Grey's Anatomy wants new crop of interns to remind fans of its early years

[TMC]

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv...ew-1235233909/

Two weeks of the 2022-23 TV season, traditional Nielsen ratings for entertainment programming have continued on their years-long downward trend. Aside from a couple of NFL games, no primetime show in premiere week hit 10 million viewers, even with a week of delayed viewing.

There is, however, evidence that viewers are still finding network series, as a handful of streaming numbers indicate. ABC’s Abbott Elementary climbed from 2.92 million viewers for its on-air premiere to 7 million after a week across all platforms — with 2.7 million of those viewers coming via streaming and digital platforms. The network’s drama The Rookie went from 3.36 million same-day viewers to 8.2 million after a week of multi-platform viewing. The adults 18-49 ratings for both shows also more than tripled.

Numbers like that give Simran Sethi, executive vp programming and content strategy at ABC Entertainment, optimism about the state of the business. “The audience is still there for us,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “It feels like a very vibrant marketplace for strong, broad storytelling.”

Sethi, who heads both development and current programming at ABC, spoke with THR about the opening of the season, the network’s high-profile new drama Alaska Daily, starring Hilary Swank, and prioritizing multiple development cycles during the year.

I’d like to start off by asking you how you’re feeling with the first couple of weeks of the season in the books and with the Thursday lineup about to hit this week.

We’re excited. It’s always an exciting time after summer with our original unscripted programming, and Bachelor in Paradise, which is one of my favorite shows. And I think seeing the Abbott [Elementary] news and the fact that in live-seven and multi-platform we were up 318 percent in seven days, and we increased to 7 million viewers in seven days, is really, really encouraging and an exciting reminder that you still bring people together with a great, great show. And then The Rookie: Feds premiered last week — it’s still early days on those numbers, but it held 60 percent of its lead-in, which is nice. And it was the same live number as The Rookie mothership [in adults 18-49]. I feel good about that.

With Thursday, it’s interesting launching a show that’s in its 19th season [Grey’s Anatomy] and a show that’s in its first season [Alaska Daily] back to back. And it’s such a lovely contrast and a testament to how good our creators are. Krista [Vernoff] and Shonda [Rhimes] are telling incredible stories [on Grey’s], even in the 19th season, with this new crop of interns, that feels very much of the moment and of this generation. They’re their own people, but it still taps into the nostalgic feelings and the hallmark tone of Grey’s Anatomy that we remember from those early days — for those of us old enough. I don’t know if you are or not …

Very much so.

The feeling that I got watching that [original] group of interns, I had a very similar feeling watching the premiere episode and seeing this new crop come together. I think the loyal fan base that Grey’s still has, there’s a lot for everyone in this new season. And then Alaska Daily, it really was for all of us a labor of love to celebrate journalists as heroes. That was important to us, and that was important to [creator Tom McCarthy]. I think that’s telling the story of the missing and murdered Indigineous women crisis, particularly as an example of why local journalism is super important was really the reason why we all wanted to do this show.

[Chocolate Moose]

Hmmm ... i wonder why they want to repeat themselves?