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October 19, 2004
This White House
This is 'West Wing's' sixth season. Is it its last?
By Toni Fitzgerald
Media Life
Will President Bartlet be voted out of office this year?
That’s been the rumor for the past month over at fading NBC, where “The West Wing” finally debuts its sixth and possibly last season this Wednesday at 9 p.m. amid a woeful start to the season for the long-time dominant network.
“Wing,” with its pedigreed past of four Best Drama Emmys and critical adoration, seems like a microcosm of NBC’s problems as a whole. Where it once drew viewers to its taut plotlines, the show now seems flabby and unaware of how to win people back, just like its parent network.
The show began to struggle in fall 2002 when ABC’s time slot competitor “The Bachelor” began to thrive. That season “West Wing” went from a 6.7 adults 18-49 average to a 4.5, a one-third dip.
Its fortunes fell even further last season, when Fox’s rookie “The O.C.” stole more younger viewers. The show finished No. 27 for the season among households with a 7.8 average rating, down more than 10 percent from the previous season, when it finished No. 20.
NBC has insisted that rumors of “Wing’s” demise are greatly exaggerated, but the network is running original episodes straight through the season after its late return.
When the last original has run, NBC will introduce the limited-run series “Revelations” in the “Wing” time slot, which will run through the rest of the season.
It’s never a good sign when a show gets bumped. But it’s not particularly surprising, given that “Wing” has been abandoned by critics almost as quickly as audiences.
After the fourth season, creator and main writer Aaron Sorkin left the show, having battled a drug problem and difficulty meeting script deadlines despite often brilliant writing.
Original cast member Rob Lowe and executive producer Thomas Schlamme also exited, leaving John Wells to run the show’s fifth season. Critics, who had already begun turning on the faux president the year before, savaged the new setup.
And viewers may have listened. Though “Wing” remains popular among upscale viewers, especially those making $100,000 per household or more, and adults over age 50, where it ranked No. 19 last season, adults 18-49 seemed to grow tired of it.
Several times last spring “West Wing” hit all-time lows in the 18-49 demo. By the time its season finale aired, “Wing” was consistently down almost 30 percent from its year-ago average.
Much like NBC itself, the show seemed to have lost sight of what made it a big draw the years before: sharp writing, believable characters and crisp plotting.
Now, again like NBC, it’s faced with making a turnaround this season. If numbers don’t improve, NBC will not want to pay the large licensing fee to Warner Bros. that it did two years ago to renew the show.
In January 2003, NBC agreed to pay between $5 million and $7 million for two guaranteed years and an option for a third, which would be next season. If ratings don’t improve, especially in a year when NBC is already down more than 15 percent in most demos, Bartlet won’t be back.
One bright spot for the show, however, is the arrival of two guest stars with the potential to pull in viewers. Jimmy Smits (“NYPD Blue”) and Alan Alda (“M*A*S*H”) both begin guest arcs on the season debut as potential successors to Martin Sheen’s soon-to-retire president.
And who knows? Perhaps the real-life presidential race and the big crowds for the presidential debates will fuel interest in the show. With ratings for “The Bachelor” off big time already, and CBS and Fox’s sitcoms somewhat vulnerable Wednesday night, it would be an ideal time for “West Wing” to rebound.
The problem may be that it’s slipped too far creatively to do so.
Posted by Jo at October 19, 2004 07:54 AM