TV Programming: Location Is Everything

Since the advent of cable television the market for TV shows has literally exploded. There is a channel for EVERYTHING. Every interest a person could have there is a corresponding TV show or even entire channel dedicated to it. And yet even with this plethora of cable channels tailored for a specific audience, shows are canceled left and right. So while there is room for every show there is also a need to know the right placement for that particular program. The right channel can mean life or death for a show.

To exemplify this phenomenon I will use the brilliant TV series, The Walking Dead. Based on Robert Kirkman’s comic book of the same name, The Walking Dead is currently finishing its third season on AMC. Many people thought the very fact this show was on the air was extraordinary, especially considering that AMC had been known for such shows like Breaking Bad and Mad Men. To program a show about zombies along side such acclaimed dramas seems like an odd choice. But if this show were to be programmed anywhere else I have no doubt in my mind that it would have been cancelled after just one season.

The thing that makes AMC such a perfect fit for The Walking Dead is that it is a channel that has shown it is willing to take risks. Breaking Bad is a show about a chemistry teacher turned drug kingpin. Mad Men is a period piece about ad agents. Neither of these shows seem like an instant easy sell. And that is what AMC has become known for. TV shows that don’t quite fit the typical mold. While most shows of that caliber used to end up on pay cable channels (aka HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, etc.) AMC has become the basic cable home for unique shows.

Now had AMC not existed, The Walking Dead might have still ended up on TV. But chances are it would be airing on a channel like SyFy. It certainly would never have ended up on Network TV (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX). And I am convinced that if the Walking Dead was on SyFy it would be a completely different show. First of all, the show would be filmed in Canada instead of Atlanta. Canada is the land of discount filming and since science fiction and fantasy requires large budgets for special effects, the easiest way to cut costs is to cut locations. Vancouver has doubled for Boston, New York, Chicago, Metropolis, Gotham City and any city real or imagined you can think of. Filming in Atlanta gives The Walking Dead a unique look since not many productions film there.

A second important factor, AMC is able to attract a level of talent that SyFy sadly can’t. Frank Darabont (Three Time Oscar Nominated Writer-Director) was the show runner for the first season of the series and famously directed the pilot episode. This is a man who has famously adapted Stephen King stories into amazing masterpieces and he is helping to bring a comic book to life. Again, like location, how a property is adapted can greatly affect the look of the series. Even though Frank Darabont has left the series, you can still see his artistic influence on the look of the show.

The worst thing about knowing if The Walking Dead was on a different channel is that the show would not be getting the critical praise that it currently enjoys. Even if none of the differences I mentioned happened because of the shows channel location, there will still be a backlash from the critics based solely on the channel the show is on, if most critics even bothered to look at the show at all. Sadly SyFy is one of the channels that often get neglected by the more snobbish critics. They feel some sense of superiority by looking down on basic cable. Network gets attention because they are the heart of television. Pay cable gets attention because it is where the artistic shows with gratuitous swearing and nudity go. Basic cable is seen as the dumping ground for shows that don’t fit in any particular category. Of course seeing the dreck that DOES end up on many of those cable channels, perhaps I understand (and share) their disdain.

Granted all of the above is just my understanding of things. There are people making lots of money who study these patterns and trends in media with far more gusto and attention than I do. And the sad fact is, most of the time they’re wrong. Because tastes change. While AMC is currently the home of daring and innovative television, there could come a day where every show on that channel is formulaic and predictable. Much like SyFy used to be. When it first debuted (as the Sci-Fi Channel) it featured some of the most interesting and high budget shows on TV. No longer. Plus with the developments of new technology may eliminate cable television all together as we see shows being developed solely for download through services like Netflix. Bottom line, nobody knows.