Producer Barry Levinson Blasts Saturday Reruns

JamesG · 10-28-2009, 02:44 PM

Homicide: Life on the Street, Philanthropist producer Barry Levinson blasts Saturday reruns
By Richard Huff
DAILY NEWS TV EDITOR

Film and TV producer Barry Levinson says the broadcast networks are making a mistake by not actively programming Saturday nights.

"I've yet to have anybody explain it to me," says Levinson, who co-produced such series as "Homicide: Life on the Street" and "The Philanthropist." "Saturday night was a huge night on television."

He quickly reels off the names of such classic hits as "All in the Family," "Mary Tyler Moore" and "M*A*S*H," which flourished on Saturday nights years ago.

"Somehow the networks decided to forfeit Saturday nights," he says. "You have a massive audience, they're available and they can't find anything to watch."

Indeed, in recent years, the broadcast networks have pulled back from offering original fare on Saturdays to airing reruns of shows from the week before.

The argument has been made that the cost of making new dramas prohibits airing them Saturdays, when audiences are smaller than on weeknights. Nielsen estimates there are 101.1 million viewers in prime time on Saturdays, the least of any, but still a big number.

But going the rerun route is wrong, says Levinson.

"There's a retreat," he says. "I don't think the answer is to retreat. ... When you give up Saturday night, you open the door for people to go somewhere else.

"Basically, they're shrinking their own audience," he adds.

Levinson says he's got a couple of TV shows in a number of different stages of development but declined to discuss them.

"It's complicated and very kind of confusing," Levinson says. "There's a lot of fear in the marketplace."

For now, however, he's focusing on talking up "PoliWood," his documentary on the collision of celebrities and politics, set to air Monday at 7:30 p.m. And he's finishing a documentary on Jack Kevorkian.

For "PoliWood," Levinson had access to celebs at both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, and the goal was to look at the process, he says.

"If a celebrity says something, it gets on television, right or wrong, or whatever," Levinson says. "It just gets on."

He had not been to a political convention before and said that going in he wasn't sure where the story would take him.

"It's all a circus," he says. " It's a political circus."

The film, though, looks at how celebrities play at getting information out.

"What PoliWood says," he adds, "is sometimes you get more attention for a particular cause because of the nature of being a celebrity. Some issues that can't get any traction suddenly come to the forefront because a celebrity's involved. That's the way it works in the world we live in. Everybody's vying for space; everybody's pushing for attention."

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertain...n_blasts_.html

Stuck In The '70's · 10-28-2009, 05:24 PM

I'm glad Mr. Levinson has spoken up. When I was a kid Saturday was a great night for TV. You had the classic CBS lineups from the 70's...then you had ABC with Love Boat and Fantasy Island...and NBC had their classic sitcom lineup and Hunter in the 80's. All of them were top 20 shows. The last shows on Saturday that were any good were Walker Texas Ranger and Early Edition. It's a disgrace what Saturday night has become.

factsoflife · 10-28-2009, 05:56 PM

i agree growing up all my favorite shows were on Saturday nights---you had NBC's classic line-up of "The Golden Girls", "The Facts Of Life", "227", "Empty Nest", "Amen" and "Nurses".

catlover79 · 10-28-2009, 10:15 PM

Great article!! I totally agree with him - except you could say that FOX has made one of the longest running Saturday night lineups with Cops and America's Most Wanted. I don't see either of those shows going anywhere any time soon - especially AMW.

Many people aren't going out as much on Saturday nights due to the economy and are staying home - so why not give the public entertaining shows? Give people something good to watch and they will come. The networks don't have anything to lose - so why not follow Mr. Levinson's advice and go for it?

Marvo301 · 10-28-2009, 10:44 PM

When I was little the best TV shows were on Saturday night. The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show, and The Carol Burnett Show. It's a shame that the networks have given up on an entire night. They should at least make an effort to provide us with some entertaining programming!

70s show watcher · 10-29-2009, 12:06 AM

i agree with him too saturday night used to be one of the best nights on tv when i was a kid and now except for snl wich is late night and the ocasonnal nba game i hardly find anything to watch on saturday night anymore thank goodness for tv dvd boxsets

comedyfreak · 10-29-2009, 06:59 AM

All have made good points but, what about the fact that people are not home on Saturdays, and cable along with Satellite networks have stolen most of the viewers it's not the same as it was in the 70's.

JamesG · 10-30-2009, 02:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catlover79

I don't see either of those shows going anywhere any time soon - especially AMW.

It's funny to note that AMW was cancelled by FOX in 1996. A HUGE protest from law enforcement, government officials, and fans made FOX decide to bring it back.

It was gone for 6 weeks.

catlover79 · 10-30-2009, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamesG

It's funny to note that AMW was cancelled by FOX in 1996. A HUGE protest from law enforcement, government officials, and fans made FOX decide to bring it back.

It was gone for 6 weeks.

Really? I never knew that. You really do learn something new every day!!

factsoflife · 10-30-2009, 10:43 AM

And the thing is just a few years ago the networks had considered both Friday and Sunday nights deadzones and weren't programming them. But then a few hit shows cropped up and guess what, now both those nights are big again. Desperate Housewives and Cold Case are two of the biggest shows on TV and Ghost Whisperer and Medium pull in attractive demos. the networks just have to try and program on Saturday nights.

dakert · 10-30-2009, 12:58 PM

Why not air MTM, Bob Newhart, Carol Burnett re-runs on saturday night

70s show watcher · 10-30-2009, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by factsoflife

And the thing is just a few years ago the networks had considered both Friday and Sunday nights deadzones and weren't programming them. But then a few hit shows cropped up and guess what, now both those nights are big again. Desperate Housewives and Cold Case are two of the biggest shows on TV and Ghost Whisperer and Medium pull in attractive demos. the networks just have to try and program on Saturday nights.

i didnt even know cold case was still doing well for some reason i thought the ratings were getting lower and lower

Marvo301 · 10-30-2009, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dakert

Why not air MTM, Bob Newhart, Carol Burnett re-runs on saturday night

I'd be watching!

Stuck In The '70's · 10-30-2009, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 70s show watcher

i didnt even know cold case was still doing well for some reason i thought the ratings were getting lower and lower

Cold Case isn't doing that great anymore. This is probably it's last year.

Dragonflies · 10-30-2009, 08:34 PM

This isn't the 70's though. I can't see many shows doing well on Saturday. I think people need one day a week they can just sit back and watch whatever shows they recorded during the week, and that can be Saturday's. That can be the "catch up on my viewing" day

10-28-2009, 02:44 PM	#1
JamesG Senior Member Back in Action Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 8,779	Producer Barry Levinson Blasts Saturday Reruns Homicide: Life on the Street, Philanthropist producer Barry Levinson blasts Saturday reruns By Richard Huff DAILY NEWS TV EDITOR Film and TV producer Barry Levinson says the broadcast networks are making a mistake by not actively programming Saturday nights. "I've yet to have anybody explain it to me," says Levinson, who co-produced such series as "Homicide: Life on the Street" and "The Philanthropist." "Saturday night was a huge night on television." He quickly reels off the names of such classic hits as "All in the Family," "Mary Tyler Moore" and "MASH," which flourished on Saturday nights years ago. "Somehow the networks decided to forfeit Saturday nights," he says. "You have a massive audience, they're available and they can't find anything to watch." Indeed, in recent years, the broadcast networks have pulled back from offering original fare on Saturdays to airing reruns of shows from the week before. The argument has been made that the cost of making new dramas prohibits airing them Saturdays, when audiences are smaller than on weeknights. Nielsen estimates there are 101.1 million viewers in prime time on Saturdays, the least of any, but still a big number. But going the rerun route is wrong, says Levinson. "There's a retreat," he says. "I don't think the answer is to retreat. ... When you give up Saturday night, you open the door for people to go somewhere else. "Basically, they're shrinking their own audience," he adds. Levinson says he's got a couple of TV shows in a number of different stages of development but declined to discuss them. "It's complicated and very kind of confusing," Levinson says. "There's a lot of fear in the marketplace." For now, however, he's focusing on talking up "PoliWood," his documentary on the collision of celebrities and politics, set to air Monday at 7:30 p.m. And he's finishing a documentary on Jack Kevorkian. For "PoliWood," Levinson had access to celebs at both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, and the goal was to look at the process, he says. "If a celebrity says something, it gets on television, right or wrong, or whatever," Levinson says. "It just gets on." He had not been to a political convention before and said that going in he wasn't sure where the story would take him. "It's all a circus," he says. " It's a political circus." The film, though, looks at how celebrities play at getting information out. "What PoliWood* says," he adds, "is sometimes you get more attention for a particular cause because of the nature of being a celebrity. Some issues that can't get any traction suddenly come to the forefront because a celebrity's involved. That's the way it works in the world we live in. Everybody's vying for space; everybody's pushing for attention." http://www.nydailynews.com/entertain...n_blasts_.html

10-28-2009, 05:24 PM	#2
Stuck In The '70's Forum Legend Back on TV again!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Location: In the middle of nowhere Posts: 52,237	I'm glad Mr. Levinson has spoken up. When I was a kid Saturday was a great night for TV. You had the classic CBS lineups from the 70's...then you had ABC with Love Boat and Fantasy Island...and NBC had their classic sitcom lineup and Hunter in the 80's. All of them were top 20 shows. The last shows on Saturday that were any good were Walker Texas Ranger and Early Edition. It's a disgrace what Saturday night has become. __________________ Sonny Formerly mr roper, Nighthawk, DallasCowboysFanatic , I Walk The Line, Walking Tall, and Clint Eastwood Fan

10-28-2009, 05:56 PM	#3
factsoflife Senior Member Member Join Date: Sep 11, 2000 Location: Rhode Island, USA Posts: 4,215	i agree growing up all my favorite shows were on Saturday nights---you had NBC's classic line-up of "The Golden Girls", "The Facts Of Life", "227", "Empty Nest", "Amen" and "Nurses". __________________ Congratulations To Michael Park and Maura West, 2010 Daytime Emmy Winners for Outstanding Lead Actor and Actress for their work on the final season of "As The World Turns". Well deserved.

10-28-2009, 10:15 PM	#4
catlover79 Moderator Forum Legend Like Mother, Like Daughter Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 52,550	Great article!! I totally agree with him - except you could say that FOX has made one of the longest running Saturday night lineups with Cops and America's Most Wanted. I don't see either of those shows going anywhere any time soon - especially AMW. Many people aren't going out as much on Saturday nights due to the economy and are staying home - so why not give the public entertaining shows? Give people something good to watch and they will come. The networks don't have anything to lose - so why not follow Mr. Levinson's advice and go for it? __________________ In loving memory of Richard Wayne Hinkle - December 11, 1941 - July 6, 2010 "Kevin Costner told me that True was his and his wife's song. I'm not sure if that's a good thing because they split up soon after." - Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet)

10-28-2009, 10:44 PM	#5
Marvo301 Forum Veteran Joe Cool! Join Date: May 17, 2002 Location: Abbotsford,B.C. Canada Posts: 11,322	When I was little the best TV shows were on Saturday night. The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show, and The Carol Burnett Show. It's a shame that the networks have given up on an entire night. They should at least make an effort to provide us with some entertaining programming! __________________ Only a life lived for others is worth living. Alfred Einstein

10-29-2009, 12:06 AM	#6
70s show watcher Senior Member Member Join Date: May 20, 2008 Location: between point place and studio 8 h Posts: 1,915	i agree with him too saturday night used to be one of the best nights on tv when i was a kid and now except for snl wich is late night and the ocasonnal nba game i hardly find anything to watch on saturday night anymore thank goodness for tv dvd boxsets

10-29-2009, 06:59 AM	#7
comedyfreak Senior Member Member Join Date: Dec 14, 2005 Location: Sunny California Posts: 7,418	All have made good points but, what about the fact that people are not home on Saturdays, and cable along with Satellite networks have stolen most of the viewers it's not the same as it was in the 70's. __________________ www.facebook.com/comedyfreak

10-30-2009, 10:43 AM	#10
factsoflife Senior Member Member Join Date: Sep 11, 2000 Location: Rhode Island, USA Posts: 4,215	And the thing is just a few years ago the networks had considered both Friday and Sunday nights deadzones and weren't programming them. But then a few hit shows cropped up and guess what, now both those nights are big again. Desperate Housewives and Cold Case are two of the biggest shows on TV and Ghost Whisperer and Medium pull in attractive demos. the networks just have to try and program on Saturday nights.

10-30-2009, 12:58 PM	#11
dakert Senior Member Member Join Date: May 10, 2007 Location: altoona PA Posts: 1,273	Why not air MTM, Bob Newhart, Carol Burnett re-runs on saturday night

10-30-2009, 08:34 PM	#15
Dragonflies Moderator Forum Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 26, 2003 Location: Watching The Big Bang Theory Posts: 20,592	This isn't the 70's though. I can't see many shows doing well on Saturday. I think people need one day a week they can just sit back and watch whatever shows they recorded during the week, and that can be Saturday's. That can be the "catch up on my viewing" day

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