Fringe Television - Friday Nights in The US?

[Perpetual Man]

It has often been suggested that when it comes to television (mainly in the ratings hungry US television industry) that Friday night is the death slot, new with little potential are introduced; where others that are introduced elsewhere go when the ratings fail, or worse when established shows are shunted to one side for whatever reason... in short it's where television shows go to die.

According to SFX magazine it's just been announced that the superb FRINGE has been moved to the Friday slot and it made me wonder, just why is Friday such a bad slot in the US? Ghost Whisperer, a poor but sometimes entertaining genre show lasted five years there, only being cancelled at the end of the last season. To be fair season 5 of GW was appalling, and the fact that Smallville had been moved to Friday did not help, but Smallville was not cancelled and has to be considered a successful show, running nine years, and it seems to have done well enough on Friday to get it's tenth season and for the equally successful Supernatural to join it.

Of course this might seem a bit problematic for FRINGE not only moving to a Friday, but probably being opposite another established genre show. It is currently in it's third season, having grown from a X-Files style drama to a universe hopping piece, filled with original creativity and possibly one of the best characters on TV at the moment in the form of Walter Bishop, played superbly by John Noble (LOTR).

With the perception of Friday night being the 'death slot,' the already established Smallville and Supernatural, and the FRINGE production team saying they are happy with the move, that they see it as a challenge it really seems that the network has given up on the show.

But is Friday night really the place shows go to die?

At the start of this TV season FRINGE returned in a new slot, on a Thursday night. This might have seemed as though it was show with confidence behind it. But Thursday night is crammed full of top shows - I think one CSI, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, The Vampire Diaries not to mention a swathe of shows being swapped to the Thursday night - all established big shows - The Mentalist, Bones and The Big Bang Theory, and surprise hit new comedy S#!t My Dad Says it just seemed over crowded and something had to give and it looks as though it's FRINGE

So is Friday really the death slot, or is Thursday a slot to place something if a network wants to make a show look like it's performing badly in order to either cancel it or an excuse to shunt it to the Friday?

It really will be a shame if FRINGE goes but it was not expected to last a season so it might just surprise us yet.

 

[Michael01]

It wasn't expected to last? I've been in love with that show from the very beginning. They always crush my faves, man.

I don't really know, but I've heard the reason Friday night is bad for TV shows (unless they're on SyFy, I guess) is because many people go out on Friday nights.

Anyway, I rarely watch TV anymore. I watch everything on the Internet (mostly stream them through my XBox), because I despise waiting a week to see the next episode. No matter how much I like a show, I might still forget to watch it simply because I have work to do (or I'm writing). I watch all my favorites that way (Monk, Psych, Numbers, Full Metal Alchemist, you name it). Unfortunately, I can't stream Fringe through Netflix yet, so I either have to watch it on Hulu, the network site (both of which only have the three most recent episodes up at one time), or wait for the disc.

So, to me, it doesn't matter what night it's on, although it matters very much if the show gets canceled. I'm still crying over Witchblade, after all these years.

Hey FOX, do not cancel my favorite show! Please...?

 

[Perpetual Man]

This is where it gets even more unfair, unless things have changed, when it comes to viewing figures, the networks don't seem to count people who stream the episodes, or record/Tevo them.

I seem to recall another show (I'm thinking Firefly but it's probably something else) was the most recorded/downloaded show one week, but it did not even cause a glimmer when it came to cancellation

 

[clovis-man]

In the US of A, people don't watch TV on Friday. They just got paid (those who earn weekly wages) and are out shopping or partying. No time for TV. One memorable show sent to the elephant's graveyard of TV, i.e., Friday night:

Star Trek TOS

and much more renently:

Dollhouse

 

[Perpetual Man]

Dollhouse

Thanks Clovis-man. I knew the recent one I was thinking of was a Whedon something....

 

[Dr.Jackson]

This is where it gets even more unfair, unless things have changed, when it comes to viewing figures, the networks don't seem to count people who stream the episodes, or record/Tevo them.

Unfortunately the networks still focus on the live ratings due to their revenue largely coming from the advertisers who want people to watch their adverts, not skip through them on TiVo. Once again, unfortunately they are a little behind the trends in technology. A lot of tech savvy audience members tend to DVR and watch later that night, resulting in a drop of reported ratings which is a a problem that a lot of shows have found.

Friday can signify the death knell for a number of shows, however, in your initial post you mention Smallville being shunted to Friday and continuing - this might be because despite relatively low ratings, it's broadcast on the CW, which to be honest has desperately low ratings compared to the larger three-lettered networks, ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX.

 

[Perpetual Man]

Friday can signify the death knell for a number of shows, however, in your initial post you mention Smallville being shunted to Friday and continuing - this might be because despite relatively low ratings, it's broadcast on the CW, which to be honest has desperately low ratings compared to the larger three-lettered networks, ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX.

Good point, but I did wonder whether this could still have a strange knock on effect. Smallville & now Supernatural are both on the CW, but if you are an SF/Fantasy or Horror fan, give a fairly entertaining 2 hours of television.

Although on a minority network, could their presence erode figures slightly on weaker genre shows on the bigger networks enough that the the giants cancel them (Ie Ghost Whisperer and now Medium) or would they have gone anyway? (Although Ghost Whisperer should have been put out of my misery a few years ago).

And the question that I meant to ask but I waffled on so much that I probably obscured it, is are Friday night really that bad? Or is it something that was true years ago but is only perceived to be now?

and whoops, I spelt TiVo wrong

 

[steve12553]

The reference to Star Trek being sent to Friday nights to die is a historical fact. But I don't know if the same rules apply today. I just watched a new Fringe episode Thursday and have not heard about it moving to Fridays. Fridays were a bad day for young people to watch television mainly because many people with spending power (key demographic) have the weekend off and will go somewhere rather than stay home and rest before going to bed early enough to get up for work. I do think the network pay some attension to the other factors involved in having a successful television show but the do make some big mistakes.

 

[Rosemary]

Friday nights over here are dead, as far as good shows go! They certainly have got rid of a lot of really good shows over the years because no one is at home to watch them. Well, apart from me

Then there might be two nights in the week, where three programs you want to watch are on three different channels and all at the same time! One old VCR records one for me, I watch another while the third is missed completely

What is going to happen if almost everyone starts watching their TV via the internet - will that make it worse for the rest of the week?

 

[Karn Maeshalanadae]

Come the new year Fringe is indeed moving over to Fridays. Whether or not that's a good sign, I don't know. This was only the second season it finished with.


There's not many shows I try to catch regularly, but Fringe is one of them, and I would be rather upset if they canceled it.

 

[merry gentry]

As a Fan of Fringe, I was a bit sad to see it moved from it's premium spot on Thursdays to Fridays - I'm in the USA. I do love the show, and now have no choice but to dvr it to get to see it, as there are just too many other things I do on Fridays. The show itself is still quite awesome to watch, and now I get the option of skipping the commercials, so it's not all bad

 

[Heck Tate]

I watch most of my TV online, so the time change doesn't really affect me, aside from the implications of FOX moving it. Right now it occupies the same slot that The Good Guys had for most of last season. TGG was a brand new show, and did not get renewed for a second season. I think FOX is itching to get rid of Fringe because it really doesn't pull in too many viewers, but because JJ Abrams holds some weight due to Lost, they're letting him wrap the series up. I really don't expect it to continue past this season because FOX doesn't appreciate original concepts.

 

[merry gentry]

I have to agree - Fox does tend to do that to original shows. Best we can hope for is it gets a new life on some other channel, FX, or some other cable spot that will let them keep it going!

 

[Dr.Jackson]

As someone who is a fan of several shows which suffer from generally low ratings, I probably pay more attention to the figures than most. However, it's common knowledge, I reckon, that Friday night isn't that great for ratings. Being the start of the weekend for most people, they go out rather than stay in, meaning that all networks suffer a drop in viewing figures.

I think it's neither a good nor bad thing that FOX have been showing promos for Fringe. It's nice to see that they're supporting it by doing that, however much of a token gesture it is. Like a lot of 'cult' shows, the ratings have been holding pretty steady and I think they'll probably come to the decision that the core audience has stuck with the show despite the move.
As it is, Fringe has largely been the 2nd top rated show of the major networks in it's time slot on the Friday. With a bit of luck, that will be enough to convince FOX to keep producing it.

 

[Perpetual Man]

Thanks Dr. J. I was going to ask if anyone knew how it had been doing since it's move!

 

[Daisy-Boo]

That's very encouraging news Dr. J. Fringe is one of my favourite shows and it woul dbe a shame for it to end prematurely, without tying up all the loose ends. Also, I'd really miss Walter.

 

[Dr.Jackson]

Good news everyone!

It was announced a little while ago that Fringe has been picked up for a 4th season. The producer of the show posted this on Twitter:

"@JWFRINGE: #Fringe was picked up!!!! Thanks Fringedom!"

and at 2am GMT, it was officially announced: Fox confirms the renewal and bonus, it is a FULL season 22 episode pick-up.

I was a little concerned when the last episode 'Stowaway' got comparatively poor ratings, but luckily the network saw sense!

 

[Perpetual Man]

Thanks for letting us know Dr. J., a great start to a Friday morning!

 

[Heck Tate]

Awesome news, thanks Dr. Comparatively low ratings for Fringe is nothing new, the show pulls in an amazingly low amount of viewers, which is why I'm surprised Fox picked it up again. It does get amazing reviews from anyone who actually watches it, though.

 

[udk6dunn]

I have seen first and second season of this show online. Now I am watching its current running season online. Season 3 is also very interesting to watch. I am watching this season from the beginning. This is really a good show.