Lipstick Fails to Leave its Mark
After slating its first episode, I was just getting into Lipstick Jungle over the last few weeks. Now I find out the show has been cancelled! This seems to be the new trend for TV shows in our current economic climate; no-one wants to take a risk.
By the end of the first series, the three main characters seemed to have more depth to them, and I got hopelessly hooked on the Nico/Kirby/Charles love triangle. Living has started airing the second series immediately after the first one, so I was quite happy to carry on with my weekly Lipstick fix. Now producers have confirmed the second series will be the last due to ‘disappointing viewing figures’. That old gem. US broadcaster NBC moved the second series to a Friday night slot in the US and weren’t impressed with the ratings as a result. Well, give it a chance! They waited two weeks before drawing this conclusion. Two weeks! Rome wasn’t built in a day, NBC. What with the writers’ strike and election coverage impeding normal telly schedules, it’s hardly fair to judge a show’s success after a measly two weeks. This show really had the potential to become the new Sex and the City (though admittedly not as good). It’s a great…umm…whatever the equivalent to ‘Chick-Flick’ is for TV; it’s one of those!
Let’s hope the future of television doesn’t lead to giving up on a show as soon as the ratings slide. We have already sacrificed quality by opting for the easy reality TV format during peak-time viewing. Half the shows on the box right now stem from reality TV, with a panel of judges and contestants who have sob-stories or an ‘aahh’ factor attached to them to get ratings (yes, I’m talking about Daniel from X Factor and possibly Eoghan too). I sincerely hope broadcasters spare some airtime for the arty numbers. The dramas, the documentaries and the boundary-pushing comedies. It’s not a safe bet, but not everything in television can be a guaranteed money-spinner. We need to experiment occasionally!
yeah i agree it was just getting good!
Lipstick Jungle is one of my favorite shows. I think the issue is that it is on at 10pm in the evening. Most times, I use my DVR to tape the show and view it later. Do you track the ratings based on people watching it at that exact hour or do you track the ones taping it too?
Lipstick Jungle is also one of my favourite shows – I have to get it through SKY TV from England which isn't easy. Great show though.