Dear TNT Executives,
Well, it’s about time!… Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.
Excellent decision renewing Dark Blue for a second season, although I wonder: where was the hesitation? You know you’re a cable station, right? So, two million strong viewers (or even 1.6) for a new show is an impressive feat. Especially considering the fact that you paired it with Leverage, when there’s not really a similar target demographic shared by the two series.
But I digress … great job! I can’t even begin to tell you how excited we all are for a new round of Dark Blue cases and capers. And look, just in case the writers are feeling the pressure given how long this announcement was in coming, I’ve taken the liberty of gathering together a simple “How to Season Two” for the writers’ ease of use. Feel free to borrow liberally … and pay me handsomely.
And while I have your attention and you’re feeling in a giving mood, it might not be a bad idea to try mixing Dark Blue up by pairing it with, say, The Closer. I’m not saying it’s necessarily more right a partner than Leverage, but with only a handful of original series, it’s not like it takes a super-computer for you to render an alternate schedule. Who knows? Maybe Dylan McDermott appeals to Ray Romano’s fan base best; not an outlandish thought to consider giving Dark Blue a shot with Men of a Certain Age.
But all of this is your job, and (should be) something fairly obvious to veterans such as yourselves. The main thing here is that you checked the correct box on the renew/cancel form before sending it out to those of us who’ve been waiting with bated breath since the Dark Blue premiere (that’s right; we’ve known it was that good all along). Nice executiving.
All joking aside though, it was definitely the right move to give this brilliant series a second chance. Beside the strengths of the show and cast, it’s important to remember that it’s hard enough to find any audience amongst the cable set, given how many options we have. Let alone when your season is all of ten episodes long, and hype for the series is beyond poor (that’s on you). It takes (some people) time to hook into these things, and you were making a renewal decision before allowing your true potential audience an opportunity to even see your product.
Where was the HBO/Showtime-like rebroadcasting of the episodes during the week after an episode premiere? How busy is your lineup that you can’t give that to all of your series? You’re really going to play one and done with a great product that you invested time and money in? That’s network talking, not cable. Your numbers are supposed to be so convoluted, what with multiple airings in a seven day period, DVR numbers, online viewing, etc. Don’t handicap your shows before they even get out of the gate.
Alright, back to my point: thanks for renewing one of the best shows on television. Period. We won’t let you regret it.
Sincerely,
Dark Blue Nation
Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Dec 10, 2009 @ 09:00 EST5EDT
Thank you TNT! =0)