After all the hoopla about the "In the Motherhood" premiere, it appears that ABC isn't 100 percent confident in the show's long-term success.
According to the L.A. Times, the day after the one-time Web series's premiere on primetime television, ABC execs cut its episode order in half, from 13 down to seven.
"Motherhood" earned a 4.6 Nielsen rating and a 7 share, meaning 4.6 percent of U.S. households were tuned in, and 7 percent of all turned-on televisions were locked into ABC when the comedy aired Thursday at 8 p.m. That put it in third place for its timeslot, behind "American Idol" (shocker) and the NCAA Tournament on CBS.
Clearly going up against "Idol" and basketball put "In the Motherhood" in an unfair position. The "Idol" results show usually airs on Wednesdays (it aired Thursday this week because Obama's primetime press conference on Tuesday messed with the show's schedule), and the tourney is a temporary event. Which raises the question: Did ABC execs respond too hastily here? Does the show deserve to have more of an opportunity to grow over 13 episodes?
Or is the show just plain bad? I only caught a brief slice of it due to (irony alert!) parental responsibilities and the fact that I forgot to set the DVR. But I wasn't hugely impressed. Then again, as several commenters on Jeanne's live-blog of the premiere pointed out, pilots don't always give the most reliable sense of how solid a show will be in the long run. (Classic example: "Seinfeld.")
Those commenters seemed willing to give the show a chance. While I'm not sure if the series will get less contrived, I do think studio execs tend to cut shows far too quickly based on ratings results. Any good show does need a little time to develop.
If you want more "Motherhood," or if you think they have made the right call here, let the folks at ABC know by posting a comment.
