Regarding the debate on what ...
Question: Regarding the debate on what should air after
Heroes or why nothing has thrived after
Lost, I really think the networks are airing the wrong type of program after those shows. My second job has me busy most Monday nights so frequently I was TiVoing
How I Met Your Mother,
The Class,
Heroes and
Studio 60. When I got home each night, I always tried to watch the show that the typical watercooler buzz would otherwise ruin for me. So I'd watch
Heroes, then I would be so tense that I would unwind by watching
Mother and/or
The Class. I didn't want to think so hard anymore — I just wanted to be entertained. Is there some sort of unstated industry guideline against airing half-hour comedies at 10?
Answer: More like a tradition. The conventional wisdom about a schedule's flow is that you start early with lighter, happier fare and then end on the drama. It probably harks back to the "family hour" days, when sitcoms ruled the early hours and the more "adult" dramas closed the night. There isn't much precedent for successful network comedies after 9:30. Even NBC at its "must-see" height always had
ER at 10. It still sounds counterintuitive to me to follow a show like
Heroes or
Lost with a comedy, but then, in my own world, I've been known to unwind after a long night of screening by playing back a sitcom from earlier in the night or week (or putting in a classic
Seinfeld or
Raymond from my DVD collection). And of course, once prime time is over, it's all comedy all over the dial (Letterman, Leno, Jon Stewart, Conan). I'm not saying it doesn't make sense. But in that strange universe of the three-hour prime-time lineup, it's hard to imagine comedy — especially given the current sitcom draught — having much of a presence in that 10 pm hour.
