So the big story of this year's TV season has nothing to do with a particular Californian zipcode (90210). It doesn't have anything to do with paranormal science, either (Fringe). And for the second season in a row, it still doesn't have anything to do with box-store employees with CIA on the brain (Chuck).
Nope, this season's breakout TV hit is procedural show The Mentalist, on CBS starring Simon Baker. The show has broken from the pack to become the only bona fide top ten hit of the year. The show, which follows Baker's faux-psychic Patrick Jane as he solves serious crimes for the California Bureau of Investigation. Yet one of the crimes that Jane should be investigating, is how procedural dramas, and their success, are slowly killing the strength of the soap-opera based drama. Check out why, after the jump!
Procedural dramas, in their modern form, came to rise with the enduring popularity of Law and Order, which started nearly 20 years ago on NBC. That show soon turned into a franchise, with two others spawning and gaining their own success. Yet the procedural crown is currently held by The Mentalist's network, CBS. The network also airs the three CSI franchises, Cold Case, Criminal Minds, NCIS, and Without a Trace. So essentially, CBS has enough procedural dramas to run at least one each night of the week. While one may assume that people would get tired of watching the same format of crime-based show every day, this seems to not be the case: CBS has won every week of the fall primetime season thus far. As we head into November sweeps, everything is very much coming up CBS.
So, since CBS seems to have divested from everything that isn't a procedural drama, what does this mean for all of the more traditional soap-opera dramas airing on the other networks? They're falling short by any and all standards. Returning shows Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives have seen ratings dip again this year. Meanwhile, returning sophomore soaps have taken a significant hit: Dirty Sexy Money, Private Practice, Lipstick Jungle, and Heroes are all down anywhere from 15-30%. All of this has led to a creative tailspin in the drama departments at all the major networks. While returning shows are failing to live up to expectations, new shows aren't living up to the hype either. While Fringe, 90210, and Knight Rider have all received full season orders, none of them haven proven to be the ratings titans their networks had hoped.
Unfortunately, this isn't just a case of one procedural show outshining all the other dramas. New serial dramas have failed in the consequent years since 24 and Lost reinvented the genre. Likewise, the soap opera genre has failed to generate a significant hit since Desperate Housewives began in 2004. So what's the issue causing the big difference in ratings between these genres of one-hour shows?
People just can't commit anymore. Procedural shows such as The Mentalist, Law and Order and CSI excel at emphasizing the majority of each episode on the actual story itself, instead of the development of the characters. This means that viewers get more hooked on the format of the cases than the actual characters investigating them. It also means that people can tune into CSI after missing half the season, and still be able to catch up on what's going on in a heartbeat. There's no dedication required, except to the hourlong story being presented at that time. It's a strong feature that has allowed shows such as the original Law and Order to undergo numerous cast changes over the years without missing a beat.
The idea of becoming dedicated to a show is daunting. I myself am I rabid Lost fan, yet I will be the first to admit that it takes a lot of dedication to wrap your head around the show, to understand its ongoing mythology and character development. While the payoff is often an emotional whallop that CSI: NY could only ever dream of delivering, at the same time, that dedication means watching Every. Single. Episode. I`ve missed an episode halfway through a season of 24 and all had been lost (no pun intended). To devote that time and have it not pay off is not only frustrating, but disheartening.
What this means though, isn`t the death of the soap-opera or serial drama. It just means you may have to call your cable provider. Cable networks such as HBO, Showtime, FX and now AMC (home of the recent Emmy-winning Mad Men) have all excelled at developing character-driven dramas, and have incidentally reaped the awards (siphoned viewership from the major networks) as a result. So maybe what the future of television isn`t one without serial dramas, you may just need to shell out a few extra bucks to sift through the crime dramas in order to get to some real character development.
In the meantime though, you the viewer shouldn`t be afraid to get addicted to a TV show, let alone one that doesn`t involve an open-and-shut quadruple-homicide-mutilation-cold-case-missing-person-navy crime each week. In an age where PVR`s and DVD seasons have become commonplace, even if you don`t have time to sit down for appointment TV each week, you now have the convenience of finding the time. So go find some, as well as a great show that won`t waste it.
Nope, this season's breakout TV hit is procedural show The Mentalist, on CBS starring Simon Baker. The show has broken from the pack to become the only bona fide top ten hit of the year. The show, which follows Baker's faux-psychic Patrick Jane as he solves serious crimes for the California Bureau of Investigation. Yet one of the crimes that Jane should be investigating, is how procedural dramas, and their success, are slowly killing the strength of the soap-opera based drama. Check out why, after the jump!
Procedural dramas, in their modern form, came to rise with the enduring popularity of Law and Order, which started nearly 20 years ago on NBC. That show soon turned into a franchise, with two others spawning and gaining their own success. Yet the procedural crown is currently held by The Mentalist's network, CBS. The network also airs the three CSI franchises, Cold Case, Criminal Minds, NCIS, and Without a Trace. So essentially, CBS has enough procedural dramas to run at least one each night of the week. While one may assume that people would get tired of watching the same format of crime-based show every day, this seems to not be the case: CBS has won every week of the fall primetime season thus far. As we head into November sweeps, everything is very much coming up CBS.
So, since CBS seems to have divested from everything that isn't a procedural drama, what does this mean for all of the more traditional soap-opera dramas airing on the other networks? They're falling short by any and all standards. Returning shows Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives have seen ratings dip again this year. Meanwhile, returning sophomore soaps have taken a significant hit: Dirty Sexy Money, Private Practice, Lipstick Jungle, and Heroes are all down anywhere from 15-30%. All of this has led to a creative tailspin in the drama departments at all the major networks. While returning shows are failing to live up to expectations, new shows aren't living up to the hype either. While Fringe, 90210, and Knight Rider have all received full season orders, none of them haven proven to be the ratings titans their networks had hoped.
Unfortunately, this isn't just a case of one procedural show outshining all the other dramas. New serial dramas have failed in the consequent years since 24 and Lost reinvented the genre. Likewise, the soap opera genre has failed to generate a significant hit since Desperate Housewives began in 2004. So what's the issue causing the big difference in ratings between these genres of one-hour shows?
People just can't commit anymore. Procedural shows such as The Mentalist, Law and Order and CSI excel at emphasizing the majority of each episode on the actual story itself, instead of the development of the characters. This means that viewers get more hooked on the format of the cases than the actual characters investigating them. It also means that people can tune into CSI after missing half the season, and still be able to catch up on what's going on in a heartbeat. There's no dedication required, except to the hourlong story being presented at that time. It's a strong feature that has allowed shows such as the original Law and Order to undergo numerous cast changes over the years without missing a beat.
The idea of becoming dedicated to a show is daunting. I myself am I rabid Lost fan, yet I will be the first to admit that it takes a lot of dedication to wrap your head around the show, to understand its ongoing mythology and character development. While the payoff is often an emotional whallop that CSI: NY could only ever dream of delivering, at the same time, that dedication means watching Every. Single. Episode. I`ve missed an episode halfway through a season of 24 and all had been lost (no pun intended). To devote that time and have it not pay off is not only frustrating, but disheartening.
What this means though, isn`t the death of the soap-opera or serial drama. It just means you may have to call your cable provider. Cable networks such as HBO, Showtime, FX and now AMC (home of the recent Emmy-winning Mad Men) have all excelled at developing character-driven dramas, and have incidentally reaped the awards (siphoned viewership from the major networks) as a result. So maybe what the future of television isn`t one without serial dramas, you may just need to shell out a few extra bucks to sift through the crime dramas in order to get to some real character development.
In the meantime though, you the viewer shouldn`t be afraid to get addicted to a TV show, let alone one that doesn`t involve an open-and-shut quadruple-homicide-mutilation-cold-case-missing-person-navy crime each week. In an age where PVR`s and DVD seasons have become commonplace, even if you don`t have time to sit down for appointment TV each week, you now have the convenience of finding the time. So go find some, as well as a great show that won`t waste it.
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