The TV Column

Networks' season finales are falling into place

This is the time of year when viewers start to get nervous

Season finales are looming -- some have already taken place -- and that means network decisions on what lives and what dies follow right behind. Two or three weeks from now, the fate of every show should be known.

If there's one thing I've learned in 22 years on the TV beat it's that almost every series has its passionate supporters -- supporters such as this reader from Centerton, just west of Bentonville. Note the use of four exclamation points at the end. Five will get you certified from fan to fanatic.

Dear Michael:

I've never written/commented on a TV show before, however, after last night's season finale of Scorpion I just felt compelled to make a comment. From the very first episode of Scorpion I have been hooked. The storyline is refreshing, the characters are delightful and the camaraderie is touching. Last night's season finale was awesome! Obviously the main character (Walter) is not going to die. But how they pulled together to save him was exciting. PLEASE tell me this program has been renewed for at least 5 more years!!!!

Our reader need not worry. CBS has been so pleased with the younger audience that its tech nerd procedural is drawing that it renewed the series for a second season back in January.

According to the consulting company Media Dynamics, the three major broadcast networks -- ABC, CBS, NBC -- have a median viewer age of 57. The median age of the total U.S. population is 38.

To put it in perspective, in 1960, when the Big Three had 92 percent of the audience, the median viewer age was 34.

By 1990, thanks to cable, Fox and independent channels, the Big Three were down to 63 percent of the audience, with a prime-time viewer median age of 41. The total U.S. population median was 33.

Translation: The TV audience has been aging steadily for more than 50 years yet advertisers stubbornly prefer younger audiences. That affects what gets on TV and what gets to stay on TV. These days, a TV-watching millennial is worth his weight in Nielsen ratings gold.

With a median viewer age of 58.7 years, CBS has TV's oldest-skewing audience, so every younger viewer is welcomed with open arms.

Renew Scorpion for five years? That's unheard of. CBS' The Big Bang Theory was recently awarded an extremely rare three-year deal, but that had to do with locking in salaries. That show is also a cash cow.

Scorpion got an early renewal because it demonstrates all the positive aspects that network programmers look for. It averaged a healthy 10.4 million viewers, is one of the network's most streamed series, had a strong rating with the advertiser-coveted ages 18-49 demographic and finished strong with a 9 percent viewer increase for the April 20 season finale.

Networks like to program in packages and it appears that Scorpion will be the perfect companion for CBS' planned Supergirl series. The network hopes Supergirl, starring Glee's Melissa Benoist, will also draw a younger audience.

In case you haven't followed along, Scorpion is loosely based on a real-life genius. It follows computer expert Walter O'Brien (Elyes Gabel) and his team of brilliant geeks as they use their brain power to keep America safe from high tech threats.

That takes care of Scorpion fans. Here are the season finales of the rest of the broadcast fare.

Today: Mom (CBS); Backstrom (Fox).

Friday: Blue Bloods (CBS).

Sunday: Madam Secretary (CBS).

Monday: Secrets and Lies (ABC); Gotham (Fox).

Tuesday: Person of Interest (CBS); New Girl (Fox); Weird Loners (Fox); Forever (ABC).

Wednesday: Criminal Minds (CBS).

May 7: The Big Bang Theory (CBS); Scandal (ABC).

May 8: Hawaii Five-0 (CBS).

May 10: The Good Wife (CBS); Once Upon a Time (ABC); Revenge (ABC).

May 11: Jane the Virgin (The CW); The Originals (The CW); Castle (ABC).

May 12: NCIS (CBS); NCIS: New Orleans (CBS); Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (ABC).

May 13: American Idol (Fox); The Middle (ABC); The Goldbergs (ABC); Arrow (The CW); CSI: Cyber (CBS).

Tanked. Beyond the Tank, ABC's Shark Tank followup series, will debut at 8 p.m. Friday and run for three weeks. Each hour will feature what happens after the entrepreneur appears on Shark Tank. Did a promising deal turn sour, or did it lead to millions of dollars in sales?

End of era. Univision has announced that Sept. 19 will be the final show for Sabado Gigante. The Spanish language variety program has been on the air for 53 years.

Host Don Francisco (real name Mario Kreutzberger) will still be around. He'll present various entertainment specials and help Univision develop new on-air talent.

The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Email:

mstorey@arkansasonline.com

Weekend on 04/30/2015

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