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As FX Chief John Landgraf Cancels the Highly Acclaimed, Low-Rated ‘Terriers,’ He Says Don’t Blame The Marketing Campaign Which Led Many to Believe the Show was About Angry (or Fighting) Dogs

Dec 6, 2010  •  Post A Comment

As FX President John Landgraf canceled "Terriers" he explained that the low ratings for the show were not the fault of the marketing campaign, reports Deadline.com

Terriers.gifAccording to the article, "A lot had been said about the marketing campaign for the show, with some complaining that the billboards featuring the gnarling dog may have been misleading and thus responsible for the buddy detective show’s low-rated launch. Landgraf said that those billboards were only used in Los Angeles and New York, and, 3 weeks into the series’ run, he ordered a study with 600 people who had not seen the show that examined the effectiveness of ‘Terriers’ TV promos that had dominated the series’ marketing campaign.

The result? According to the story, "The testing showed that the promos ‘represented the show extremely well and explained very well what it was about,’ Landgraf said. ‘From my standpoint, the marketing department of FX has taken a little bit of unfair knocks for the lack of performance of the show. I don’t think there is anybody to blame. It’s hard to explain why people didn’t watch.’"

One reason the show didn’t click with viewers, Landgraf said, is that the series’ "subtle charm" was 180 degrees from the pop culture sensibility of such shows as "Jersey Shore," "The Walking Dead" and FX’s own "Sons of Anarchy," the article said.

One of the show’s executive producers, Shawn Ryan, who created the hit "The Shield" for FX, said in a tweet, according to the story, "Thanks for all the condolences, Terriers fans. Ultimately, we couldn’t get enough people to watch. Don’t blame FX. They’re still 1st class."

8 Comments

  1. That title didn’t match the show and wasn’t going to bring the audience that watches detective and cop shows. I still haven’t heard a good explanation for the goofy title that sounds like a reality program about show dogs.

  2. I enjoyed this show a great deal. Very likable characters, and hit marks consistently. What was clear to me, was that with this title it wouldn’t last. Can’t it be brought back with a name change?

  3. This is a crock of kaka. Terriers is great, super story line, wonderful characters and interesting plotlines. Dumb to not give it some more room to develop.

  4. I agree….change the name to something sensible.

  5. Um, based marketing feedback on some billboards in select cities? Yes they do deserve the criticism they are getting if this is all they did. How about what most of us saw for MONTHS (far back as last winter IIRC) a cute terrier dog romping around on a beach with no sight of the “stars” or what the show was about.

  6. Another case of a show too smart for American TV audiences.
    Maybe if they would have made people think it was a reality program featuring beautiful idiots it could have gotten some more sampling.

  7. You did a good job.

  8. I don’t normally comment but I gotta state thanks for the post on this perfect one : D.

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