ABC Banking Big on Reality and Returning Dramas This Summer with Rising Star and Rookie Blue

Recently the business of television was on full display as the networks spent tons of money trying to convince advertisers, investors, and audiences that their new slate of programming is the most profitable. Now with the “upfront” season over, all attention turns to the summer where the networks will look to keep their momentum going into the all-important fall season. Here’s a look at how each of the broadcast (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, The CW), cable and pay cable networks are approaching TV’s summer vacation.

For ABC (a subsidiary of Disney (NYSE: DIS)), summer usually means guilty pleasure dramas but this year the network’s also looking to expand its reality footprint with a new series aiming to pick up viewers fleeing Fox’s American Idol. The show is called Rising Star and like The Voice, which caught on following international success, this one is coming off a strong Israeli bow.

‘Rising’ Reality?

(Credit: ABC)

Hosted by Josh Groban and judged by a panel of experts including Brad Paisley, Ludacris and Kesha, Rising Star is an important project for the network and the reality genre as a whole. The concept is more streamlined than Idol or The Voice as the results come in real time.

Performers sing in front of a massive video wall of viewers and must reach a certain voting threshold to move on. Viewers will weigh in using the show’s official app with the idea being the instant results will lure viewers back to a genre that is quickly becoming abandoned by the same public that first championed it over a decade ago.

For ABC, Star marks a return to the music competition genre which it tried to infiltrate a few years ago with Duets, which failed despite involvement from A-list talent like Robin Thicke, John Legend, Kelly Clarkson and Jennifer Nettles. In the past ABC’s reality success has mostly been limited to non-music competitions such as The Bachelor and Dancing With The Stars, but executives have always made it clear this was an area where they wanted to get involved.

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Reality Redux

(Credit: ABC)

Although Star won’t be ABC’s only reality competition series airing this summer as season staple Wipeout will be returning for another round of obstacle course fun as well as Bet On Your Baby and rookies The Quest and Sing Your Face Off. With the exception of Wipeout which always delivers it’s unlikely the others will catch fire as Baby and Sing are slated to air on Saturday nights…a move that doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.

The Quest is the most interesting as the network had originally planned to air the series during midseason while some of its established shows were on hiatus. However executives decided to hold the show for summer, but some suspect it was more because the network’s winter replacements took such a beating, it couldn’t handle another flop.

Honestly, The Quest looks…well odd. The show follows 12 “lucky souls” who are thrown into a fantasy world filled with everything you’d find in Lord of the Rings book (which is fitting because one of the film’s executive producers is a driving force behind the scenes along with the team from The Amazing Race).

The contestants must take on magic, malevolence and mythical creatures as they fight to stay alive in the competition and become a true hero. The series will debut in late July and eventually open the night for ABC signature summer drama Rookie Blue, which will already be in the thick of its season so at least it has that working in its favor.

Still this reliance on reality shows could prove very risky for the network.

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Dramatic summer heat

(Credit: ABC)

Speaking of signature dramas, when Rookie Blue first premiered in June 2010, the show was known more as “that cop series imported from Canada,” but now entering its fifth year it’s become a series fans truly look forward to every summer. Produced in partnership with Canadian broadcaster Global! the series looks at a group of (then) rookies at police station. It’s that perfect mix of action, soap and eye candy that audiences want from a summer series…and it’s actually enjoyable.

ABC’s seen solid results with the series and the drama’s become a central building block for its summer’s schedule. Analysts and investors like its dependable ratings and viewers like that it’s a fun escape from their everyday lives. Last year though ABC doubled down on its original scripted programming and added two more series to its roster. Now aside from Blue, the sultry Mistresses and the unique procedural Motive are also becoming a part of its summer plans.

While Mistresses is basically self-explanatory, Motive is a reverse crime series as viewers are let in on the identity of the killer in the beginning and then watch as the detectives piece together the motive behind the crime that leads back to the suspect. What’s interesting is that on the spectrum Blue falls right in between the two with Mistresses designed to be a completely non-thinking program and Motive (while not Law & Order) is more of a straight-laced drama.

Together though the trio hit every demo and with the uncertainty of ABC’s reality lineup it’s nice to have some stability during a season where literally anything goes.

Your cable company is scared, but you can get rich
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