Bravo Heads to Swingtown
NBC Universal-owned cable network to acquire rights to first season of CBS' languishing couples-swapping series.
By Marisa Guthrie -- Broadcasting & Cable, 9/29/2008 12:23:00 PM
Bravo cut a deal with CBS Television Distribution to acquire rights to the entire 13-episode first season of languishing drama Swingtown.
The NBC Universal-owned cable network plans to begin airing episodes in October.
The series, about couples-swapping in a Chicago suburb in the 1970s, premiered on CBS in June and fizzled in its run over the summer.
But Frances Berwick, executive vice president and general manager of Bravo Media, sees Swingtown as a natural companion piece for Bravo’s Real Housewives franchise, the Atlanta iteration of which launches Oct. 7.
“The subject matter and the feel of the show, we thought would be a really good fit,” Berwick said.
Swingtown was a pet project of CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler, who picked the show up for last season when the network was trying to put forth an edgier face. Tassler told television critics over the summer at the Television Critics Association press tour in Beverly Hills that while she was a fan of the show, she was disappointed in the ratings. (To watch a video interview with Tassler from TCA, click here.)
That’s because it averaged fewer than 7 million viewers and a 2.3 rating in the 18-49 demo in its Thursday-night time slot and dropped to an average of 3.9 million viewers and a 1.3 rating in the demo when it was relegated to the Friday-night graveyard.
“For a broadcast network show, [Swingtown] really had very little exposure,” Berwick said. “I think it was one of those hidden gems. It got moved all over their schedule. It really was not launched at the optimal time, and we thought it was worthy of another window.”
And since the show also had fans inside CBS, it was shopped to cable networks, as well as DirecTV, to try to bring it back, as first reported by B&C Aug. 22.
Some inside CBS hoped to get the 13 episodes picked up by a cable partner with an eye toward putting it back into production for another run of originals.
The pitch to cable networks hinged on escaping the Federal Communications Commission’s broadcast-indecency oversight, which might allow the show, with its risqué premise, to grow creatively and generate the kind of buzz that basic-cable shows like AMC’s Mad Men are enjoying.
But Berwick stressed that Swingtown is a “limited acquisition” for Bravo and that the network was not prepared to go back into production on new episodes of the show.
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This show was so different from the usual duds on t.v. today. It brought a whole new element to the table with the 70's music and it made you want to go back and relive the 70's. It's a shame that a network didn't advertise it enough and moved the time slots, making it difficult to catch it. I found that reality shows on the networks have more vulgarity than swingtown ever did. Take Big Brother for example. I bet if Swingtown was made into a reality show, the networks would fight each other over the rights. That is my two cents.
Stacey Dal - 4/1/2009 7:11:36 PM EDT -
Well, I can say that until Swingtown aired, there was absolutely nothing on tv that my Husband and I cared enough about to put any effort into viewing. When Swingtown was moved to Friday nights, we made that our "Date Night" and went to dinner, or I made a special dinner and we'd just relax and watch this show together. We loved the humor and the drama of this wonderful show, as well as the lovely cast of characters. Wherever this show goes, our tv's will follow.
Kelly Larrimore - 10/11/2008 12:50:00 PM EDT -
People who criticize 'Swingtown' with drive by smears never watched it. That's the bottomline. Because anyone with an ounce of brains would notice right off that this is an Emmy-quality show that was well written, acted, directed and produced. Bravo is going to make a killing by airing just 13 episodes, and is going to be sorry there weren't more. The show floundered for a lot of reasons, but it sure wasn't it's production values. Again, people who slag the content in drive-by smears have no idea what the show was about, because very little of it actually involved swinging. It was about evolving marital relationships and female emanicipation in the '70's. Most of the complainers are just PO'd Moonlight fans who are jealous that Swingtown is going to be broadcast again, while Moonlight never will. To all the viewers who missed it this summer. It'll blow you away.
Anthony - 10/6/2008 7:01:00 PM EDT -
Boos to Bravo and NBC-U. They turned a culture network into a crap channel. Talk about destroying a franchise. The show''s a tawdry flop and that''s what they''re buying?
Good thing there''s still a PBS, because too many cables can''t resist going low-brow.
Adam Smtih - 9/30/2008 12:01:00 PM EDT -
The show wasn't moved "all over" CBS's schedule. It aired on two
different nights, first Thursday (where ratings quickly declined) and then
Friday (many viewers just didn't care enough to follow). It was an
interesting experiment that got a fair shake against lousy summer
competition, and the audience rejected it.
Lisa Thomas - 9/30/2008 11:10:00 AM EDT
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