You have to forgive Marcus Graham. Coming from Australia, he’s not hip to the ways of American television. He is learning, however.
“When I first got here, I tried to watch as much television as I could to get a handle on it,” he said. “And there’s just so much television!”
When told that television viewing is traditionally at its lowest during the summer, Graham, who has appeared on a lot of TV in his native country, admitted, “I actually didn’t know that.”
So Graham couldn’t determine exactly how that would play against his new series, “Sins of the City,” which premieres this week on the USA Network.
But it may not turn out to be a bad thing.
“Sins,” a detective series set in Miami, follows “The Net,” another new USA series. “The Net,” which is based on the Sandra Bullock feature film, stars Brooke Langton in the role of a computer whiz on the run after her identity was “erased” for being at the wrong keyboard at the wrong time.
Both series move to their regular spots Saturday (same times) as part of a new evening of original programming for the basic cable channel meant to complement its successful “Sunday Night Heat” block of “Pacific Blue,” “Silk Stalkings” and “La Femme Nikita.”
USA has made it a practice of starting new shows during a time of the year when people would rather be outdoors getting sun than inside the house.
But it is that programming strategy that has slowly made cable — especially USA — more of a viewing choice over the broadcast networks during the last few years, according to one USA official. Cable officials realize that although the numbers aren’t as big as they are during the season, not everybody is outside soaking up rays.
“The networks are sound asleep during the summer,” said Tim Brooks, senior vice president-research for USA. “Have been for a long time, actually.”
It’s no secret that cable has lured viewers from the broadcast networks. But during several weeks this summer, cable audiences have been higher than those of NBC, CBS, ABC and Fox. This is a trend that began last year.
“What last summer showed — and I think in many ways last summer was a watershed year — (was that) if you carve out the whole summer, you start in June or early July (and) you’ve got a clear shot at viewership,” Brooks said.
One of the main reasons for the siphoning of viewers is cable’s fresh programming during the warm months. At the same time, the networks are serving up a steady diet of mostly reruns. USA is one of the leaders in this movement, mostly because of its popular World Wrestling Federation (WWF) broadcasts, but also because of several original shows, including the cult hit “Nikita.”
Brooks said that last summer cable viewing overtook the networks around July 4. This summer, it happened a few weeks ago, as basic cable networks had higher ratings than all six broadcast networks.
“(That) would be a huge turnaround. It’s just never happened,” Brook said. “And that’s being driven by cable seizing the opportunity at the beginning, and USA in particular seizing the opportunity at the beginning of the summer.
“If a network doesn’t take advantage of this enormous wave of viewership coming in,” Brooks added, “it ought to have its head examined.”
Because of the lack of original programming on the networks, people who watch TV during the summer can examine a show like “Sins of the City,” where Graham plays a tainted ex-cop-turned-private eye who specializes in complex cases. For him, the reason behind the crime is as important as the crime itself.
“That gives us a fair shot,” said Graham, 34. “Shows do need a few episodes. They need a chance. To screen something twice and then say, `No one watched, let’s can it,’ is probably, from my point of view, a little unfair.”
And USA, knowing that ratings won’t approach network levels — especially during the summer — will leave most shows alone to develop an audience at their own pace, according to Langton, a one-time star of Fox’s “Melrose Place.” Both “Sins” and “The Net” have 13-episode orders.
“USA tends to be different than some of the really cutthroat networks,” said Langton, 27, “where they put you on the air for two episodes, and if you don’t beat `Friends` or `ER,` you’re off.”
Langton — who joked that USA had to “check my typing skills and made me prove that I could go on-line and find my way through” the Internet before casting her as a computer programmer — knows well of what she speaks.
She co-starred in an ABC series called “Extreme” that lasted only three months on Thursdays against a certain “must-see” powerhouse.
“The Net” and “Sins” also will have a good chance at success because they’re not just plopped onto USA’s schedule. The network is calling the shows’ regular night “Saturday Night Heat,” modeled after the known quantity “Sunday Night Heat,” which will set the pair apart from other programming nights.
Giving the shows an identity night is a reason they’ll stand out, and why other original shows that the networks occasionally put on during the summer fail, according to USA’s Brooks.
Brooks used as an example “Roar,” an ambitious Fox adventure series from last summer that didn’t succeed. The show was on a schedule loaded with reruns, which didn’t help its chances of finding an audience.
“If you put it in the middle of a huge pool of repeats, it may not get noticed,” Brooks said. Calling an evening “Saturday Night Heat,” on the other hand, attracts more attention than a single show amid repeats or movies.
“Sins” and “The Net” will be hanging around for at least 13 weeks, and the shows are being promoted under the “Saturday Night Heat” banner, which should bode well for them, Graham said.
“It gives us a good shot; it gives it a chance,” he said. “So I’m really positive about it. But that’s from a point of view of not knowing.”
Don’t worry, Marcus. With USA’s help, you should get a chance to catch up on the ways of American television.
