One good TV season deserves another
TV STARS enjoy a lot of perks, but they have to work hard for them, because their performances are constantly evaluated and rated.
If a daily or weekly show keeps doing poorly in the ratings, its stars are on edge, because they fear that it could get canceled at season’s end.
So, how will the dimming luminaries pay for the posh lifestyle to which they and their depen- dents have gotten accustomed?
That’s why the end of a season is a stressful time for TV stars, as they await the all-important verdict: Will their show’s cumulative ratings result in its being renewed—or canceled?
On US TV, that make- orbreak time came last month, and productions that have been renewed for another season include “Dancing With The Stars.” It’s had its stumbles and missteps, but its celebrity contestants have worked so hard to keep up its “performance level” that it’s been given the green light to— continue dancing all the way to the top of the TV ratings!
Other long- running shows that have similarly been given a new lease on TV life include “The Bachelor,” “Gray’s Anatomy,” “Scandal,” “2 Broke Girls,” “Elementary,” “The Odd Couple” and “Undercover Boss.”
Endurance challenge
The “granddaddy” of them all, the “Survivor” endurance challenge, has made it to its 33rd season. Another oldie but still golden goodie, “The Amazing Race” will circle the globe for the nth time.
“The Biggest Loser” is also coming back to TV screens—with this caveat: Studies have shown that quite a number of its past winners have gained back a lot of the weight they lost.
So, the show is instituting changes that will make it easier for its new batch of fat contestants to transform themselves into lean and mean exponents of healthy eating and living—on a more permanent basis!
What about relatively new productions introduced only a couple of season ago— are they being renewed? The answer is in the loud affirmative for productions like “Fresh Off The Boat,” “Extant,” “Reign,” “Jane the Virgin,” and the comebacking “Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader” and “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”
On the other hand, some shows have failed to get the go signal for another trot around the TV park, so viewers have had to say goodbye to productions like “The Millers,” “Allegiance,” “Self- ie,” “Reckless” and “Stalker.”
The unkindest cut of all? The optimistically titled production, “Forever,” has also bitten the dust—an ironic contradiction in terms!