The TV Column

Red flags start to flutter for troubled new series

ABC’s Quantico, starring Priyanka Chopra and Tate Ellington, has already been awarded a full-season episode order.
ABC’s Quantico, starring Priyanka Chopra and Tate Ellington, has already been awarded a full-season episode order.

Kids, ask your grandparents about the good ol' days when a TV series was given an entire season to find an audience before being canceled. Those days are long gone.

These days, a new series holds its breath to see if it can earn a full season of 22 episodes after the initial order of 13. Sometimes a new program doesn't even make it to the promised 13. The networks have little patience in an age of fragmenting audiences.

That means that even this early in the fall season (less than two months) some programs are already on the annual death watch, while others already know they're in it for the rest of the year.

The Washington Post recently took stock of the early trends and I'll pass along the tally.

The Post points out that one of the new early warning signs the end is coming is when a network reduces the number of ordered episodes from the initial 13. Translation: There isn't anything ready to come off the bench to replace this turkey, but we're going to waste as little money as possible on it.

Here's the early season breakdown by network. I'm sorry if your very most favorite new show in the world is on the chopping block.

NBC: Blindspot (9 p.m. Mondays). Earning about 14 million viewers once you count DVRs, the drama that began with a naked tattooed mystery lady is a hit and has already been picked up for a full season.

Heroes Reborn (7 p.m. Thursdays). Rebooted this season as only a 13-episode miniseries, that's what it remains as the ratings slide below 4 million. If the show about ordinary folks with extraordinary powers had been a success, NBC would find a way to milk it for more. Not going to happen.

Best Time Ever With Neil Patrick Harris (7 p.m. Tuesdays). Harris is a talented performer, but only 4 million are watching each week. That's probably not enough to keep the lights on.

Truth Be Told (7:30 p.m. Fridays). Hopefully, Mark-Paul Gosselaar and the rest of the cast have their resumes up to date. With only an embarrassing 2.4 million viewers, the neighbor comedy is the lowest-rated series on the Big 4 networks. NBC has reduced the episode order from 13 to 10.

The Player (9 p.m. Thursdays). Wesley Snipes and Philip Winchester won't be playing much longer. Only 4 million live viewers means the action adventure has been trimmed to nine episodes.

Fox: Scream Queens (8 p.m. Tuesdays). Ryan Murphy's silly homage to slasher films doubles to 4 million viewers with DVR viewing added. Fox seems content to keep it at a 15-episode anthology series.

Rosewood (7 p.m. Wednesdays). With 5 million viewers, Morris Chestnut and Jaina Lee Ortiz have settled in with their Miami-based medical examiner procedural. The show has been picked up for a full season.

The Grinder (7:30 p.m. Tuesdays). Rob Lowe and Fred Savage are only pulling 3 million viewers, but that's above par for a Fox comedy. It has been rewarded with a full season.

Grandfathered (7 p.m. Tuesdays). With similar ratings, John Stamos and his sitcom are a package deal with The Grinder. Picked up for the full season.

Minority Report (8 p.m. Mondays). At 3 million viewers, it's not getting much traction from being based on the Tom Cruise movie. The series has been cut to 10 episodes.

ABC: Quantico (9 p.m. Sundays). The fetching Priyanka Chopra and crew have been picked up for the full season thanks to 10 million viewers. That includes an unusually high number watching the FBI thriller via DVR.

Dr. Ken (7:30 p.m. Fridays). ABC picked up this critically panned sitcom for the entire season. I guess something has to air on low-expectation Friday night.

The Muppets (7 p.m. Tuesdays). A full season for this one was always only 16 episodes and that's still the plan.

Blood & Oil (8 p.m. Sundays). It's been a steady downhill ratings slide for Don Johnson's oil baron drama. Episodes have been cut from 13 to 10.

Wicked City (9 p.m. Tuesdays). The cat-and-mouse hunt for a pair of serial killers debuted Oct. 27 with only 3 million viewers. That's not a good sign.

CBS: Limitless (9 p.m. Tuesdays). The outlook is promising for the mind-expanding drama that's bringing in 12 million viewers. Picked up for the full season.

Life in Pieces (7:30 p.m. Thursdays). Getting the post-Big Bang Theory boost, the multi-generational comedy has been picked up for the full season.

Supergirl (7 p.m. Mondays). Debuting late (on Oct. 26), the critically praised series is pulling in around 13 million viewers. That ought to be enough to guarantee a full season.

Code Black (9 p.m. Wednesdays). TV's latest emergency room drama is under-performing with 6 million viewers, but the network has ordered six more scripts before making a full-season decision.

The CW: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (7 p.m. Monday). Being a mini-network, The CW has lower expectations and low ratings are rarely a hindrance. How low? Only 977,000 viewers. Still, no word on this musical sitcom yet.

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

mstorey@arkansasonline.com

Style on 11/10/2015

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