When it returns to the airwaves on October 1, ABC’s “Pushing Daisies” will have been off the air for ten months.  A combination of factors from the writer’s strike to the overruns in filming caused the ABC series to air only nine episodes last year before it shut down production on the first season.
The season was a relative hit, winning respectable ratings, critical acclaim and a devoted audience of fans. But with so few episodes aired last year and such a long gap with no network repeats, many are wondering how the show will fare when it returns to ABC later this year.
“Daisies” is one of several new shows that suffered a shortened freshman season due to the writers’ strike. In some ways, the strike was good news for these shows. With fewer pilots in productions, networks opted to stay with the shows they had and attempt to relaunch them this fall. Two Slice of SciFi favorites “Pushing Daisies” and “Chuck” will be part of network pushes to re-launch this fall.Â
But at least “Chuck” got to run 13 episodes last year and didn’t suffer as much as “Pushing Daisies” did from the writer’s strike.  Many of the cast and crew of “Pushing Daisies” are concerned the long hiatus could have a negative impact for the series.
Co-star Chi McBride says he’s “concerned” about the potential disruptive effect of a still-gestating series being off the air for so long. He points to the effect of the long break on some top shows.
“The audience does not like to be fooled around with,” McBride said. “You look at ‘Grey’s Anatomy’s’ numbers when they came back — there was a huge drop-off. Eventually I think we can get them back, but these hiccups have got to stop.”
Another factor is that the ABC drama is a very quirky and ambitious one. Last year, early scripts was so ambitious that they required longer shooting schedules, leading to delays in the editing process.  Many times, the episodes were being edited up to the time they went to air on ABC. ABC has stepped in and tried to “reign in” the series this year, hoping to widen its appeal.Â
“We were hemorrhaging costs trying to accelerate post-production,” said creator Bryan Fuller.
“Last year, our scripts were big, and we had a lot of scenes. And we just figured we couldn’t keep up with production under that model,” Fuller said. “It was not necessarily a tug of war for the soul of the show, but it was, ‘How do we get this done in a responsible way?’ “
“The first part of (this) season was really tough,” Fuller continued. “They were like, ‘Let’s ground the show a little more; it can’t be a cartoon. We can’t have the show be weird and not get an audience.’ And we were like, ‘We can’t have the show be boring and not get the people back we had last year.’ The challenge to me was to make sure the fundamental DNA of the show didn’t change.”
In order to win back the audience it had and bring in new fans, “Daisies” second season will start with a bit of a re-cap, almost like a second pilot. Â
Another issue “Daisies” faces is it was given a 13-episode order for its second season, instead of a standard 22-epiosde pick-up. With the writer’s strike and a plethora of pilots coming for potential mid-season slots, “Daisies” could face even more pressure to perform out of the gate or risk being replaced by mid-season entry.Â
But surely in the vast landscape of television, there has to be room for a quirky drama along the lines of “Pushing Daisies.” ABC thinks there is. The big question now is–will the network’s willingness to stay with the show pay off or will the show soon be part of the “Brilliant But Cancelled” rotation?
Jarik says
I’m nervous for “Pushing Daisies” survival.
Robin says
I remain cautiously optimistic, although I know that the “mainstream” audience might not get it. I’ve often described Pushing Daisies as a concept from Tim Burton written and illustrated by Dr. Seuss, which actually intrigued a number of people enough to at least give it a try. After the untimely demises of Dead Like Me and Wonderfalls, Bryan Fuller is due for a show that lasts more than two years.
Deven Science says
This was my favorite of the new shows last year, followed by “Life”. I truly hope that “Pushing Daisies” gets it’s due chance, although I will say here that I’m made more nervous by these talks of dailing it down, or taking some of the edge off of the weird. I don’t like where they’re going with that, as I loved the movie production feel of this TV show.