Fox Boss: Canceling Back To You Was Tough Decision (TV Guide article) - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

blerg · 05-15-2008, 05:56 PM

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Having sitcom stalwarts Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton in starring roles wasn't enough for Fox to bring Back to You back to you, the viewer, for a second season. "This was not an easy decision," said Fox Entertainment chief Kevin Reilly. "But with that kind of top-profile talent and...proximity to [American Idol] in the second half of the season, the expectations were higher."

Reilly emphasized Fox is working to develop a live-action comedy franchise, but Back To You didn't seem to fit that bill. "The show did not seem to be strking a chord, and in terms of creative direction...it was a pretty mixed bag," he said.

The show did go down with a fight. It got off to a strong start when it debuted last fall, attracting more than nine million viewers. Two episodes that followed Idol in April each brought in more than 12 million sets of eyeballs. While that's respectable — it won its timeslot on those two occasions, in terms of viewers and the highly coveted adult 18-49 group — more than half of the Idol viewers shouted "hey, who's got the remote?" and went away upon hearing "Seacrest Out!"

The show, however, never recovered following the writers' strike, mustering only about seven million viewers in the series' final four airings.

Could Back to You still have some life? TV Week reported that 20th Century Fox shopped the series to CBS, but the show is not on the network's fall schedule.

Executive producer Steven Levitan told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette the show wasn't a good fit on Fox to begin with. "We’ve been on the wrong network from the start," he said. "We got talked into it. That was our blunder. [Fox is] a network that appealed to a different kind of people than we’re aiming for." — J.R. Whalen

SOURCE

Iluvtv4 · 05-15-2008, 07:00 PM

So, Mr. Reilly you are saying that the actors on Til Death aren't high profile and you don't expect much from them?

Mr. Television · 05-15-2008, 07:05 PM

Reilly's an idiot. It got 2 post AI episodes and then it went off the air again. It never could get any kind of momentum. Look at what ABC did with their new shows. They didn't even bring them back but are going to relaunch them in the fall. Fox should have done the same thing. The strike hurt BTY more than most new shows.

Sonia · 05-15-2008, 07:25 PM

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Originally Posted by Clint Eastwood Fan

Reilly's an idiot. It got 2 post AI episodes and then it went off the air again. It never could get any kind of momentum. Look at what ABC did with their new shows. They didn't even bring them back but are going to relaunch them in the fall. Fox should have done the same thing. The strike hurt BTY more than most new shows.

Why doesn't he cut the crap and own to the fact that "He didn't like the show!" Period! It's fine, he' likes "Moment of Truth", we like "Back to You". See different class of people!

ryan423 · 05-15-2008, 07:51 PM

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Originally Posted by Clint Eastwood Fan

Reilly's an idiot. It got 2 post AI episodes and then it went off the air again. It never could get any kind of momentum. Look at what ABC did with their new shows. They didn't even bring them back but are going to relaunch them in the fall. Fox should have done the same thing. The strike hurt BTY more than most new shows.

This is the same man who cancelled Studio 60 on the Susnet Strip with Matthew Perry, Ed Asner and Bradley Whitford last year! What a douche! From NBC to FOX, Reilly is a morone!

JulieSomoski · 05-15-2008, 08:17 PM

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Originally Posted by ryan423

This is the same man who cancelled Studio 60 on the Susnet Strip with Matthew Perry, Ed Asner and Bradley Whitford last year! What a douche! From NBC to FOX, Reilly is a morone!

It makes me wonder how FOX let him be Pres. in the first place. They should have seen that he got fired by NBC for a reason

blerg · 05-15-2008, 08:51 PM

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Originally Posted by roseanne88-97

It makes me wonder how FOX let him be Pres. in the first place. They should have seen that he got fired by NBC for a reason

Yeah, successfully causing NBC to fall from 1st place into a distant 4th only infront of The CW.

JulieSomoski · 05-15-2008, 09:11 PM

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Originally Posted by blerg

Yeah, successfully causing NBC to fall from 1st place into a distant 4th only infront of The CW.

I don't know - the CW has been catching up lately

blerg · 05-16-2008, 06:27 PM

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Originally Posted by roseanne88-97

I don't know - the CW has been catching up lately

Yeah, and The CW has had MASSIVE loses this season aswell. lol.

JulieSomoski · 05-16-2008, 07:04 PM

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Originally Posted by blerg

Yeah, and The CW has had MASSIVE loses this season aswell. lol.

Exactly. Yet, the CW has been doing okay lately, now that the strike is over. FOX is still #1, but that's basically because of Idol. They just don't give their shows enough time to grow.

TJL · 05-16-2008, 07:06 PM

I just don't understand why they thought pairing BTY with American Idol was a good idea.

American Idol viewers didn't watch BTY. No ****. I could have told you that!

JulieSomoski · 05-16-2008, 07:09 PM

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Originally Posted by TJL

I just don't understand why they thought pairing BTY with American Idol was a good idea.

American Idol viewers didn't watch BTY. No ****. I could have told you that!

I agree with you on that one. They said they had higher expectations for BTy once they put it on before AI - to me that's nothing but an excuse. Both shows have totally different viewers. That, and BTY is a 9pm type show. It would have done much better if AI was 8pm, Til Death was 9, and BTY was 9:30.

blerg · 05-16-2008, 07:15 PM

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Originally Posted by roseanne88-97

I agree with you on that one. They said they had higher expectations for BTy once they put it on before AI - to me that's nothing but an excuse. Both shows have totally different viewers. That, and BTY is a 9pm type show. It would have done much better if AI was 8pm, Til Death was 9, and BTY was 9:30.

Am I the only person who is wondering when the last time was when any sitcom at 8:30 outrated another show at 9.

JulieSomoski · 05-16-2008, 07:45 PM

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Originally Posted by blerg

Am I the only person who is wondering when the last time was when any sitcom at 8:30 outrated another show at 9.

TV viewership in total is usually always lower rated at 8pm than it is at 9pm or 10pm. And to think - FOX started out airing it at 8pm.

05-15-2008, 07:05 PM	#3
Mr. Television 23 Years at Sitcoms Online Forum Icon Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Location: Somewhere you're Not Posts: 62,132	Reilly's an idiot. It got 2 post AI episodes and then it went off the air again. It never could get any kind of momentum. Look at what ABC did with their new shows. They didn't even bring them back but are going to relaunch them in the fall. Fox should have done the same thing. The strike hurt BTY more than most new shows.
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05-16-2008, 07:06 PM	#11
TJL Suburbanite Extrordinaire Forum Star Join Date: Dec 29, 2001 Location: New Jersey - the cradle of civilization Posts: 16,588	I just don't understand why they thought pairing BTY with American Idol was a good idea. American Idol viewers didn't watch BTY. No ****. I could have told you that!
	__________________ "I think I'll stroll up to the front to see how the shooting's going..." - Capt. Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce Read my blogs! http://centralparkamisguide.com/ http://dvdcriticscorner.com Visit me on Facebook!http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=641138880 Hey, I do the tweet thing too! http://twitter.com/TomLevier My shop of handmade items! http://www.etsy.com/shop/ColdGarageCreations

05-15-2008, 07:00 PM	#2
Iluvtv4 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: May 11, 2008 Location: California Posts: 34	So, Mr. Reilly you are saying that the actors on Til Death aren't high profile and you don't expect much from them?