You often see me talking about
various things in the schedule when I do my cancellation predictions. It can
often be telling going into a season what will be airing when or if it will be
airing right away at all. I might as well do some sort of terminology into it.
Most of this is something I’m inventing.
Upgrade: Let’s say that you
started out at midseason and then you will be on during the fall the next time
around. Or you were on during the summer and then you’ll be on earlier, such as
during midseason before the summer months. This is typically a very good sign
that they care about your show.
Downgrade: This is pretty much
the same thing the other way. If you are always on during the fall and are then
sent away to midseason, that’s a very bad sign for your long term chances of
survival. If you have been on a while, you might not last much longer when this
happens.
Long hiatus: There are two
different ways that this can happen. One is that you are renewed, but don’t
have a return date for a while. Another is that you aired a lot of episodes and
then are pulled, but not in a way that means cancellation, during the middle of
the season. The first one is more problematic and more likely will spill your
doom when you return that you will be airing your final season. The second one
is also a problem, but doesn’t always mean things will end.
Later than planned airing: A
show being announced as airing at one point in time but doesn’t air until later
is a huge problem. In all but one cases of this happening, that season ended up
being the final one of the show. I have no idea why this would have happened
most times.
The Friday move: Often, when a
long running show is moved to Fridays, it is a bad sign that the show is going
to end soon. Maybe it doesn’t hurt like when Hawaii Five-0 moved to Fridays.
There are other times when shows are always there and often aren’t hurt as a
result. It isn’t always a bad sign, but more than likely is. It's called a graveyard slot for a reason.
Sudden replacement: You’d
think that if when a show is cancelled it gets replaced quickly, that would be
a good sign for the newer airing show. But it often isn’t. More often than not,
these shows are the next ones to get cancelled themselves, or never brought
back.
No starting date: This is a
variant that applies to new shows most of the time. The longer a new show
doesn’t have a starting date, the more unlikely it is to last more. Also, if it
has a starting date later in the season, then it is more likely not to stick
around for future seasons. If it starts as late as the summer, then it might
not be as bad as it could be. An odd thing that happens is when it is announced
as part of one season but doesn’t air until the next season. Even if it is on
at the fall, it likely won’t last then as a result. Look at 10 Days in the
Valley or Terra Nova.
This is the end of this post.
Sorry if it is full of information that you already know. I often have a habit
of repeating myself from time to time. So if I already wrote a post with most
of this information, then at least be glad you get to read it again if you
haven’t before. And that’s all I can think of for this post.
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