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Silverman: ‘Not One Hand Raised’ for ‘Medium,’ ‘Earl’

May 19, 2009  •  Post A Comment

Ben Silverman
NBC chief Ben Silverman is making it clear: Fan love for “Chuck” helped ensure the show’s survival for a third season.
And he’s making it just as clear that lack of passion for “Medium” and “My Name Is Earl” doomed those series.
In the case of “Chuck,” Silverman said, “Both the fans of the shows that matter and the advertisers of the shows raised their hands to say, ‘We need “Chuck” on the schedule.’ We will send you Nerds. We will buy Subway $5 footlongs. We will do whatever it takes.”


By contrast, Silverman didn’t feel the love for “Medium” and “Earl.”
“On the other side, we had an aging franchise, without a single fan letter, with no passion, not one hand raised (at all of NBC’s Infront sessions with advertisers),” Silverman said. “That speaks for itself. We believe in the future. We beleve in shows without ceilings.”
When Silverman mentions “aging franchise,” did he mean “Medium” or “Earl”?
“Both,” he said.

14 Comments

  1. I love the fact he’s acknowledged the fan effort to bring Chuck back and not just taken the credit for it all.
    Can’t wait for the third season now. 😀

  2. Hooray for the suits actually listening! It’s a great day when they recognize that the “numbers” they get through their arcane processes are not actually indicative of the audience that they WANT which is an engaged audience, a group that watches and rewatches, not just has it on in the background while waiting for the show they really want.
    I feel sad for Medium and Earl’s casts and crews, but when it’s time, it’s time. It is not yet Chuck’s time, and I am happy NBC recognized that its fervent fans will spend more money per capita then the apathetic followers of Medium and Earl.

  3. Not one hand was raised because all signs were pointing to the likeliness of renewals when NBC announced their plans today. Medium never got the support it deserved from the network. It was always used as a filler to replace shows that failed, but it held it’s own in the ratings, maybe not blockbuster numbers, but better than the shows it replaced. I still think there is life left in both shows and hope they end up elsewhere. It has been rumored that CBS, which produces Medium might give it a reprieve and pair it with Ghost Whisperer on Friday nights. I think that would be a good fit. As for Earl, it has been said that there’s a chance it may end up at Fox or ABC, but the chances of that happening seem like a long shot. I think Silverman has not done as good a job as expected when it took over the reigns at NBC. It will be interesting to see how Jay Leno’s domination of the 10 PM hour fairs. I personally feel removing Leno from The Tonight Show was a huge mistake! Time will tell.

  4. There was “not one hand raised” for Earl and Medium probably because the fans of both shows felt they’d be safe. There weren’t any talk during the season of either of those shows getting the boot from the network as it was with Chuck, which is why the so-called passion wasn’t there.
    Truth is, Silverman’s job is on the line this season, and after running it into the ground these last four years, he should have been gone a long time ago. Greg Garcia said it best when he heard about today’s cancellation of My Name Is Earl:
    “It’s hard to feel upset when you’re being thrown off the Titanic.”

  5. I love that they have renewed Chuck too! But I’m very sorry to see Medium leave. I think it’s been a consistantly well written and very interesting TV show. I NEVER miss it. (And I guess I’ll be watching it on CBS next year.) What’s going on with NBC, anyway? They cancel their best shows and then wonder why they are losing in the ratings?

  6. We LOVE Medium. BUT, when they keep it off the air during the fall and only bring it back in January, our interests go else where. Rats.

  7. I suspect that no one’s hand will be raised when Ben Silverman gets fired in the near future and that CBS will not step in to save him.

  8. Silverman is an idiot. Plenty of us LOVED Medium. We just aren’t the type to post incessantly on boards or send emails or letters. We do tune in though. And this was the last decent, watchable show on NBC. Hopefully we will all be able to tune into CBS next year for Medium.

  9. Life will be the same with one less spooky drama, but Earl has been one of the most consistently funny and well written shows over the last few years.

  10. Well so much for NBC. I’ve lost all confidence in that network already. NOWHERE is there ever ANY MENTION of a show called LIFE – which was loved by advertisers & viewers. Maybe not to the extent of CHUCK, but then NBC and UMS didn’t really ever SPEND ANY $ on advertising the show & it STILL DID WELL on it’s own grassroots audience. An audience that THOUGHT the network would use their brains when picking a well written show and NOT rely on NUTTY CAMPAIGNS from viewers to keep a show alive.
    Oh well, the death of such shows is clearly why NBC and Ben Silverman have failed to produce ANY BREAKOUT HITS!
    And the move to keep LENO on 5 nights a week in the 10pm hour clearly shows NBC has NO FAITH in upper management bringing in any breakouts THIS SEASON EITHER!
    Sincerly,
    Once an NBC viewer – NO MORE….

  11. Pardon my french, but Ben Silverman is full of Shit. Not one hand raised for Medium (or My Name is Earl)? Lame ass excuse to justify axing two shows with a strong fanbase, all in the name of pissing CBS Off. From what I’ve seen, there have been plenty of people sending E-Mails to NBC not to Cancel Medium (about half of them say they never get a response) asking them not to cancel it. Forgive the Majority of Medium-Fans if their not the type to Blog, Twitter, and LiveJournal constantly about their favorite show like CW/Fox/Chuck fans. I could make a voodoo doll and start poking him with kitchen knives.

  12. Think about this, Terminator, AND Dollhouse on friday nite!! They’re gone, what a shame. These people in charge of TV programs are about as bright as our Congress. Big bucks, no brains. All they do is wait to see if a network makes a hit, and then the rest of them copy the format, until it wears itself out, and then it goes on again. All I can say is thank God for DVR’s !!!!!!!! But that still doesn’t help if the show has been canceled. I love Jay, but at 10:00 PM, so long to him also.

  13. Can’t wait 4 season 3!!
    Silverman did the right thing by renewing CHUCK!!
    Way to go.

  14. I’m deeply sadden by the cancellation of Medium this was among the few shows on NBC that I watche along with Law and Order(both the original as well as SVU.Criminal Intent was good at one point and got better with Chris Noth but, since he left it’s gone down hill.)I’m happy at the news that My Name Is Earl is finally getting “torpeoed” like the H.M.S.Conquerer did the General Belgrano in Falklands war in 1982 as for Chuck this guy is a bigger assclown than “BRAINDEAD”Bobby Hill from KOTH.The idea of someone like this Chuck turd bei ng a spy is the result of having someone like Leon”Piss in his pants”Penetta running the C.I.A. this show is a load of crap and one reason why Jack Bauer kicks ASS.

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