Brannon Braga’s THRESHOLD is moving from Fridays to Tuesdays at the end of the month. CBS is expected to announce a time slot change for the alien invasion drama currently airing Friday nights at 9pm (EST) . According to The Futon Critic, THRESHOLD will swap with another of CBS’s freshman series, CLOSE TO HOME.
That will put THRESHOLD on Tuesdays at 10pm (EST) November 22nd and 29th. No word yet on whether the change will be permanent but the network is hoping to energize both series’ soft ratings.
THRESHOLD has averaged 7.80 million viewers so far and CLOSE TO HOME has averaged 9.93 million.
So the big question is: Does this imply that CBS is confident enough in Thresholds’s numbers to chance it to a more competitive Tuesday night or does it mean CBS is convinced it’s a loser so puts it up against the two mega hits, FOX’s HOUSE and ABC’s BOSTON LEGAL, guaranting a lose of viewership and justifing its removal from the CBS schedule. Two weeks ago the show’s producers were touting its next three year plotline, now this news. Sounds like a typical Moonves cut and count your loses move, but guess we will have to wait and see.
What time on Tuesdays will it be? (I ask, because you suggest that it will be up against HOUSE and BOSTON LEGAL. But while HOUSE is at 9 (Eastern/Pacific) on FOX, BOSTON LEGAL isn’t until 10). (If at 9, it would be up against Commander in Chief and also My Name is Earl (though the latter may be moving to Thursdays, on NBC)
You are correct about the airtime for House. It is on at 9PM EST/PAC,and in direct competition with Threshold’s try-out timeslot, as well as being a lead-in to the nightly local FOX news for most cities and people tend to stay tuned for the news before heading for bed. Commander and Chief is on at the same time that Threshold will be on and is a very strong lead-in for Boston Legal at 10PM. People do not tend to change channels between two strong programs that have already easily established themselves in a successful timeslot….just ask NBC when they use to own Thursday nights with their “Must See TV” campaign.
I think Threshold will have a hard time breaking into FOX and ABC’s overwhelming Tuesday night advantage. Even Sci-Fi fans love watching House and Denny Crane and most will probably not leave them for Threshold.
This is interesting it seems that a lot of shows are getting shuffled around this year.
I just found slice of scifi. However, unless you are a tvhead & saw constant reminders, it is/was possible to miss the Tuesday night showing. How many shows did they do after the move – 1? maybe even 2? I doubt 2. But they cancelled it on that basis?
There should be personnel stationed at the door of CBS, to misdirect anyone pitching a scifi show to the fox network. Say what you will, Fox did stick with X Files long enough for it to grow an audience. It seems to be Fox’s pattern not to ditch shows quickly. Married with Children wasn’t a hit originally. Now its a classic. Arrested Development wouldn’t have lasted the length of a sneeze on CBS. Remember “American Gothic”? Cut loose. No scifi series, with the exception of Lost in Space & Twilight Zone has ever lasted on CBS.