Family-friendly programming format, shows includes American Idol, Dancing With the Stars and Brothers Sisters
Family-friendly programming format, shows includes American Idol, Dancing With the Stars and Brothers & Sisters
So I guess it’s no secret that I’m a huge supporter of the family-friendly programming format. I never, after all, missed an episode of The Brady Bunch, The Waltons, Eight Is Enough, thirtysomething or Everybody Loves Raymond. I still watch repeats of I Love Lucy religiously. And my favorite crop of current shows includes American Idol, Dancing With the Stars and Brothers & Sisters.
That said, the point I wanted to make during last week’s Webcast, The Unsung Hero of Prime-Time: Family-Friendly Programming (if you missed it, go to www.nielsencast.com), was just how important the overall concept can be. When you think family friendly, remember its scope is broad—it can include any genre—and its definition has evolved over the years.
Crime-solving and back-stabbing reality may seem “sexier” to programming execs, but no schedule is complete without shows of a family-friendly nature. And the added value for an advertiser is the opportunity to reach the entire family unit. In today’s fragmented universe, it is rare when a family sits down together to watch something on TV.
As I started my Webcast time line running six decades, it suddenly dawned on me: How would I find room to include every show worth remembering—and there are hundreds—in a 25-minute presentation?
Brad Siegel, who participated in the Webcast and is the vice chairman of Gospel Music Channel (full disclosure: GMC was also the sponsor), shared his theory on what makes a program family friendly: “Characters who exhibit the elements of faith—in community, mankind and justice—are what sets these programs apart. The most common thing we hear from our viewers is how beneficial it is for them to have a network the whole family can watch together.”
TV at present, of course, is very different from the TV of yesterday. So, when I went through the vast pool of potential series (only about 80 made the final cut), the first thing I took into consideration was how the characters or personalities on each show interacted with each other.
Although it was a no-brainer including those G-rated Nelsons on the 1952-’66 classic The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet, I wrestled with whether or not to give a spot to that other Ozzy and company, The Osbournes. They made the cut when I realized these were people who also really love each other, just like the characters on Father Knows Best, Leave It to Beaver, The Brady Bunch, The Munsters, Happy Days, Good Times, The Cosby Show, Roseanne, Everybody Loves Raymond and Malcolm in the Middle, to name just a few.
Dramas also presented an interesting dilemma. I wondered if it was fair to include those folksy Waltons and the Ingalls clan on Little House on the Prairie, not to mention the Camdens on 7th Heaven—the epitome of family friendly—in the same time line as contemporary hours like thirtysomething and Friday Night Lights. Again, the common denominator was the genuine affection conveyed by the writing. The Sopranos, however, was a different story because I thought I might get “whacked” by my editor if I dared to included a mobster and his screwed-up family. If I ever do a time line on prominent cable series, Tony and company will be at the top of the list.
Variety as we once knew it is a thing of a past. And that’s an unfortunate reality for an old-timer like me who fondly remembers those classic Sundays spent (as a small child, mind you) with The Ed Sullivan Show. Remember Topo Gigio? But variety isn’t dead; it has simply morphed into the reality/contest genre. American Idol and Dancing With the Stars walk in Sullivan’s footprints.
Game shows in prime time have also made a huge comeback thanks in great part to recent ABC blockbuster Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and, at present, NBC’s Deal or No Deal and CBS’ The Price Is Right.
Certainly no time line would be complete without reference to Candid Camera, the granddaddy of reality, which debuted on ABC in 1948 and aired on three different networks within a five-decade window. Like everything else, the nonscripted format is not new, just very different. And the recent success of Ashton Kutcher’s Punk’d on MTV proves that you can sometimes go home again.
It may not be considered “sexy,” but family-friendly programming is the backbone of any prime-time lineup, past or present. Pass the popcorn, son.
Family-friendly programming format, shows includes American Idol, Dancing With the Stars and Brothers & Sisters
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[...] Dream Back to Eden - ifilove.com Chinese Movie Actor Saga wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt Family-friendly programming format, shows includes American Idol, Dancing With the Stars and Brothers & Sisters So I guess it’s no secret that I’m a huge supporter of the family-friendly programming format. I never, after all, missed an episode of The Brady Bunch, The Waltons, Eight Is Enough, thirtysomething or Everybody Loves Raymond. I still watch repeats of I Love Lucy religiously. And my favorite crop of current shows includes American Idol, Dancing With the Stars and Brothers & S [...]