A TV Show By Any Other Name Now Carries More Weight, Innuendo, And Education
CBS seemingly puts value in the word "two," adding two programs to the likes of "Two and a Half Men": the comedy "2 Broke Girls," and mid-season drama "The 2-2". All of which could be too much for some .
CBS also doubles up on "How..." shows : "How I Met Your Mother" is joined by the new sitcom "How To Be a Gentleman" -- CBS as an educator, community college, or a page in Esquire.
Networks also go for the simple one-word moniker to make impact or develop intrigue: NBC's "Smash"; ABC's "Revenge" and "Scandal"; and CW's "Ringer". Easy to digest concepts, and more importantly easier reference in tweets. Our new 140 character world needs all the savings it can get.
Titles also tout familiar brand associations: "Charlie's Angels" at ABC. "Wonder Woman" almost got the nod at NBC. Both have nice variations of the colorful spandex outfits. "Angels" is "pure candy," according to ABC. Look for an M&M sponsorship there.
NBC also had the intriguing "Awake" -- a show that seems almost too complex for the NBC promo producer to make into a clear promo clip. The show offers up a man who alternatively sees his dead wife and then dead son in different realities. And there are two therapists treating him! "Awake and Confused" would be a more honest nameplate.
A couple of years ago, former NBC entertainment chief Ben Silverman said that the fact there were two shows about the same subject -- a "Saturday Night Live" type of show -- wasn't the problem. He said it was there were too many numbers in those titles: "30 Rock" and "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip."
"Good Christian Belles" evolved from the working title of "Good Christian Bitches" at ABC. In this fragmented world, TV titles carries a lot of the marketing pull, hopefully with little pull-back.
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WAYNE FRIEDMAN
Wayne Friedman is West Coast Editor of MediaPost.
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Looking forward to your specific programming satirization after viewing the episodes. Does Christain Slater star in Awake? ;)