The joke going around CBS right after the premiere of “Four Corners,” the Ann-Margret serial drama that premiered last month to embarrassingly low ratings, was that “they should have called it `Four Viewers.’ “
After a total of three hours on the air, “Four Corners” was dumped unceremoniously from the schedule, and Ann-Margret, who had waited for three decades to headline her own series, has to be asking herself the same questions I am:
How can something like this happen? How can a star-driven TV vehicle go so wrong so quickly? And, more to the point, why do networks persist in developing shows the same way they have since the ’50s, when those methods clearly no longer function as effectively?
In the particular case of “Four Corners,” the answer is simple (and confirmed, off the record, by those at the network). It was clear to CBS executives that the series, a sort of “Dallas” for the late ’90s, was a clunker early on, with scripts and performances that didn’t exactly fulfill early expectations.
So “Four Corners” was promoted a lot less during the Olympics than Tom Selleck’s “The Closer” (another new launch of a big-name star vehicle), and its premiere was not made available for preview by critics, and it aired on Wednesday rather than on Sunday, the network’s biggest viewing night.
In short, CBS knew it had a probable loser on its hands with “Four Corners” well before the show aired. By launching it the way it did, it could justify giving it a quick hook, losing money but saving face, and calling up the next replacement from the bench.
But what a waste — and what a perfect example of a TV network investing more faith and energy into the deal memo than the series scripts.
Back when there were only three commercial networks, it may have made sense to make programs this way: land the star, announce the show, then scramble for the best concept and creative team. Ironically, the CBS ads for Selleck’s “The Closer” poked fun at exactly that process: We’ve got Selleck, they asked, now what do we do with him?
“Dawson’s Creek,” the WB youth drama that burst out of the gates in January as a runaway success, had three episodes ready for preview by the time the series premiered — giving themselves, and critics, a much clearer picture of the show’s direction and quality.
When mere months pass between the announcement of a new series and its premiere on the air, no one is served — not the talent, not the network, and certainly not the viewer. Slow down the speed of the pipeline, and you won’t get junk like “Meego,” last fall’s flopperoo Bronson Pinchot comedy on CBS that got sold and scheduled without a foot of film.
Otherwise, the networks will keep painting themselves into “Four Corners”–or its equally unsuccessful ilk.
