Today as I was reading the paper I came across an article in the television section. It was about the cancelation of the show “Men in Trees”. While learning of the show’s departure didn’t move me, I was struck by one piece of information. According to the article the show aired in six different time slots and disappeared for long lengths of time to make room for other shows during its two season run. After reading this I have come to believe that “Men in Trees” probably would have drawn better ratings if more of an effort had been made to allow it to find an audience.
Unfortunately nowadays if a show isn’t an immediately huge success it is either canceled or moved around so much that people don’t know when it is on. What makes this unfortunate is many times shows need time to be discovered. Two of the best examples of this are with “Cheers” and “Seinfeld”. When “Cheers” first premiered it was far from a success. It came in 74th in the ratings of that year, out of 74 shows. But by cleverly placing it in between already popular shows during its second season “Cheers” was able to thrive and become a juggernaut for NBC. A similar story is with the start of “Seinfeld”. When its pilot aired the ratings were so poor that it was almost a year before a scarce number of additional episodes (4) were aired. In spite of poor viewership NBC executives had faith in the series. In addition to getting a second season the show was aired in a single consistent time slot. This allowed people to discover the show and tell others about it. The rest, as they say, is history.
Am I saying that with time “Men in Trees” would have become as successful as “Seinfeld” and “Cheers” were? Probably not. But I do wholeheartedly believe the show would have been more successful if it had truly been given a chance to find an audience. I only hope that more shows are given the chance “Seinfeld” and “Cheers” received instead of the sink or swim attitude that now dominates the airwaves.
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