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It was announced last week that the CW has picked up 6 episodes of Epitome’s new series “The L.A. Complex,” and they will air over the summer. Though it’s a completely different series than Degrassi, its mere existence will have an impact on Degrassi, especially if it manages to be a successful series.
So far reviews from critics have been positive, but that doesn’t really mean much once the show is put out there for the masses to watch. Just as easily as it could be a big hit, it could bomb and get the axe quickly, especially on a network as big as the CW (to be honest, I’m not worried about it on its Canadian broadcaster MuchMusic). But for the sake of argument, let’s just say this show is a mega hit. Here are a couple of ways its success will affect Degrassi:
1) Degrassi’s broadcast schedule will change.
Actually it already has. Both The L.A. Complex and Degrassi are filmed on the same set, so they can’t furiously film everything needed for a Degrassi season in one fell swoop. So chances are we could see the end of fall blocks of Degrassi episodes…or they’ll at least be shorter than 7 or 8 weeks.
So what happens with that gigantic hole we could have without new episodes?
Having a special episode in the fall is good, but if it’s me I’m pretty sure I want more than an hour-long ep to keep fans engaged during a 6-month break (yes I’m looking at you TeenNick, who really has nothing to offer other than what Degrassi gives them…again, MuchMusic has plenty of other new shows running).
When tech issues aren’t causing delays, the Degrassi Game is simply fantastic (big props to Abby Ho and company for producing such entertaining interactive content). A series of Degrassi minis posted to the networks’ websites would be so great (they can be, but don’t *need* to be aired on TV). These days I get sad when I browse around TeenNick’s website because I’m convinced they have no interest in producing extra content the way they did years ago.
Also, content creators within the Degrassi fandom should also being doing more during breaks…myself included. It’s not necessary to do stuff every single day, but at least once a week, seeing as how we’re not bound by broadcast restrictions or anything (which is why I’ve been writing random opinion things lately like this post). The hiatus from September to February isn’t THAT brutal, but it becomes that way because as soon as the show goes on a break, it’s like everyone stops doing everything: no more discussions, site updates, vlogs or crazy creative stuff that makes the fandom fun…it just turns into a barren place where everyone now complains about how unbearable the hiatus is and how they’re losing interest in the show. Just because there isn’t anything new to talk about, it doesn’t mean there’s nothing to talk about when it comes to our favorite show.
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2) Degrassi can be a farm system for a major American network.
We all joke about how all of Peter Stone’s girlfriends (formerly played by Shenae Grimes and Nina Dobrev) run off to the CW, and with the arrival of Cassie Steele to the CW this summer we can now change it to “Girls Peter has dated, taken pictures of or videotaped.”
The L.A. Complex’s future success could provide potential possiblities for current/future actors on Degrassi. Unfortunately, not every actor on the show will be able to become a big acting star, and not every actor on the show wants to be a career actor. With the connections they have now I could easily see someone like Melinda Shankar joining the CW for a new series that either them or Epitome has created. I was gonna throw Charlotte Arnold in there too, but she’s better than the CW…I imagine her in a drama on one of the big three networks.
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3) Degrassi to the CW?
The most beneficial aspect to this whole thing is the relationship Epitome has established with the CW. If The L.A. Complex does well, it could open doors for Epitome producing more shows and larger projects…or throwing Degrassi into the national spotlight. Now does Degrassi have a chance to ever jump ship over to the CW? I honestly have no clue….anything’s possible I guess. I’m not sure if Epitome would lobby to get the show on the CW, but if the CW were to make some sort of offer for the rights to the show I’d like to think it might be possible. I don’t know how the whole deal works with MTVN or Viacom or whichever currently holds the show’s American broadcast rights…they could have a deal in place where TeenNick airs Degrassi for all eternity.
But I do know that a change like that would worry me because of the massive gap in expectations between a pointless cable network like TeenNick and one of America’s largest nationwide broadcast networks. Think of it this way: the most viewers Degrassi’s ever pulled on TeenNick is 1.2 million (when they aired Degrassi Takes Manhattan). The second highest was Boom Boom Pow, with just over 1 million viewers. After that Season 11 premiere, Now Or Never’s viewership slowly declined over the 7 weeks, generally pulling in anywhere from 500,000 – 700,000 viewers per episode. And Nowhere To Run had under 500,000. Those are still fantastic numbers for a network like TeenNick, historic actually…but those art the kind of numbers that will get you canned in a heartbeat on the CW when your competition is guaranteed to have 10 times as many viewers. Gah I hate TeenNick (aka I don’t know why they refuse to put effort into the network when Nick, Nick Jr and Nick @ Nite do well), but I also like having a place where Degrassi can be king…such a predicament.
The L.A. Complex premieres tomorrow night (Tuesday, January 10th) at 9pm EST. We should also be hearing about Degrassi’s official return date near the end of the week.
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Kary's Degrassi Blog 
For those of us in the USA can we watch the LA Complex on a Canadian web site after the show has aired up there?
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No, we’ll probably have to rely on someone creating a download version
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It would be great if Degrassi could go on a bigger network than TeenNick, because Teennick is seriously bringing down the potential the show has. That being said, it would also suck if Degrassi moved to, say, the CW, but then got cancelled if it didn’t reach the 1 million rating range.
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My apologies about the length of my post, but there’s a lot of information to discuss:
Saying that the CW is “one of America’s largest nationwide broadcast networks” is a bit misleading. As far as commercial television goes, there’s only five English-language nationwides that are worth mentioning: CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox, and the CW. Any guesses on which one gets the least amount of viewers? These days, the CW even gets routinely beat by the Spanish-language Univision in the Nielsen ratings. (Not that they’re the only ones, as depending on the week, any network not named CBS could be subject to that claim.)
The going rumor, as reported by TV by the Numbers (and for which I’m likely to believe), is that the CW probably loses money on advertiser revenue, but makes money on DVD and other home video sales. Sounds a little ridiculous, but keep in mind that the CW is owned partly by CBS, and the powers that be at CBS have gone on record in the past year that they’re willing to nurture lower-rated crime procedurals produced by CBS’ own television studio that air on their network until they reach enough episodes to be lucrative for syndication sales (which used to around 100 episodes, but I think around 80 or 90 is good enough now; suffice it to say, that amount is approximately 4.5 or 5 seasons), so the idea that the CW makes money only off of home video sales isn’t a farfetched one. Also, the CW ONLY airs shows produced at least in part by CBS Television Studios.
With that said, a show like “The L.A. Complex” could potentially be a good fit for the CW. Since it’s from an indie Canadian studio, it’s much cheaper to license than any of its American shows, and therefore would (theoretically) require a lower ratings threshold to make money. However, it has a couple of things going against it at the moment. That they’re planning to air it during the summer is both a blessing and a curse (but mostly a curse). Most people know that the summer tends to be dead space in network TV land since people are more likely to be doing other things in the evening, a point that is made even worse when you consider that the only demographic the CW cares about is women between the ages of 18 and 34, who are much more likely to be out in the evening compared to younger or older demographics. The blessing of airing during the summer is a very reduced amount of competition, so if the show catches on, ratings will be stronger comparatively.
It helps that there have been a couple of similar successes (namely “Flashpoint,” which has aired on CBS sporadically over the past few years, and “Rookie Blue,” which has aired on ABC the past two summers and will presumably be airing again next summer). However, it hurts that this isn’t the first time the CW tried to pick up a Canadian show. Of recent memory, they picked up Stacey Farber and Michael Seater’s delightful “18 to Life” (which ran for two seasons in Canada), only to never promote it and stop airing after 6 episodes aired in pairs over three weeks in August 2010. In the CW’s defense, “The L.A. Complex” will most likely be a better fit in regards to tones and themes than “18 to Life,” which was a quirky single-cam comedy that relied more on the charms of its lead actors than story.
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I was hoping someone with more knowledge about tv would comment, cause I don’t really know anything lol. Ohhh I’m well aware of how insanely ratings-challenged the CW is. When I said it’s one of the largest networks I wasn’t referring to its actual ratings, I was talking about its POTENTIAL since it’s still viewable in over 100 million homes.
Is picking up only 6 episodes procedure? That part of the whole thing just freaks me out since it comes off as if they don’t have much faith in it.
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I was under the impression that only six episodes were ordered and produced. IMDB lists six episodes, but obviously, IMDB isn’t always the most reliable source on things that have yet to air or be released (though I admit I was surprised when IMDB ended up being right about Cassie Steele starring in the show). After looking up news items on this announcement, it’s been mentioned that the CW could order an additional 7 episodes if it’s successful, which would put it at a more standard 13 episodes. It’s obviously too soon to try make a guess on if that will happen, but I have to wonder how Epitome would work that in considering that they’ll probably be busy filming Degrassi’s summer block when this order would theoretically be made. However, Kary, you’re more familiar with their filming schedule than I am.
And you are right about the CW’s potential viewership, though they’re big problem is that they have a cable-channel mentality with a broadcast network’s goals. You can’t have a very specific target demographic and expect to have ratings comparable to the Big Four (CBS, ABC, NBC, and Fox, for those who aren’t familiar with the term), who love the women 18-34 demographic (as do all advertisers except the niche ones), but order programming that’s intended to be broader. The CW recently changed leadership, though, so perhaps the situation will get better. From reading about this announcement, it seems that this pick-up is part of an overall goal to have more new programming during the summer, so that seems to improve the outlook a little.
As a side note, according to IMDB, Kristopher Turner (Jamie from “Instant Star”) has a recurring role in the show, which is great. His “Instant Star” character was always a little whiny, but I overall liked him and am glad to see him again.
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Yeah everything Dirk said ratings wise is pretty on point. I’d just like to add that the article which stated the LA Complex was coming to the CW also stated that they would be shipping it off as a key part of their upcoming summer block so I believe that it could become a hit if there are other shows on the network showing with it. The main reason 18 to life tanked was not even the lack of advertising (which I personally saw a good amount of ads for it) but the fact that it was on basically alone with reruns.
The LA complex would need some other kind of action going down on the network because I believe that the CW can easily get a good amount of viewership for the show if it has some other shows with some kind of potential with it. They need to peak interest of the viewers so they at least remember the CW is existing during the summer (which sometimes i forget because they rarely have new shows). Hopefully Epitome gets lucky on this time so they can boost Cassie Steele into the American spotlight. She has too much talent just sitting there waiting for be used XD
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I just wish Teen Nick would go back to being The-N. The-N was so awesome. And it didn’t have Nick Cannon in my face every 5 seconds. They also need to bring back the old roster of Daria, Pete and Pete, and some of the other old shows they had. I would love to rewatch O’Grady and RFR but they don’t offer dvds and are hard to find online. I don’t know what prompted the change of format to preteen age nick shows but it was a misstep. I used to watch The-n all day, now I just tune in for degrassi.
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I hope the show gets off the ground. It’s been disappointing to see that almost none of the original cast from the early seasons has done much post-Degrassi, so it’s good to know that Cassie Steele could potentially blossom like Nina and Shenae have.
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Link to these positive reviews? Because I have zero interest in the L.A. Complex even though one of my favorite people from Degrassi is in it. I do want it to do well though because I’ve always believed Cassie Steele deserved the attention that was given to Nina and Shenae.
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I created a blog for the show —-> http://lacomplex.net/2012/01/08/early-reviews-of-the-l-a-complex/
I plan on writing reviews, so for their sake it better be good lol
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How do you know that Nowhere To Run got under 500k? Ive looked all over online and cant seem to find an official ratings source for the special
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I’ll have to search for the specific link, but NickAndMore.com sometimes posts the ratings of the Nick networks
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I think that the CW would be better off sticking to the 1 hr dramas ( The Secret Circle, The Vampire Diaries, The L.A. Complex, etc.) It would be better for degrassi’s sake airing on Mtv. (They should just cancel ‘I Just Want My Pants Back’ and just start airing degrassi reruns.) But I doubt that will happen, Mtv didn’t even show any of season 10.5; Fuse channel might work too, they started showing Video on Trial in Oct. 2011, + fuse used to be MuchMusicUSA.
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Same person who wrote above. If anyone can’t find a link to watch the la complex in the us.. you can download it from the icestream app, which is free on getjar. (Just google getjar, then search icestream.)
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The L.A. Complex was surprisingly easy to find online. If anybody here remembers what it was like trying to find downloads of Instant Star back in the day, you’ll understand how relieved I was to find multiple options available the day after it aired in Canada. Even 18 to Life would take a couple of days to appear after airing, and that was just last year.
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man the Degrassi franchise absolutely ADORES Cassie Steele…not surprised that she’s starring in it considering that Stefan Brogren is directing this. In my eyes, she’s forever Manny to me….just in L.A now pursuing her acting career. If they have Mike Lobel (the character Jay) in this show, I will die of laughter
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I don’t get TeenNick so view via their website (and being along the northern border, viewed previous seasons on CTV in the dialup days. I missed the L.A. Complex premiere simulcast and am kicking myself for it…)
I’m not sure what Viacom’s doing (or Disney for that matter) with so many youth-oriented channels that hardly anyone gets, all getting some but not much original content. Seems like it would make sense to put all their first-run content on the main Nickelodeon channel, which they could do easily with a “no more than one episode of any single show in any 24-hour period” policy (I’m looking at you, Spongebob), and then run one of the high-tier channels with timeshifted reruns of current and recent stuff and another with their classic 80s/90s stuff on evenings and weekends and preschool-toddler programming on daytime weekdays.
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