By Mick Holien
Even though I realize you are probably listening to your radio during the evening hours, I’ve been known to get hooked on a variety of television shows to spell my time.
I must confess however with the advent of Digital Video Recorders (DVR) I seldom take 60 minutes to watch an hour show, instead like most of you I suspicion slipping past the commercials and taking probably 48 minutes or so to consume an episode.
Sometimes I wonder why the cost of television advertising continues to increase when it seems it has less value with a preponderance of consumers doing likewise with the fast forward button.
Anyway it is about this time of year, right around the turn of the calendar that network and cable gurus start deciding what program won’t make the cut for next season.
It happens every season I’ll get hooked on a program or maybe just a character and folks obviously smarter than I determine I guess the numbers don’t support its continued airing.
One of my favorites for the last couple of years is Madame Secretary, in a less than popular and highly competitive Sunday at 8 p.m. time slot.
You probably have seen Sunday nights are challenging because of the chance that sporting events, running longer than scheduled, affects programming.
The CBS show is cutting edge in dealing with present day’s events and Tea Leoni does a credible job as Secretary of State Elizabeth McCord to President Conrad Dalton portrayed by Keith Carradine.
Co-produced by Morgan Freeman, the show has a strong supporting class including Tim Daly as Henry, McCord’s husband and an Agency Operative.
However thisinsider.com has Secretary as the lowest ranked show and on social media as a show “on the bubble.”
I am a real James Spader fan largely because of his award winning three-Emmy work with William Shatner on Boston Legal.
But despite his star role on Blacklist, even with critical and creative acclaim the NBC show has continued to struggle and for years has been near the bottom of the most watched list.
Amobee Brand Intelligence, a company that advertises itself as measuring real-time content consumption on the internet and social media, also has the show on the hit list where it also is joined by CBS’s Elementary, NBC’s Blindspot, and Liam Neeson staring Taken on NBC.
I guess I should be excited about the new possibilities waiting in the wings to fill a vacant spot.
And you are going to be surprised about the list of the most watched headed by AMC’s The Walking Dead.
Just sayin’.
