TV shows like Law
& Order and CSI may soon become a thing
of the past, reports AdAge; both franchises are
experiencing viewer erosion.
NBC is down to
just one L&O (SVU) and its star,
Christopher Meloni, is not returning. After the widespread success of the
original Law & Order, NBC launched SVU,Criminal Intent,
Trial by Jury and Los Angeles in the past decade,
with only Criminal Intent and SVU lasting past its rookie
season (Criminal Intent is in the midst of its final season on USA). NBC execs are
preparing for the end of the long-running franchise, though they would like to
see it continue, according to the report.
CBS got into the
crime procedural game with CSI and its two spinoffs CSI: Miami andCSI: New York. While the network
still touts those dramas as part of the solution, not the problem, the network
has moved around the shows from their original time slots, usually a move done
to combat declining ratings, the article said.
Viewers today are
craving more complex, character based, serial dramas, according to the article. CBS has tried to appease
viewers in recent years, launching The Good Wife, a legal drama about
the spouse of a disgraced politician who becomes a lawyer, and the upcoming Person
of Interest, which re-teams Lost creator J.J. Abrams with one of the
show's stars, Michael Emerson.
