WB and UPN comedies don't seem to rerun well - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

jamesanthony · 04-04-2005, 08:21 PM

At least not in my area (NYC). All the sitcoms from these networks that had 4 or more seasons were syndicated yet they've almost all disappeared. The only ones still showing are Girlfriends (which is in its first year in reruns), Parkers (which is in its 2nd) and Sabrina (which went into reruns off of ABC not WB). I guess since the other shows had poor ratings in primetime it carries over to their syndicated reruns as well. Older shows like Seinfeld, Cosby Show, Who's the Boss, Fresh Prince and Drew Carey have all outlasted these shows in syndication:

Hughleys, In the House, Steve Harvey, Moesha, Parent Hood, Wayans Brothers, Sister Sister, Jamie Foxx, Clueless and Unhappily Ever After.

At this rate Parkers might be gone soon as well.

James"Thunder"Early · 04-05-2005, 01:35 PM

There isn't a market for them. people don't know these shows, because when most of them were on a lot of areas didn't have UPN and WB affiliates and some places still don't. and most of the stations that pick these up are WB or UPN affiliates and there is never alot of stations willing to buy these shows. they never found an audience in they're original runs and people who did watch don't want to watch them again. the only reason they go into syndication is for the production company to get money and for small, low power stations to fill in space.

jamesanthony · 04-05-2005, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Phillips

There isn't a market for them. people don't know these shows, because when most of them were on a lot of areas didn't have UPN and WB affiliates and some places still don't. and most of the stations that pick these up are WB or UPN affiliates and there is never alot of stations willing to buy these shows. they never found an audience in they're original runs and people who did watch don't want to watch them again. the only reason they go into syndication is for the production company to get money and for small, low power stations to fill in space.

Makes sense. I'm trying to remember if the early Fox network shows suffered the same situation. Married With Children didn't, it was very successful in syndication. Truthfully, I can't think of any other Fox sitcom from the late 80s that did well in reruns. It could be that those shows didn't run long enough to syndicate. Simpsons, King of the Hill, Malcolm in the Middle (which is new to reruns this year), Martin, Living Single and Roc are the only Fox comedies that imediately come to mind as being successful in reruns (Roc's success is questionable at best though). There must be others but I'm drawing a mental blank.

The UPN and WB shows I listed above all had 4 or more seasons, so WB and UPN kept them on much longer than they would have ever lasted on any other broadast networks. This means that One on One which appears to be headed for syndication this fall will probably be in the same situation- run a couple years then get dropped.

04-04-2005, 08:21 PM	#1
jamesanthony Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 30, 2004 Posts: 2,180	WB and UPN comedies don't seem to rerun well At least not in my area (NYC). All the sitcoms from these networks that had 4 or more seasons were syndicated yet they've almost all disappeared. The only ones still showing are Girlfriends (which is in its first year in reruns), Parkers (which is in its 2nd) and Sabrina (which went into reruns off of ABC not WB). I guess since the other shows had poor ratings in primetime it carries over to their syndicated reruns as well. Older shows like Seinfeld, Cosby Show, Who's the Boss, Fresh Prince and Drew Carey have all outlasted these shows in syndication: Hughleys, In the House, Steve Harvey, Moesha, Parent Hood, Wayans Brothers, Sister Sister, Jamie Foxx, Clueless and Unhappily Ever After. At this rate Parkers might be gone soon as well.

04-05-2005, 01:35 PM	#2
James"Thunder"Early Whoever's In New England Forum Veteran Join Date: Feb 23, 2004 Location: The Apollo Posts: 7,088	There isn't a market for them. people don't know these shows, because when most of them were on a lot of areas didn't have UPN and WB affiliates and some places still don't. and most of the stations that pick these up are WB or UPN affiliates and there is never alot of stations willing to buy these shows. they never found an audience in they're original runs and people who did watch don't want to watch them again. the only reason they go into syndication is for the production company to get money and for small, low power stations to fill in space.
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