Best Scripted Series on Each of the 4 Big Networks – Gray’s anatomy (ABC), FBI (CBS), Chicago fire (NBC) e 9-1-1 (Fox) – They all have one thing in common: They are the ships of the dramatic franchises that host frequent crossovers. Building an integrated world of multiple series, with characters moving seamlessly from show to show, has become a fixture and arguably the most successful formula on network television over the past decade, which continues to attract. spectators in the midst of a linear decline in ratings.
But while crossovers are standard and fairly common event schedules today, it was a revolutionary concept when it was first proposed nearly three decades ago and initially met with resistance. It was started by the host of two major TV shows, ონი Anon and order Developer and executive producer Dick Wolf e Oz Developer and executive producer Tom Fontana, as well as former NBC Entertainment president Warren Littlefield, are now producing the said series. fairy craft Y Fargo.
The first crossover included episodes of Wolf’s ონი Anon and order And another NBC drama series, Murder: street lifeIn which Fontana was executive producer and showman.
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Littlefield says the idea came about 27 years ago, during a previous NBC party in 1995 at a downtown New York restaurant owned by Fontana.
The wolf and the fountain sat at the same table. They have been good friends ever since Fontana left. Elsewhere, the SS. And there was a wolf Sadness of Hill Street In the early 1980s. “We stayed in touch because our careers took different paths,” said Wolf. “Tommy is back in New York, I’m staying in Los Angeles.”
Both took advantage of the party to catch up. “kill He said it was one of my favorite shows. ონი Anon and order “He was one of them,” Wolf said. “We talked and thought it would be interesting and fun to do a story that intersects both shows. “He didn’t think anyone was doing it, and neither was I.”
Littlefield, who jokes that “luck has many authors”, shares his recollection of what happened that night. “I had a feeling you were going to have a lot of people working with you at that time, delivering great content, putting it in a room with a party vibe and that just does a good thing,” he says, noticing how he was doing. he went through his restaurant when he got to the table. , The wolf and the fountain were seated.
“I love you guys so much, you are together,” Littlefield said. “You know, you both have wonderful 10th night dramas on our network. We can probably find something here. “Maybe I said the word” crossover “. It’s late at night, there is a party atmosphere, people are drinking, celebrating. And I remember at the end of the evening they said,” We think we can do it. ” And I was like, “Oh my God, that would be great.”
Like every previous one, bringing the idea to life was not easy, but Littlefield thanks Wolf and Fontana for supporting it.
ონი Anon and order Produced by UniversalTV, kill From NBC Internal Studio, which were separate companies in the 1990s, prior to the NBC-Universal merger. “Obviously, after work, after we started describing it, they just said, ‘Hi, Wagon and NBC?’ Never that [work]Wolf remembers. “I think it was his insistence and our willingness to throw the money away and eventually it went from ‘we can never’ to ‘you know what, we can have it.’
Each studio had their own plans to sell their show to the union and create an episode where the characters from the other series and co-writer with a rival drama weren’t what they knew how to deal with fears of a potential influence on the show. trade union. Cost. Networking has helped us in this process. “We were worried it might be a syndication problem, but Warren said it’s good, the network wouldn’t mind,” Wolf said. “We did our first crossover in 1996 and it was the highest-scoring episode for both series.”
Between two other crosses ონი Anon and order Y kill The next three seasons will follow.
“Then it didn’t appear until several years when it became clear that there could be a natural cross between them. ონი Anon and order Y SVU– says Lupo. “The audience likes it, I’m very funny, but very strict with the writers. It’s very difficult to do, but the ratings are falling apart. “
Littlefield says he doesn’t remember any delays in a drama or comedy event, either while working as an executive director or while watching regular viewers.
“There’s always a peak,” he says. “Then it occurred to us. And in the world of endless options, you need to give your audience one more reason to show up. “
Wolfe, who has been the driving force behind the dramatic franchise’s growth and evolution over the past three decades. ონი Anon and order, Chicago Y FBI, also discusses the reasons for the success of the cross-evaluations. “Dating brings satisfaction,” she says. ” Chicago Shows are a perfect example. It had worked so well before I realized there was an opportunity Chicago It literally shows a new series from birth. [Jason Beghe and Jon Seda were introduced on Chicago Fire] And since we had three shows, crossover made no sense. Like this Chicago police Y Chicago Med Crossovers were born “.
Wolf took the concept of the dramatic franchise to a new level with the show’s “One Chicago” collection, creating the first fully integrated character world. The boundaries between individual shows were so blurry that the three actors almost always appeared together at group events and discussions, and Wolfe argued in 2016 that they should be seen as a single issue at the SAG Awards.
I love all the actors Chicago “The shows should be included as a set, because it’s really a set,” Wolf told Deadline at the time. “Every step between the shows is simple, there are large-scale crossovers involving all the actors, so I think we should celebrate them as a group.”
No matter how hard you try, creating a franchise world is a very difficult proposition. “I know how difficult it is to achieve an integrated world through multiple shows, it’s so difficult that there has to be a special sensitivity when driving a train, otherwise you never can,” Wolff said.
with Chicago, Wolf also introduced a new base, bringing a brand evening. Although it has been crossover for more than two decades, it wasn’t until the fall of 2018 that all three shows were scheduled for the same night in the same franchise, where “One Chicago Wednesday” was presented for a three-hour crossover event. . The planning stunt was so successful that it was accepted in many plays, including Wolf’s.
i think bob [Greenblatt, then-NBC Entertainment Chairman] The meaning of “pile” has been understood Chicago Series that made crossovers easy, and research has shown that the average viewing time for a viewer is three hours. So it made sense to stack programs overnight. CBS saw success Wednesday night and did the same on Tuesday. And NBC doubled down together ონი Anon and order [shows] Thursday. “
This is a strategy that ABC also uses station 19 Principal Gray’s anatomyfoxes that mate 9-1-1 Y 9-1-1: Lone StarAnd CBS does the same. NCIS Y NCIS: Hawaii.
Wolf and Littlefield reacted similarly to the multiplication of crossovers, integrated worlds and franchise blocks in the program: “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”
When the wolf is in the field FBI For CBS, he created not just the series, but the entire franchise. He admitted that the series no longer thinks at once.
Littlefield is thrilled to see how a casual conversation at a party 27 years ago led to such a big and lasting change in television programming of events. “When I browse any content on the web and see this promotion [for a crossover]He smiles and I say, you know what they do, they still do it.
Source: Deadline
