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Welcome to ShowbuzzDaily’s coverage of the upcoming TV schedules for the 2011/12 TV season! Above you see our guide to what to expect on Friday nights this Fall: the numbers are our projected Adults 18-49 ratings for each show; the capitalized titles are the new shows; and italics are for shows changing their time slots. Here’s our analysis of what will really be going on behind the numbers:
Friday, with its dwindling, aging audiences, isn’t the place for networks to launch ambitious new shows. (Although thanks, FOX, for renewing FRINGE.)
It is, however, a good night to relocate shows on the decline. UNDERCOVER BOSS started off very strong on Sundays, but it’s been steadily heading lower, and it’s time for the show to find a more comfortable resting place on Fridays. Similarly, we see the big event of the night as being CBS’s relocation of the original CSI from Thursday to Friday. It’s still a solid show, but its ratings have been going in the wrong direction since William L. Petersen left, and that’s unlikely to reverse itself. On Friday, it can provide a strong lead-in to BLUE BLOODS, which has done marginal ratings, but has value for CBS in international and cable markets.
With Kathy Bates in the lead, HARRY’S LAW started out skewing old, especially by NBC standards, and while it does have a substantial audience in the older demo, this is the only night it really provides value for NBC.
Oddly, despite the fact that the other 4 networks have nearly invisible 18-49 audiences on Fridays, The CW has done nicely with its pairing of SMALLVILLE and SUPERNATURAL. Now that SMALLVILLE has flown off to Metropolis, SUPERNATURAL should slide to the open 8PM slot and lead in to a new show at 9. The most compatible of The CW’s pilots seems to be AWAKENING, a hot-girl version of THE WALKING DEAD (that description probably sounds better than the show is likely to be).
Be sure to follow ShowbuzzDaily all through Upfront week: we’ll cover the actual network schedules as soon as they’re announced, with our own brand of instant expert analysis… and stay tuned for reviews of the shows you’ll be watching (or not) in the fall!
WANT MORE? Click on any link below to read predictions for another night:
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