It looks like John Landgraf’s warning of “too much television” is worrying broadcasters this fall TV season.
Typically, summer is the ideal time for networks to get their new shows in order. That means a few recasts, reshoots and restructuring among writers’ rooms.
But according to executives and agents polled by The Hollywood Reporter, this year might be a record year for those changes.
And with fall TV premieres just around the corner (most broadcasters are rolling out new shows between Sept. 1 and Oct. 4), should marketers be worried that some of these shows they’re working so hard to promote might not survive week two?
Showrunners of Fox’s The Grinder, NBC’s Chicago Med, ABC’s Blood & Oil and Shonda Rhimes’ midseason The Catch have all left, citing “creative differences” with the networks.
Recasts are just as worrisome. ABC leads the way with replacing or moving around actors. The Catch, Wicked City, Quantico and Blood & Oil all replaced or changed up talent this summer. Fox’s Minority Report added a lead actor, which led to new key art and trailers mid-summer. NBC’s Chicago Med, The Player and Truth Be Told (which also changed names from People are Talking) all switched up its casts before their fall debuts.
Fox’s Frankenstein Code also switched names to Lookinglass, prompting a new set of trailers and network spots in time for premiere.
And the growing list of talent and writers that have changed this summer don’t even touch the scheduling changes networks have seen. NBC’s Chicago Med and ABC’s Wicked City both moved to the fall schedule after being considered for midseason, while NBC’s Heartbreaker and ABC’s Of Kings and Prophets, which was said to be reshooting its pilot, were moved to midseason lineups.
Read more at The Hollywood Reporter.
Brief Take: Creative changes don’t always mean disaster for fall TV premieres, but the constant switches are a lot for fans to keep up with and marketing teams to add to their plates so close to fall premiere season.
Tags: