The Grinder Cancelled and the Future of Broadcast TV
Like many here on the board, my wife and I were extremely disappointed to learn that The Grinder was cancelled. Yes, it was never a ratings darling, but I thought the show had some very strong writing and excellent acting from the cast. My fear that it was a one trick pony (TV actor leaves L.A. to move back to Boise and work for the family business) were alleviated by the strong second half of the year where the story expanded to include the other characters and made it less reliant on the strange man in a strange land gimmick.
However, I think this is a direction broadcast TV is going (and has been going). Shows that are edgy, creative and smart are going to be given less and less opportunity on "the Big 4." Audiences are shrinking due to more people streaming TV or watching cable/premium TV. The result is an audience that, honestly, is older and less educated. I'm sure that the ratings for Grinder, as small as they were, didn't honestly reflect the majority of viewers who watched the show either on DVR or streamed it. Factoring in those numbers, I'm sure the show would have a higher viewership number than archaic standard TV ratings suggest.
Broadcast TV is going in the same direction as "mainstream blockbuster" movies. They are getting less and less creative and more and more playing it safe. Most main movies now are superhero franchises, reboots, and sequels, very few that really get me interested in spending $10+ dollars at the theater. The last movie I saw at the theater was the new Star Wars, and even that disappointed me a bit because it was so rehashed and wink wink to the older films. I now only go to the theater a handful of times to see usually independent or less mainstream films that still have some quality to them. Nothing else from Hollywood truly interests me, like broadcast TV these days. Sure, there are still some great programs on broadcast. ABC, for example, has three excellent sitcoms that families can watch, but that aren't overly cheesy or bland. Modern Family, while aging, still has some excellent episodes, and I like both Fresh Off the Boat and The Goldbergs. Fox has a couple good shows still on with Brooklyn Nine Nine and Last man on Earth. Other than that, it's a crapshoot. Most of broadcast TV is laugh track sitcoms, predictable procedurals, and realty competition shows. The one bright spot is NFL and college football, which still bring in huge ratings. I mean, Last Man Standing and Undatable get renewals over other shows.
The good programming is now on cable and streaming. Broadcast TV needs to figure out the future because right now it's a purgatory of bland crap and the ratings are only going down.