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July 14, 2004
For "West Wing," it's not the economy, stupid; it's the ratings
By Gail Pennington
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
LOS ANGELES - It's not just fans who are worried about "The West Wing." So is NBC - and so is Dick Wolf, whose "Law & Order" suffered a downturn last season for which Wolf is blaming his Wednesday night lead-in.
"OK, 'West Wing' was ratings-challenged last year," NBC Entertainment president Kevin Reilly admitted. "John Wells is not in denial about it."
Wells, the star producer of "ER," took over the reins of "West Wing" after NBC and Warner Bros. forced creator Aaron Sorkin out. Ratings of the White House drama, which had already been in decline, dropped 18 percent among viewers 18-49 in the first season minus Sorkin, losing 13 percent of its total audience.
"We're going to try to juice up the show creatively this year, and I'm excited about what I've heard," Reilly told TV critics meeting in Los Angeles.
Saying he didn't want to reveal too much, Reilly noted that "the Bartlet administration is clearly coming to the end of its term, and I think that's going to foster some really interesting developments." Later, offstage, he added that he didn't mean President Jed Bartlet (Martin Sheen) would fall victim to some sort of television coup, only that having the end in sight would raise the stakes for the administration.
Meanwhile, as "Law & Order" prepares to launch a fourth edition, "Trial by Jury," in January, ratings for the "mothership" are down 13 percent with viewers 18-49.
Wolf, appearing with Dennis Farina, who joins the "L&O" cast this fall as the cop who replaces Jerry Orbach's Lenny Briscoe, harrumphed when asked whether he was worried. Actually, he said, the decline puts the show right back where it was before "West Wing" gave it such a big boost. What's more, "L&O" built more on its lead-in last season than ever before - 46 percent, by Wolf's account.
In other words, "Law & Order" - already picked up through 2006 - isn't in trouble, but "West Wing" might be. Reruns aren't airing this summer, and the sixth season doesn't arrive until Oct. 20.
Quote du jour: "We only have 48 hours." - Jeff Zucker, asked to talk about mistakes he made as NBC's chief programmer before being kicked upstairs.
Posted by Jo at July 14, 2004 07:54 AM