Thursday, February 14, 2013

The Question, Thursday 2/14/13: Will ABC Have Zero Success in the 8:00 Hour?


Tonight, conspiracy thriller Zero Hour will become the seventh different drama to premiere in ABC's Thursday 8:00 hour in four seasons since they moved Ugly Betty away. They've aired as many as 22 episodes (Flashforward) and as few as two (My Generation), but the second season has been elusive for them all. It'll be an uphill battle to end the streak with conspiracy thriller Zero Hour, a show both off-brand and mixed to poorly reviewed. Will ABC have Zero success in the 8:00 Hour? That's The Question for Thursday, February 14, 2013.

Recent ABC 8/7c Drama Premieres
4.0 (Flashforward, 9/24/09)
1.8 (The Deep End, 1/21/10)
1.6 (My Generation, 9/23/10)
2.1 (Charlie's Angels, 9/22/11)
2.1 (Missing, 3/15/12)
2.2 (Last Resort, 9/27/12)

Some have gotten into the habit of saying about this timeslot, "Oh, another low-2's premiere. The other low-2's shows died, so this one will too." But I maintain it's not the premiere that's killing these shows; it's that they've all taken much larger than usual post-premiere drops, often settling at barely half the premiere number. A low-2 premiere is not exactly a given for this timeslot. And I'm fairly confident that will be confirmed tonight.

I often enjoy Dan Brown/National Treasure rip-offs, even while accepting they are not high art, and I'm pretty sure there are other people like me. But drawing a crowd for "so bad it's good" has been a shaky proposition lately. (Looking at you, Smash!) Throw in Valentine's Day, The Big Bang Theory and American Idol and I don't see this ending well.

Over/Under: 1.45.

No entries accepted after 6:00am ET the morning after the date in the headline. If editing your pick, please leave a separate comment.

19 comments:

Spot said...

Tuh tuh tuh...THIS JUST HAS TO WORK! IT SEEMS SO MUCH LIKE AWESOME OLDER ABC SHOWS LIKE ALIAS AND THREAT MATRIX, AND I'M TIRED OF THE LIFETIME LITE NETWORK THAT THEY BECAME AFTER HOUSEWIVES!!! WHY AMERICA! WHY! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO WATCH HOUSEWIVES IN DROVES!!! IT WAS TEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIBBBBBBBBBBBLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!


And yet, it probably won't work. But I think that line is just a touch too pessimistic. Over.

Spot said...

Under.

Spot said...

Under. CLOCKS!!!!

Spot said...

I WILL CLOCK YOUR FACE!

Spot said...

+1

America has a tough decision tonight: Community & Parks, Big Bang Theory & Two and a Half Men, American Idol, The Vampire Diaries, or Nazi Clock Show.

Spot said...

That's not really tough for me - I'm bonkers for batshit crazy nonsensical sci-fi driven conspiracy theory dramas.


I watched all five seasons of Alias - and mostly loved every minute of it.

Spot said...

under

Spot said...

Gonna say over, gonna give this show a chance.

Spot said...

Over.

Spot said...

I feel like awareness for this show is not high. Combine that with it being National Date Night, and I say Under.

Spot said...

I think 1.4's right for the second or third episode, but I have to agree with Shade here. I'm looking forward to having a more male-focused action/adventure show on ABC, and I don't think that perspective is rare. Even though it is leading into a medical soap and a political soap.

Spot said...

And by agree, I mean Over at 1.7.

Spot said...

All of the Thursday 8pm shows seem to have some life when they first premiere. My guess is OVER, but just slightly (1.6).

Spot said...

Over. 1.5

Spot said...

I was sure this pilot was rejected, had no idea it was ordered to series.

Under, then, obviously.

Spot said...

Under.

Unknown said...

Over

Spot said...

Nicholas Nuccio: Over

Spot said...

I want this to work, but UNDER at a 1.3.


This really reminds me of Missing (from the previews, as I have not had a chance to see it yet).

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