Fall '06 Becomes the Season of the Non-Continuing Drama

Serialized dramas -- maybe you're just not that into them.

Most recently, NBC has sent its new serialized drama "Kidnapped" to join CBS's "Smith" and CW's "Runaway" at the Freshman Serialized Drama Rainbow Bridge.

NBC is replacing "Kidnapped" on Saturdays with reruns of "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" -- a good old-fashioned legal drama in which the bad guy is apprehended and at least given a good tongue lashing by the end of each episode.

NBC originally scheduled "Kidnapped," with an all-star cast that included Jeremy Sisto, Timothy Hutton, Dana Delany and Delroy Lindo, on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. It averaged just 6.4 million viewers there.

"Love the show, but that's not a Wednesday-size audience -- that's a Saturday-size audience," NBC suits said.

So "Kidnapped" was moved to Saturday night at 9 and, because all the networks feel about original scripted programming on Saturday the way NBC feels about scripted programming at 8 p.m. any night of the week -- not good -- the network cut the series's prospects from a 22-episode order to the reality of a lucky 13.

"Kidnapped" aired twice on Saturday. This past weekend, it averaged 3.7 million viewers.

O"Love the show, but that's not a Saturday-size audience -- that's a dot-com-size audience," NBC suits said.

That's where remaining "Kidnapped" episodes are headed. Dot com is also where CBS plans to run unaired episodes of "Smith." The network aired only three episodes of Ray Liotta's a-thief-who-kills-people-and-there's-no-one-to-root-for drama.

The outlook for the many of this fall's new serialized dramas is not good. ABC's "Six Degrees" isn't working; ditto its "The Nine." And Fox's "Vanished" appears to be on its way soon to join "Smith," "Runaway" and "Kidnapped" in the Great Freshman Serialized Drama Hereafter.

So, this was going to be the Year of the Serialized Drama. What gives with you people? Why aren't you watching?

You've caused considerable hand-wringing among the Reporters Who Cover Television, because they hate to see a good trend story go south and, besides, they generally liked the new crop of serialized shows on the fall lineup. There was some mention among the reporters of viewers not having enough time to commit to another series requiring such a commitment. But if you mention how many people are making time to watch "1 vs. 100" this fall, that shuts them up.

And, of course, some of the new serialized dramas are doing well, most notably ABC's "Ugly Betty" and NBC's "Heroes," the two most-watched new shows of the season. "Heroes" also is the No. 3-ranked show, new or returning, among 18-to-34-year-olds, behind only ABC hits "Grey's Anatomy" and "Desperate Housewives." "

"Jericho" also is improving CBS's fortunes at 8 on Wednesdays, helping to catapult "Criminal Minds," the show that follows at 9, to within spitting distance of ABC's "Lost."

ABC's "Brothers and Sisters" is doing well on Sundays, though some argue that the ensemble series is actually a character drama and doesn't belong in the discussion -- nor does "Ugly Betty," which is actually a prime-time soap.

"It's about originality more than anything else -- clarity and originality," one TV exec who did not want to be named because he is close to the situation told The TV Column.

"What's 'The Nine' about? I still don't know what 'The Nine' is about. And 'Six Degrees' is ambiguous, while 'Kidnapped' is 'Without a Trace.' 'Smith' has been done -- there have been two shows like that in the last two years," he noted. "There's nothing new under the sun" with the new serialized dramas that have failed.