TV GUIDE: Ask Matt: Chicago Code, Castle, Fringe and More!
Feb 21, 2011
by Matt Roush
Send questions to askmatt@tvguidemagazine.com and follow on Twitter!
... Question: I'm becoming a big fan of several of USA Network's original shows (Burn Notice, In Plain Sight, Covert Affairs, Royal Pains and now Fairly Legal), because I love character-driven shows. I'm also a big fan of some of SyFy's original shows (Eureka, Warehouse 13 and to a lesser extent Haven). But I'm wondering why, when these shows are in their off-season, the networks aren't running more of their reruns? Not that I don't enjoy the continual NCIS and L&O marathons on USA, but wouldn't they get some interest in their existing original shows if they actually SHOWED them to the public? SyFy is especially bad for this, running a never-ending parade of cheesy B-movie monster flicks, which I simply cannot believe give them good ratings. Why not try running episodes a few of their own shows every so often? They would have to be essentially free to run, and it seems like it would be good advertising for the upcoming new seasons of these shows. Can you explain this to me? — Kerry
Matt Roush: It's not entirely true that these series vanish entirely between seasons — it appears that Warehouse 13 is currently being repeated on Monday nights (and episodes of many of these shows are still available online) — but I get your point. The practical answer to this question is that repeats of these cable originals probably don't pull the ratings of off-network rebroadcasts of mainstream hits like NCIS and the various Law & Order shows. And as cheesy as those Syfy movies can be, there's an audience that eats up that campy stuff. The more strategic way to look at this, though, is to consider these series, with their limited seasons of original episodes, as highly marketable "events." And one way to make a new season feel special is to limit its exposure between seasons, so when the new episodes return, the audience hasn't been oversaturated with repeats of the same few episodes. (This seems especially fitting for cable series that produce fewer episodes than the broadcast network norm.) It feels to me that what's driving this complaint is the same as those that can't understand why every series isn't available online so people can see anything they want to see when they want to see it. The economics of TV still require trying to maximize a show's value in its original first run, and that's as good an explanation as any for why many of these series aren't on 24/7 all through the year.
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