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Media: Shakespearean News Here!

Meredith Quill

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slade3

slade3

Does anyone know why the third episode is airing June 19th instead of tomorrow night? I'd wondered if ABC was airing a special, but I see they're re-airing the pilot.

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Irlandesa

Irlandesa

1 hour ago, slade3 said:

Does anyone know why the third episode is airing June 19th instead of tomorrow night? I'd wondered if ABC was airing a special, but I see they're re-airing the pilot.

The fifth game of the NBA finals airs on ABC tomorrow night.  Had they not had a fifth game, I believe repeats were scheduled--although I've also seen conflicting reports that they'd air a new episode.

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legaleagle53

legaleagle53

41 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

The fifth game of the NBA finals airs on ABC tomorrow night.  Had they not had a fifth game, I believe repeats were scheduled--although I've also seen conflicting reports that they'd air a new episode.

But the pilot's first airing was only what, two weeks ago?  I don't think it makes much sense to repeat it now when we're only two episodes in, especially since viewers were rather meh on the pilot in the first place.  That's only going to turn people off.

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Irlandesa

Irlandesa

48 minutes ago, legaleagle53 said:

But the pilot's first airing was only what, two weeks ago?  I don't think it makes much sense to repeat it now when we're only two episodes in, especially since viewers were rather meh on the pilot in the first place.  That's only going to turn people off.

Maybe it would have been smarter to reair Week 2 but also confusing to some people considering it'd be the same time slot.  Thankfully, it doesn't matter any longer.

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Irlandesa

Irlandesa

3 minutes ago, doram said:

So... are we getting a new episode tomorrow?

No.  It's basketball. The whole discussion about which episode would have been better to air is moot because they didn't wrap up the finals in four games.

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slade3

slade3

2 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

The fifth game of the NBA finals airs on ABC tomorrow night.  Had they not had a fifth game, I believe repeats were scheduled--although I've also seen conflicting reports that they'd air a new episode.

Thank you! I feel much better. I wasn't following basketball (and didn't even know it was on ABC), so I was worried SSC had to do re-edits, or something, for episode 3 and needed to be pushed for a week. It's bad luck for the show that it has to miss a week after only 2 episodes, but at least it isn't due to production issues.

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Enero

Enero

Aw that sucks. I was hoping the show would be like Under the Dome and other shows that had not so great ratings but managed to stay on air for 2-3 summers because they were summer shows and not much was expected from them ratings wise.

With the show being over in 4 episodes I doubt we'll get a satisfactory resolution to the storylines since despite all the action they are moving at a snails pace. Bummer. ?

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jhlipton

jhlipton

I don't know why ABC didn't promote the Hell out of this (racism?  naaaaah)  Have the President and CEO (or whoever) talk to all the magazines and newspapers, from the NY Times to Variety to Entertainment Tonight about how proud they are to have a show that's finally historically accurate about race, with just a dash of Shakespeare.  A certain portion of the population keeps saying "we're not deplorable ignorant racists" -- make them prove it.  Maybe not that antagonistically,  but you get the idea. 

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Enero

Enero

They started off ok with promoting it. I remember all the hoopla surrounding it last year, at least online. Then nothing. I'd forgotten about this show until a friend mentioned she was watching it, which surprised me because I'd heard nothing about it since last spring. 

Crazy enough, though the ratings were low, the show had steady viewership in the first two episodes. It dropped off this week probably due in part to the NBA finals interrupting its airings and zero promotion by ABC. Now that it's being "banished" to Saturdays, it all but cancelled. 

In retrospect, all the things aside that was working against it, ABC was likely the wrong medium for this show. It might've done better on the CW (though ironically enough it would've lacked the diversity it now has) or Netflix. 

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slade3

slade3

(edited)

I just read the news and I'm so disappointed! The show didn't have a fair shot. Even a show with great reviews would probably suffer if it took a week off after only 2 episodes aired. And by keeping it off air until July 8th, ABC is guaranteeing the show will lose more viewers.

Yet Bachelor in Paradise has resumed filming and hasn't ben cancelled.

 

11 hours ago, Enero said:

With the show being over in 4 episodes I doubt we'll get a satisfactory resolution to the storylines since despite all the action they are moving at a snails pace. Bummer.

SpoilerTV posted info about episode 5. I agree the show is moving slowly. I hope Heather Mitchell learns a lesson from this when she gets a new show. 

Does anyone know how many episodes were filmed? I'm hoping we get to see all of them, so we have some idea what they were planning to do with the story. Since the article I read at TVLine indicates the cast contracts expire next week, I guess there's no chance they'll even film episodes to finish out the season.

3 hours ago, Enero said:

In retrospect, all the things aside that was working against it, ABC was likely the wrong medium for this show. It might've done better on the CW (though ironically enough it would've lacked the diversity it now has) or Netflix. 

I agree ABC wasn't the place for this. I loved Galavant - another diverse period piece - but ABC didn't know what to do with it.

Edited to Add: Shonda had also created a show about the Gilded Age for ABC, but ABC did not go forward with it. I was very disappointed about that since I was looking forward to her version of the Gilded Age. There were plenty of wealthy Black Americans around during that period, but they're rarely mentioned, and I was sure Shonda would. At the time I thought ABC was squeamish about airing a Downton Abbey type show that featured Black people. But ABC's new head of programming is Black (Merrin Dungey's sister), so maybe it's advertisers who don't like seeing Black people in period dress.

Edited by slade3
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Katsullivan

Katsullivan

TVLine wrote a "blind article" declaring this show "stank" and was certain to be cancelled. Is this usual for TVLine to claim a show would be doomed before an episode aired or did this show/Shonda just get "special treatment" this time around?

Similarly, they, and their sister site Deadline, reported the move to Saturday with the headline "Still Star Crossed Cancelled" instead of, you know, "Still Star Crossed Moved to Saturday." that other media reported.

To compare, look at the screencaps of the different headlines reporting the move. 

Again, is this typical for TVLine or was there something extra-malicious about their coverage of this show?

Screen Shot 2017-06-24 at 10.42.11.jpg

Screen Shot 2017-06-24 at 10.45.11.jpg

Disgusting. I watched the show out of solidarity not because it was my cup of tea and I was aware of the vitriol that it generated for Shonda daring to cast POCs in the kind of costume drama that is typically reserved for whites. The show was not promoted for a year. It was pushed out of the Fall and Spring TV seasons when it could have been paired with the rest of Shonda's TGIT time-slot, and they didn't naturally pair it with ONCE upon a time, where it could have gathered the same kind of costume/melodramatic fans. Instead it was paired with the Bachelorette, I guess because since the Bachelorette was black, and black people will watch it, amirite? A "blind article" dooming it was published a week before it was finally aired, and it premiered on Memorial Day. After the natural dip in ratings because of the missed episode, even though it held steady after the Pilot, it was moved to Saturday and TVLine was crowing about cancellation before it was even announced. Well, they got their wish. Racism wins again. 

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jhlipton

jhlipton

7 hours ago, Katsullivan said:

I was aware of the vitriol that it generated for Shonda daring to cast POCs in the kind of costume drama that is typically reserved for whites.

...and then there's Will, coming to TNT, with what looks like a 90% white cast (I think I caught a glimpse of a black woman -- a villain, of course -- in the trailer).  Blech.

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Irlandesa

Irlandesa

7 hours ago, Katsullivan said:

The show was not promoted for a year. It was pushed out of the Fall and Spring TV seasons when it could have been paired with the rest of Shonda's TGIT time-slot, and they didn't naturally pair it with ONCE upon a time, where it could have gathered the same kind of costume/melodramatic fans. Instead it was paired with the Bachelorette, I guess because since the Bachelorette was black, and black people will watch it, amirite? A "blind article" dooming it was published a week before it was finally aired, and it premiered on Memorial Day. After the natural dip in ratings because of the missed episode, even though it held steady after the Pilot, it was moved to Saturday and TVLine was crowing about cancellation before it was even announced.

I read somewhere that this show was picked up before the pilot was even finished.  The implication was that it may not have been had they had a finished pilot.  That was part of the reason it got pushed back. There are things about the BI that I disagreed with because I think this show is a lot better than the show in the BI sounded.  But if it's true that each episode went way over budget, and I could see that happening, then I do think it may have been doomed before it began unless it captured something in the audience's imagination.  It did get its episode order cut which could be a hint at possible budget issues.

As for the BI, since no show was actually named, I don't know how much it affected the show's success since very few people in the scheme of thing read those AND the comments to see what it could possibly be. And while it held its premiere numbers for a week, it was a significant drop off from its lead-in and not terrific numbers.

This show was always kind of in the background so I never noticed a lot of casting backlash until the series actually started airing.  Racism might have affected who chose to watch the show but did it lead an all out effort from TPTB to kill the show?  I doubt it.  That's just bad business and there's no reason to piss off the woman who is behind so many of their biggest hits.

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jhlipton

jhlipton

2 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Racism might have affected who chose to watch the show but did it lead an all out effort from TPTB to kill the show?  I doubt it.  That's just bad business and there's no reason to piss off the woman who is behind so many of their biggest hits.

The problem is that racism is so entwined in our culture that even actions that aren't racist spread the evil.  I get that ABC is a business, but sometimes a business should act with a bit of courage and conviction.

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luckyroll3

luckyroll3

If ABC could keep Mistresses on the air for four fucking seasons, there is no reason, they couldn't give this another run next summer.  And Mistresses was shit from day 1 and dropped further in the dredges after Alyssa Milano left.

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TroopinFairy

TroopinFairy

I liked this show. Sure, it's a little ridiculous but, it's a fun summer series to get caught up in. I loved the book that this show is based on. Some things are the same but, there are differences. I wish that racism didn't play a part in this but, it probably did. This show reminds me a lot of plays and musicals going on across the globe. In 2015 there were POC in lead roles in "Les Miz" and "Phantom." The women who plays Natasha in "The Great Comet" on broadway is a POC. Numerous productions of Shakespeare's plays in Europe have been with POS. The color of one's skin shouldn't be an issue when it comes to talent and acting but, sadly it is to some small minded people. 

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Moxie Cat

Moxie Cat

And another question: is the ep that picks up on July 8 the fourth? I've been DVRing them but if there was one on this past Saturday, I missed it.

Show should not have been preempted in only its third week. Even a well-rated newbie show would have trouble recovering from that. 

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thuganomics85

thuganomics85

Well, drat.  I'm actually off work this evening and was looking forward to seeing the show live, only for find out that, nope: moving to Saturdays and likely canceled after.  What a bummer.  Yes, this show was a bit silly at times, but it was well-acted, fun, and I really enjoyed the diverse cast.  It only aired three episodes (and it already had a week off for the NBA): why so quick with the trigger, ABC?

Figures that summer shows I actually enjoy like this and Braindead last year end up not doing well, while other shows like Under the Dome and Zoo managed to at least limp along for three or more seasons.

Sigh... at least they're going to the air the rest of the season.  Unless they change their mind on that and just flat-out dump it elsewhere.  You never know with ABC.

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Irlandesa

Irlandesa

On 6/24/2017 at 8:20 PM, jhlipton said:

The problem is that racism is so entwined in our culture that even actions that aren't racist spread the evil.  I get that ABC is a business, but sometimes a business should act with a bit of courage and conviction.

Absolutely.  I get that there's the macro and micro of things and even well-intentioned micro can feed the problem of the macro*.  I'm not arguing racism didn't play a part in hurting this show.  But as much as this show is right up my alley, I can't envision a scenario, even without the racism factor, that an audience embraces a Shakespearean soap opera on network TV---unless it's the CW.

*And yeah, that macro is irritating me right now with the shows that are getting cancelled.  And I hate the Netflix seems to be following suit by cutting incomplete shows short.

8 hours ago, Driad said:

How many episodes have been made or are being made?

Will we get to see all of those?  (We have seen 3 so far.)

7 episodes and yes, we're supposed to get all of them.  They've just released the episode description for Ep. 6 which means there is only one more description to read.  It makes me want to cry. 

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catray

catray

I am really enjoying this show, so I'm bummed to see it 1) shuffled off to Saturday to die and 2) that they're delaying the next episode, which just only exacerbates the problem. Thanks a lot, ABC!

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Phillygurl

Phillygurl

This is truly disheartening. The swirl flavored love triangle with a Shakespearean twist?!? And when I heard it was shonda I was so happy because I was thinking "finally a show I can get behind that will make it past the first season." I'm so sad! First Pitch and now this!? I thought people were ok with strong black female leads. I just don't think it was given a fair chance. But then private practice was just a knock off Greys Anatomy and I know it got at least 4 seasons. Is there any possibility it could be picked up by Hulu or netflix??? Im sure this is wishful thinking. Maybe a show just about love and romance doesn't do it for people anymore. So sad.

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jhlipton

jhlipton

23 hours ago, Phillygurl said:

I thought people were ok with strong black female leads.

The "I am not a racist' crowd will tell you that they're fine with "strong black women", but "Serena is ugly, or ghetto, or.." and Katrina was the best part of Sleepy Hollow, and all the usual excuses.

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Guest

Guest

How could this show have done well? It debuted over a month ago and 3 episodes have aired, and there is still more than a week til the next episode. How would you ever gain traction with that kind of schedule?

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jhlipton

jhlipton

1 hour ago, deaja said:

How could this show have done well? It debuted over a month ago and 3 episodes have aired, and there is still more than a week til the next episode. How would you ever gain traction with that kind of schedule?

You don't -- and I blame the bosses at ABC.

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netlyon2

netlyon2

(edited)
22 hours ago, jhlipton said:

The "I am not a racist' crowd will tell you that they're fine with "strong black women", but "Serena is ugly, or ghetto, or.." and Katrina was the best part of Sleepy Hollow, and all the usual excuses.

Ugh!  Here you are, poking at old wounds. *runs off to AO3 for a hit of Ichabbie fic*

I'd imagine that the "I'd love a show where the leads just stay friends*" crowd has particular trouble with this show, where the fact that this woman is loved and cherished and has relationships is the very premise and core of the show.  

* [but only when there's a black woman involved and I can't insert myself into the relationship through her character because that would mean that black women are actually women and we know that can't be true and now I'm off to see "The Beguiled"!]

 

ETA: Giles weighs in

Edited by netlyon2
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Enero

Enero

(edited)
1 hour ago, pigs-in-space said:

Medalion Rahimi confirmed on her twitter account that 1. Isabella is gay and 2. Helena returned in the final ep and the two kissed, but it was cut from the final episode.

Awesome! So we all guessed right. ? I think they probably cut that scene because there was already more than enough going on in the finale. Throwing in a love interest for Isabella I don't think would've worked well with all that was happening and would've  felt out of place. 

It really is too bad the show got got cancelled because I'm sure they would've picked up the romance at the start of the next season. 

Edited by Enero
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Enero

Enero

(edited)

This is surprising, if true. It might explain why  (one of many whys) SSC received such horrible treatment. 

 

Shondaland Moves to Netflix

 

 I wonder if there might be a chance for this show to be revived? I know several of the actors have moved on, but if they did a brief mini-series 5-7 episodes to wrap up the open ended stories it could work. 

Edited by Enero
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Trini

Trini

7 hours ago, Enero said:

This is surprising, if true. It might explain why  (one of many whys) SSC received such horrible treatment. 

I was actually thinking that the shoddy treatment of SSC is what prompted her to try this new deal. (But there were probably discussions before that.)

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ursula

ursula

11 hours ago, Trini said:

Not a surprise, but TVLine confirmed that a previous blind item was about Still Star-Crossed.

All the other blind items are plot-spoilery stuff like pregnancies, deaths, stunt-casting! This was the only "blind" (yeah, right --- all the other media outlets carried this as a fact before an episode aired) article that predicted a "smelly" show's cancellation.

It was also Deadline, their sister site, that announced the shift to Fridays as a "cancellation".

https://deadline.com/2017/06/still-star-crossed-abc-series-move-saturday-monday-canceled-one-season-schedule-downgrade-1202118753/

But of course, racism had nothing to do with any of this. /s

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