The Ratings Rollercoaster Ride

There were several articles that caught my attention regarding the fluctuating rollercoaster ride of ratings that The Carrie Diaries has experienced throughout its first season.

The expectations, as television contributor Carson Blackwelder mentions in his article, were that The Carrie Diaries would be able to take advantage of the popularity of its Sex and the City predecessor to attract viewers, but also be able to capture the loyal audience of the former fans of the hit series Gossip Girl, which ended December 17^th and whose coveted 8 pm primetime slot it humbly replaced.

In my opinion, there are several factors that have contributed to the lack of numbers showing up in the ratings: 1) show scheduling and competition from other shows in its time slot; 2) the network in which the show is airing; 3) the nature of the viewership habits of the show’s target audience.

Initially, the show most likely struggled in the ratings because it aired during the same time slot of ABC’s popular reality TV dating show, The Bachelor, right in the middle of its new season, which at the same time was garnering in more viewers than ever before—young and old—stealing away key members in CD’s target audience (young women ages 13 to 30). People are more likely to tune in to the already-established Bachelor series over the new Carrie Diaries because it has more clout, fans are already invested in the show, and it is more of a group viewing party style show, it is more addictive, and it depicts real people and real lives—which makes viewers more invested in the outcome. Scheduling CD at the same exact 8 pm primetime slot as The Bachelor had a negative impact on the viewership ratings. But also, plopping it into the same former Gossip Girl time slot may have set the bar too high in regards to pleasing former Gossip Girl fans.

The network—The CW—with its provocative, typically more surreal, darker dramas, such as Vampire Diaries and Nikita, typically attracts a more mature young adult to middle age audience. The style of The Carrie Diaries doesn’t quite fit in with the rest of The CW’s menu. The show might have done better airing on The Disney Channel or ABC Family because it seems to be attracting a younger audience as well as more of a family friendly viewership.

Another reason why the ratings are not as high as producers may have hoped is also due to the nature of viewership by its target audience. Personally, I do not tune in to watch the show when it first airs on television. Due to my busy schedule with school and other extracurricular activities, it is easier for me to watch the show at my own pace by visiting The CW’s website and watching the show through online streaming from my laptop. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are other Carrie Diaries fans that are doing the same. Because online viewership isn’t currently counted in the ratings system, the reality of the ratings may consist of higher numbers than are being accounted for. The CW posting the full episodes of the show online may have a negative impact on the numbers counted for, but in the long run, allowing the convenience and availability of watching the show online will help to establish greater accessibility and popularity for its target audience that may help to establish this demographic loyal fan base for the future.

My concluding thoughts are this: can the popularity of the show really be reflected in the ratings, or is there greater popularity that isn’t being accounted for? Also, is the problem of the show’s low ratings due to competition of show scheduling, or is it a problem of the placement of the show in its network? Finally, you could assume that none of these are issues and the low ratings are simply due to the show’s content. Has the show failed in appealing to its target audience? If it is a content issue, what is it about Carrie Diaries that disappoints?

In my opinion, the show will probably end up getting a second season to prove itself, but only time will tell. The show was not an instant hit, but neither was Sex and the City in its first season. There is hope. According to show runner Amy Harris, it will simply take time for viewers to catch on to its charm, and therefore, she does not intend to rush any aspects of the storyline in order to please members of former Sex and the City fans in its audience.

Articles Referenced:

– The CW’s Carrie Diaries Struggling in the Ratings: Why Aren’t Viewers Tuning In?

– Ratings Woes Won’t Rush Carrie Diaries Storylines, Say Amy B. Harris

Ratings Woes Won’t Rush Storylines…

In this article, low ratings are reported as having the potential effect on the show’s producer Amy Harris to rush the storylines in order to please former Sex and the City fans. Harris argues back that the show will develop over time and that there will be no need to rush anything for now.

In my opinion, the show will probably end up getting a second season to prove itself, but only time will tell. The show was not an instant hit, but neither was Sex and the City in its first season. There is hope.

According to show runner Amy Harris, it will simply take time for viewers to catch on to its charm, and therefore, she does not intend to rush any aspects of the storyline in order to please members of former Sex and the City fans in its audience.

Q&A: Style & Show Structure

Each episode of The Carrie Diaries follows the same structure that begins with Carrie’s narration, asking a question, reporting on the current state of the union for each of the character’s in Carrie’s life, and then ending the episode with Carrie writing in her journal and the question being answered or arriving at some sort of conclusion.

The run time is 42 minutes in length. Each episode opens with a Cold Open or Prologue that consists of Carrie’s introduction to the theme of the episode in her narration and a short peak of what is to come in the episode.

There are approximately 5 Acts, with about four scenes per Act. Each episode has an “A”, “B”, “C” and storyline with Carrie’s main storyline being A, and the B and C storylines involving minor supporting characters, such as the development of her dad’s relationship with the yoga instructor at the gym, and Dorrit’s relationship with her boyfriend Miller, or such as Walt’s progression coming out, or Mouse and her relationship with Wes. Each character has their own spotlight in each episode that is coyly narrated by Carrie herself. Carrie’s narration acts as almost the omnipresent voice of the show, dictating the lives of her friends and family as they experience their own individual experiences and struggles.

Carrie narrates her own story as well, providing us with her most intimate thoughts and feelings, questions, and conclusions about her career, school, love life, friends, family, and future. Overall, the structure of the show is clean, precise, and easy to follow. Each episode always ends by wrapping up the theme and referring back to the opening of the episode with a conclusion, revelation, surprise, or some other newfound experience that leads Carrie to learn a little more about herself and grow as a character after each episode.

When I write my own original show for this class, I plan on following many aspects of this structure in constructing my own Pilot episode. I will write for the same length and include the same number of Acts beginning with a Prologue and include narration as well by my main character.

Carrie Diaries Premieres With Big Shoes to Fill

The new season of the highly anticipated prequel to the infamous Sex and the City series, The Carrie Diaries, premiered on The CW network on January 15, 2013 as a mid-season pick-up. It replaced the recently wrapped famously popular Gossip Girl series in its coveted Monday night 8-pm primetime slot, which ended its final season in December after its successful six-season run. Due to the high expectations for the new show from former Sex and the City fans and the popularity of the show whose time slot it was replacing, The Carrie Diaries premiered with big shoes to fill.

As the prequel to the infamous Sex and the City series, The Carrie Diaries is based on the young adult novel written by Candace Bushnell and adapted for television by producer and show-runner Amy B. Harris. The new series introduces a young Carrie Bradshaw, played by actress AnnaSophia Robb, meant to portray the teenage version of the iconic character played by Sarah Jessica Parker in HBO’s Sex and the City television series, which ended back in 2004.

Buzzfeed Reports Weak Ratings! 😦

After the show’s premiere in January, ratings were not as promising as producers had hoped. In this Buzzfeed Entertainment article, issues associated with the airing of the show are discussed in regards to its weak ratings. The author’s contrasting opinions are expressed in favor of the show and request for more support.

The character of the iconic Carrie Bradshaw’s return to television as a teenager growing up in the 1980s in the new series had many former Sex and the City fans both curious and excited to get a glimpse of a new version of Carrie they had yet to see before—the Carrie that existed “before there was sex and before there was the city,” as the Season Preview coyly phrases it.

The new show features the young Carrie who has recently lost her mother to cancer and has to deal with finding her voice as she tries to navigate between two worlds, her high school world with her family and friends in the suburbs of Connecticut—and the world of the city life and working an internship at a law firm in Manhattan.

Whether or not ratings will continue to disappoint or improve in the following weeks will determine the freshman show’s chance at a second season.

If you didn’t get a chance to watch the show’s premiere and are interested in checking it out, visit The CW’s official site for The Carrie Diaries with free live streaming of the episodes to catch up with the show now!

From a writer’s perspective…

In keeping this television blog, I know I’m a little late to the party, but because I am writing about a new show, I had to let the show wash over me these past three weeks since it aired in order to let myself get acquainted with it before I began to make any judgments.

Also, I spent the last few weeks focusing my efforts on collecting background information on the writers and producers of the show and the show’s origins so that I would not be writing in vain. So here it is, my first post about the show, and it might be a little longer since I have a lot to catch up on.

The most interesting aspect of the show to me so far is its Gossip Girl squad of creators. Gossip Girl is a show on the CW that I started watching on Netflix about two years ago and I just finished watching the final season. At first I started watching GG in order to study the acting styles of the girls on the show because I was trying to figure out my own typecast, or at least the type of role for which my agents were sending me on auditions for. It seemed that I kept getting sent out on the slutty, seductive, party girl roles and what  better characters to study the acting of that then the Gossip Girl ladies themselves? To my surprise, what started out as an in-bed acting class shortly turned into an addiction, an intrigue, and an adoration that kept me coming back for more.

What is it about the Gossip Girl show that made it stand out from the other teenage dramas I tried to make myself watch over the years but failed to force my attention past the first episodes of (90210, Vampire Diaries, and Teen Wolf – to name a few)? Well, the answer is quite simple actually. Aside from the shocking and seductive storylines, indulgent and lavish lifestyles of the rich and spoiled youth, sex triangles and upscale city affairs, Gossip Girl had something else in its favor: it’s cast.

I was not so familiar with Leighton Meester and Blake Lively before watching the show, but now that I have watched them transform themselves into their respective characters, it has incited an even stronger desire within myself to pursue a career in the television series world, whether that will be in front of the camera or behind.

Leighton Meester’s daring and provocative, evil and cunning, and yet somewhat still so adoring and charming portrayal of Blair Waldorf in Gossip Girl is fascinating and addicting to watch—so much so that I cannot even picture her in any other role. That is what a true professional and impressive acting performance is all about. Now, before I get off on a tangent about why I loved to watch Gossip Girl, let me bring this back to my point, which is of course to talk about The Carrie Diaries.

Now I understand that The Carrie Diaries is not in any way supposed to replace Gossip Girl, but they do have a few factors in common. 1) They are both set and filmed in New York City. 2) The characters are all high school age teenagers. 3) Both shows follow storylines set in the home, at school, in the city, featuring scenarios of family life and relationships and romance. However, the major difference between the two is the energy of the cast and the style of the shows.

The most obvious difference would be the time period of each show: Gossip Girl, set in modern times, and The Carrie Diaries as an ‘80s themed period piece. Naturally, the scenes would be a bit different due to their time settings alone. However, the charm that Gossip Girl had that I fear The Carrie Diaries might be lacking is the roles of the protagonists. One thing that made Gossip Girl stand out from most teenage drama shows is that the main characters of the show are the same seductive villains that usually play the antagonists in other shows catering to the same audience.

Gossip Girl did not in any way follow typical teenage dramedy conventions, but that’s what I loved about it. So far, The Carrie Diaries is playing on the safer side, not quite yet willing to take it over the edge into the complete chaotic deliciousness that Gossip Girl owned. It is a bit more colorful and corny than the Gossip Girl scene, almost taking on more of a Disney/Nickelodeon-style structure. From the storylines, to the actual dialogue, to the performances of its main characters—everything feels a little too fluffy for older teenage audiences to get hooked.

The performances seem a little more surface and safer than the daring diving-into-cold-water-head-first performances of the Gossip Girl cast. Maybe it’s just a little too early for me to judge, or maybe it is that it’s going to take some time before the characters of The Carrie Diaries get more comfortable in their new roles, but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

I always feel like some teen drama shows try to pick out main characters that are more average and relatable to larger audiences so as to avoid stereotypes or making audiences feel inadequate in comparison. Gossip Girl did just the opposite of the norm—they chose their protagonists with the exact intent to show characters that would make us envious that our own lives could never be as fabulous. They were extreme. Every female character on Gossip Girl was gorgeous, unnaturally beautiful and thin, stylish, and with unlimited funds. It was a fantasy, and that’s what it made it so intriguing.

As a writer, I can’t help but to appreciate that kind of ruthlessness and complete and total lack of remorse for the less fortunate. Isn’t that what entertainment television is all about? Not to show us a reflection of the same boring people and scenarios we have to live with every day in our own lives, but to give us a taste of an intangible extravagance, take us on a new adventure that we would be unable to experience in reality,  something to dream about when we can’t seem to find that same exaggerated passion and thrill in our own lives. When I write my own show someday, I will let that be my inspiration.

Missing G.G. 😥

Welcome!

The Carrie Diaries premieres tonight Monday, January 14 at 8 pm on the CW! Make sure to start watching with me as I begin to blog about the new show.

Also, I encourage you to visit the CW’s home page for the show for more information and to get acquainted with what it’s all about!

Click here to visit the CW’s home page for The Carrie Diaries!

Source: cwtv.com via The CW on Pinterest