With the year nearly over, its time to look at the ten worst new broadcast shows of 2012 (based on my opinion).
Breakdown by network:
ABC - 2
CBS - 2
CW - 1
FOX - 2
NBC - 3
Take a look at the countdown!
10. Ben and Kate on FOX has been pretty much a disaster since it premiered in September. A series low 1.1 demographic is nothing to brag about, especially when FOX is trying to start a two hour comedy block. Ben and Kate may have gotten a 19 episode order, but after that it is very likely to be heading to the graveyard.
9. The River on ABC actually didn't start all that bad (a 2.4 demographic for its two hour premiere). After the premiere, viewers quickly abandoned the series, with ratings slipping each week. By the time the series finale rolled around, ratings were in the low 1.0 demos, adding further woes to ABC's Tuesday night lineup. ABC cancelled the series and there were rumors Netflix may pick up the series, but that never happened.
8. Are You There, Chelsea? on NBC also started quite strong (for NBC standards). A 2.3 demographic shocked nearly everyone given the dire situation of NBC. The next week American Idol moved into the timeslot and it was all bad news from there. After the steep 26% in week two, the show continued to bleed viewers. When the series finale aired in May, 'Chelsea' had fallen to a measly 1.1 demo to be one of the lowest rated shows on the night.
7. Animal Practice on NBC had one of the biggest premieres of the season: a huge 4.1 demo. Unfortunately, that was behind the Olympics and it was going to be all downhill from there. No one had any idea where it would go, but I'm sure no one expected a 1.4 demographic for its timeslot premiere. Animal Practice had a big premiere, a huge week two drop, and was one of the first shows to be cancelled. Bad news all around.
6. I'm still trying to figure this one out. The Mob Doctor on FOX had an awful premise and critics quickly pounced on it after upfronts. FOX did the series no favors by sticking it in a tough timeslot with minimal help from a lead in (Bones). The show had an awfully low premiere (1.5) and would continue to drop, even as low as a 0.8 demographic. Despite the horrible ratings, FOX stuck with it (in the original timeslot) and will air all 13 episodes. The Mob Doctor had one of the worst runs I can remember, but stuck around as long as it did due to the lack of product on the network.
5. Partners on CBS had the best possible chance to succeed of any new show this season; it aired on CBS in the powerful Monday night comedy block and was sandwiched between two strong series (How I Met Your Mother and 2 Broke Girls). Unfortunately, Partners lacked one key to success for a comedy: humor. Partners premiered to a 2.4 demographic, which is solid for any network, but not CBS. In the following weeks, the ratings would only continue to fall. After a series low 1.8 demo in November, CBS finally put the show out of its misery.
4. The Firm on NBC had a huge 22 episode order before the series premiered. However, a big order doesn't always translate to big ratings, even for a premiere. The special Sunday premiere of The Firm did a tiny 1.4 demographic and when it aired in its regular Thursday 10pm timeslot, the show slipped to a 1.0 demo. A few episodes later and NBC had enough. The Firm was dumped on Saturdays and eventually finished its low-rated run in July.
3. Made in Jersey on CBS is the worst new show of the 2012-13 television season, but not the worst overall. The series premiere had a respectable 8 million viewers, but the 1.1 demographic was not good - at all. After a mere two episodes on Friday, CBS pulled the show and later brought it back to Saturday nights. Made in Jersey is currently airing on Saturdays and is doing mere 0.3 demos...yikes!
2. Remodeled on The CW has the infamous distinction of being the lowest rated series premiere in network history. An 0.3 demographic for The CW is awful to begin with, but the show would go even lower! When Remodeled aired one of its two burnoff episodes in the middle of the summer, it did a minuscule 0.1 demo and actually had a 0 share. Any show that can go that low (summer or not) deserves a spot on the worst new shows of 2012.
1. Work It on ABC is the worst show of 2012 and may be one of the worst shows of all time. I actually enjoyed the pilot, but I put my personal opinion to the side on this one. Work It debuted to an okay 2.0 demographic, but it slipped to a 1.5 in week two. After two episodes, the show was cancelled and ABC never aired another episode on television. The reviews were highly negative as well: Metacritic (critics) gave it a 19/100, Metacritic (viewers) gave it a 1.0, and IGN gave the show a 0 - the first time since 1998 anything on the site received that distinction. With everything working against Work It, one has to wonder what ABC executives were thinking.
