So what have you guys been watching lately?

[Raging Justice]

Oh, is that why your profile picture is from the series?

No, Rose. Raging Justice just so happens to be part of the Ralph Machhio and William Zabka fan clubs and couldn't choose which actor to put in their profile picture.

Now I am sad that I never was on that show

[marurun]

Netflix aren't the only ones to make asinine decisions. I'm still salty about Difficult People not getting a fourth season on Hulu. Just one season to give Billy and Julie a definitive win. And if not a whole-ass season then at least a film follow-up.

Cancelling shows are typically not asinine decisions - they're based on internal viewing metrics vs cost to make. The definition of an asinine decision is not "a decision REPO doesn't like."

That said, some economic decisions CAN be asinine decisions, like Warner ripping so much content out of their service to avoid paying what are certainly relatively minimal residuals. That rises to the level of cutting off their nose to spite their face.

[REPO Man]

And yet how many shows are cancelled with countless unanswered questions and unresolved plot threads, typically on cliffhangers?

I could understand cancelling MadTV, given how it seemed like at some point it went from being one of the best series on late-night TV to just being a slog to get through. Hell, in the last few years before it got cancelled it slowly got less and less watchable until even just needing something to watch until SNL came on wasn't a good enough reason to tune in. I mean, when the show first started airing it was subversive and edgy and seemed like it'd just get better and better. But at some point, I'd guesstimate around seasons 8-10, the old magic was gone. By sheer coincidence season 8 was the first season to not feature any of the original cast members since Debra Wilson left after season 7 ended.

And yes, I know that damn near a good chunk of MadTV's sketches have aged poorly. No way in hell a white actress could get away with playing a Latinx stereotype in this day and age, and don't get me started on a white man possessed by a woman of color's spirit. And before you say anything, Miss Swan's apparently from a Nordic country.

[marurun]

And yet how many shows are cancelled with countless unanswered questions and unresolved plot threads, typically on cliffhangers.

That has nothing to do with asininity. It's OK to be annoyed, but please don't pretend like you actually know anything about the industry. We have folks here who DO understand aspects of the industry and understand the market better. So let's defer to them.

[MrPopo]

I think they're more interested in promoting certain shows over others. It's weird that they promoted those Dahmer series so prominently, and other murder type stuff, but they didn't seem to promote Mind Hunters at all. Metrics can be an acceptable answer. But I don't think it's a question of metrics or abandoning an investment. They could have drawn more viewers if they promoted it. So the real question is, why did they not promote it? Why do I constantly see these dumb shows recommended to me, while this show flies under the radar?

Because their metrics and analytics showed that the likely return on advertising investment was higher with shows in category X than with shows in category Y. Now, they aren't working with perfect data to begin with, and even with perfect data it's all still based on probabilities, so you're going to make the wrong decision now and then. But the prognostications are right more often than not, so it works out for them in the long run.

[REPO Man]

Firefly literally got cancelled due to low ratings because Fox aired episodes out of order, and yet has found a loyal fanbase BEFORE it got cancelled.

My problem is how often shows get cancelled for reasons that are unrelated to "metrics", which just sounds like a lousy excuse. How many shows get cancelled because they didn't find their audience but finds their audience after the fact? By the time Star Trek made a resurgence with the motion picture it'd been off the air for close to a decade and mostly found its audience in syndication. The problem is networks and streaming services expect instant success and will oftentimes cancel a show for not being the ratings juggernaut it wanted.

Another example is Steven Universe. It's issues weren't "metrics", it was a network that favored shows that didn't rely on continuity and was more than willing to skirt the difficult subjects Steven Universe tackled. It had a diehard fanbase but was hindered by Cartoon Network favoring shows that could be aired in any order without any overarching story for folks to need to know about to enjoy. If it was given the necessary room to breathe and thrive then the final story arc wouldn't have had to try to cram an entire season's worth of story arcs and plot thread conclusions in the span of several 11-minute episodes and an hour-long finale and then still need a made-for-TV movie and a limited series to serve as an epilogue. That's like turning Stephen King's The Stand into a 2-hour motion picture.

And speaking of animation, how many shows are either getting cancelled or aborted during production? We may never see Pibby get a full-fledged series, or at least a miniseries, a la Over the Garden Wall. And many great animation programs are getting canned without resolution so the studios can spend the same amount of money to make emotionally-flaccid live-action content that come and go without so much as a second thought. It's basically the studios adopted the same formula as The Asylum, making cheap drek that can make its money back relatively easily without much risk of failure. Seriously, none of the mockbusters crapped out by The Asylum has actually lost money. Look it up. And now, studios will make cheap shows that will at worst let them break even and at best make enough money to validate their new model.

And the AI bullshit? IIRC a judge revealed that anything made by an AI can't be trademarked or copyrighted so the studios can't just use AI to same money. It's like self-checkout stands at the store, in that even though they won't demand fair wages or workers' rights, the benefits don't necessarily outweigh the risks.

[MrPopo]

My problem is how often shows get cancelled for reasons that are unrelated to "metrics", which just sounds like a lousy excuse. How many shows get cancelled because they didn't find their audience but finds their audience after the fact? By the time Star Trek made a resurgence with the motion picture it'd been off the air for close to a decade and mostly found its audience in syndication. The problem is networks and streaming services expect instant success and will oftentimes cancel a show for not being the ratings juggernaut it wanted.

Of course "metrics" sounds like a lousy excuse; you don't seem to have any real grasp of the realities of needing to make money. Shows get cancelled because not enough audience exists at the time the cancellation decision is made. Now, maybe they could take the risk and let it run a bit longer, and maybe that risk pans out and it turns into a hit and eventually makes its budget back and then some. But just as likely it continues to lose them money and they're worse off than if they cancelled it when the numbers were bad. Production companies aren't charities; every single show is created for the purpose of making money. If it does not make money there isn't a reason to continue the show.

[REPO Man]

But my problem is when GOOD shows get cancelled while BAD shows get another season.

And I'd like to remind folks that lots of times bad ratings aren't because folks don't want to watch it. Many times a show gets bad ratings because of everything from its time slot to piss-poor promotion to even being railroaded by the network. It'd be easy for a great show to get cancelled if it was airing in a lousy time slot. There's also the fact that ratings doesn't mean much if it's from a TV set to a random channel in a waiting room or something like that.

[Limewater]

But my problem is when GOOD shows get cancelled while BAD shows get another season.

I think Super Mario Bros. (1993) is a terrific film.

[MrPopo]

But my problem is when GOOD shows get cancelled while BAD shows get another season.

Subjective tastes.

There's also the fact that ratings doesn't mean much if it's from a TV set to a random channel in a waiting room or something like that.

So I'm guessing you're not aware that they don't actually have the statistics from every single TV being set. It's based on Nielsen families who are selected to serve as a representative set and then those families choose to participate.