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USA: Blue Skies Are Gonna Clear Up


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(edited)

USA Network used to go around trumpeting that their approach to programming that made them the number one cable network was "blue skies".

 

Times are definitely changing.  I saw a "Royal Pains" promo recently that claimed the show was more than just blue skies.  The new shows and older shows seem to be going more gritty. 

 

Its been ruining older shows White Collar, in my opinion.  I can't say that I've liked any of the newer shows as much as the truly blue sky shows originally on the network.

 

Is their place in the ratings starting to slip or did they decide the grass is greener wanted to go after some of the critical acclaim that AMC and other networks get for being "daring"?

Edited by ParadoxLost
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Yes, yes, and yes, ParadoxLost!  Summer is for trashy novels and fun tv.   I miss Monk and Burn Notice.  Covert Affairs has gotten really laden with nudity of late. Suits has always been darker than the previous programs, but I've felt for a while that it's almost too mean to Louis and none of the characters are really 100% likeable (except maybe Louis and Donna). 

I lasted 15 minutes into Graceland before shutting it off - too dark.  The television ads for both Rush and Satisfaction have no appeal to me. 

I want my summer programming to be like summer, short, sweet and filled with blue skies and homemade strawberry ice cream.

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The television ads for both Rush and Satisfaction have no appeal to me. 

 

The adds for Satisfaction keep getting worse and worse.  The first batch basically implied that the show was about a couple who weren't satisfied in their marriage and would likely spend the series cheating and end up in an open relationship.  But it did seem like it was going to tackle complex relationship dynamics. Didn't interest me at all.

 

But the latest ad says basically that guy find that wife is hiring men to have sex with her and when husband finds out he decides to become a male prostitute.  Turnabout is fair play or something.  There is your show.

 

I have a feeling that once White Collar is over, I won't watch much on this network.  I used to watch the whole USA line up.  It was different in that the shows were bright, smart, and had humor.  There is something to be said for escapist television. 

 

I like smart, dark gritty shows too {I gave Graceland a second chance and its pretty good} but I just can't watch them all the time and generally most of them aren't good enough to overcome the unlikable aspects of the characters.  Suits and Covert Affairs are awful now.

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I'm glad that I'm not alone in feeling this way.  I, too, used to make sure I watched  the shows new but had a little trouble when we cut cable. I kept finding myself not as in a hurry to watch new episodes of shows I really enjoyed.  Now I'm USA free.

 

I enjoyed Matt Passmore on A&E's The Glades, saw the picture ad for Satisfaction, then saw a tv ad. I am sad that I will be missing out on looking at Matt Passmore. Maybe he needs to talk to his agent?

 

If I want dark and gritty, I can go...almost everywhere else, and not just on TV/cable.  Why not have light, fun, ice-cream colored fluff for three months or so? Isn't that what set USA apart? The fun cable shows?

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I find I'm flipping the channel.  TNT gives me Rizzoli and Isles, Perception, Major Crimes, and Dallas.  Oh, and Franklin and Bash, but sometimes that one can be too much like cotton candy (content non-existent!).At least, I still have my NCIS reruns on USA!

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I remember USA before it gained "respect" once NBC Universal bought the network. Anyone remember Duckman (Jason Alexander voiced him) or Silk Stalkings? Lowbrow and a dash of "jiggle TV" (as I think it was once termed), but they were fun. USA also had Radio 1990 and the Cartoon Express way back, too.

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And Night Tracks!  I didn't watch religiously, but as a teen, it was a favorite late night stopdown.

 

eta: I double-checked myself and Night Tracks was TBS. I did watch Up All Night as well.

Edited by Actionmage
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I miss that old programming....I don't really watch anything on USA now...

 

Well, I know USA is a leading cable network these days with its shows thanks to NBCU owning it, but I do miss USA's independent schlock days! 

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I've been unhappy about USA's seeming to be moving on from their "Blue Skies" programming because I don't really like the edgy stuff they're going for now, and because it already started bleeding into some current or recently ended shows I liked. Some that come to mind are Burn Notice and Necessary Roughness, and the brief flirting with Hank's prescription drug-addition thing on Royal Pains. Ok, Burn Notice wasn't all that light -- someone bad got blown up or shot just about every week -- but it had beautiful scenery and a sense of fun most of the time.

 

Last week I started a rewatch of The 4400 and remembered how much I'd loved it and USA by extension for showing it, and how sorry I was after it ended that USA no longer had anything on that I liked. (Well, Monk for a while before it got too cartoony.) It wasn't until they programmed all those lightweight dramas with interesting characters and nice locations that I got interested again, and now that's petering out in favor of the next big thing.

 

So it occurs to me: maybe USA's thing is that it reinvents itself regularly and when it does it does a clean sweep of the old and commits itself to whatever its new image is, and whether or not I like the new image, all I have to do is wait and it's guaranteed to change again in a few years.

 

Probably all or most networks do this but since USA frequently had stuff I liked I notice it when they do it.

Edited by CoderLady
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@CoderLady, interesting thought about USA re-inventing itself every few years to stay "current". At least it still has its own programming to this day even if the tonal shifts suck. Some stations lose their identity completely and never look back. See: MTV (which did stand for MUSIC television at one time) or TLC (once educational as The Learning Channel), both of which are nothing like their origins.

 

Then again, I guess that COULD hold true for USA which, as discussed above, used to be an independent network filled with fun schlock.

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 it occurs to me: maybe USA's thing is that it reinvents itself regularly and when it does it does a clean sweep of the old and commits itself to whatever its new image is, and whether or not I like the new image, all I have to do is wait and it's guaranteed to change again in a few years.

 

I agree USA was a different network when they aired Dead Zone, 4400, and Monk vs. Blue Skies.  So reinventing themselves probably is something they do.  My issue with this time is it feels like this time is the first time they are the followers.  They are trying to be edgy like AMC, A&E, TNT, etc.  It never felt that way before.

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USA has been claiming that they are trying to get away from comedies. Not good. But I will say that with Benched, Sirens and Playing House they still have their toes in the water. Benched is really so funny and Playing House just got picked up for S2. 

I liked Rush and was sorry it was killed.

 

I also think Chrisley Knows Best is a hoot! 

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If I want dark and gritty, I can go...almost everywhere else, and not just on TV/cable.  Why not have light, fun, ice-cream colored fluff for three months or so? Isn't that what set USA apart? The fun cable shows?

 

I think it's just a matter of shifting business realities. Long term, the money used to be in syndication and shows without a lot of continuity did well in syndication. Now the money is moving towards streaming, where serialized shows that encourage you to binge watch are big, so I think USA is trying to make more Netflix-friendly shows. To some degree, I think they're missing the point. Not every popular show on Netflix is Breaking Bad-dark.

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USA Network seeks grittier image:



The general-interest cable network, trying to halt a decline in ratings, revealed programming plans with a marked shift away from the lighter procedural fare of "Monk," "Psych" and "Burn Notice" of a few years back. USA is turning to darker and, its executives clearly hope, more buzzworthy shows with ongoing stories.

Chris McCumber, USA president, said the network wanted to appeal more to millennials and "reflect the character and the spirit of the country as we see it."

USA's package of programs under development include a comic book adventure, a soldier recruited into a world of crime, a dystopian drama and a show about friends getting into the legal cannabis business in Colorado. USA is also trying to increase live programming, and will pick up the WWE's "Smackdown" from SyFy next year. NHL playoff hockey will also be shown on USA.


I gave Dig a chance and I'm still watching Suits for some reason but I think I'm done with this network.
 

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I mainly watch Law & Order: Criminal Intent and/or Law & Order: SVU repeats on USA. That's about the extent of my viewing on that channel now. It needs another style shift - fast.

 

Those shows aside, everything is...blah or bleak. At least when it was just an indie channel, it was fun and didn't try to be what it wasn't. NBCU ruins everything.

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If they're taking WWE from Syfy, does that mean Syfy will actually show sci-fi?  Nah!  What was I thinking?  lol

 

Yeah, I liked the more light-hearted shows.  In the list above I am only interested in the NHL, and only if they are showing the 2 teams I follow.  Oh, and I guess I'll keep watching Dig...  for now.

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I have to admit, since I've downgraded to basic cable I really haven't missed this channel at all...doesn't bode well for their programs.

 

I have basic cable and have USA (Time Warner - greedy bastards). Sounds like you got g*****. (Or, maybe not, considering your feelings about USA, of which I agree with, minus L&O: CI and L&O: SVU repeats. LOL!)

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(edited)

Yes, Wendy I do miss having access to LO:CI reruns on USA (they're on ION sometimes of course) but other than that....USA used to be a channel I enjoyed but really its new shows don't look that interesting anymore.

By the way I have Time Warner here in NYC but their idea of basic cable is just pretty much whatever you potentially could get with an antenna (in a perfect world!), plus some public television and their local news, NY1.  I think a lot of people stick with TW mainly to get internet here.

Edited by roseha
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Yes, Wendy I do miss having access to LO:CI reruns on USA (they're on ION sometimes of course) but other than that....USA used to be a channel I enjoyed but really its new shows don't look that interesting anymore.

By the way I have Time Warner here in NYC but their idea of basic cable is just pretty much whatever you potentially could get with an antenna (in a perfect world!), plus some public television and their local news, NY1.  I think a lot of people stick with TW mainly to get internet here.

 

How odd that basic cable is so different with only a few hours of distance. As I said, I have basic only but have USA through Time Warner, but I live around the Albany, NY area. I wonder why we get USA and NYC-area basic cable doesn't?

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Blue Skies?  What Blue Skies?

"The Purge" franchise is being adapted into a series for USA/Syfy -- Via Deadline:

Quote

Blumhouse Television will team with Universal Cable Productions and franchise creator James DeMonaco on The Purge, which will air on USA and Syfy. The franchise — about one day each year when murder and mayhem is legalized — hatched its highest grossing effort so far with the recent The Purge: Election Year. While the next Purge feature will be released by Universal summer 2018, DeMonaco will oversee the series which will be an entirely new chapter in America’s 12 hours of annual lawlessness. Platinum Dunes and DeMonaco’s longtime producing partner Sebastien K. Lemercier will executive produce the series.

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(edited)

I don't watch any shows on USA anymore. I used to watch the various L&O reruns they air but I've seen so many of them more then once. For some reason I find it easier to watch old episodes of the original L&O mothership then the others.

I wasn't thrilled with USA's decision or TNT's to try and go into gritter directions and try to abandon the kind of programming that made them more popular. At least TNT is still kinda mixing it up more.

It's hard for me to watch shows on ION because Uverse doesn't provide an HD version of that channel. That means episodes of Psych and etc. have the big black bars at the top and bottom.

Edited by Jaded
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I just realized that I don't watch anything on USA anymore.

I realized that because I narrowly missed catching the Psych movie which is this Thursday. Thank goodness there was an ad in the middle of channels I do watch in the TV listings.

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