Buried within NBC's lengthy mid-season schedule announcement was the news that Revolution will take about a four-month hiatus, from its last fall original on November 26 to its spring return March 25, 2013. The new drama Deception will air in the Monday 10pm time period starting on January 7.
The question is whether the long break will hurt the show. Much longer hiatuses have become standard for hit cable dramas, with the breaks whetting viewers appetites and allowing new viewers to discover (and marathon) the show via online streaming. But broadcast television is still a different beast. Big breaks did no favors for the ill-fated genre shows Flash Forward and The Event. Make your prediction about Revolution's fate, then explain your reasoning in the comments.
Actually the show was called “Flashforward” not “Fast Forward”
Looks like NBC didn’t learn anything from The Event. Sure, it wasn’t doing so well as Revolution, but I predict that the final result will be the same – huge drop in the ratings.
The last new Revolution ep will air in November (as per the press release). December to the end of March is 4 months.
That being said, it’ll hurt it.
I thought it was gone from November-March. January is better, but it’ll still drop.
Will kill it like The Event and Flash Forward (not Fastforward).
It appears they learnt nothing last season
I don’t think the hiatus will make much of a difference since it still has the Voice as a lead in.
I have a feeling Grimm is going to have the same 3-4 month hiatus as Revolution and that is going to suck even more. How come we did not get NBC’s mid season schedule for Friday?
very dumb move by nbc…when has a long hiatus every helped a show? personally, i think this show is god awful, but my roommate loves it, so i hope it doesn’t hurt it too bad…
edit…where’s the edit button
when has a long hiatus every helped a show on network television…
The show will for sure drop. CBS and ABC will have built in audiences in those two months, and CBS will most likely see increases across the board, thanks to the Super Bowl. If CBS uses 2 Broke Girls post-Super Bowl, CBS will have strong growth on the night as a whole.
Why do network shows that take a long break fa so hard, while shows on cable always take breaks but never seem to fall? I don’t see it falling if NBC promotes the hell out of the show and make the full first half of the season for online streaming. Plus it has the voice lead in so it’ll be safe.
i dont think it will drop if it has a good November and an ad push that reminds people when its coming back.
Overreactions. Give me a break. This show will come back to the same 3.0 ratings its been getting all season. The only reason hiatuses hurt a show is because the show wasn’t good before the hiatus and people are already tuning out in droves. The Event, Flash Forward . . . that was the case for all of them.
Now, is this going to pull of a Glee or Walking Dead and come back to unbelievable ratings? Of course not. But as long NBC does steady promotion for its return and pairs it with The Voice, it will do just fine.
What most people tend to forget is that Flashforward and the Event were losing viewers at a truly amazing rate BEFORE the hiatus. Now, LOLA,on the other hand, arguably was killed by a hiatus.
Negative impact for sure. A four month layoff did no favors for “V” either. Although that show somehow managed a last minute renewal, the hiatus all but killed it.
lengthy hiatuses did not hurt walking dead, nbc should put it on dvd and netflix during hiatus
Here’s how Revolution has the advantage. The Voice is an amazing lead in and will boost more interest in the show. The Event and FlashForward had no such lead ins
The hiatus is shorter than I expected! And I don’t think it’ll make much difference. Anyway, FlashForward and The Event started out well in terms of quality and then started to suck, whereas IMO, Revolution is getting better as it goes along. I hope that helps.
Given recent trends for Network shows and hiatuses it makes me nervous even with The Voice as the lead in.
As “NBC burying the lead” for fandom goes, though, isn’t this much more stirring: When NBC says,
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then aren’t those fifteen weeks rather than thirteen??
@Sara Bibel
Revolution will take a three-month hiatus, from January 7-March 25
The last fall episode of Revolution is 26 November which results in a 16-week/four-month hiatus.