noticeable. Their hasn't been a drama this big since CSI ( not counting its spinoffs).

[spunkygirl]

Originally posted by mr roper
I think DH is a solid hit that doesn't depend on any show for lead in support. Its a solid top 5 hit and viewer erosion before and after is very noticeable. Their hasn't been a drama this big since CSI ( not counting its spinoffs).

[db108108]

HE has definitely help to create a hit status for DH. One week before DH premiered, Home Edition broke out with a two hour premiere that scored 16 million viewers- 3 million more than its series high last spring. I love DH, but I don't think it's ratings would be as high (nor as diverse- HE has an extremely widespread audience) if its lead-in were "10/8," which was on at 8pm last season and drew 7.5mil viewers on the season. That's not to say that DH wouldn't be doing well, but I could see it more in the 16 to 18 million viewer range without the benefit of premiereing after "HE." But now, of course, ABC could air back to back episodes of Hope & Faith at 8pm and it wouldn;t effective ratings for DH on bit because viewers are hooked.

This past Sunday, HE drew 20.4mil (4 million more than the series high) and DH 24.7 (2.5 million more). It's like the shows are feeding off of each other, making each other stronger as the weeks pass.

[db108108]

There hasn't been a first year drama to break out this fast and this big since "ER." Now that's really saying something.

[spunkygirl]

Originally posted by db108108
HE has definitely help to create a hit status for DH. One week before DH premiered, Home Edition broke out with a two hour premiere that scored 16 million viewers- 3 million more than its series high last spring. I love DH, but I don't think it's ratings would be as high (nor as diverse- HE has an extremely widespread audience) if its lead-in were "10/8," which was on at 8pm last season and drew 7.5mil viewers on the season. That's not to say that DH wouldn't be doing well, but I could see it more in the 16 to 18 million viewer range without the benefit of premiereing after "HE." But now, of course, ABC could air back to back episodes of Hope & Faith at 8pm and it wouldn;t effective ratings for DH on bit because viewers are hooked.

This past Sunday, HE drew 20.4mil (4 million more than the series high) and DH 24.7 (2.5 million more). It's like the shows are feeding off of each other, making each other stronger as the weeks pass.

You might be right to an extent, but sorry I still don't buy it. IMO it's selling DH short by saying this. That's like saying Will and Grace was only a hit because of Friends, which we've seen this season it can stand on it's own.

16 million viewers is alot, and maybe it does help some, if it helps at all, it's only a little bit. I think DH can stand on it's own

JMO

[db108108]

Now it could definitely stand on its own, there's no question about that. But I'm saying when it premiered, it probably wouldn't have been so big is it had something weaker for a lead-in. What does it matter anyway? All that matters is that DH is the number two show on tv.