We had a little chat on the show this week about the status of certain US shows in terms of coming back for a new season next year and those already confirmed for the scrapheap. Smallville for example is confirmed for a tenth year (TENTH) while one time cult fave Ugly Betty has been cancelled after four seasons. Bearing all this TV schedule drama in mind we decided to comb through our report and where certain shows are at to provide you with this list of the 5 US shows whose status you should pay attention to, for various reasons.
Glee
The winners of the new TV season.
Obviously this has been the runaway hit of the year on both sides of the Atlantic. New episodes return stateside next month and there is already talk of extra episodes during the second season. This is all well and good but with such a high concept premise and an exhausting production schedule (multiple musical numbers to be recorded, choreographed and filmed per episode) this is a show that could very quickly lose stem. Recent shows like Pushing Daisies with similar levels of production have faltered during later seasons because of spiralling budgets so it’ll be interesting to see where this show goes in the next 12 months.
Melrose Place
Struggling to find an audience over at Melrose Place
I defended this rather enjoyable guilty pleasure on the show during the week despite the likelihood of it being cancelled. What makes Melrose Place an interesting case is how it was tipped for big things when it was announced for The CW network last year. It debuted with a big marketing push but has struggled to find viewers. Unlike the 90210 reboot which managed to find an eager teen audience, the murder mystery storyline and mixture of old and new cast members has made this show a hard sell for many. An interesting example of how not all high profile remakes can catch on with audiences.
Cougar Town
Courtney Cox as the Queen of Cougar Town
New comedies are in rude health as displayed by the success of this and other new hits Modern Family and Community have shown. Matching the quirky sensibilities of Bill Lawrence, the creator of Scrubs (which is widely believed to finish this season) with the longstanding appeal of Courtney Cox, Cougar Town has managed to surpass a hokey sounding premise to be one of the surprise hits of the year. You can catch it Mondays on RTE Two.
Grey’s Anatomy
Katherine bids TV farewell
Obviously still a hugely popular series with a devoted fanbase Grey’s is very likely to get picked up for another season in a few months time. A show not without it’s problems in terms of cast mates, one of it’s biggest stars Katherine Heigl has been rumoured to be leaving for a while. With several sources announcing her departure this year it leaves the show open to more casting discussion. Will the remaining actors vie for more money and screentime? Or will this long running series attempt to inject some fresh blood. A show worth keeping an eye to see how it weathers another casting storm.
V
Can the new V become a fully fledged hit?
A much hyped start but struggling to find it’s feet, it’ll be interesting to see how this sci-fi remake fares in the next few months. Insiders say there’s some good stuff to come but will audiences stick around? The troubled production history of this show already makes a bit of a liability for US network ABC but given how fervent online fanbases for genre shows get there might be some life left in V yet.
