Year ‘Round TV: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

When the networks started making noise about “52-week seasons” and “rerun-free scheduling” a couple of years ago, I thought that sounded great. No more 3-month hiatus during summer. No more endless stretch of reruns in December and January. Now that the networks are putting those plans into practice, is it such a great idea? Yes and no.

The Good:
The commitment to fewer reruns means more original programming throughout the year, bringing us double the content on many networks. For example, FOX runs all 24 episodes of 24 during the spring, with no reruns, freeing up that timeslot in the fall for a different program that probably wouldn’t have found a spot on the schedule if the network stuck with the old programming schedule. Last year ABC used this strategy to lessen the impact of the writers’ strike by stockpiling shorter runs of several series to air in the spring; while the other networks were stuck with reruns and viewers were hungry for something new, ABC provided new content with varying degrees of success (Cashmere Mafia anyone?). Still, the viewers are being presented with a plethora of good shows to sample throughout the year, making it vital to have a recording device and access to online viewing methods to keep up with all of the goodies!

The Bad:
ABC’s stockpiling idea may have been good for a situation like the writers’ strike, but once that was settled and writers returned to their scripts, it spelled doom for the sophomore outings of Eli Stone, Dirty Sexy Money, and Nice Girls fav Pushing Daisies. All of those shows have been removed from the spring schedule with 3-4 episodes remaining to air. ABC says they don’t have room in the schedule as they launch several new programs this spring, so it looks like fans will have to wait until June to see the concluding episodes. Another problem is that the cable networks have been using rerun-filled hiatuses to launch their own original programming. With more competition from hundreds of channels, it’s more and more difficult to catch the viewers’ attention long enough to establish a new series.

The Ugly:
All of those programming hours have to be filled with something, and if the networks don’t want reruns then they turn to other cheap fare: reality shows. Need I say more?

It’s still too early to declare the year ’round schedule a success or failure, but it is time to start discussing it and make some tweaks. What do you, as a viewer, think about rerun-free TV? Sound off in the comments below.