Thoughts on the 2014-2015 TV Season

It’s almost hard to believe that the 2014-2015 TV season only has a few more months to go before it comes to a closer. There has been a lot of great (and not-so-great) programming over the course of this current TV season with plenty of ups and downs in the weekly shows.

Where I am concerned, I will be focusing on how the major networks are performing with their one-hour, scripted dramas simply because that is my niche, my preferred brand of shows to watch.

First let’s take a stab at ABC:

The network has struggled to a certain extent with most, if not all, of their dramatic programming, including perennial favorite Castle, which entered its 7th season this year. The shift in direction behind the scenes – long-time series creator Andrew Marlowe stepped down for his seat as showrunner, handing over the reins to long-running executive producer David Amann. That shift in gears coupled with the less-than-pleasing situation surrounding the wedding of the year for Castle and Beckett has placed the show lower in the ratings.

The ratings for former ratings hits Once Upon a Time and Revenge haven’t helped the network and the lack of movement on the ratings front for Nashville and the surprisingly delightful Forever haven’t done ABC any favors either. And, for shame on TV viewers for not standing in line to watch Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Marvel’s Agent Carter.

The network does have one silver lining, okay they have two: Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder. These Thursday night Shonda Rhimes run dramas are knocking it out of the park. And it’s too soon to tell the fate of the new drama Secrets and Lies or the soon-to-air drama American Crime.

Next up is CBS:

The network knows what its viewers want: procedurals with handsome leading men, beautiful leading ladies, smart techie sidekicks and lots of action. The NCIS franchise continues to lead the network in the ratings; and doesn’t seem to be coming to a stop anytime soon. The network also pretty much owns Sunday night with Madam Secretary and The Good Wife holding court even with the difficulty of overruns by football early in the season; and it has also started to corner the market on gross-out shows with Criminal Minds and Stalker.

The other surprise for the network has been the success of Scorpion, which has a hard-to-believe premise that actually works. However, the network did lose one of its long-running dramas – The Mentalist – which came to a close after seven seasons on the air.

CBS also continues to do a good job of bringing in the viewers for the perceived death slots on Friday night with both Hawaii Five-0 and Blue Bloods pulling in decent numbers. And while the ratings for Person of Interest and Elementary have declined a little bit over the current season, they are both still standing firm.

The network has also introduced the new drama Battle Creek and the soon-to-air CSI: Cyber; but like ABC’s new dramas, it’s too soon to tell how either will fair.

The CW:

This is the little network that could, the network that has also been looked down upon as the bastard brother that no one wants in the playground. The one network that consistently provides entertaining programming, well most of it anyway, for its viewers.

Take for example how well the new show The Flash has done, taking over the lead as the number one show on the network from Arrow that took over the mantle of number one show on the network from The Vampire Diaries. The Flash and Arrow are pulling in very good numbers for this fifth placed network that will never really ever get out of fifth place.

The Vampire Diaries and its spin-off The Originals may not be bringing the numbers – in comparison to The Flash and Arrow, but they are still holding their own as best they can. However, I will make this one prediction: both shows have one more season each, but I’m going to guess the 2015-2016 will be the last for both.

Then there is Jane the Virgin, the one show I was absolutely positive was going to be an absolute failure for the network UNTIL I saw the charming pilot episode. And then of course everyone else saw it and loved it just as much, and then series star Gina Rodriguez won a Golden Globe, cementing the show as the most-buzzed-about new show of the year; and deservedly so.

And, what can be said about the long-running drama Supernatural. This is the show that will never die. Sam and Dean Winchester will continue to drive off into the dead of night in their Impala, battling demons no matter how old the actors who play them get.

I should also note that I personally think that The 100 is one of the most-overlooked shows on the small screen right now. It is very different from many of the other shows that have aired on The CW since the network joined forces with UPN back when it was still just The WB. It is gritty, raw and intense. And, for those wondering about Reign, the period piece drama about Mary, Queen of Scots. Sure the historical accuracy has been stripped away, but the romance is pretty powerful and it’s worth tuning in each week just to see all the elaborate costumes worn in this show.

Lastly there is Hart of Dixie that will be wrapping in a few weeks and is the only show that has not been renewed by the network – hell even Beauty and the Beast is getting another season – but I sure hope that however this southern charmer goes out that it will happy endings for all of its characters.

FOX:

Truth be told, FOX is struggling. Gotham hit the mark in the beginning with its debut, but since then it seems to be all over the place in terms of crazy storylines, creepy villains and, simply put, disjointed cases. The same can be said for Sleepy Hollow, which sadly suffered from a bit of the sophomore slump blues, but it did redeem itself to a degree with the last two episodes. Better luck next season.

The one ray of light for the network is the shocking success of Empire that has been scoring double digits with each airing and seeing an increase in its viewers every week. Sadly, the same cannot be said for the failing musical-comedy Glee or the wanna-be-House replicant Backstrom.

The uber-creepy The Following just returned for its new season so maybe that can help get the numbers up for the network. The only saving grace FOX has is that The CW exists or else they would be the lowest ranked major network.

NBC:

The network’s hit series The Blacklist took a hit itself this season when the show was moved from its Monday night killer timeslot to the less than successful Thursday night line-up, leaving room for the less-than-stellar drama State of Affairs to take up the Monday night mantle. It’s more than likely that State of Affairs will not be back for another go-round, hopefully allowing The Blacklist to get back to its regular timeslot. One can hope, right?

Grimm continues to hold its own on Friday night, but the same cannot be said for the much-anticipated adaptation of the DC Comics legend Constantine, which just didn’t take off with viewers. The same can be said for the Americanized version of The Slap and the lackluster Allegiance, which is actually a pretty good show that no one is really watching.

The network can, however, boast about Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D., as these two dramas are holding their own in their respective timeslots while most viewers (as well as critics) are still scratching their heads over how The Mysteries of Laura is still on the air.

The extremely long-running Law & Order: Special Victims Unit isn’t pulling the ratings like it used to, but is still get decent ratings; but at some point the network is going to have to let the show go. I just don’t know when that will be.

Well, that’s it. My thoughts on the 2014-2015 TV season where the dramas on the major networks are concerned. What have been the highlights for you this year? What shows have you liked the best? Which shows do you think will not make it next season? Please share your thoughts below.