(10-18-2018, 06:31 AM)FaceInTheCrowd Wrote: What matters most to the decision makers is profit. How much the show can bring in from advertisers, syndication, DVD sales, streaming sales, etc., vs how much the show costs to make vs how the numbers crunchers predict an alternative show will do by comparison.

Audience politics, religion, etc., matter only to the extent to which they affect the above. If a show is extremely popular in a given part of the country but its P/L figures don't add up well, it's toast. If certain segments of the population are screaming and calling for boycotts because it has offended them but it's profitable as all hell, it will live on.

Interviews are often strategic. When actors, producers. etc., praise the network for "believing in us," that means the ratings weren't so hot but someone came to their rescue by persuading the suits that the profit was still there and they're stroking that person. When they talk about how much a certain demographic loves the show, that's an effort to attract more viewers in that demographic because the numbers are actually not so great. Prospective viewers can be made curious about something by telling them that people like them love it.

And you always call a show a "hit show" in PR when you're trying to sell, resell or reboot it. As long as it had one good season, you're not fibbing.

(10-18-2018, 07:40 PM)FaceInTheCrowd Wrote: Executives don't keep their jobs by making decisions that cost their companies profit. Any argument to the contrary is utter nonsense. The producers, stars and fans of shows that get cancelled often come up with fanciful conspiracy theories about why someone in the executive offices "had it in for them" even though they were "a hit," but the bottom line is always the bottom line: P. R. O. F. I. T. Either a show is not making the network a profit, it's not making the network as much of a profit as they think some other show they have waiting in the wings will or something else is happening because of that show that is costing the company profit (for example, if there's a groundswell of people telling companies that sponsor that show and a bunch of other shows on the network how upset they are that the companies are sponsoring that show and the companies are telling the network they don't want their commercials to run on that show anymore).

Could a network executive with a political agenda kill a show? Probably. By going to the network's board and convincing them that one of the above scenarios is happening. But network executive boards are not populated by bleeding heart liberals manipulating programming to fit their beliefs. It's doubtful whether any of them even have hearts or truly believe in anything...except the almighty dollar.

In the case of your example, "Last Man Standng" originally aired on ABC, but ABC didn't own any part of the production, unlike Grimm which aired on NBC and was produced by NBCU. So the network paid the people who made it a fee to license it for airing and collected advertising revenue, but made nothing off DVDs, merchandising or future streaming on Netflix, Amazon, etc. The "Big Three" networks have been moving away from that arrangement for years, so if the producers of the show wanted higher licensing fees and wanted the network to help fund production as well, it totally makes sense that the network's board decided it wasn't worth the money. Now it airs on the Fox Network. Who owns a piece of its production? 20th Century Fox Television.

FYI, I live in Portland, OR. Before that, in SoCal, where you constantly run into people who are either in "the business," used to be in it or are trying to get into it, and they all love to talk about how things work there. It's actually amazing how irrelevant a show's quality or the love anyone has for it is to its survival.

(10-19-2018, 06:58 AM)Hell Rell Wrote: I wholeheartedly doubt Grimm was ended in its sixth season due to politics. There's no way that played any role especially considering Grimm never made any grand statements.

It was declining in ratings and wasn't produced by NBC. I've seen much more popular shows on the bubble for that reason. NBC execs should know all about this considering House was a huge hit on Fox but was produced by NBC and it was in danger as soon the ratings took a substantial hit. In that case, it was entering its eight season so renogoations were taking place and the lead actor was due for a significant raise. The supporting characters had to either take a pay cut or a reduced number of episodes and the overall production budget was sliced down.

I really don't see how Grimm of all shows would be cancelled due to politics. It's probably one of the more neutral shows I watch. I certainly don't think "bleeding heart liberal" when I think of Grimm.

(10-19-2018, 12:41 PM)Mart Wrote: Wow, these are such great news!!! I always believed in the Grimm World and never lost hope, but i wasn't sure it could really happen...
I am sooooo excited right now and can't wait to return to my beloved Wesen-World and see some of those great characters again. I so hope it will be successful and stays on for some more seasons.
Oh wow, i am sooo happy right now and feel like celebrating.... new Grimm episodes... YESSS!!!
I promise i will continue to support the new spinoff as good as i can from Germany and pre-order every new season on Bluray as soon as it will be announced, like i always did.