Tag Archives: Scandal

‘Scandal’ vs. ‘The Blacklist’: Inside This Season’s Biggest, Bloodiest Time Slot Battle

The Blacklist - Season 2

Red Reddington and Olivia Pope are two of TV’s most fearsome, cunning figures, and woe to the person who ends up opposite either of them on the battlefield.

But starting tonight, they’ll be facing off against each other, as NBC shifts The Blacklist to Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET, opposite ABC’s Scandal, setting up this season’s biggest, bloodiest time slot battle: NBC’s top-rated scripted show in adults 18-49 (Blacklist averages a 3.32 rating this season), pitted against ABC’s number two scripted show in 18-49 (Scandal’s 3.21 average is behind only Modern Family‘s).

Yes, the brutal time slot competition seems somewhat illogical, especially given that NBC is the number one network in 18-49 this season, in part because of Blacklist’s robust Monday night ratings. But NBC entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt explained last month that Blacklist offers NBC its best chance to claw back into contention on Thursday nights, which the network had dominated for years. “It’s an important night for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is it is a great, desirable night for advertising,” he said.

Indeed, it’s essential for the broadcast networks to be competitive on Thursday, which is primetime’s most lucrative night. While Thursday actually has the week’s third-lowest viewership, advertisers of movies and other weekend-themed products pay handsomely to run their commercials on Thursdays, and NBC is tired of missing out on its share of the dough.

Thursdays “used to be the big night of television for NBC,” said Greenblatt, as the network’s Must-See TV lineup ruled the Nielsens for decades. But as NBC’s stalwarts went off the air — Friends in 2004, Will and Grace in 2006, ER in 2009 — the network lost its luster on the night. Now Thursdays are more like a graveyard for NBC, riddled with dead shows walking like The Michael J. Fox Show, Bad Judge and A to Z. “Putting comedies we love there and having them fail started to feel like the definition of insanity,” entertainment president Jennifer Salke said last month.

This isn’t the first time a network has shifted a big show into Thursday night to successfully establish a foothold there. In 1990, Fox moved The Simpsons from Sunday to Thursday, opposite the then top-rated The Cosby Show, and the animated series more than held its own for years, before returning to Sundays in 1994. As CSI began taking off in its first season, CBS made a midseason shift in 2001, relocating it from Fridays to Thursdays, where it dominated for the next decade. And when Grey’s Anatomy returned for its third season in 2006, ABC moved it from Sundays to Thursdays, where it helped lay the foundation for what ultimately became its powerful TGIT lineup.

“It’s a risky, but necessary, move for us to make,” said Greenblatt. “The only way to really reinvigorate that night is to jumpstart it with something like The Blacklist. If you don’t start that move at some point, you’ll never get there.”

And both shows arrive at tonight’s battle loaded for bear. NBC gave The Blacklist its coveted post-Super Bowl berth, where Sunday’s episode drew a series-high 25.72 million viewers (and an 8.4 rating), and ended with a cliffhanger that will be resolved in tonight’s episode. The show also is running a $25,000 sweepstakes for viewers who watch tonight; in essence, NBC is paying viewers (well, one viewer, at least) to tune in to its Thursday debute.

Meanwhile, Scandal returned from its midseason hiatus last Thursday with one of the show’s best episodes ever, featuring a tour de force, give-her-the-damn-Emmy turn from star Kerry Washington which also ended in a cliffhanger that will pick up tonight. That episode also generated 527,335 tweets, one indication that it should likely have the edge in live viewing among audiences that watch both shows.

That’s one of the reasons that Greenblatt doesn’t expect Blacklist to win the ratings battle, at least at first. “I expect it’s not going to be everything we hope it’s going to be right off the bat, but I also think you have to plant the seed and over time, grow it and water it and nurture it, and hopefully rebuild it,” Greenblatt told me.

That said, he’ll only be so patient, especially if Blacklist’s ratings quickly crater. “If it doesn’t work, and I don’t know exactly what that means yet, but if it’s a disaster, we won’t just live with it,” Greenblatt told me. “We’ll try to correct it, sooner than later.”

Let the battle begin…

‘Melissa Harris-Perry’: ‘Empire,’ ‘Scandal’ and TV & Not TV’s TV debut!

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I returned to Melissa Harris-Perry today — my first ever Saturday appearance on the show — to talk about Empire and my Adweek story about the marketing campaign that helped turn it into a phenomenon, along with the return of Scandal. I always have a great time on the show — and loved being on a panel with Janet Mock and Joy Reid — but for me, the most exciting part was having TV & Not TV make its long-awaited TV debut:

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Woo hoo! Plus, this was also the first time I was credited onscreen as an Adweek contributor.

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Here’s the first segment, which focused on Empire:

And here’s the second segment, where we discussed Scandal before pivoting back to Empire:

TV & Not TV: finally on TV!

Why people are tuning in to watch Empire

The rise of Olivia Pope’s hair

Where’s Olivia? Scott Foley Teases Tonight’s ‘Scandal’ Return

SCOTT FOLEY

Scandal is known for its labyrinthine twists and turns, and its fall finale ended with a doozy: Jake Ballard (Scott Foley) discovered that Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) had seemingly been kidnapped. Two agonizing months later, the show finally returns to TV tonight, with Olivia still MIA. Foley, who yesterday talked about being dropped from the show four years ago, opened up to TV & Not TV about Scandal’s return and the search for Olivia:

Does Jake feel responsible for Olivia’s disappearance?

I think he does. I think given his position in life, his job, his employment and the nature of who he is, I think he’s very protective of Olivia, and for that to have happened, basically under his watch, is pretty troublesome for him.

What would he go through to find her?

I think he would go through everything to find her! I can’t tell you exactly what he’s going to go through to find her!

What can we expect in tonight’s episode?

The first two back are going to jump in right where we left off, so you’re going to see what happened to Olivia, where she went, who took her, how we get her back. You’re going to see Jake working with the Gladiators to get her back, you’re going to see Fitz dealing with his Vice President, Andrew, and all the crap they’ve been dealing with. You’re going to see the return of Mellie. She’s no longer “Smelly Mellie” or “Fucked Up Mellie,” she’s Mellie and pulling strings in the White House. You’re going to see David Rosen dealing with his new job as United States Attorney General, you’re going to see Abby straddling the line between the White House and OPA [Olivia Pope & Associates] and succeeding in both. You’re going to see Cyrus helping the President out.

Why should Olivia end up with Jake over Fitz?

Why shouldn’t Olivia end up with Jake? I believe that Jake is the better choice. He’s available, he’s not married, he’s willing to give up everything. And he believes in them. However, there’s something to be said for maybe fate, maybe true love, maybe meant to be. I think Fitz and Olivia have something that is unquantifiable and no matter how far away they get from each other, they’re always going to be dealing with that.

Scott Foley: ABC Dropped Me From ‘Scandal’ — Four Years Ago

SCOTT FOLEY

Scott Foley will never forget the day that Shonda Rhimes broke the news to him that he no longer would be on Scandal.

Relax: Foley’s Jake Ballard isn’t going anywhere when the ABC drama returns Thursday night after a two-month hiatus. Instead, the actor was recalling the moment four years ago when ABC decided he was the wrong actor to play “gladiator” Stephen Finch (portrayed by Henry Ian Cusick in the first season), even though Rhimes had already promised him the part.

“I had read the Scandal pilot script very early on in the process and really wanted to be a part of it,” says Foley. “I went through the process and ABC didn’t think I was the right choice for it. It was probably one of the hardest phone calls that Shonda’s had to make, to me at least. Saying, ‘Hey, I know I said you had this role…but you don’t have this role any more!’”

Of course, Rhimes and Foley had the last laugh, as the actor ended up on Scandal anyway, in a much juicer, higher-profile role, while Cusick quietly disappeared from the series after Season 1. “Thank God I didn’t get it!” Foley says now. “Shonda, true to her word, got me on the show and found a great role and has really turned this character, with the ‘meet cute’ that Olivia and Jake had in a coffee shop, into a really important, viable part of the story. …Everything always works out!”

ABC’s scandalous Scandal behavior wasn’t the only juicy revelation that Foley shared with TV & Not TV as he prepared for the show’s midseason return on Jan. 29:

His wife hates Scandal spoilers. Lots of people press Foley for Scandal intel, but not his wife, Marika. “This is the first job I’ve ever had where I can’t run lines with her. I can’t tell her anything. She won’t let me! And it’s hard, because I have a lot of lines,” says Foley. “Shonda does a great job, unlike other shows, of giving you things to say and really strong, tough dialogue, and I have, for 12 years now, the night before, always been able to run my lines with my wife. I can’t do that on this. She doesn’t want to know anything. She gets mad when I say, ‘Babe, just this once!’ She won’t do it.”

He’s addicted to HGTV — and Downton Abbey. The passion that Scandal fans have for his show is rivaled only by Foley’s devotion to all things HGTV. “I’m a big HGTV watcher,” he says. “I have my cable box turned to HGTV so when my cable turns on, it’s on HGTV. Property Brothers, Fixer Upper, Income Property, House Hunters, Love It or List It…I’m pretty handy!”

The actor is also savoring the chance to catch up on the new season of Downton Abbey with his wife, Marika. “Downton Abbey’s back, and I’m very excited,” he says. “Given our schedule, we’ll usually sit down and watch two or three episodes at a time. We’ll probably watch it all in a week and a half. We like to hold out, though, because once it’s gone, you’ve got to wait another year. It’s like Orange is the New Black!”

Raising three kids is overwhelming. As the father of a two-month-old newborn, son Konrad, Foley realizes he may be in over his head now that he has three kids, all under 5. “I only have three, but I recently read that someone with four kids said, ‘Imagine drowning, and then someone throwing you a baby,’” he says. “And I thought, that’s right! I kind of feel like I’m drowning right now!”

He doesn’t miss filming love scenes with a pregnant Kerry Washington. Shooting Scandal last season proved to be a challenge for the cast and crew, who had to disguise the fact that star Kerry Washington was pregnant in real life — but not on the show. “It was so strange,” says Foley. “They did such a good job last year of not really having to deal with it. Look, it was obviously a presence in every scene we did, but the only times I really thought about it was the love scenes we would have, which made it a little awkward.”

But not any more: “Having her back in full force this year, and having her around and able, it’s a blessing for the show,” says Foley.

Check back Thursday, when Foley teases Scandal’s big return, and Jake’s frantic search for the now-missing Olivia Pope.

ABC’s Success With Diversity Comes From Focusing on Creators, Not Just Stars

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For far too long, broadcast networks have programmed shows that don’t accurately reflect the cultural backgrounds of the audiences watching them. ABC has been changing that with a far more diverse slate than its broadcast counterparts. As I wrote at Adweek, the network’s entertainment president Paul Lee talked about the strides ABC has made as he met with reporters at winter press tour.

“I think it’s our job to reflect America,” said ABC entertainment president Paul Lee at the Television Critics Association’s winter press tour this week. “I really believed from the beginning that the demographic changes in America were just as important to our revolution as the technological changes.”

At the same time, Lee noted, “We didn’t pick up these shows because they were diverse, we picked them up because they were great.”

Lee addressed a variety of other topics, including anthology-style series, the death of “least objectionable television,” and why binge-watching isn’t a bad thing. He also said that he has finally gotten the message about launching music competitions after last summer’s Rising Star fared even worse than Duets two years earlier. “I don’t think we’ll try that for a little bit,” he said. “I’m sure we’ll come back to that in the future.”

ABC’s Success With Diversity Comes From Focusing on Creators, Not Just Stars

‘The Blacklist’s’ Frustrating Fall: Keen’s a Keeper, but Red Regresses

blacklist season 2

At The Daily BeastI check back in on The Blacklist, which aired its fall finale last night. I wrote last spring that James Spader was single-handedly keeping the show together with his virtuoso turn as Raymond “Red” Reddington, and the NBC drama should wipe the slate clean of his costars and reboot with a group more worthy of sharing the screen with Spader.

Amazingly, the show did almost exactly that in the offseason, but the problems still exist. As I wrote at The Daily Beast,

So why does Season 2—which just had its fall finale Monday night—feel like such a disappointment so far? Because in focusing on all those necessary fixes, producers lost sight of the show’s raison d’être: Spader. Two steps forward, two steps back.

The Blacklist’s Frustrating Fall: Keen’s a Keeper, but Red Regresses

Lisa Kudrow is Feeling the Pressure to Make Her ‘Comeback’ Worth the 9-Year Wait

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I unexpectedly had a terrific chat with Lisa Kudrow during the Television Critics Association’s summer press tour, and turned that into this Adweek profile about The Comeback’s return on Sunday, nine years after HBO canceled it. She talked with me about playing both sides of the HBO/Showtime rivalry, reviving The Comeback, how her guest-appearance on Scandal last season helped make it happen and what’s next for Valerie Cherish.

Lisa Kudrow is Feeling the Pressure to Make Her Comeback Worth the 9-Year Wait

After #TGIT and #WCW, 12 New TV Hashtag Campaigns We’d Like to See

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Step aside, TGIF and Must-See TV: branded nights of TV are back again, thanks to ABC’s #TGIT (Thank God It’s Thursday) and NBC’s #WomanCrushWednesday. As I wrote at Adweek:

Networks can’t resist cloning anything that’s a hit on television, whether that’s shows or campaigns. Given the success of both #TGIT and #WCW, they’re all likely brainstorming hashtag-friendly campaigns in an effort to brand as many other nights of TV as possible.

So I came up with 12 new TV hashtag campaigns I’d like to see, from #PTSD (Post-Traumatic Sports Delay) to #TGINTGIF (Thank God It’s Not TGIF) to #WhatsaHashtag (What’s a Hashtag? Mondays).

After #TGIT and #WCW, 12 New TV Hashtag Campaigns We’d Like to See

‘Melissa Harris-Perry’: Shonda Rhimes, gay characters and hair

I was very excited to return to MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry today to talk about all things Shonda Rhimes. First we discussed the racy same-sex love scenes in How to Get Away with Murder (which as I point out, is a big improvement over Modern Family’s Mitch and Cam, who barely show any affection onscreen).

We then talked about that sensational scene where Viola Davis removed her makeup and wig — one of this fall’s most memorable images.

Also on the panel: Aisha Moodie-Mills, Danielle Moodie-Mills and my former People colleague Janet Mock.

How Shonda Rhimes is opening doors for gay characters on TV

Shonda Rhimes rewriting rules for black women

‘Melissa Harris-Perry’: The debuts of ‘How to Get Away With Murder’ and ‘Black-ish’

I was very excited to make my debut on MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry, which is executive produced by one of my best friends, Eric Salzman. I joined Clarence Page and Alicia Quarles to talk with Melissa about fall TV, and the debuts of How to Get Away With Murder, Black-ish and the phenomenal Transparent.

We then spoke about Scandal’s season premiere, and its powerful message about sexual assault.

It was a great appearance and I look forward to returning soon!

Buzzworthy Fall Shows Make Their Debut

How Olivia Pope Schooled Roger Goodell