Midseason TV: 'Lost,' 'Idol,' Boatload of New Shows
"Lost" and "American Idol" are among midseason TV's highlights.
Dec. 21, 2008 — -- Viewers weaned off network TV by the lasting effects of last winter's writers' strike are being lured back this winter.
January's heavy hitters —American Idol, Lost and 24 — will return for new non-stop seasons, along with a large load of new scripted series, in what's shaping up to be the most crucial midseason in years.
The four major broadcast networks have lost nearly 3 million viewers, 7% of their average audience, since last fall, capping years of erosion as cable network viewership climbs.
Some big broadcast networks waged a low-wattage fall rollout. They tried unsuccessfully to relaunch shows cut short by the strike, and added half the usual number of new series. Only one — CBS' The Mentalist — has become a certified hit.
"Because there weren't new shows ready, you had the renewal of shows that in a regular season wouldn't have been renewed, and most of them have bitten the dust," says analyst David Scardino at Los Angeles ad firm RPA. "You're kind of seeing the fall season in February and March."
Now the networks will try to recover from the writers' strike, even as they prepare for the possibility of a new one by actors.
Several ambitious cable series are due in coming weeks, including A&E's The Beast, starring Patrick Swayze; TNT's advertising-themed Trust Me, with Tom Cavanagh and Eric McCormack; and Showtime's United States of Tara, starring Toni Collette as a woman with multiple personalities.
And FX returns with new seasons of Nip/Tuck and Damages, its most popular and most critically acclaimed shows, respectively.
For cable networks, "it's becoming more of a 52-week season," says Brad Adgate of ad firm Horizon Media. "They have been very aggressive at extending" their runs of original series.
With the notable exception of top-rated CBS, down just 1% this fall, the current TV season is one that big-network rivals would prefer to start all over again.
CBS will remain largely stable, with only one new drama in March and the return of summer drama Flashpoint next month and sitcom Rules of Engagement probably in March.
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