No laughing at the top as season winds down
No laughing at the top as season winds down
April 4, 2005
Pronouncements about the woebegone state of comedy in primetime are coming so frequently these days that they barely merit a headline anymore.
But it is nonetheless staggering to peruse the raw numbers from this season. It's not only the freshman series that are floundering; even such stalwarts as "The Simpsons," "Will & Grace" and "My Wife & Kids" have taken a beating this season.
CBS' sophomore star "Two and a Half Men" is the only sitcom to buck the downtrend so far this season by growing 6% in total viewers and in the key adults 18-49 demographic compared with its averages for the 2003-04 season.
"Men's" uptick in the Monday 9:30 p.m. slot is impressive because its formidable lead-in, "Everybody Loves Raymond," has eased 4% in the demo and 3% in total viewers from last season. And with "Raymond" poised to wrap its nine-season run next month, "Men" is poised to become primetime's most-watched comedy next season, barring the emergence of an insta-hit from this year's development crop.
In the post-"Friends" era, "Men" is already tied with "Raymond" for No. 1 among all primetime comedies this season in adults 18-49 with a 5.5 rating/13 share average for the season to date. "Men" is also the No. 2 comedy behind "Raymond" in the total viewers measure, with the comedy averaging 16.2 million viewers to "Raymond's" 16.8 million. (The primetime champ overall is the Tuesday edition of Fox's "American Idol," with 28.9 million viewers.)
The 2004-05 season is set to go down in the Nielsen annals without a single comedy cracking the top 10 in adults 18-49; "Raymond" and "Men" at present rank No. 17 among all primetime series in that demo. In viewers, "Raymond" just makes the grade at No. 9 (though that could change if the finale is mega-mega big), followed by "Men" at No. 12.
Last season, "Friends" in its swan song frame was the lone comedy to land in the top 10, ranking No. 4 among all primetime series in adults 18-49 (9.8/27) and No. 5 in total viewers (21.4 million).
The diminished state of comedy is particularly unnerving to industry-ites because the primetime business has been dominated by the half-hour form for as long as most of those in the 18-49 age range can remember. The last time TV's top 10 was so devoid of laughs was in the 1983-84 season, when CBS' "Kate & Allie" was the only half-hour on the list topped by CBS' "Dallas" and "60 Minutes" and ABC's "Dynasty."
Of course, we all remember what happened the next season, when NBC fielded a fairly traditional family comedy titled "The Cosby Show." The peacock's "Cheers" and "Family Ties" were also on the rise at that time, and from there followed a string of big sitcom hits: "The Golden Girls," "Who's the Boss?" "Night Court," "Roseanne," "The Wonder Years," "Married ... With Children," "Murphy Brown," "Designing Women," "Coach," "Home Improvement," "Seinfeld," "The Simpsons," "Frasier" and "Friends."
If there's a common thread to be found among those shows, it's only the obvious blend of three-dimensional characters, great writing and standout performers. Say the words "Carla, Cliff and Norm" to any red-blooded American (with the exception of the Amish) born before 1993 and he or she will instinctively start humming the "Cheers" theme song.
The characters played by Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones on "Two and a Half Men" might not be on a first-name basis with the vast expanse of America, but they're off to a good start. Here's hoping they get some worthy competition real soon.
But it is nonetheless staggering to peruse the raw numbers from this season. It's not only the freshman series that are floundering; even such stalwarts as "The Simpsons," "Will & Grace" and "My Wife & Kids" have taken a beating this season.
CBS' sophomore star "Two and a Half Men" is the only sitcom to buck the downtrend so far this season by growing 6% in total viewers and in the key adults 18-49 demographic compared with its averages for the 2003-04 season.
"Men's" uptick in the Monday 9:30 p.m. slot is impressive because its formidable lead-in, "Everybody Loves Raymond," has eased 4% in the demo and 3% in total viewers from last season. And with "Raymond" poised to wrap its nine-season run next month, "Men" is poised to become primetime's most-watched comedy next season, barring the emergence of an insta-hit from this year's development crop.
In the post-"Friends" era, "Men" is already tied with "Raymond" for No. 1 among all primetime comedies this season in adults 18-49 with a 5.5 rating/13 share average for the season to date. "Men" is also the No. 2 comedy behind "Raymond" in the total viewers measure, with the comedy averaging 16.2 million viewers to "Raymond's" 16.8 million. (The primetime champ overall is the Tuesday edition of Fox's "American Idol," with 28.9 million viewers.)
The 2004-05 season is set to go down in the Nielsen annals without a single comedy cracking the top 10 in adults 18-49; "Raymond" and "Men" at present rank No. 17 among all primetime series in that demo. In viewers, "Raymond" just makes the grade at No. 9 (though that could change if the finale is mega-mega big), followed by "Men" at No. 12.
Last season, "Friends" in its swan song frame was the lone comedy to land in the top 10, ranking No. 4 among all primetime series in adults 18-49 (9.8/27) and No. 5 in total viewers (21.4 million).
The diminished state of comedy is particularly unnerving to industry-ites because the primetime business has been dominated by the half-hour form for as long as most of those in the 18-49 age range can remember. The last time TV's top 10 was so devoid of laughs was in the 1983-84 season, when CBS' "Kate & Allie" was the only half-hour on the list topped by CBS' "Dallas" and "60 Minutes" and ABC's "Dynasty."
Of course, we all remember what happened the next season, when NBC fielded a fairly traditional family comedy titled "The Cosby Show." The peacock's "Cheers" and "Family Ties" were also on the rise at that time, and from there followed a string of big sitcom hits: "The Golden Girls," "Who's the Boss?" "Night Court," "Roseanne," "The Wonder Years," "Married ... With Children," "Murphy Brown," "Designing Women," "Coach," "Home Improvement," "Seinfeld," "The Simpsons," "Frasier" and "Friends."
If there's a common thread to be found among those shows, it's only the obvious blend of three-dimensional characters, great writing and standout performers. Say the words "Carla, Cliff and Norm" to any red-blooded American (with the exception of the Amish) born before 1993 and he or she will instinctively start humming the "Cheers" theme song.
The characters played by Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones on "Two and a Half Men" might not be on a first-name basis with the vast expanse of America, but they're off to a good start. Here's hoping they get some worthy competition real soon.
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