Which TV show had the single biggest "drop" in popularity ever? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TMC · 02-04-2022, 06:44 AM

This may be a very wide question, but let's say a combination of bad luck, bad creative decisions, overexposure in the press, and the aging of its core demographic all contributed to the series declining in popularity. And aside from TV buffs or hardcore TV geeks it is show that went from being influential, acclaimed, and popular to something that not many people talk about or remember at all.

Alan Brady's Hair · 02-04-2022, 09:41 AM

Well, it seems the Cosby Show is a candidate, because it had so far to fall. I'm doubtful of any assertions of failing popularity, because programmers effect things so much. Rural sitcoms were declared out of style, but remained among the most-watched shows in syndication for decades.

DEH55 · 02-04-2022, 11:20 AM

Maybe Welcome Back Kotter. It was only around 4 seasons. It was Huge. they had lunch boxes and dolls. But they hit the iceberg when Travolta leaves. They nosedived in the 4 th season. They choose a really bad replacement. Gabe Kaplan who the show revolved around is barely there anymore. The show went south really fast.

Duster76 · 02-04-2022, 11:40 AM

I nominate Batman. The series was the ultimate flash in the pan, the two weekly episodes ranking 9 and 13 in the ratings for the first half season. When it returned in the fall for its first full season it was in free fall. The series was barely renewed, one night ranking 37, and the other ranking 52, the renewal was for a single episode a week with a steep budget cut. The third season the show continued the downward trend and was ultimately cancelled.

Sal · 02-05-2022, 10:46 AM

I would nominate "Chico and the Man" and "8 Simple Rules" for the same reason. Both were big hits in their first year but the sudden death of their stars Freddie Prinze and John Ritter shocked their fans so much (even today) that they simply couldn't continue to watch once the shows continued. The fact that their replacements had very little talent or charisma (like David Spade!!) also hurt a lot.

TMC · 02-06-2022, 07:08 AM

Lucille Ball's third sitcom, Here's Lucy: It ran for six seasons and produced 144 episodes. It was also in the top ten of the Nielsen ratings for its first four seasons. The highest it got was #3 in Season 3 (1970-71). And yet, come syndication time, the show is for all intent and purposes, a non-entity. This is merely because stations just didn't want it since Lucy's prior to shows were still successfully airing in syndication. They simply felt that a third Lucy show would undermine the other shows' success. And the few stations that did dare to try Here's Lucy deemed it a failure.

Murphy Brown: The show ran for 10 seasons (11 if you count the short lived revival in 2018), earned Candice Bergen five Emmys for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, and the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series twice. Plus, the show even got the attention of the Vice President of the United States at the time, Dan Quayle. And yet, the show has never lasted long in syndication in no small part due to the dated nature of the humor.

TMC · 02-06-2022, 07:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duster76

I nominate Batman. The series was the ultimate flash in the pan, the two weekly episodes ranking 9 and 13 in the ratings for the first half season. When it returned in the fall for its first full season it was in free fall. The series was barely renewed, one night ranking 37, and the other ranking 52, the renewal was for a single episode a week with a steep budget cut. The third season the show continued the downward trend and was ultimately cancelled.

Mork & Mindy was another "flash in the pan" show. It was ranked #3 in the Nielsens for its first year. But in a classic case of "if it isn't broke don't fix it", ABC in their infinite wisdom, began to tinker with the show anyway. By its final season in 1981-82, the show ranked 60th in the Nielsens.

icecream · 02-06-2022, 01:13 PM

Who Wants to be a Millionaire?- the original Regis version. It went from being a smash hit in 1999 and 2000 to low rated and pulled from May sweeps in 2002.

Babalu · 02-06-2022, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sal

I would nominate "Chico and the Man" and "8 Simple Rules" for the same reason. Both were big hits in their first year but the sudden death of their stars Freddie Prinze and John Ritter shocked their fans so much (even today) that they simply couldn't continue to watch once the shows continued. The fact that their replacements had very little talent or charisma (like David Spade!!) also hurt a lot.

I wouldn't count shows where the actors died.

Get Smart was a huge hit for a few years and then tanked in the ratings.

factsoflife · 02-07-2022, 12:30 AM

Glee--Nominated for Best comedy series twice, winner of numerous other awards and a ratings powerhouse. The show has serious critical acclaim but then through overexposure, a decline in quality and many other factors the show just simply stopped being popular. Nowadays it's only mentioned in terms of a cast member having a social media scandal or as the butt of a joke, or about how problematic its writing was.

NYPD BLUE--- A critical darling, ratings phenomenon and cultural touchstone, this show was a huge show when it aired; but as ultimately ahead of its time. It's anti-hero lead characters and it's gritty writing was new stuff in 1994, but by the start of the new millennium pretty much every show on cable had copied its format and was perfecting an art it started. Nobody even talks about the show anymore.

Mad About You- It was a pretty popular sitcom, was part of NBC's "Must See TV" line-up and earned numerous awards, including four Lead Actress Emmy's for Helen Hunt, and now nobody talks about it, nobody mentions it and a recent reboot got so little attention it didn't even air on a major network, it ended up on a minor network few people have.

Desperate Housewives---The show was an absolute powerhouse in the Neilsen Ratings for its first few seasons; was a critical success and earned numerous Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG nominations. Sometime around the second season the critical support began to wane and as the show continued airing its ratings began to drop each season. This show is barely talked about anymore.

merlinjones · 02-07-2022, 01:53 PM

Twin Peaks? Season one was a phenomena with everyone following the clues to the mystery -- season two showed that the mystery didn't really exist, they were just making it up as they went.

icecream · 02-07-2022, 11:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by factsoflife

Mad About You- It was a pretty popular sitcom, was part of NBC's "Must See TV" line-up and earned numerous awards, including four Lead Actress Emmy's for Helen Hunt, and now nobody talks about it, nobody mentions it and a recent reboot got so little attention it didn't even air on a major network, it ended up on a minor network few people have.

The original Mad About You is 100 times better than its wretched spin-off Friends, too bad the ratings and syndication success have been the exact opposite.

Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt have the best chemistry of any married TV couple. The revival is more widely available now if you have access to Amazon Prime, complete classic series is on there too.

TMC · 02-08-2022, 01:45 AM

Grace Under Fire - During its first two seasons, it was the fifth and fourth rated show in the Nielsens respectively. After coming in #13th in the Nielsen ratings for its third year, it plummeted to #45 in its fourth year, and then #68 in its abbreviated final season. Any time the show is brought up now, it seems like first and foremost, all of the chaos that Brett Butler caused on set is talked about above all else.

Sal · 02-08-2022, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by icecream

The original Mad About You is 100 times better than its wretched spin-off Friends, too bad the ratings and syndication success have been the exact opposite.

Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt have the best chemistry of any married TV couple. The revival is more widely available now if you have access to Amazon Prime, complete classic series is on there too.

"Friends" is not a spin-off of "Mad About You". I don't know where you got that idea. It was loosely patterned after "Seinfeld" and became a much better series. The only connection it has with "Mad About You" is that Lisa Kudrow was in both series as Ursula and her twin sister Phoebe and she was the best actor in both series. I did watch the revival on CTV last year and I thought it was good, except for one major flaw --- Lisa was not in it!!

icecream · 02-08-2022, 11:40 AM

Lisa Kudrow first appeared on Mad About You as Ursula before Friends ever premiered, then they spun off Ursula's twin sister onto Friends.

02-05-2022, 10:46 AM	#5
Sal Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Jul 20, 2001 Location: Oakville, Ont. Canada Posts: 6,175	I would nominate "Chico and the Man" and "8 Simple Rules" for the same reason. Both were big hits in their first year but the sudden death of their stars Freddie Prinze and John Ritter shocked their fans so much (even today) that they simply couldn't continue to watch once the shows continued. The fact that their replacements had very little talent or charisma (like David Spade!!) also hurt a lot.
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02-06-2022, 01:13 PM	#8
icecream Cat-tastic and Whiskerlicious Forum Celebrity Join Date: Sep 01, 2006 Location: The Catacombs Posts: 20,705	Who Wants to be a Millionaire?- the original Regis version. It went from being a smash hit in 1999 and 2000 to low rated and pulled from May sweeps in 2002.
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02-07-2022, 12:30 AM	#10
factsoflife Member Forum Fanatic Join Date: Sep 11, 2000 Posts: 8,744	Glee--Nominated for Best comedy series twice, winner of numerous other awards and a ratings powerhouse. The show has serious critical acclaim but then through overexposure, a decline in quality and many other factors the show just simply stopped being popular. Nowadays it's only mentioned in terms of a cast member having a social media scandal or as the butt of a joke, or about how problematic its writing was. NYPD BLUE--- A critical darling, ratings phenomenon and cultural touchstone, this show was a huge show when it aired; but as ultimately ahead of its time. It's anti-hero lead characters and it's gritty writing was new stuff in 1994, but by the start of the new millennium pretty much every show on cable had copied its format and was perfecting an art it started. Nobody even talks about the show anymore. Mad About You- It was a pretty popular sitcom, was part of NBC's "Must See TV" line-up and earned numerous awards, including four Lead Actress Emmy's for Helen Hunt, and now nobody talks about it, nobody mentions it and a recent reboot got so little attention it didn't even air on a major network, it ended up on a minor network few people have. Desperate Housewives---The show was an absolute powerhouse in the Neilsen Ratings for its first few seasons; was a critical success and earned numerous Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG nominations. Sometime around the second season the critical support began to wane and as the show continued airing its ratings began to drop each season. This show is barely talked about anymore.
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02-04-2022, 06:44 AM	#1
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 125,658	Which TV show had the single biggest "drop" in popularity ever? This may be a very wide question, but let's say a combination of bad luck, bad creative decisions, overexposure in the press, and the aging of its core demographic all contributed to the series declining in popularity. And aside from TV buffs or hardcore TV geeks it is show that went from being influential, acclaimed, and popular to something that not many people talk about or remember at all.

02-04-2022, 09:41 AM	#2
Alan Brady's Hair Member Senior Member Join Date: Aug 30, 2014 Posts: 1,825	Well, it seems the Cosby Show is a candidate, because it had so far to fall. I'm doubtful of any assertions of failing popularity, because programmers effect things so much. Rural sitcoms were declared out of style, but remained among the most-watched shows in syndication for decades.

02-04-2022, 11:20 AM	#3
DEH55 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: May 19, 2020 Posts: 320	Maybe Welcome Back Kotter. It was only around 4 seasons. It was Huge. they had lunch boxes and dolls. But they hit the iceberg when Travolta leaves. They nosedived in the 4 th season. They choose a really bad replacement. Gabe Kaplan who the show revolved around is barely there anymore. The show went south really fast.

02-04-2022, 11:40 AM	#4
Duster76 Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 01, 2008 Location: New jersey Posts: 1,646	I nominate Batman. The series was the ultimate flash in the pan, the two weekly episodes ranking 9 and 13 in the ratings for the first half season. When it returned in the fall for its first full season it was in free fall. The series was barely renewed, one night ranking 37, and the other ranking 52, the renewal was for a single episode a week with a steep budget cut. The third season the show continued the downward trend and was ultimately cancelled.

02-06-2022, 07:08 AM	#6
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 125,658	Lucille Ball's third sitcom, Here's Lucy: It ran for six seasons and produced 144 episodes. It was also in the top ten of the Nielsen ratings for its first four seasons. The highest it got was #3 in Season 3 (1970-71). And yet, come syndication time, the show is for all intent and purposes, a non-entity. This is merely because stations just didn't want it since Lucy's prior to shows were still successfully airing in syndication. They simply felt that a third Lucy show would undermine the other shows' success. And the few stations that did dare to try Here's Lucy deemed it a failure. Murphy Brown: The show ran for 10 seasons (11 if you count the short lived revival in 2018), earned Candice Bergen five Emmys for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, and the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series twice. Plus, the show even got the attention of the Vice President of the United States at the time, Dan Quayle. And yet, the show has never lasted long in syndication in no small part due to the dated nature of the humor.

02-07-2022, 01:53 PM	#11
merlinjones Member Forum Regular Join Date: Dec 30, 2019 Location: los ángeles Posts: 931	Twin Peaks? Season one was a phenomena with everyone following the clues to the mystery -- season two showed that the mystery didn't really exist, they were just making it up as they went.

02-08-2022, 01:45 AM	#13
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 125,658	Grace Under Fire - During its first two seasons, it was the fifth and fourth rated show in the Nielsens respectively. After coming in #13th in the Nielsen ratings for its third year, it plummeted to #45 in its fourth year, and then #68 in its abbreviated final season. Any time the show is brought up now, it seems like first and foremost, all of the chaos that Brett Butler caused on set is talked about above all else.

02-08-2022, 11:40 AM	#15
icecream Cat-tastic and Whiskerlicious Forum Celebrity Join Date: Sep 01, 2006 Location: The Catacombs Posts: 20,705	Lisa Kudrow first appeared on Mad About You as Ursula before Friends ever premiered, then they spun off Ursula's twin sister onto Friends.