The Muppets SPOILER Thread

[JimAndFrank]

Okay, so Mike just confirmed that they are still waiting for confirmation for Season 2. However, I'm still curious about what is happening in July.

 

[Muppet Master]

Oh I see what you mean. I thought that you meant that the show being retooled turned people away from the show.
Okay so yes,I do agree with you, the show took a long break so less people watched when it came back.

In recent memory, shows that take long breaks return with diminishing results, they should have just returned it in January, instead of advertising a winter finale.

 

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

In recent memory, shows that take long breaks return with diminishing results, they should have just returned it in January, instead of advertising a winter finale.

Well,January might not have been enough time because the episode might've still been unfinished.

 

[oknazevad]

Lots of shows take winter breaks these days, as it allows production to catch up while avoiding reruns, building anticipation for the spring premier.

That said, most of the shows for which that model works best are serialized dramas and adventure series. Think Agents of SHIELD, Once upon a Time, or the Thursday night dramas, which don't air reruns at all and instead have entirely separate fill-in series take the timeslot during their breaks (like Agent Carter). The Muppets is somewhat serialized, but so are most comedies these days, and many of them do air reruns during the interim, as comedies are more traditional rerun friendly than heavily serialized dramas.

So they promoted "Swine Song" as a midseason premier, but comedies aren't typically perceived really having that sort of break in the first place, between the less-serialized perception (though they often are rather serialized in practice) and the traditional airing of reruns (as opposed to not airing at all). As such, I don't think anyone can really say that it affected the rating one way or the other (and certainly not after one episode).

What works in The Muppets' favor is that a) it's ratings are largely in favorable demos, that is while the overall viewership could be higher, those that are watching are largely in the age bracket advertisers like to see, b) it's been ABC's strongest new comedy this year, c) it's owned by Disney outright, with a property with outside marketing potential, and d) it does well in delayed viewing platforms (DVR, in demand and Internet streaming), all of which are not only increasingly important parts of viewing, their rise has actually made the traditional rating less important than they used to be. (Lots has been written about the effects of this sort of viewing on the industry as a whole.)

So, while a night change is possible, even likely (Would be a good fit for Wednesday), I think there's a better than average chance that The Muppets gets renewed.

 

[LaRanaRene]

Perhaps if we send ABC feedback on the show it'll help it get renewed.

http://abc.go.com/feedback

 

[Muppet Master]

Lots of shows take winter breaks these days, as it allows production to catch up while avoiding reruns, building anticipation for the spring premier.

That said, most of the shows for which that model works best are serialized dramas and adventure series. Think Agents of SHIELD, Once upon a Time, or the Thursday night dramas, which don't air reruns at all and instead have entirely separate fill-in series take the timeslot during their breaks (like Agent Carter). The Muppets is somewhat serialized, but so are most comedies these days, and many of them do air reruns during the interim, as comedies are more traditional rerun friendly than heavily serialized dramas.

So they promoted "Swine Song" as a midseason premier, but comedies aren't typically perceived really having that sort of break in the first place, between the less-serialized perception (though they often are rather serialized in practice) and the traditional airing of reruns (as opposed to not airing at all). As such, I don't think anyone can really say that it affected the rating one way or the other (and certainly not after one episode).

What works in The Muppets' favor is that a) it's ratings are largely in favorable demos, that is while the overall viewership could be higher, those that are watching are largely in the age bracket advertisers like to see, b) it's been ABC's strongest new comedy this year, c) it's owned by Disney outright, with a property with outside marketing potential, and d) it does well in delayed viewing platforms (DVR, in demand and Internet streaming), all of which are not only increasingly important parts of viewing, their rise has actually made the traditional rating less important than they used to be. (Lots has been written about the effects of this sort of viewing on the industry as a whole.)

So, while a night change is possible, even likely (Would be a good fit for Wednesday), I think there's a better than average chance that The Muppets gets renewed.

Maybe before the hiatus, but now it's ratings have gone into disaster territory, before the break I would say there was a 55/45 chance for renewal, after the midseason return I would say there's a 20% chance of renewal, and that's being optimistic. It can't even beat Dr. Ken which airs on Fridays, maybe Disney can keep it afloat, but at this point I wouldn't keep my hopes up, this was supposed to be a big hit solving ABC Tuesday's problems, but it ended up backfiring, if it falls below the already weak 0.9 demo rating it got for it's premiere than it's sadly doomed, I wish I could be more optimistic, but the odds don't look at this point.

 

[JimAndFrank]

Maybe before the hiatus, but now it's ratings have gone into disaster territory, before the break I would say there was a 55/45 chance for renewal, after the midseason return I would say there's a 20% chance of renewal, and that's being optimistic. It can't even beat Dr. Ken which airs on Fridays, maybe Disney can keep it afloat, but at this point I wouldn't keep my hopes up, this was supposed to be a big hit solving ABC Tuesday's problems, but it ended up backfiring, if it falls below the already weak 0.9 demo rating it got for it's premiere than it's sadly doomed, I wish I could be more optimistic, but the odds don't look at this point.

Guys! Everyone! Please just.....chill for two seconds, okay?!

It was the first episode back after over a month of hiatus so what were you expecting? There has been plenty of successful shows that start off badly but end up with a large audience because they were given a second season.

We still have 5 episodes to go, so let's just see how they play out before we start panicking. From the people I have talked to, the execs are still excited for the show and really want to see it succeed.

 

[Muppet Master]

Perhaps if we send ABC feedback on the show it'll help it get renewed.

http://abc.go.com/feedback

I gave some insightful feedback telling them to try to give the show a better timeslot and that they have a loyal fanbase, but also said if they chose to cancel it they should keep in mind the 2.9 demo rating and 9 million viewers of the premiere, and that there is interest in the franchise, so they could still get solid ratings with a special now and then, probably won't help, but you never know.

 

[Muppet Master]

Guys! Everyone! Please just.....chill for two seconds, okay?!

It was the first episode back after over a month of hiatus so what were you expecting? There has been plenty of successful shows that start off badly but end up with a large audience because they were given a second season.

We still have 5 episodes to go, so let's just see how they play out before we start panicking. From the people I have talked to, the execs are still excited for the show and really want to see it succeed.

I want the show to succeed obviously, and I'm really dissapointed in what is happening, but there's really not much hope left. The only thing I have is that Galavant and American Crime got renewed with similar ratings and it's a Disney show, but I just don't want to stay so optimistic just for it be cancelled suddenly.

 

[Muppy]

"A Tail of Two Piggies" is an amazing episode! It takes a lot of risks (for the better) and ends in a cliff hanger. I really hope it gets good ratings!