Update 1/14/09: CBS has confirmed that Swingtown is cancelled. Click here for more information.
While it certainly does not appear likely that CBS will renew the ratings-plagued Swingtown, Broadcasting and Cable is reporting that CBS Paramount (the production company, not the network) is shopping the show to cable networks.
Clearly the CBS network wasn't happy with the ratings, and moving it to Friday nights, where it's ratings have languished even further seemed to indicate CBS didn't have high hopes for the show. Additionally, CBS entertainment president Nina Tassler is on record about being disappointed in the show's ratings.
CBS Paramount is additionally, according to the B & C story has also contacted DirecTV.
I know there are a lot of fans of the show, but it never took off and actually shed viewers from earlier episodes where it performed very well. It's unfair really to compare Swingtown to to Jericho or Moonlght, because Swingtown aired in the summer, but it seems unlikely to me that a cable network will pick up the show or that CBS would do any kind of partnership with DirecTV as has happened with NBC and Friday Night Lights.
It seems like the CBS owned Showtime would make the most sense if there is interest in picking the show up, and that would allow it to be more true to its subject matter creatively as well. But if CBS wanted to move the show to Showtime, why not just do it? Announcing that you're shopping the show to multiple outlets seems to (but does not necessarily) indicate the Showtime route is at best perceived as a last resort.
I think that it is irresponsible for CBS to offer such a show that advocates the kind of behavior that caused the STD epidemic that still haunts America today. Syphillis & Gonorrhea are terrible diseases with horrible symptoms that can lead to death. After Penicillin came into the public awareness, people thought they could go back to acting like animals, until Penicillin resistant strains raised their ugly heads, and every other anti-biotic has strains that resist it as well.
Also during this time, Herpes became a huge problem: Herpes that is still uncurable, though controllable, and can be passed from partner to partner even if one does not have symptoms. Another disease that started spreading during this era was HPV, although the medical profession was not aware of it until the epidemic of cervical cancer it causes.
And worst of all is the AIDS epidemic, which is still spreading because people refuse to stop sleeping around. It was thought that if enough money was spent in AIDS research, the epidemic could be controlled. The only thing that temporarily slowed down this epidemic was the gay community, who started behaving more responsibly, but as new young men join their ranks, and rebell against the constraints, the disease is spreading again. It has never gone away in the intravenious drug community.
In addition to all of this, did you know that you can't make hot tubs hot enough to kill bacteria or viruses? The hottest people can tolerate is around 105 degrees, and many can't stand this heat for long, yet the tub would have to be MUCH hotter to kill STDs, so hot that it would also kill the humans relaxing in there.
So you see why I am mystified that CBS's lawyers would permit them to show this series, considering all the young people who might try this out, get diseased, and sue the network for putting this idea in their heads.
I really can't see it happening. The ratings are too low and the costs too high for any standard cable network to consider. HBO already has a 70s-themed pilot in the works. Showtime obviously doesn't want it or CBS wouldn't be shopping it around. I think CBS is just putting on a show so that when they cancel it, they can tell the remaining fans that they tried.
BOOOOO!!! It can be predictable and a little dumb at times, but I still totally got into this show!
I really enjoy the show, despite the fact it doesn't live up to its subject matter because of CBS. It should have aired on Showtime to begin with.
And to the first poster – I suggest you relax, maybe catch a bible class or something. Or perhaps you should be reminded of the concept of free speech. You have a right to now watch the show, but not to force your decision or subjective sense of “morals” on the rest of us.
Dear Susan
Go ahead: knock yourself out, but don't come crying to me when you are infected with a long list of diseases that could have been avoided if you had acted like a civilized person. People like Susan illustrate my point about why AIDS has not gone away, and neither will a host of STDs. I was talking about science and responsibility, but Susan has no answer to those things, so she labels me as religious, a subject that I never mentioned, and then dismisses me using her straw man fallacy. But since it is unlikely that Susan knows what that means, I will just end by saying: “It is your funeral.” Literally.
angelcrest…i really have to agree with susan. relax. if people are not self educating themselves about sex or teens not given the sexual education they need; dont take it on yourself to bash a tv show.
on to cbs…i LOVED this show i totally got into in and want to know whats going to happen next! i find it awful that they are basing the ratings of this show on friday nights!! and DURING THE SUMMER!!! LOL if i didnt have a DVR i would NOT watch the show…it was just on at an awful time for its first run.
i am sure it would do great as a tuesday night or wednesday night show. even if its on late because people will still be at home during the week…and in the fall season people start winding down and staying in more often.
i think Swingtown should get another chance.
Paula
Swingtown is swirling the bowl, ratings wise, and if CBS brings anything back, it should be Moonlight, which still has millions of loyal fans worldwide. In the Fall, when all the people who voted for Moonlight in the People's Choice Awards discover that their favorite show was not renewed, CBS will be flooded with millions of emails and snail mails.
If you don't believe me, research for yourself online and compare the number of Moonlight posters to Swingtown posters.
Its just not possible that somebody would make a decision to pick up Swingtown and not Moonlight. Ignoring content, I refuse to get drawn into an STD arguement, Moonlight has a much larger and more cohesive fan base. Wasn't it Michael Hinman that reported that ML had a high stability index as compared to a lot of other shows. Add in the Peoples Choice Award, a higher coveted demo number, Alex O'Loughlins 'pats on the back' and all the positive chatter from various critics and well tell me again, using LOGIC why Swingtown is better?
“Or perhaps you should be reminded of the concept of free speech. You have a right to now watch the show, but not to force your decision or subjective sense of “morals” on the rest of us.”
I think you misunderstand the concept of free speech….I always find it amusing when someone argues “free speech” as a way of telling someone to shut-up. Free speech doesn't mean that no one can disagree with you or say what you are presenting is horrible. If CBS has a “right” to air Swingtown, then angelscrest has a “right” to say that they are irresponsible and wrong for doing it. By your apparent definition, a network could air a show portraying child abuse as a good thing and no one could complain about it because that would be “forcing their subjective sense of “morals” on the rest of us.”
EM- I agree with you, and also want to point out that CBS did not bother to promote Moonlight, probably because it had already decided to cancel it to make room for Swingtown.
After the People's Choice Awards, the only time CBS promoted Moonlight was the week it came back after the Actor's Strike, probably because that was the only time they had footage of Alex O'Loughlin walking on the beach with his shirt off.
On the other hand, they promoted Swingtown like crazy, in spite of the rock bottom ratings, even after they moved it to Friday nights, where it earned half the viewers as Moonlight in a similar time slot.
CBS also never tried Moonlight in a different timeslot, although they are now playing musical chairs with the new show, shopping for audiences for them. Had Moonlight played on a Wednesday or Thursday night, that would have been the test to see if a younger crowd would get into it. Young people are not home on Friday nights. When I was in my 20s, I was never home on Fridays. Even if I didn't have a date, or a party to go to, or plans with my girlfriends, I would drive down to Westwood Village and hang out all night. Moonlight had an audience of grownups and young families simply because that is the only audience that is home watching TV on Friday nights.
angelscrest,
Really, Moonlight wasn't cancel to make room for Swingtown, it was cancel because CBS think one of its new Fall show will do better than Moonlight. Swingtown was nothing more than a summer show that did performed well on its premiere but lost steam and viewers after a couple of episodes and was moved to Friday night.The low ratings will be the reason why it will be canceled and not because some people do disagree with its content.
As a Friday shown Moonlight had to perform better than Ghost Whisperer and it didn't. It was the weakest spot on CBS schedule on Friday night so CBS canceled it. And Please stop this non sense about Moonlight been on Friday nights and there are no one watching. Ghost Whispere and Numb3rs are also on Friday night and they are doing okay. The truth is that Moonlight ratings were too low and it got canceled. And no, winning a the people choice award mean nothing or the Itunes download numbers, or
the buzz on the internet. The only thing that matter is ratings, Nielsen ratings even if the system is getting old it is still the scale by which shows are judged.
CBS has more incentive to salvage Swingtown, since, as opposed to Moonlight, it is apparently produced by one of the CBS/Paramount subsidiary companies. They are also apparently giving Swingtown the handicap of being broadcast in an environment where they expect a smaller audience, and they seem to be doing that for Flashpoint, as well. Moonlight was expected to grow its audience at the end of last spring/very early summer when all the media outlets were talking about how even American Idol was losing viewers and marvelling, and speculating, as to why. Plus, CBS can never get it through their little corporate noggins that a show like Moonlight was always going to have less than a mainstream audience. To be a show about a vampire it actually did very well. CBS won Friday nights and the demo consistently all last season, with new episodes and reruns of all of the Friday night shows. Moonlight may have been the slowest guy on the Friday night CBS ratings team, but it still ran fast enough to help its team win. Unfortunately it wasn't good enough.
Swingtown and Moonlight do have a few things in common.They are both kind of niche shows, with Swingtown being a period piece since it is set in the past, even if it is only a thirty-year-old past. Both are victims of CBS not wanting to “go the distance,” if you will. CBS liked to describe itself as being “edgy,” but they would only go up to the edge, and expect to get points for just going there. Because they are broadcast tv they couldn't really get as racy as they wanted to try to portray themselves. People who want risque look at “Swingtown,” and then look at “Californication” and go, “Huh? You're kidding, right?'” And, although I think that Moonlight actually did get to be pretty violent, (thanks to the CSI's and their gore factor,) since ML did have, I think, 3 decapitations, it was not as sexually provocative as most soaps, even though part of that was that the storyline didn't progress there.
It is interesting to look at “facts.” Here is some info, from this very site, as compiled by Mr. Gorman, on the top 20 shows on CBS during the week of April 21 thru April 27 of this year. Out of the top “20,” Numb3rs was #10, GW was #12, Moonlight was #14.The only “freshmen” show that CBS did keep on its schedule from this past season, The Big Bang Theory, was #16.
The last time Moonlight was on was May 16th, On that same night GW had a demo of 2.0, and that was its season finale. Moonlight, while its demo was low by standards, it seems, usually stayed around 2.1, 2.3, through its first 12 new shows, and also won the demo ten out or those twelve times, but it fell below the 2.0 in its last episodes. Ghost Whisperer and Numb3rs demos also fell-not below 2.0 but they still fell, to be fair-but their survival wasn't on the line.
Here are Demo and viewers average excluding reruns for the last season:
Ghost Whisperer: 9.25 Millions viewers, 2.5 demo
Numb3rs: 9.76 Millions viewers, 2.4 demo
Moonlight: 7.85 Millions viewers, 2.2 demo
So I can only assumed(I don't work in the tv business so I'm not in the known) that CBS was looking for a spot on Friday night for a new show, they looked at the numbers and saw their weakeast show was Moonlight. So they canceled it to make room for a new show. Was Moonlight CBS weakeast show on their entire roster? I don't know, I haven't looked at the numbers for all shows but I know that Shark had better ratings than Moonlight and was canceled too probably because CBS think they can have better numbers with another show.
btw here is where I did find the viewers and demo numbers:
Ghost Whisperer :http://pifeedback.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/126108451/m/28210267/p/4
Numb3rs: http://pifeedback.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/908108…
Moonlight: http://pifeedback.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/810102…
Byeu,
You are right Moonlight and Swingtown are niche shows and as such they will not do as well as other shows. Maybe CBS decided that it doesn't want to have niche shows on their roster. Looking at the numbers we know that CBS does well with comedy and Cops shows, their top rated shows are Two and a Half Men, NCIS, CSI, Criminal Minds, CSI:Miami. Without a Trace, CSI:NY The fact that CBS will add more procedurals/cops shows on its roster next season and that CBS is developping more shows of this genre mean that CBS wants to stick with what is working. The fact that next season race to which of CBS, FOX and ABC will be the top rated broadcaster in viewers and demo will be closer than ever maybe why CBS is going back to what work best for them.
At the very least I gave points to CBS for having tried shows that would have been more at home on some cable channels.
RViewer
It is unlikely that the “Ex-List” will fare any better than Swingtown. It looks to me like a real turkey that no one will have any interest in watching. I think that TPTB at CBS are out of touch with the public because they live in an ivory tower echo chamber, where they sit in a circle and repeat each other's opinions back to them.
On the other hand, NBC looks like it is coming up with some gems for Friday night, starting with Crusoe at 8:00. I think that NBC has a better idea of what the Friday crowd wants, and I think that they are going to be king of the ratings hill again shortly.
Not only has CBS removed the best show it has from the air (Moonlight), but it has repeatedly insulted the audience, guaranteeing that they will not watch other CBS shows, no matter what they try in that timeslot.
If Moonlight was winning its timeslot every week, as it was, there was no reason to take it off the air, especially since it had a consistant, loyal audience in spite of the lack of promotion of the show.
Now that Nina Tassler's pet project is on the air, CBS is suddenly willing to advertise up the wazoo, and shuffle the new shows around, looking for an audience that might watch them.
I wonder why they thought it was a good idea to brush aside the Moonlight fans, who are so passionate. Didn't they think that we might have been watching other shows, and would stop doing so if offended, or are they so accustomed to trampling their underlings under their feet that they expected us to salute and exclaim “yes ma'am! May I have another?!”
It airred in the summer and couldn't even produce ratings against repeats. Thank god the ratings continue to tank. Hopefully CBS will dump this show like they did the other refuse Viva Laughlin. CBS's history of trying new things is failing. They should keep with the formula that makes them successful. Interjecting this laughable display of greed and hypocrisy, an insult to marriage, was a mistake. And I'm not talking morally, but creatively.
Hopefully their smart and dump it.
All it is is a TV show of infidelity, and that line of 'at least you know where your spouse is' is obviously a joke. By the looks of it even with their swinging ideas, infidelity is still the norm.
Sorry guys but your perfect world of communial swinging is a bust.
It is not worth CBS to renew it. The rtings are horrible and would not do well against new shows. Rid TV of this excess and keep the life style underground, or better dump it to cable where less then three million viewers can enjoy the destruction of the institution of marriage, or better yet send it over to HBO and they can tag it along with their other episodes of real sex.
Hi Dan!
I agree with you! I have decided that CBS could replace Swingtown with a reality show called Skanktown Roulette.
It would be similar to The Biggest Loser, except that the contestants would start out as losers, and spend the week trying to ride the baloney pony until foam comes out their ears.
At the end of each week, instead of a weigh-in, everyone would take a blood test to see who had acquired the largest number of STDs, and boot off the person with the fewest number. At the end of the series, the winner would be the one with the largest number over all, and the prize would be a years supply of anti-biotics.
I love the show and they should keep it for another season.We are not in 40-50 era we they were too much taboo.Wake up people we see trash on almost all the stations.Even in the kids cartoons.Swingtown is for adult and it's not that that bad.
We control our'e children what we want to watch.If you want to look Swingtown then change the channel.There is alot of violent in tv and sex so what should we band tv for life because it's not safe for children or us. Dont get stuck with taboo this is the 20's century.
I have a 20 year and 11 year and they are not stupid.It's up to you in how you raise your children.You are the maker of their destiny. Swingtown will not impact their life.
There are guns,drugs,sex,lust,etc…etc.. on all channels..By canceling the show is not going to stop crime,sex,drugs, or whatever.. I love the show and I support it …Yeah…………..
As Irma so eloquently says: ” If you dont want to look at Swingtown then just change the channel.”
Yes, Irma, that is exactly what we intend to do.
Especially the Moonlight viewers, who have had their passion ripped out from under them, then have had CBS lie about them and insult them.
My point is that Americans are “turning the channel” in droves because TV is so crappy. If enough of us “turn the channel,” CBS's ratings start to plummet. After a while, no one is watching. Seems simple to me, but the suits at CBS, instead of telling each other the truth about cr@ppy ratings, tell each other a bunch of CYA lies.