Why Shows End

All shows end eventually. Cultural icons like The Ed Sullivan show were cancelled. How I Met Your Mother aired its last episode this past year -- the creator knew it was coming, but it still ended. Hollywood made 7 Police Academy films, but they didn't make 8. JK Rowling stopped writing Harry Potter novels. Cats ran on Broadway for years, but it closed. So did Les Miserables, even though it was revived. Phantom of the Opera is still running, but it will close someday too. Why does it happen? The simple answer is: shows close and series are canceled when they ceasroducers will close Phantom of the Opera. The deeper question for content creators is why does the audience go away? How can something that was once so vital that fans structured their day around watching it become so insignificant to them? The fact is, tastes change. My parents loved Big Band music and hated rock. I loved rock in the 60s and 70s but didn't love Nirvana in the 90s. I thought "Gilligan's Island" was very funny when I was a kid in the 60s; I recently watched an episode (it's still on cable somewhere) and can't believe I found it amusing. When we find a new program or movie that we like, the thrill of discovery adds to our pleasure. After the 20th or 30th or 100th episode, we find ourselves losing interest. In television, we say that a show that lost its freshness and is flailing away to try to attract an audience has "jumped the shark." That's from a famous episode of the series "Happy Days," when Fonzie, wearing his trademark leather jacket, water skis over a shark-infested part of the ocean. Many people don't realize that was in season five -- the series lasted six years after that famous incident. Increasingly, creators and networks choose to end shows while they are still popular. Perhaps the first series to do that was "The Fugitive" in the 1960s, which ended with Richard Kimble finding the one-armed man. In the 1970s the Mary Tyler Moore show memorably said goodbye with the cast all huddled together singing "It's a Long Way to Tipperary." Some shows do better than others -- I thought "Seinfeld's" last episode was just odd, and I still am mad about "The Sopranos'" cut to black. But whether you end your show on your own terms or your studio, producer, or network ends it for you, understand that every show ends eventually. Enjoy it while it lasts. Dedicate yourself to making each piece of content you create as good as possible. Keep working on multiple projects so that, when one ends, you can move on to something else. When the show does end, reward yourself. You deserve it for creating something that entertained people and made a difference in their lives.

The disappearance of American Idol

Disney announced today that their Hollywood Studios 'American Idol' attraction would close at the end of 2014 -- before the 14th season of American Idol starts airing on Fox. There is no clearer sign of American Idol's eroding audience than Disney deciding that even the show being on the air wouldn't draw enough people to their attraction. Did you watch American Idol this year? A show that used to be Number One in America sometimes finished second in its time slot to situation comedy reruns. Readers of this blog know that I have long been a big fan of the show, and I barely watched it this past spring. When I did tune in, the show certainly resembled its glory days. There were three judges - two men and a woman.Ryan Seacrest hosted, and the various contestants warbled their way through a series of vintage and modern hits. The show had auditions with good and bad singers, Hollywood week, elimination shows, and everything that Americans always used to watch -- only this past season, they didn't. The ratings for the finale were down 28% over the previous year, and some nights sitcom reruns beat it in the ratings. Because the show had a long way to fall from its lofty perch, Fox renewed the show for a 14th season. Even if you remained a regular viewer, you knew it wasn't the same. No one at the office was talking about the performances, or what the judges said. The contestants weren't on every nightly news show. And the various blogs and online chatter were more likely to talk about contestants on 'The Voice' or 'Dancing With the Stars.' Vote for the Worst, the web site that took credit for keeping Sanjaya on the show week after week, didn't even bother to cover season 13. The creators shut the site down because American Idol was no longer relevant. What happened? Media critics suggested several causes for the show's drop in popularity -- competition from other reality singing shows, boring judges, a series of bland winners, etc. All of these have some validity. However, I believe the reason for the huge drop in ratings is more simple: the audience was bored with the format. They knew that there would be some ridiculous performances during the auditions. They knew there would be heartwarming stories and tension during Hollywood Week. And they knew most contestants would struggle to perform week after week. There were no surprises any more, and a large percentage of the audience moved on. That's a normal part of the cycle of programs. All shows lose audience and end. CBS cancelled the Ed Sullivan Show. Gunsmoke, the longest running dramatic series, eventually rode off into the sunset. These days, creators and networks prefer to create finale episodes, like this year's How I Met Your Mother final show. They provide closure to fans and tie up several story lines. Of course, you as a show creator will want to keep your show running as long as possible without "jumping the shark," a phrase referring to a time when the creators of 'Happy Days' ran out of ideas and had Fonzie water ski over a pool of sharks in a bathing suit and trademark leather jacket. If you've done your best to make your show compelling, and its audience is fading, don't take it personally. Understand that's part of the natural cycle of content, accept it, and move on to the next idea. After all, if your content is good enough it will live on in syndication, international markets, and internet streaming. Just make sure, if you want to remain in the content creation business, you are constantly developing new ideas while your previous idea is still on the network.

Final American Idol Judging Panel - You Make the Deals You Can Make

The rumors, stops and starts, and time it took to fill the judges' chairs for American Idol this summer are a clear sign of the show's problems. With its ratings plunging last season, and expected to fall further in 2014, top talents didn't want to be associated with the show. The show's new producers, stuck with high expectations, either couldn't or wouldn't take the chance of creating a panel entirely of successful former contestants. It's possible Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and Jennifer Hudson didn't want to take time from their busy careers to sit in the judges' seat -- at least not for the amount of money Fox was willing to offer. Instead, with their backs to the wall (production starting this month)the producers first re-signed Keith Urban, whose nice guy persona will at least make contestants comfortable. With a year of experience and a different panel, perhaps this year he'll get a word in edgewise. Next they reportedly spent $17.5 million to re-sign Jennifer Lopez, a judge the previous regime had tossed over the side just a year ago. Lopez was probably happy to get the gig. Her music and acting career is stalling, and after her recent divorce she probably could use the money. After they lost record producer Dr. Luke over contract conflicts of interest, reports are they signed Harry Connick, Jr. to fill the third slot. Harry also has a nice guy persona like Keith Urban, so perhaps Jennifer Lopez will fill the Simon Cowell role of acerbic truth teller. Further rumors are that Randy Jackson will return as mentor. I think bringing Randy back in a different role is a great idea. For long-time fans, Randy provides continuity to the glory days of idol. In earlier blogs on this topic I said, and still believe, the problem with Idol wasn't the judges, but the contestants. America needs people they can care about. I just can't believe out of the thousands who audition every year they couldn't find more compelling contestants than the ones chosen for last season's show. Rather than spend $7.5 million on a single judge they would be better off spending $7.5 million on talent scouts and coordinators to make sure only the most interesting contestants and story lines get to the finals. I'm sure they could find a former contestant who's had some success to judge the show for just $10 million -- Chris Daughtry, Adam Lambert, Fantasia, Ruben Stoddard, and maybe Jordin Sparks would consider it. What content creators can learn from this hoopla is: sometimes you have to make the deals you can make. The producers may have wanted to take the judging panel in a different direction (they certainly tried to sign other judges first. Their production deadline meant judges had to be signed by a certain time, and the longer it took, the less leverage they had to find the ideal judges. I'm sure that Harry Connick's price went up after Dr. Luke dropped out because he knew they needed him and were out of time. When you're creating a movie or a television show you can't always sign your ideal cast or afford your ideal production values. Successful producers and directors make it work anyway by focusing on the key points of the story they're trying to tell. It's possible that the current Idol judge panel will work, as long as the most important part of the show -- the contestants -- capture the viewers' imagination. When you're creating your content don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Make the deals you need to make things happen, and protect the core of the story to connect with your audience.