Survey: ‘Blue Bloods’ Most Commercial Of This Season’s New Series
It might not be the sexiest of this year’s new U.S. shows, but Blood Bloods has proved the most commercial at home and internationally combined. The Tom Selleck cop show has topped a chart of how this season’s freshman shows have performed. Blue Bloods has sold around the world, and not just to tiny channels but to big ones like Sky Atlantic in the UK, Australia’s Network Ten and Discovery Latin America. Armando Nunez, president CBS Studios International, has told TV trade Television Business International, “It’s perhaps not as sexy to talk about, but it has proven a success both on the network and in terms of global distribution.” TBI is due to publish its survey of U.S. network pick-ups Monday. Indeed, CBS’ strategy of showing procedurals might hug the shore creatively, but it has paid off globally. Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, another CBS procedural, is in second place. Says Nunez, “The road is littered with pilots and broken series and high concepts that didn’t work. We are in broadcasting.”
The Event, NBC Universal’s mystery sci-fi show, would probably have been cancelled by now has it not sold so strongly around the world, TBI deputy editor Peter White tells me. NBC Universal sold The Event to more than 200 territories early on, and it has gone on to have a full U.S. season. Of course, some of this year’s new shows still haven’t aired yet, including Fox’s Terra Nova, due to air in October, and ABC’s Happy Endings. Shows graded “F” for fail in the survey because they have all been canceled include JJ Abrams’ Undercovers, Lonestar starring Jon Voight, and the Jimmy Smits legal drama Outlaw. And the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced Chase and NBC’s superhero drama The Cape have both bitten the dust even in the short time since TBI compiled the survey.
Freshman U.S. Series: 2010 Grade Sheet
The show/Distributor/Channel/Grade
Blue Bloods/CBS Studios International/CBS/A
Criminal Minds: Suspect Behaviour/Disney Media Distribution/CBS/A-
The Event /NBC Universal/NBC/A-
Hawaii Five-0/CBS Studios International/CBS/B+
Mike & Molly/Warner Bros/CBS/B+
Raising Hope/Twentieth Century Fox/Fox/B+
Shit My Dad Says/Warner Bros/CBS/B+
Hellcats/Warner Bros/The CW/B
Better With You/Warner Bros/ABC/B-
Law & Order: Los Angeles/NBC Universal/NBC/B-
Mad Love/Sony Pictures Television/CBS/B-
Mr. Sunshine/Sony Pictures Television/ABC/C+
Nikita/Warner Bros/The CW/C+
Perfect Couples/NBC Universal/NBC/C+
The Defenders/CBS Studios International/CBS/C+
Harry’s Law/Warner Bros/NBC/C
No Ordinary Family/Disney Media Distribution/ABC/C
Off The Map/Disney Media Distribution/ABC/C
The Chicago Code/Twentieth Century Fox/Fox/C
Bob’s Burgers/Twentieth Century Fox/Fox/C-
Detroit 187/Disney Media Distribution/ABC/D+
Outsourced/NBC Universal/NBC/D+
Mixed Signals/Twentieth Century Fox/Fox/D
Chase/Warner Bros/NBC/D
The Cape/NBC Universal/NBC/D
The Whole Truth/Warner Bros/ABC/D
Lonestar/Twentieth Century Fox/Fox/F
My Generation/Disney Media Distribution/ABC/F
Outlaw/NBC Universal/NBC/F
Undercovers/Warner Bros/NBC/FSource: TBI
Love “BB”. Old fashioned character driven family drama. I usually like my dramas a bit more intricate & forward thinking, but the actors in “BB” are fantastic, the stories are strong if maybe a little familiar & it’s great to see a show filmed in NY.
Mad love and better with You are great shows. Well written and well cast
You just named the two worst comedies currently on TV, hands down.
Seriously???? you give Detroit 187 a D- yet you give mr sunshine a c+ Hellcats a B and the Horrible Event A-? Detroit 187 is quality programming in a sea of Crap and you and your idiotic article just feeds the stupidity of the Nielson box holders and their moronic choices.
Did you even read the article??? The shows were graded on how much money they’ve made at home and internationally. It’s all about the buck…not what you think is quality tv.
Hellcats is fabulous and fun. Don’t be hating. Also, Blue Bloods deserves it’s top spot. Much credit must go to Mr. Selleck, who fought for the tone of the show. He was getting dissed as a diva last summer, but he was right.
I would have thought H50 would have been number 1. Awesome for Blue Bloods.
Tom Selleck… everything he does becomes a success. Selleck is a man of integrity anf honesty, and he is a first class actor. Here is his bio, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-kksKWW3Mc
Not surprised about Blue Bloods…but CM/SB and The Event are number 2 and 3?
I wanted to like Blue Bloods, but it is awful. The guy who plays Selleck’s father and the blonde woman who plays his assistant are two of the worst actors on TV. The storylines are total cornball: “We’re Reagans, damnit!” We get it. You’re better than us.
I don’t buy it. No way it made more than H50 or even Criminal Minds II. BB is a very old skewing show and a semi-flop in the US. It doesn’t even run in germany for example and it has no chance to become a success. H50 on the other hand is the only real drama hit from the new series (for a 10 pm show and these days at least) and it is a hit in foreign countries.
I’m only talking about the success. I don’t like either of those shows. The only comedy hit Mike & Molly is the biggest crapfest of all 2010/2011 network shows. LoneStar, Chicago Code, The Event and maybe Harry’s Law are the only network dramas I would renew based on my personal taste. On the comnedy side it would be Bob’s Burgers, Raising Hope, Outsourced and Traffic Light. Perfect Couples, Mr. Sunshine and Mad Love aren’t exactly good but they have potential.
My problem with Blue Bloods was it kicked off with a child in peril story. I usually avoid these, they seem to come during sweeps often, which also is somewhat skeevy imho. If you start with a child in peril story where do you go from there? Pregnant mother hanging off the edge of a building at gunpoint?
I get that I’m somewhat alone on this. It might also be the reason the show plays so well overseas? I dunno, but I don’t need a police officer family drama on my DVR.
Oh, and I’m outside the demo. What does that say?
Are you serious? Yes, the child in peril story was the reason it sold so well internationally. How random.
Blue Bloods is so bad. I tried to watch, for certain cast members, but it’s the same old recycled plots with awful, on-the-nose dialogue. It will run forever.
You must feel very smart to be you on your lofty perch.