now that Glee's ratings are falling

[massofmen]

Posted: 10/3/11 at 12:46pm

I wonder is SMASH will do anything. Seemingly people are already tired of musical theater.
LAst years premiere had 13.2 million viewers, this years was 8.2. huge drop off. Thats the same number top shows on the USA network get.

[Katurian2]

Posted: 10/3/11 at 12:54pm

I don't think the ratings are falling because people are tired of musical theatre. They're falling because season 2 was heinously terrible, and people got sick of watching it. If you introduce a concept and use it effectively enough, people will watch. If you don't, they won't. People still love musical theatre, just not Glee.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/3/11 at 12:58pm

Two largely different audiences. Glee should move to ABC Family where it belongs.

[MadonnaMusical]

Posted: 10/3/11 at 1:14pm

SMASH = FLOP


With that terrible trailer.... I mean I hope it does well.. for those involved, but it just looks terrible. Maybe it would have worked as a movie... but it would have been a straight to DVD movie...

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/3/11 at 1:23pm

I don't think it looks terrible at all, and this is coming from a person with a previously inviolable anti-Debra Messing perspective.

[perfectliar]

Posted: 10/3/11 at 1:38pm

Total viewers are generally unimportant to networks; the number they pay attention to is the A18-49 demographica. And in that demo, Glee is still Fox's highest-rated hour-long series.

And Smash will only need to be moderately successful in order for NBC to consider it a hit. They're floundering.

[Kad]

Posted: 10/3/11 at 1:50pm

Smash has incredibly good word of mouth going for it right now. But, of course, it's based on a pilot that the public hasn't seen yet.

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 10/3/11 at 2:05pm

In addition to desirable "demographics", doesn't GLEE also make quite a bit of money from subsidiary rights (i.e., music downloads, concert revenues, THE GLEE PROJECT)? I'm sure Fox would like Murphy to get his act together after that ridiculous second season, but I doubt the show is really "in trouble."

[light_in_the_dark2]

Posted: 10/3/11 at 2:09pm

Glee is doing worse because it decided of using clever situational comedy and good song choices (with decent performance) during the first season, the show is now preachy, self righteous, not funny, with terrible performances and HORRIBLE writing. I loved the show when it came out but season 2 was embarassing

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 10/3/11 at 2:29pm

Season to season comparisons are not an effective way to judge. With so many entertainment options available (cable, pay-per-view, online gaming, Video discs etc) the total audience for commercial TV has been shrinking for at least the last 10 years. The key demographic (18-4 and season standings will tell how well the show is holding onto its core audience.

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 10/3/11 at 2:36pm

That's true, frontrow, but per ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, the networks were crowing about how well broadcast shows did during premiere week and how few viewers were lost relative to last season.

As I implied, I don't think GLEE is in danger of cancellation, but a nearly 40% drop in viewers has to be disappointing (particularly after the movie tanked).
Updated On: 10/3/11 at 02:36 PM

[hmpeterson]

Posted: 10/3/11 at 4:24pm

As someone who has seen the SMASH pilot, I thought it was great. It was the best pilot NBC had. Although GRIMM was also very cool. SMASH is NOTHING like GLEE (thank God) and the talent on SMASH is much stronger than Glee. Since NBC's line up isn't very strong, I hope it sticks around. Unfortunately, if you aren't a crime procedural or reality TV, and are something unique and different, people tend not to watch.

I agree with the comments that Glee is dropping viewers because the second season was horrific. The writing is terrible, there is no such thing as character development, plus you can over market yourselves and that's also what is hurting Glee. I think people have had enough of it already. I know I have.

But bring on SMASH! And you guys should check it out when it premieres because it was really solid!

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 10/3/11 at 4:30pm

"Glee"s ratings drop will have nothing to with whether or not "Smash" will succeed. The producers of "Smash" are saying that the show is very different from "Glee." "Glee"s ratings dropped because the second season was BAD and many parents found it to be too inappropriate for younger audiences.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 10/3/11 at 4:34pm

That's funny. I thought the pilot episode of "Glee" was
preachy, self-righteous, not funny, with terrible performances and HORRIBLE writing.

But you're right when you say it's gotten worse.

[CyCoSpAz2]

Posted: 10/3/11 at 5:14pm

Lots of talk about the 18-49 demo, but nobody has provided numbers. This season Glee has posted:

Episode 1: 4.0/11 - 9.21M
Episode 2: 3.7/10 - 8.60M

in the 18-49, which is about where it was at the end of last season. At the beginning of last season, Glee was posting

Episode 1: 5.6/16 - 12.45M
Episode 2: 5.9/17 - 13.508M

and then tumbled for the Grilled Cheesus episode, and settled down in the 4s. Keep in mind the show saw a typical bump because of the Super Bowl, but if you would like a laugh you can look at the 15 minute drop-offs in viewers as that episode went on.

The thing to look for now is that Glee is no longer winning its timeslot. More people have generally always watched NCIS on CBS on Tuesdays, but Glee was ahead in the 18-49 demo, but that hasn't been the case this season. At this time last year Glee was up in the mid-4s, and here we are in the high 3s.

OK, all non-disputable facts aside, the show is losing viewers because it sucks. If people are sick of musical theatre, it is the "musical theatre" that Glee is shoving down our throats, which doesn't look the be the same musical theatre Smash is bringing to the table. But of course, you can never be too sure with the general US viewing audience.

We'll see.

[massofmen]

Posted: 10/3/11 at 6:14pm

i was just thinking that the audience that loved glee so much (which seemed like a niche audience but i guess 14 million people isn't really niche) really want to start all over again with another "musical theater tv show" I think it will be compared to GLee by every critic.

just pondering thoughts...i have no stake in either

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 10/3/11 at 6:22pm

With the possible exception of the Super Bowl, I think every TV audience nowadays is basically a "niche" audience. There are simply too many channels for it to be otherwise.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 10/3/11 at 6:54pm

Also remember SMASH is on NBC, which notorious for cancelling anything early that doesn't involve police, cops or lawyers, or isn't a hit out of the box. Smash will last it's one season and that will be it.

[BenjaminNicholas2]

Posted: 10/3/11 at 7:21pm

Aside from the creators of Glee being stereotypical middle aged gay men (and it shows in EVERY episode), the show is now just a total joke. It's impossible to care about a character you are so incredibly annoyed by. That's Glee's main issue.

That, and, the fact that they're autotuned within an inch of their lives. The songs make no sense anymore within the context of the show. What I have seen of the last two seasons, I'm totally bored with. Smash, I hope, fares better. God knows it's a better cast.



BN

[jsg03jd]

Posted: 10/3/11 at 7:27pm

What I don't get is the appeal of shows like NCISLA, procedural dramas/programs or whatever it is they're called.

I don't watch anything on CBS, which means I am so out of touch with the rest of the country, apparently, but whatevs.

As for "Glee," its demos are still fine and it has revenue streams from soundtrack, iTunes and DVD sales as well as revenues from the tours its cast did in 2010 and this past summer.

Don't know much about "Smash" other than that young lady who didn't win "American Idol" is in it. I don't remember her being a particularly remarkable singer. Not that the "Glee" cast is filled with them either.
Updated On: 10/3/11 at 07:27 PM

[Little-Lotte]

Posted: 10/3/11 at 8:00pm

I said it from the moment it premiered that it wouldn't last. I was shocked at all the hype it got but you know, the tweens will bring in that revenue. I predict ratings will continue to fall until this season finale when, presumably, the original cast members graduate. Next season will be its last. People may watch the Glee Project because it's a reality show and for some reason beyond my comprehension people go crazy over reality TV drama. But any actual fan of the show, is a fan of the cast more than the show itself.

I mean it's no accident that this show is continually snubbed during award season. How much more of the Mr. Burns-esque weekly villainy of Jane Lynch can we take? And how much more of the jocks vs. unpopular kid angles can they come up with? The club is on the verge of breaking up almost every damn week, it's a tired storyline and the fact that they've only had 2 seasons does not bode well for the future of the show beyond the original cast. The cast is what holds the show together and without them, I really don't think it will last.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 10/3/11 at 8:17pm

GLEE is the equivalent of a cheap, expendable prostitute to a pimp. The pimps being FOX and Ryan Murphy. Even with fewer viewers the show is making tons of $$$ for all involved. The GLEE cast just needs to be a good hooker and lay there and spread their legs. Once FOX and Murphy tire of them they will be thrown in a dumpster. Its a cash cow with no integrity and nothing more.

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 10/3/11 at 8:21pm

"Smash will last it's one season and that will be it."

It's a little too soon to be making guesses like that. "30 Rock" has never been a hit with ratings and look at how long it has lasted.

[massofmen]

Posted: 10/3/11 at 8:23pm

Bettyboy72...I have been on this board since '04 and your post was one of the funniest yet intelligent posts i have ever read.

Sidenote" watching the pilot i thought..ok i know everything now and its over. It should have been a movie because the first episode was essentially one of the subplots of American Pie with chris klein.

its funny though..this show was shooting these kids careers into superstardom..i wonder if being on glee will now hurt their careers seeing as the media and other shows are now just making fun of it everywhere. kinda like N'sync and the Backstreet boys (save for Justin timberlake but he is insanely talented)

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 10/3/11 at 8:54pm

I've yet to see the new season. But I'm surprised that no network has bothered to create a variety show. It was a great format in the 70's (recalling Sonny and Cher)...sort of like a modern day version of the Ed Sullivan Show. Just wondering.... from RC in Austin, Texas